Blues Brothers Everton Podcast
Blues Brothers Everton Podcast
Goodbye Goodison
Well, there she goes. One last Everton home game at Goodison to discuss, plus our favorite memories of the grand old lady.
Welcome to episode 85 of the Blues Brothers Everton podcast. Full crew's here, including Dad, dad's here. How are you doing? I'm okay. Yeah, I'm very good. Thank you, great, great, adam's sat next to you. Adam, how's life? I'm all right, thank you, amazing, andy, how are you doing? Hey, austin, I'm good, thank you, yeah, just saying to Ben, just before we started recording, went to watch the new Mission Impossible film today. Oh yeah, any good Great action sequences, highly recommended. If you like the others, you'll like this one similar as that I do like the others. Ben, how's DC? Dc is actually quite nice. It's slightly cooler. Today 's been like absurdly hot for may, but it's now like a comfortable 17 18 degrees, which all the americans are like. What's happened to the weather? And I'm I'm like this is great. I feel at home. So, yeah, it's all good, lovely, all right. So we're recording this on. Uh, what day? Is it thursday? Is it thursday? It's wednesday, wednesday, great start the europa league.
Speaker 2:Uh, final is is just about. I think they just started the second half. On what day is it Thursday? Is it Thursday? It's Wednesday, wednesday, great start. The Europa League final is just about. I think they've just started the second half and Tottenham are winning 1-0. And basically we're going to do a podcast about Everton and we're going to kind of react to that as we go, because, hopefully, man United's humiliation continues. It's all we can hope for. So we're mostly going to talk about goodison, really, uh, so I guess we'll talk a little bit about other stuff, and maybe the newcastle game is coming up in a few days, but, um, we had the last game of goodison last weekend. Uh, adam, I'll start with you, and because you and dad went, so do you guys want to sort of talk us through that experience, what you saw, what you felt, what the whole thing was, what the whole thing was like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, Dad and I could probably spend the whole podcast talking about it.
Speaker 2:to be honest, Well, that would reduce our workload, so please feel free.
Speaker 3:It was, yeah, it was amazing. It was obviously one of those things that you sort of you count down the days to it and then it arrives, it sort of hits you. So Dad and I left at about quarter past seven on sunday morning, parked up half nine and then by the time we walked, by the time we got, you know, got to the ground, um, it was obviously already completely rammed, you know, obviously around the uh dixie dean statue. Just, he couldn't, he couldn't move. You know pyro everywhere chanting, you know it was, the atmosphere was incredible. And then obviously we stayed for the coach to go by.
Speaker 3:Then Dad and I just had a little, you know, we had a walk around, walk around the stadium, got about to the end of Goodison Road and it got absolutely round again. So we decided to go, decided to go back. It was that packed and even at that time in the morning there was loads of what's great to see, quite a number, quite a good number of Southampton fans as well. Just, uh, you know, in amongst, you know watching it, in amongst it, um, and it was, the atmosphere was was great, um, and uh, yeah, like I said to dad, like the game itself, you know, is a meaningless game on paper for both teams. But it almost became like, yes, the players want to win and the players talked about how they wanted to do well for the final Goodison game.
Speaker 3:But for me personally, I didn't really see the football as that much of an event in itself. It was much more about the sentiment around leaving Goodisonison and yeah, it was. It was, uh, it was really emotional. You know that, you know you're going, everything was for the last time, you know. That's that, that's what to sort of summarize it really like walking up the steps and seeing that green pitch which you remember when I was, you know when I. One of the earliest games I remember was, uh, 1997. Obviously I went before that but I can't necessarily remember them. But 1997 when we beat, you know, um, southampton 7-1, um and um, that was the last time. And you know, talking to Pete Lewis possibly you know I'm sure we'll see it, we'll see him again, but that the halftime talk with Pete Lewis and standing in the in in that area where we always stood, and dad and I put our, our sandwiches on the side on the last time and and and then it's the final.
Speaker 3:You know it's final whistle and that's the last time. And you know just seeing on the big screen and people around you, you just see, like you know, people crying, grown men crying about this. You know their thing. That's hosted 2,791 games and has been there for 133 years and it's finally. You know it's finally. You know that was it. It's finally gone and it's like something that bonds you together for such a long time is sort of over in that sense.
Speaker 2:Dan, what were your? How was your final day experience?
Speaker 1:Well, this grown man didn't cry, I have to say. Why do you have to say grown man? I mean, it's one of them, come put down.
Speaker 2:Why is?
