‘Evertonians know we are – somehow, despite many false dawns – gaining an impossibly beautiful new stadium, a new future, even hope.’] My dad took me to my first game at Goodison when I was three.
“When places like Goodison turn off the lights, you lose a connection with the past,” says Rob Sawyer, from the Everton FC Heritage Society, which can still be found on match days in St Luke’s church, nestled into the corner of Goodison Park.
Everton Football Club are leaving Goodison Park – their home for more than 130 years – and moving to a state-of-the-art 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore dock, on the banks of the Mersey.
Wednesday will mark the final derby under the lights at Goodison and among the usual emotions for Evertonians – dread, primarily, despite last year’s anomalous 2-0 victory – there is likely to be a deep sadness, as another milestone passes in this season’s long goodbye.
History, memory, grief and belonging: my bittersweet Goodison farewell Evertonian Alexandra Topping – knowing that the famous old ground’s time was running out – made a final pilgrimage with her nine-year-old son.
