Everton
FC E-mails 262 - Stadium Special 25
|
|
|
|
Whatever
you think e-mail your views to info@bluekipper.com
No To Kirkby I have supported Everton for over 35 years and I support Everton because I am a scouser and they are my local scouse team. I for one will never set foot in the new ground if the team moves out of the city boundaries. I would rather go and support Bootle FC or Marine what happens when Everton move to kirkby do we get a name change to the Kirkby Toffees like Wimbledon (MK Dons) we all know how there fans reacted to the move. Steve Holmes. (06/08/07) Yes to move, NO to Kirkby I say VOTE NO to Kirkby because: Kirkby is just the wrong location (inside or outside the LCC boundary doesn't matter - it's just too much out of the way from the heart of things). There ARE alternatives (e.g. the Bestway offer), and more alternatives will appear if we vote no - just sit tight and see. Don't be scared or blackmailed by EFC into saying yes. They'll come up with plan B if plan A falls through. Just ask yourself if Kirkby's the right location for Everton FC. If it isn't, it won't matter how fantastic a new stadium would be, it wouldn't work. VOTE NO! Richard Hindley. (06/08/07) Is this Plan B - don't make me laugh So the possible plan B could be built without the capacity dropping below 40,000 ?? Don't make me laugh. Saying it and doing it are two entirely different things, especially when it comes to construction projects and especially one as complex as this would be. No chance. I'm sure the slightest testing of the detailed project plan (which of course does not exist) would quickly expose the folly. Even given the 1% chance it could be done do you really want THAT cowshed quivering under the shadow of the kopites 70,000 monster. Get real - there is only plan A. Get behind Bill and Moyesy and please try to believe they are actually doing the best they can for EFC. Blue Bob. (06/08/07) From Yes To No My
first match was in 1958 and I have had a season ticket ever since the
1966/67 season. Right that's the credentials out of the way. I am writing
this before I go to St Georges Hall to look at the consultation but I
can tell you now that I have changed my mind from a 'yes to Kirby' to
a resounding 'no'. Why? Well I do not welcome being bullied for a start.
How can I be given a vote which I am told has no alternative but to say
yes? How can I be given a vote and then be threatened that if I don't
say yes then parts of the existing ground will not pass safety standards?
It Must Be Yes We have nothing if its not Kirkby, so it has to be a yes, this is a no lose deal which we would be stupid and killing our club if we said no, for all these people who are saying they don’t know anyone who will vote Yes I go the match with 28 season ticket holders and 4 club members, all but 2(and these 2 live in the shadow of Goodison) will be voting Yes, I do believe we must put our head before our heart and vote YES YES YES. Dom. (06/08/07) Yes To The Move I think that its time for the ground move. Goodison is full of sentiment there is no doubt about that. Marriages, funerals etc. have all been performed there down the years. We have seen some great nights and some great days. The local businesses will suffer, probably even close. But we have to think about the club and moving it forward. We bemoan our efforts every season and constantly compare to the great teams of the past and yearn for more and more. If you talk to traveling fans about the best teams in the country, they hardly ever mention Everton. They mention the ‘top 4’ and Newcastle (and maybe Tottenham). Newcastle have the stadium and they fill it. They easily have the closest set-up that could put them in the ‘top’ tier of our league. We should aspire to that (apart from the fact that they are all arseholes!). We need a change, we need investment and we need to look healthier than we do currently. Quite obviously we have no money to spend this year. This could be a tactic to show that a move will bring in money (by holding back the cash) when we are feeling the pinch and lack of signings!! I have a complete lack of trust for Bill Kenwright and I can guarantee that Moyes will have money in January if we agree to a stadium move. You have to ask yourself why, if overseas billionaires are queuing up, they are not looking at Everton and have looked at Villa and West Ham before us. That’s probably because they can see a big expense –the new stadium. That aside, the move makes sense. We will have more of a partnership with the biggest supermarket and biggest retailer in the United Kingdom. We will have a stadium that is brand new with the latest facilities and the scope for future improvement. Investment will be easier to obtain once the expensive stadium is completed as investment will be funding the club and team, not the infrastructure. (who wants a mortgage when you can have it thrown in the deal!?). The board are pushing this move because they can see the obvious – a move will bear fresh fruit (not the Jamie redknapp kind) and with the correct management will take us to the next level. Plus, the new stadium will remove a large portion of our debt (which is the re-mortgage on goodison) and will almost be free given the input from our friends at Tesco and others. So, yes, Goodison is my church but times are changing and its time to move on. Sentiment can never be replaced or repaired, once gone its gone. I have good memories from Goodison and nobody can take them away regardless of where we play our football. Change is on the cards…start getting used to it. Jamie Rowland. (06/08/07) Is this really the only option? The stadium debate has been one that I’ve followed intently for several months, and I’d like to add