Speaker 1:it gendered in the book. He's crying. What's that about? Men were crying. I did have a lump in my throat a couple of times and I sort of just thought am I going to cry? No, I'm not and I didn't, but it was as Adam says. It was an emotional time and it does make you think about. You know, the first time I went was, I think I was 13. And I remember that because it was the first day I had long trousers, because this was the 50s, of course. And then, you know, you wore shorts as a teenager and then you got long trousers, you know, when you think about it, anyway, and we played West Brom and I was 13. So that's 65 years ago, which is a long time, you know.
Speaker 1:Reflecting on what I've seen, I've seen, you know, some wonderful games. The Bayern Munich game is one that everybody talks about. It probably is the best game I have seen, although there was a Borussia Mönchengladbach game, in 1979, I think, where we won on penalties. Andy Rankin saved a fantastic penalty. What fantastic save for a penalty. I've seen four league championships, okay, obviously, prior to the Premier League, which you know all of football forgets about. You know, there's a team that's won anything. Well, that's not true. Am I right in saying there's only Liverpool and man U who've won more league championships than we have? So people forget the past. Yeah, it was an emotional time. It's strange to reflect on it now, a couple of days later.
Speaker 1:I think, if I'm being honest, my overall sort of feeling is less of a, you know, a regret about Goodison, because it is what it was. I mean, it was fantastic. It was the best stadium in the country for a long time. And when you see those stats about the first ground with pylons, the first ground with stands on all four sides, and you can, you know, roll on and roll on, there's no question it was a fantastic place and it's time.
Speaker 1:But it's time has been and gone and I'm really, really excited about the new ground and the start again and the new owners. I'm really sort of I'm expecting that it is a new start and that we can be onwards and upwards from now. So, yeah, sad about, in one sense, sad about not being a Goodison anymore. But you know, reality is move on, move up. Fantastic new ground and looking forward to it. But you know lots of memories of Goodison and it's nice that you know it'll still be there. So if I ever feel like going to drive to Liverpool to see a woman's football match, it'll still be there if I want to do that. But I doubt if I am going to do that. Anyway, back to you Oz.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm pleased I was thinking about. You know we'll talk maybe a bit later about the women's team, but you know it's nice that people who maybe never had the opportunity I have lots of American friends who are big Evertonians who've never had a chance to go to Goodison They'll still be able to go and see some games there. Andy, what are your? Obviously we've all seen. I tried to work out the other day how many matches I'd seen at Goodison and you know it's in the obviously hundreds and hundreds. You know over the years and we've all seen hundreds of games.
Speaker 2:Talk to us about either a great memory or what you think might have been your earliest Goodison memory. My earliest Goodison memory is when Dad used to bump me into the top balcony, which I have a feeling. I was only four or five at the time, so that's the sort of seasons around 82 83 and I used to be lifted over the turnstile because that was, you know, what you could. You could get away with doing back then and I would have seen some of the title winning teams of 85 and 87 and I can vaguely remember bits because we had a season down in the family stand and we were only in the second or third row and I can remember Gary Stevens running over to take a throw in right in front of me on one occasion and he had a cut behind his ear and it was bleeding and you wouldn't get away with that now You'd obviously have to go off the pitch and have it treated, and that's sort of one little thing that just sticks in my mind.
Speaker 2:And then the 87th season of all things, the George Harrison song I Got my Mind Set On you was played every single half time for the entire season and that's how I sort of pinpoint. I must have been there every game for that season because I heard that song every every Saturday. And then the earliest game I can remember in any detail was the um for all game with Liverpool. The FA Cup replay I think was 1991. Um, because, as you said, austin, I've been to so many games and the memories after a certain time all sort of get mixed up in your head. But I can remember that being there for that game. And then, obviously only a few years later as well, the famous Great Escape against Wimbledon. And obviously Barry Horne's famous goal, because Barry Horn hardly ever scored goals, and certainly when he picked the ball up at that distance I can safely say nobody in the ground other than him was thinking of shooting. Nobody wanted him to have a shot.
Speaker 2:If he'd have thought about it, he'd have talked himself out of it Very possibly, yeah. So what on earth made him shoot from that distance? But obviously we all know what happened and the story around that game. And yeah, there's just so many sort of games after that that. I've got sort of bigger memories of the Fiorentina game we've spoken about on pods before that one's up there. Then even tarkovsky's goal in the derby, um, that finished two all earlier this season, um, the last night game. That that's up there with, with great moments as well, just because of it, of what it symbolized in the moment it stopped liverpool having won more, more merseyside derbies at Goodison than we did, which would not have been a great record to have lost and just obviously just equalising those circumstances. So as well, there's just so many really great, fantastic memories that I'll treasure forever more.
