Everton
FC E-mails 234 - Stadium Special 9
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EVERTON SUPPORTERS LAUNCH “KEEP EVERTON IN OUR CITY” CAMPAIGN Our City, Our Club, Our Future. A significant number of Evertonians met at the weekend to discuss their concerns at the proposed move of Everton FC to Kirkby, which lies outside the boundaries of Liverpool. The Club claim that they currently have an exclusivity agreement with Knowsley Council and Tesco plc, which prevents them from exploring alternative locations for a new stadium. A number of fans are growingly increasingly frustrated by what they consider is a “done deal” with Tesco and Knowsley. They feel that they are being bullied into believing that the only way that the Club can progress is to sell its heritage to a supermarket in return for a stadium outside the City boundaries. Supporters have therefore launched the “Keep Everton In Our City” campaign and have vowed to pool ideas and put forward alternatives which would show the Chairman of Everton FC that there is indeed another way. The meeting was attended by Council Leader and season ticket holder Warren Bradley. He spoke passionately about his desire to keep the club in the city. He stated that from a professional point of view, allowing a business the size of Everton to leave the City would be tantamount to financial suicide. Indeed, he has already identified two sites within the city which the Club could use for redevelopment, as well as finding at least one commercial partner to help fund a development in the North end of the City. He is also exploring the possibility of extending the footprint at Goodison to enable the Club to redevelop on its current site. The Club are aware of these possible options but prefer to see out the “exclusivity” period with Tesco and Knowsley. Warren Bradley has also agreed to enquire into the possibility of re-building the stadium in Walton Hall Park which lies just yards from Goodison Park. Supporters at the meeting pledged to continue to identify as many alternatives within the City boundaries as possible. We owe it to both past and future generations to do everything in our power to ensure that the City’s first Club stays within the City. Contacts: Brian Gould: 07939141925. Ann Adlington: 07931304175. (12/03/07) Stay At Goodison There is much talk about the ground move proposals and to be honest, some of it is down- right ridiculous. For a start, the boundaries in the conurbation are politically orientated and primarily false. The city of Liverpool was built around much older settlements such as Bootle and West Derby. Bootle is not and has never been geo-politically part of the city of Liverpool. A referendum at the turn of the last century saw the people resoundingly vote in favour of continued independence. This highlights how spurious the "kirkby isn't Liverpool" arguments are. That said I do feel that the people who are sounding, warnings re other ground moves (Sunderland, Boro and the Arse) are definitely onto something. The whole circus surrounding ground-moves is riddled with corporate gobbledy-tit-wank. If Man U could transform OT into a world-class stadium, why can't the same be done with Goodison? Okay, so they have a less crowded sight to work on, but I don't see why we can't do similar. Corporate capitalism has destroyed football as a lynch-pin of working-class culture and despite personal mis-givings about the more primitive elements of it's aggressive pBseudo-tribalism, I despise the way the rich greed- orientated leeches has high-jacked the game. I used to be able to follow Everton everywhere; sadly this is no longer the case. In closing I would just reiterate that the boundary debate is a geo-polittically moot one and that following (or not) the fashion of building soulless modern stadia and the consequences of such an undertaking to such an historic club as Everton,is the real issue here. Paul Newton, Bootle, aka The Anarchist Little Boy Blue. (08/03/07) Say No To Kirkby Like the majority of fans the idea of leaving goodison is a sad prospect. We should only leave if there is no possible way to redevelop goodison. I for one do not believe it is not possible to redevelop goodison. With modern building techniques pretty much anything can be achieved. It would mean reduced capacity for a couple of seasons, in other words all those who do not currently have season tickets might not be able to get in. Newcastle did it, why not us. Where are the feasibility studies to show how and why it’s not possible? No doubt the problem is cash, well we are about to get a nice bonus next season with some more tv cash. In any event the idea that a big stadium generates huge funds is a nonsense Man Utd fill 76,000 every time they play at home – it forms a tiny part of their ever increasing war chest. 100 executive boxes @ £50,000 a season = £5million gross, the net figure is a lot lower. In football terms wouldn’t even buy you an average centre forward. So the idea that new stadium is some kind of pot of gold is bollocks. TV is where the cash is and will continue to be. Bolton and Portsmouth currently both above us and spending freely on players – do they have big fuck off stadiums filled to the rafters I don’t fucking think so. Tesco don’t give a shit about us, and it would seem neither do Bill and his Cronies – Tesco’s only concern is making cash and lots of it. Christ you make more money selling shirts than you do from the ground and that is even with their £3 pies that they pay about 20p for. Picture the new stadium while Everton sell their overpriced beer and pies – Tesco next door knock em out for ten bob a can and 80p a pie. We can’t fill 40,000 very often and a move away from our home is unlikely to help in the short term and in the long term I fear it be a disaster. Frankly it’s only the hype of the premiership and the trendiness of football that has increased numbers. Plus 10 years of continual growth and no major recession. Who can tell me the football is better than it was 10 years ago? For all the people who think going the match is about nice seats and great dining facilities fuck off and don’t come back. All these tit’s seemed to have forgotten we used to stand on terraces in the rain. Why do you think it will all be better with a new stadium? Because you can get a nice expensive burger and a watered down everton beer ! Anyone who has ever tried getting a bevvie and a hot dog at the MEN Arena will testify it is fucking well not ! You’ll spend just as much time queuing up wherever. You got to watch the football on the park – if that is shit then a nice shiny ground won’t change it. At present the only thing we have to cling onto is our history and hope that next season will be better, move us to Kirkby and we become just another club who sold out to the first wedge offered. The Tesco fucking stadium do me a favour. We should hold our nerve and see what happens, things change quickly in football. At present we are close to the city centre, our aim should be to stay there and if we have to move then only a site as close or even closer to the city should be considered. The summer pops is now on a huge piece of derelict land in the north docks – why not there For those that think Kirkby is a good idea – then go and see exactly where the planned ground would be before you decide. Visual your match day and then think again. I grew up in Kirkby, my Ma and Da still live there, as do many staunch Evertonians including good few of my family ( see my flag world cup flags page !) – by the way that was at Hamburg – ground in the middle of fucking nowhere so the only place to get a beer was their place – enough said. I’m not arsed about boundary lines, Kirkby used to be part of Liverpool. But Kirkby was built as an overspill town on the outskirts of the city to rehouse people – it is no place for Everton Football Club. A lot of people were forced to move to Kirkby as their homes in parts of inner city Liverpool were bulldozed. They were not given a choice, unless you count being offered a gaff in Runcorn or Skem. Well we have a choice. Say no to Kirkby. Regards. Gary Williams. (08/03/07) What Do You Think? Have your say! e-mail info@bluekipper.com |