my thanks to everyone who has contributed to the debate on the ‘Blue Kipper’ web-site. It has really been the only place where you can have a balanced debate about the pros and cons of the move. I hope the ‘powers that be’ have been hitting the site in recent weeks to get a feel for the concerns of our great supporters, but perhaps they think ‘ignorance is bliss’. I’ll be honest – I’ve changed my opinions several times over the months – as strong points have been made on either side. Firstly, my gut-feeling was against a move outside the city boundary – then I saw some of the immediate financial benefits that might accrue. Then I saw new stadium images and my first impressions were good. Then I looked closer and saw how basic a design it actually was and what it might look like in daylight with broken Tesco's trolleys in the car park and the open corners! Then I saw the plans for the new RS stadium and thought – bloody hell – don’t like the ‘arty-farty’, asymmetrical design, but look at that Kop end, and grudgingly realised it had all the requirements needed to be a future Liverpool city icon and that it actually looked like the expensive stadium it is meant to be. Suddenly the ‘Tesco's Arena’ looked very ordinary and seemed to reflect its relative cheapness! I listened to all that Wyness was saying and about a lack of a Plan B. I read the projections for future attendances with significant reservations. I saw once again the ‘penny-pinching’ in the transfer market this summer (particularly with attacking players) and wondered where being ‘frugal’ ended and where being ‘cheapskate’ began! Most recently I’ve realised that the present board seem more concerned to stay in control of our great club on the cheap, rather than welcome the outside investment that is definitely out there and which lesser teams are benefiting from. I praise them for steering us out of the Johnson years…but I fear it is time for the next phase in the club’s resurgence. Let’s make some points: a) LCC have treated us like absolute ‘sh*te’ – but is ‘cutting off our noses to spite our face’ and upping sticks to Kirby for ever the best long-term solution? Politicians are transient – EFC is forever – as is the City of Liverpool. b) We can’t even fill Goodison consistently despite reasonable results in the last few years. I remember the dark days when our attendances were dipping into the ‘teens’. Do we honestly expect us to fill a 50,000 stadium week in and week out when we have one of our mediocre mid-table seasons in a few years time? We may a passionate fan-base, but you just have a look at the shirts the kids wear on their summer holidays abroad, or any sports store selection outside of the North-West and you’ll see how far we have slipped down the national (and international) pecking order. I live close to Teesside now and you only have to look at the Riverside attendances and unbooked corporate packages after a season or two of mediocrity from Boro – and that is now in stark contrast to some initial views by fans that not going to a larger, Stadium of Light, capacity was a mistake! It’s a good job they didn’t. c) Wyness’s ‘cheap for the club’ Plan A would be fine for a lesser club – but if we are serious about joining the top 6 again, then it reflects an on-going lack of ambition. If the board can’t, or do not feel willing, to invest more for real growth, then let’s have the ‘Everton Not for Sale’ signs removed and see what is really out there! d) Don’t under-estimate the effect of our future fan base within Liverpool if we give up the city to the RS! The ‘Kirby Town FC’ jibes will make the ‘Gone to One’ jibes look tame. If I was in the RS marketing division or youth development team I’d be using our relocation to the fullest! e) I know we need increased revenue, but improving the corporate sponsorship options at Goodison, even within the existing footprint, would gain us proportionally much more than another ‘virtual’ 10,000 seats for us seemingly lesser punters! I think we need to focus more on Goodison ground improvements and increasing the box capacities and a bit less on the terrace capacity. It pains me to say it, but the ‘prawn sandwich’ crowd is where the real money is made at the likes of Old Trafford! Ensuring success on the pitch via good player investment doesn’t hurt either! f) I’d love some of our big spending rivals to come a cropper and do a Leeds – but I don’t think it’s going to happen – I do think these foreign and UK investors are going for the long-haul, and I also think we under-estimate the ‘wow’ factor these guys enjoy being associated with our football clubs – which means I think they’ll even take a running loss in the long-run. With the Sky revenue only rising I think an ‘On-Digital’ collapse is not likely either (we are talking a different magnitude of organisation). I honestly think it is the time to invest more (via new investors) and have grander designs than the ‘Heath Robinson’ approach which are current board are focussed on with Tesco's. g) The Tesco's offer is superficially not a bad one, but let’s face it, it’s going to work in their favour big time and in the long run Everton really mean nothing to them. Tesco's almost forced through a plan for a massive store in the heart of Darlington (my current abode) by promising to build a new Town Hall, if they could build their store on the footprint of the existing one. Thankfully local people saw the long-term effects of such a radical change on the old town and the local community and the resulting campaign forced the council to change their minds. Don’t let us sell our heritage and independence for a ‘too good to be true’ retail-based potential crock of fool’s gold! Let me give you a future scenario – we move to Kirby and our ‘Tesco's’ Arena. We take all the humiliating flak from the RS, but in the first few seasons we increase attendances and our corporate profile. We pay off a bit more debt and manage some respectable top 7 places and even have a decent cup run at last. However, the novelty starts to wear off. We lose a few players who are snapped up by lesser clubs on the up (Man City, Spurs, Newcastle, Villa, West Ham?) who can afford their increased wage demands and hunger for ‘real’ success. Some of the old stalwarts begin to tire of the cost of getting to Kirby every match day, whilst more Liverpool-based kids grow up and see the RS as their ‘local’ team and want to go to their now famous Stanley Park stadium. Attendances drop, revenue slows, as we already know the current board plead poverty or the need for a balanced approach for the future of the club and still ignore external investment possibilities. Moyes moves on – having finally got tired of taking the flak for indifferent performances from his well-meaning but ultimately limited set of honest work-horses. Then we have that season we all dread – we get relegated – and despite our new shiny stadium (remember Pride Park and Derby, anybody, not to mention the likes of Coventry) we just can’t get back up immediately and we gradually lose further ground on our historic top flight rivals! Meanwhile further Premiership development (and even a European League?) progress without our involvement and we lose even further ground (remember how Widnes RLFC lost out financially and in terms of club standing on the Super League launch!) Hmmm….unduly pessimistic perhaps, but not beyond logic, surely! Is the move to Kirkby the best short-term solution with the current financial/board/council situation? Probably! Is it the best long-term solution? Not in a month of Sundays! We must look for another Plan B – and if that involves missing out on Tesco's, dealing with that shower of politicians in the LCC, considering a more modest Goodison re-development (I don’t know if the KEIOC viewpoint is workable or not – but let’s give such options a bit more consideration), welcoming new board investment, or a new board, then so be it! Please vote No to Kirby and let’s have a solution that matches our ambitions for the best football club in the world, and not ‘keep our heads above water’ approach we seem to be following. I think that the fact that opinion polls suggest our fans are fairly evenly split on this debate means that we could do untold damage to the club if we move too fast on this one. I play on-line poker and I know that going all-in with a good, but not great hand, is only justified when you’re down to your last few chips. I don’t think we are remotely in that situation, and whilst I’m realistic enough not to expect a pair of Aces to be dealt in the near future, I can’t believe other opportunities won’t come along if we bide our time and think about it. COYB! – Paddock Boy. (06/08/07) Are you joking KEOIC? The
efforts of KEOIC, i know you are just trying to prove a point but if that
is your Plan B you can stick it were the sun doesn't shine. The ground
looks a bloody mess. If you are going for the award for the 'Lets see
who can fit the biggest monstrosity into the smallest possible space award"
you would win it and no one would come close to challenging you. Lets
see what wonderful amenities this new ground would offer and the massive
amounts of potential new revenue this would generate for our club. EERRR
Oh yes sorry we forgot about that !!! well a couple of pie shops on county
road might be willing share there additional profits with us. We Must Move I love walking down to Goodison on a matchday, I love the whole atmosphere in the streets outside before the match, and most of all, I love the buzz inside, and that tingle down my spine when Zcars starts playing. But most of all, I love EVERTON FC. It's not about some old crumbling building with some amazing memories, or going down the local for a pint before the match, or having to change the usual pre-match routine which has existed since your arl fella took you to your first match. It's about a football club that's been fucked around financially for years - one of the Great clubs - who used to be called one of the 'Big 4', who now have to depend on loan players, and one or two decent signings every other season. Lets face it - we COULD re-develop Goodison, of course - but it would wreck the whole atmosphere, and it wouldn't be the same at all (see KEIOC drawings). I'd love to be able to stay at Goodison, but something has to be done now. We have to be ballsy, and just take the plunge for once, instead of resisting change all of the time, and letting everybody else pass us by. What we're being offered is a decent state of the art stadium, which wont drive us into debt, and a backer who has decided to help Everton out, even though he could probably have had his shopping complex built ages ago. This is one boat we can't miss, and I'd hate to think that some stubborn fans will hold us back. I will remain forever blue, but a No vote will set the club back 20 years, and waiting for a foreign money man to save us, and steal the heart of the club. This way, we keep the club our own, and we can look forward, instead of looking back at the chasing pack. Stan. (06/08/07) Kirkby Has Liverpool Postcode For
those who don't think our proposed new stadium will be in Liverpool, look
up an address on Royal Mail's website for postal addresses. For example,
you will see Kirkby Sports Centre's address is - Stadium Debate Every
time I see an article like this I’m full of hope that we Evertonians will
see through all the move-to-Kikby-or-were-fucked rubbish and vote No.