Speaker 2:And, of course, the biggest change there's lots of changes around move and stages, but the biggest change for me and it's already been alluded to is the change of routine, because everybody's got the same routine where you park, how you travel to the game, who you're there with is it the same people? Does it change? Where you sit? Everybody's got. And all those routines are all going to be be changed and you know they've been the same for decades and for me, that's of all the changes, that's arguably the biggest one of of of them all. Yeah, those rituals are, and it'll take us a while, I guess, to kind of re-establish new ones and and and find those again, because we all it's unbelievable that you know that you, adam, you talked about it like standing at the top of that staircase at the upper Gladys street with a flask on the shelf on the window ledge is like that's kind of a, you know, I I struggle to remember what my first game was. I remember games around the sort of 92, 93 season. I'd been going for a couple of years before that, but I remember like vividly the halftimes, like definitely, like going back a very, very long time. Yeah, you remember those because that was part of our routine. Well, that was the happiest part, you see, because the football was shite, absolutely yeah, indeed, yeah, we, we toddled down, and I can remember as well I don't know if the upper gladys has got more full as time has got gone on well, it's funny you say that you know, but a lot of the attendances.
Speaker 2:You know, if you go back to, like, uh, the 93 94 season, which are that women again, you and I think we, we were both there and the, I think the attendance of that game now they were redoing the park end at the time, but the attendance of that game was like 20,000 or something. There were plenty of times when the stadium was half full because the Premier League wasn't what it is now. No, you know, you could have shitty attendances in the Premier League and we did. There was one game at Goodison in the night in the around that time we had an attendance about 15 000 or 16 000. There was an evening game against I think it was coventry around that time, whereas you say the attendance was was in the sort of mid, mid teens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and because the reason the reason I mentioned that is obviously in the latter years we've not been able to get a space on that shelf yeah, our flask on, our sandwiches on, because loads of other people have got there first and that up to sort of eight or ten years ago that wasn't a problem and we'd bimble down and there'd always be space. So obviously that stand is clearly now full for every match where there was a time when it clearly it obviously wasn't Ben, what are you?
Speaker 3:sorry, go ahead. Sorry, ben, but this is funny. You should mention that. Did you want to do? You want to explain what?
Speaker 1:at the game, yeah when? Well, you're right, we had butties for the first time in ages and we'd noticed over the last couple of seasons well, more than a couple of seasons different groups had taken our place by the window Bastards.
Speaker 2:Outrageous.
Speaker 1:I said to her. I said I'm just going to pop off. This was after 45 minutes. Just going to pop out, get our space on the shelf. Well, put me butt in my bag. What happens? We scored. It was funny.
Speaker 3:It was a game.
Speaker 1:We were watching the television the other week a game, and I came out twice during the game and went to the loo and on both times there was a goal. So now, whenever Everton are losing and they need to score the goal, I know what to do Off you go, I'm going to be in the game Johnny Cash, lose me some. Anyway.
Speaker 2:Ben, sorry, we will bring you into this in a second. I promise I'm not going to. I'm enjoying the observing. One of my great memories that isn't that long ago really, I think it was Moyes was in charge, remember, because he lost the pot at the end was we were a 3-3 draw with man United where we nearly missed both. We left twice and nearly missed both goals at the end. And that was the one where afterwards we because the game ended with Jagielka basically on a break and the referee blew the final whistle in it we had like a two-on-one break and Moyes and Alan Irving went nuts. But I don't know if we came back from 3-0 or 3-1, but we scored two goals pretty late on. It was 3-1 and then I think Arteta scored the 3-3 equaliser after it had bobbled round in the box a little bit.
Speaker 2:I think, Pienaar scored maybe.
Speaker 3:I think Pienaar got one as well oh.
Speaker 2:Cahill, yes, you guys have a much better memory for these things than I do, but I remember we left and we heard like we were walking on the concourse and we heard people, sort of. So we ran up a staircase and saw that and then we left again and the same thing happened.
