An era lasting 133 years comes to an end this Sunday as Everton’s men’s team play their final game at Goodison Park. In 1892 the team left their former home at Anfield – which Liverpool FC adopted soon after – upping sticks due to an argument over rent, to set up a new home, a short walk across Stanley Park. Goodison Park became the first major football venue built in England and since then no other English football ground has staged more top-level men’s matches.
But it seems the impending bulldozers have performed a welcome U-turn – a deal to have the women’s team playing there has just been announced. Despite the US owners confirming the ground will become the country’s first major stadium to be dedicated to a women’s team, everyone knows it won’t be quite the same place. It seems like there will have to be structural changes including the taking out of seats in the top decks to reduce the capacity. Perhaps Everton will also turn Goodison into some sort of museum, where in 20 or 30 years people will still be wandering in, scratching their heads at the way football used to be watched.