Every time I see a pro-Kirkby comment my heart sinks and I’m faced with
the horror that we might end up with a yes vote.We would be mad to give
up our city, and the culture and heritage that comes with it to build
a cheap stadium out of town. Its obvious that all the possible alternatives
haven’t been explored properly. Moving stadiums is obviously a massive
decision so surely the cost to the club of doing a full business review
into a few other possible sites would be worth it. Its just not good enough
to say that there is no plan b and that therefore voting no means that
we will rot away at Goodison. What would the club have done if the main
man at Tesco wasn’t an Evertonian, and the Tesco offer had never happened,
wouldn’t they have to find an alternative then? Goodison Can't Be Developed I have just seen an image released by KEIOC. Cant they see that everton are moving away because hasn't any room to build a new stadium and retail space. That is the reason why Tesco are putting 50 million into the kirkby because they want to build a tesco! there is no room to do that. we haven't got 70 million to spend on a stadium the money we are giving is mostly coming from the sale of goodison. As a season ticket holder for over a decade I'm against a move to kirkby but Keioc are just talking no sense when they are talking about redeveloping goodison! Adam O'sullivan. (06/08/07/) I've Changed From No To Yes Myself I was at 1st say no to the move to kirkby! I was thinking exactly the same as what most other supporters were thinking. "NO EVERTON SHOULD STAY IN OUR CITY!" because this and because that. Them excuses are all pathetic! The team need a new stadium at the end of the day! Moving to Kirkby is not going to change a thing at all! The only thing that will change is having a better ground, but in a different location! So what? One point I do understand about the fans wanting to stay at Goodison is its history such as Dixie Dean an Everton great died in the ground. But if dixie was alive today he would most likely be all for the move! The point is the fans have got to move on and for all the fans who called themselves true blues and are saying no should be ashamed of themselves! The whole point of being a true blue is to support the club in everyway. So if you go see Everton play at Old Trafford one week and see them play at Goodison Park the next, then why can't they travel a few minutes more down the road to Kirkby? If I was the directors I would take no notice to the fans and move anyway! After all we will soon see who the 'True Blues' are when the start to boycott or not turn up for matches. If this happens then that means the club wont be making as much money and makes less money for transfers! Another thing I can see happening if we do go through with the move is a new shirt sponsor! ... Tesco and as they say every little helps! From Danny M. (06/08/07) Yes To Kirkby I think the blue should move to Kirkby! You see proper fans travel all over the country to watch the boys, matter a fact all over the fukin world, and youse are crying about an extra 4 miles worth of petrol, come on get your head out your ass and think properly! Kevin from Liverpool. (06/08/07) Accessing 50+ million pounds ASAP from Evertonians toward new stadium Dear
Keith, Bill et al, Stay At Goodison Again I plead with you think about what were are being asked to do vote to leave our ground and move outside the Walton area. Cmon its suicide have we no value as Evertonions. what if Tesco had not come in we would have to find the finances to redevelop Our home GOODISON PARK. ok its been said that the old lady is outdated and its outlived its use are we so blind and stupid. To believe that, we all still go there in our droves,tradition I enjoy and still get that heartfelt buzz every time walk down towards the ground I honestly can say I wont get the same feeling moving to Kirkby or elsewhere I have been told vote with your head not your heart well as I have said more than once if you haven't got a heart you will die we are the heart of this great club don't let it die by voting yes to move get these Directors to put there money where there mouth is keep us at Goodison like you all I cant wait to see the outcome of this vote,I have been reading Dixies book again if that does not inspire you to stay at Goodison. I don't know what will the greats that have played on our pitch Should not be forgotten our forefathers who have watched Everton as we do should not be forgotten we owe it to them to remain at Goodison Park and carry on the spirit of the blues Best regards. BLUE PRIDE. (06/08/07) Scottie Road Loop The Scottie Road loop site sounds like it could be worked up. Lets put the ballot back and at least investigate whether it is viable before we kill the club and move out of our city. If we were to go, god only knows how you will ever convince anyone to be a toffee, and the stick our kids will get will be unbearable. Helen Elaine. (06/08/07) No To Kirkby What
the hell are they doing serving this trash up as a stadium? The debate
is now tearing the fan base apart. So I might as well tell you what I
think Yes To Kirkby We have to move now on health and safety grounds. There is a very real danger that a jet could crash into us while looking for somewhere to land, because apparently some idiots are building an airport terminal on Stanley Park. Honest Joe. (06/08/07) Championship or Europe? It's Now or Never! We
all want to stay in Liverpool, but lets be realistic. It could be 2,3,
or 4 years before a suitable site is found in Liverpool, in which time
we will fall further and further behind the leading group in the Premiership.