Speaker 3:So that was when we were going. We haven't left early since.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we haven't left early since. Ben, talk to us about your Goodison memories, earliest one, best one, whatever you want. Yeah, like you, austin, I don't actually and this sounds really sacrilegious to austin I don't actually, and this sounds really like sacrilegious to say I don't actually remember what my first game was, I, I think and I was looking at this earlier because I suspected this would come up because I I remember we were playing someone in claret, so I was like it's west ham or um aston villa, and I think pa Paul Rideout scored, so which, thanks to the wonders of chat GPT, I think it was the 20th of August 1994, when Graham Stewart and Paul Rideout scored in a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa was, I think, in my head is my sort of my first. My first good memory, funnily enough actually, was the Wimbledon game, which I wasn't at, but we were all at um our uncle, marks, and dad's brother, um, while you guys were at the game. And I remember you coming home and I'd seen on the tv, um, I'd seen on the tv that the fans had invaded the pitch and were like picking up the grass and stuff, and I distinctly remember asking dad when you got, when you got to marks oh, were you guys on the pitch? And Because I'd never been to Goodison at that point and they had to explain to me that our seats were in the upper tier, so therefore it would have been really difficult to get onto the pitch from there, but not impossible, not impossible. So anyway, I don't actually remember what my first game is. I have a suspicion of which one it was, but I don't actually know.
Speaker 2:My Goodison memories are much more about the, the, the sort of process and the, you know the, our rituals, rather than the games itself. You know, going to the elm tree before the game and parking in that little like weird alley thing that we dad would always get pissed off at when we got there and someone had got to the spot first, like, um, you know, because it was our, in the same way that it was our spot on the on the ledge, it was our, that was our parking spot, even if it was, you know, not official in any way. That was where we parked. So it it ruined the process if we didn't, if we didn't park there. So that was the sort of, that was the rich, that was the ritual for me. I mean, like andrew, the fiorentina game.
Speaker 2:Uh, the Cadamatri Derby, which is one that I remember being at, was another big one. But yeah, I thought the club did a really good job of seeing the ground off, although, as Austin and I will attest, tnt Sports did a terrible job of streaming the thing, because they just didn't turn the stream on, so we all missed the first 20 minutes of the post-match like celebrations, which they were meant to carry live on YouTube, which was a bummer. But I thought they did a really good job.
Speaker 2:It was great to see all those players, although the funniest thing, if you listen back to, when they're introducing all the players from the different eras right, they're introducing all the players from the different eras, right. When they're doing the players from the eighties, it's all big cheers and then so it's like it was like seventies. And then you have the eighties teams that, as dad said, won all the league titles and things. And then you get to the nineties and you can just feel the energy drop out of the room when they go, when, when they go from introducing it's Neville Southall and Gary Stevens to like it's John Ebrall and Tony Grant, you can feel everybody just kind of collectively go fucking hell, we were shit, weren't we?
Speaker 1:oh my god.
Speaker 2:Stuart Barlow. Stuart Barlow, that was like one of the funniest things for me, was just like the transition between that like really bad period in the 90s. But yeah, I mean, look, I'm really glad we won because it would have been very evident to lose the last game at Goodison Park to some you know, goal off someone's arse down at the park end. I was disappointed you didn't get to see a goal at the Gladys Street of the final game, although it sounds like Dad would have been in the loo or you know buying a drink or something if you had anyway, so it doesn't make any difference.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I thought it was. It's wonderful that they're going to keep it for the women's team. It's great that people will be able to continue to go and visit. And yeah, I mean, I said to Ellen before we um, like weeks ahead, I said, look, this is going to sound crazy, but I I need this morning, like the game kicks off at seven o'clock, I need to be sat down at 6 50 so I can watch Zed car, so I can watch the team come out. I want to watch the game, I want to watch the hour afterwards and I just need you to. And she didn't question it at all, she got it.
Speaker 2:But I was like you forget how much, I think, unless you've been there and are involved in it or a fan, you really forget how much a core part of your life it is and how important to sort of place it is in all of our collective memories. You know that was where we all used to go as kids and that was probably, like you know, when dad was often, you know, working a lot during the week. That was the time on Saturdays where we spent like quality time as as the five of us and mum would come to liverpool as well. So, like that was, it was really like I found myself getting emotional at it from the memory perspective. So really excited that they're keeping it really excited for, um, the stadium, the new stadium.
Speaker 2:Less excited for the name of the new stadium, if I'm being honest, because it the new stadium, if I'm being honest, because it's named after a law firm and that's kind of boring. But, you know, excited to go there. It looks wonderful, got a great seat. So excited for that. But, yeah, great weekend. Glad we won Right time to move on the upside. Yeah, sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of the last time sort of thing. Last time, this last time that there actually was a first time at the Southampton game the guy who's left every match doesn't matter what one minute before the game. So the last 20 seasons didn't Amazing. For the first time he didn't need 10 minutes.