The positives in this move clearly outweigh the negatives. We will have
an outstanding stadium by 2010. The designs of the stadium are excellent
and will make every Evertonian proud. Increased revenue, which will lead
to increased spending power for Moyes. It goes on and on. I want Everton
to be pushing for Europe every season, maybe even winning the odd cup
and perhaps the Premiership. This will only happen if we take this opportunity.
I'm all for it! Only Viable Site Is Kirkby What's the point of Warren Bradley bringing up all kinds of different sites within the Liverpool City boundary? Liverpool Council are not going to give us anything, like they gave Stanley park to LFC. Everton can't afford to build a new ground anywhere else - we haven't got the money - our only chance is with the help of Knowsley Council and Tesco. The American owners of LFC are not going to GIVE them #300M+ to build their new stadium and buy more foreign players - they are going to put LFC in #300M+ debt, like the Glazers have done with Man U. So every year they will have to find more money to service the debt - where's that going to end up? Liz Wimbridge. (06/08/07) Yes To Kirkby Yes,
it would be perfect if we could renovate Goodison, and yes it would have
been superb if King's Dock had worked out. However neither is going to
happen. The choice is quite clear. Do we want to stay at Goodison, and
accept that it is going to be sub par in comparison with other Premiership
stadia or do we want a stadium that will be up there with the best, but
outside the Liverpool boundaries (but still within Merseyside) Keep Everton At Goodison We must fight to keep the Everton at Goodison , as It should be the fans decision where we want to watch OUR football team , football is the only industry, that the people who run the game do not put the punters first. IF THE CLUB DOES DECIDE TO MOVE WE MUST WITHDRAW OUR SUPPORT UNTILL THEY SEE SENSE. EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB WOULD NOT EXIST With-out our current fans and past fans, who by the way have put millions of pounds through the gates long before sky came along, OUR FANS have shown undying and un-wavering loyalty no matter how we are doing on the pitch. We will not have thousands of Irish or Norwegians flying in to kirkby, every home game , we currently get 35-40000 fans through the gates at Goodison and will struggle improving on this, if we move to Kirby. By my reckoning a 55,000 seat stadium would have 15,- 20,000 empty seats for the visits of smaller clubs this would have a detrimental impact on the teams performance also .to pay for the stewards to guard the empty seats , they would increase ticket prices. At present our clubs is not interested in our opinions just money, the club share holders are only interested in topping up their multi millionaire lifestyles and are not bothered what the fans think, Let’s not forget that ! if the club is badly run by the board, they just walk out and move on as the only have allegiance to money , we as supporters, if wrong decisions are made have to endure the hurt and heart break over many years, supporters cant just get another club. I do not want to go to a stadium half empty with no atmosphere in the middle of shopping arcade. Peter, from Aintree. (06/08/07) Blues v China Crisis My
only disappointment in all these emails against going to Kirkby is that
not one is from Paul McCartney! I wonder if he is aware that one of the
most important decisions to affect the blue half of the City in history
is currently in the balance purely on location, location, location. As
an alleged bluenose he has an opportunity to massively influence a decision
if he was willing to contribute some investment in the debate of where
we should move to. No To Kirkby I totally agree with Keith Martins letter, moving to Kirkby is not an option and frankly I don't know how the board can even consider doing so. All that bollocks of us being able to compete with the premier league load of shite, we are just being set up to become some future lower league club packed off to Kirkby while the redshite get all the focus, it's about time we as a club made are voices heard while we are still in the city boundary and demand we get the same help and treatment as the redshite if not even better for being the original club associated with the city, as for Kirkby mr wyness stick that idea up your fucking arse now get some balls and come back with a stadium in the city. Everton forever not everby or kirkbyton a little club outside the city. Chris Simpson. (06/08/07) What Do You Think? Have your say! e-mail info@bluekipper.com e-mails index New Stadium - The Fans Views |