Speaker 2:Imagine the traffic.
Speaker 3:He's still there now.
Speaker 2:That guy's like clockwork, isn't he? We worked out once Dad, remember this, we worked. He misses games a season or something. Two games a season, yeah, because he leaves like eight minutes early and the thing about that is he's missed. He missed Tarkovsky's goal this season One of the most recent iconic moments.
Speaker 2:And you think now. I mean, I've probably said this before when we spoke about that particular game but whatever traffic you normally miss or whatever babysitting arrangements you need to make, it's the last night game, the last derby game. You know, whatever you need to do to make sure you can stay to the end of that game, you stay to the end of that game. I genuinely don't understand why you would leave in those circumstances. Can I ask a question about not about that guy and leaving early, but to Adam and Dad? What was the vibe like with all the like? Did you say goodbye to the people that sat around us? Like what? What was that like? Because obviously you know we're all.
Speaker 2:You assume that most of those people are going to the new stadium but you're not going to be sat together and these are people that you know we've, we've sat with, uh, in some cases, you know, with those people in front of us and a couple of guys behind 30, 35 years, like. So what was that like? Did you you know? Did they say, did you have a chat? Did you say goodbye? Wish you to the world? I saw some people like we're taking photos of the group of people that they sat with and putting them on on social media. Like what was that? Like?
Speaker 1:well, I had a photograph taken with uh, frank, next, next, frank k, elizabeth, yeah, yeah, but strangely enough, you know, there was no grown men crying because they won't see them again. It was, it was. The reality is is that you know they're not your friends. They just happen to be sitting with you and, okay, it's 20, 25 years and that. That. That that showed itself really. You know, at the end people said, well, you know, take care, that's yeah, and off, off, everybody went that was the case.
Speaker 3:That was the case around around us and people, I imagine, maybe because those people possibly see each other around us, like outside of the game, like in the people along the back of us, like the guy, the guy who sits behind us he wasn't actually, he wasn't there.
Speaker 3:Um, he wasn't there, curiously, because I can't remember the last time he wasn't a game that I was at. I was going to say goodbye to him and I said goodbye to Frank and, obviously, pete Lewis, but down below, in the lower Gladys, there were an awful lot of people who were getting stewards to take pictures of them together and at the end, when people were starting to file out, um, people were. You could see people like embracing each other and hugging each other and stuff. So there were obviously a lot. There was an awful lot of that, uh, that was going on, but I think it's fair to say like that, we didn't see an awful lot of that for one reason another, around where we were sat, um, but we, you know, we said bye to the people that, to put it politely, we wanted to say goodbye to, not the arseholes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I was glad to see Umar Niasse had his ultimate final victory over Ronald Koeman in the. Who Matters More? Who Matters More stakes?
Speaker 1:You guys missed out.
Speaker 2:The collection of players was kind of weird, because when they were announcing it was like Thomas.
Speaker 1:Meyra.
Speaker 2:I was like what I think this was. On fact, some of this stuff was like Thomas Meyra was. You know, there's a certain vibe around certain players, right, like Niasse is there because he had this thing with Coombe and he's kind of like folkloric. Right, thomas myra was our first good goalkeeper after neville southwood. Yes, that's why he was there, because, yeah, we struggled after, I mean, south hall had a poor last season, I can't with season it it was, but the, you know, he he was, he was, you know not, he was really not himself. And and then we, you know, we struggled to find a goalkeeper and Thomas Meyer was the first one where we were like, actually we've got a goalkeeper now.
Speaker 2:And then people like Marcus Bent, jermaine Beckford like weird choices in a way, but they scored important goals for us back in the day. So well, not that long ago. You guys did miss out on it. It's worth finding. I think it's on YouTube.
Speaker 2:The pre-match TNT's pre-match stuff was brilliant because Duncan Ferguson kept swearing and they had Peter Reid on and he was pissed. I mean absolutely. At one point all the legends were like walking behind him. It was like before the game and they start saying hello and then he just left. He just peter reese, he's just he's on tv, just walked off, and so the dunker was there. It was really, uh, it was uh, it was really, really, really good.
Speaker 2:Um, all right, what else should we talk about? Should we talk about the new ground? Should we talk about how we're feeling about that? Uh. Should we talk about the, uh, the summer transfer window? Should we talk about, uh, uh, decoria leaving someone suggest the topic. I have no idea. Just before we get onto those topics, the one other dynamic I'd like to mention regarding the five of us, and obviously mum, is all the years we've spent traveling a fair distance just to get to Games at Goodison Park, because obviously we moved to Buxton in 1987 and then went even further away to Mansfield in 1992. So I mean, over that course, of what's that? 28 years? You're talking tens of thousands of miles.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it was a real forward through.
Speaker 2:I mean, I can remember there was one game in the winter, a midweek game in the winter, and we were dad and I were coming back to buxton and we were sort of really in heavy snow, sort of on the a6 between dove holes and buxton, um, and we got back but it, you know, a couple of times when it was a bit iffy and you think of all the bad weather and traffic and all the things we've endured over the years to get there to watch at times was pretty rudimentary, crappy.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God, let's be honest. And when there was 15,000 people there, you just carry on and do it.
Speaker 2:You remind me of one time I mean it wasn't that long ago, maybe, god, I say that long, it might be 20 years ago that, uh, we were driving back from a night game it must have been and it was snowing and we were going over the top through derbyshire you know where it can all get a bit hairy. And I remember, dad, you just got, I think for the first time, like a four by four, like one of the bigger kind of SUVs I don't know which one it was and we ended up, I think you know you just lost at some point where the road was and we ended up sort of off the road having to stop and, adam, you got out the car and jumped into the snow.
Speaker 2:I remember this the snow went up to his face, it went over the top top. Adam nearly disappeared because we were actually over the verge, so he like jumped out and he thought it was like just the ground was there, but it wasn't do you remember the boxing day time?
Speaker 1:it took us about four. Yeah, I do. Do you remember? Because we would go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and remember that was the time when we were stuck in this line of traffic going over the top and we were. We were there for like 40 minutes what is going on? And eventually cars just started going, like going on the wrong side of the road and driving up and we realized that the line of traffic was people who had just stopped at the bottom of this hill because they couldn't get up it. And we were in a 4x4 and were able to do it. But, yeah, I remember that one took us about 4 hours to get home. That was that is my like driving in terms of journeys to Goodison. That's my Goodison driving memory. Yeah, we always did it, no matter how crap the team was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, do you do you remember the? Do you remember the stadium tour we did and getting, um, uh, dad's getting. I remember you getting annoyed and it's now. I'm now embarrassing myself because I can't remember who the tour guide was, and it was Dave Hickson, dave Hickson, thank you. I remember dad got annoyed because dad was like that's Dave, it's Dave Hickson, dave Hickson's getting the tour. And all the way around the tour, there was this woman on the tour who kept going. Oh so you were you involved with Everton then, oh, do you play? And dad was like it's Dave Hickson, it's the cannonball kid how do you not know who Dave Hickson is?
Speaker 2:I had that experience like it was after you guys had done that one. I went with my girlfriend at the time for a tour this would have been about 2004, maybe something like that and I went to reception you know the main stand and they were like, oh yeah, go and wait by the players entrance, which is just by near where the church is, you know on the on it's on, it's in the main stand, but it's on that side. But then and dave will be out, and I was like, okay, some bloke called dave and he opens the door and there was only the two of us on the tour and it's dave hickson and I couldn't fucking believe it. I was like, so dave hickson just showed us around for an hour and a half. It was like it was that was a magic and he was.
Speaker 2:He gave a good tour, dave. But there, yeah, it was, it was fun. And then, of course, we went back last summer, was it last summer? We did a tour with Mark Higgins, who was our, you know, once famously turned up at our house to pick his son up, who I was mates with, and you know he booked and Dad couldn't get his word out Mark.
Speaker 2:Higgins, did he play for man United at the time?
Speaker 1:Was that?
Speaker 2:He'd left Everton right.
Speaker 1:He'd finished with man U by then.
Speaker 2:but yeah, I was just totally starstruck, couldn't speak that happened to me like, as we're talking about interactions with players, you remember the time I met Leighton Baines in London yeah this must have been like 2000 and I don't know, 2015, 16, and I'd gone.
Speaker 2:I'd gone to take a lunch near Embankment and I was stood waiting to get whatever sandwich or whatever. I was picking up and walking up the street by the station was that's leighton baines? That's leighton baines and I'd like all I could. I stopped him. I said, oh, you know, all I could get out of my mouth was I'm a big fan. I mean, I'm a big fan.
Speaker 1:Can I get a photo. That was it I.
Speaker 2:I a man who, literally, like has worked for the deputy prime minister communicates for a living. Literally words on my job. All I could get out of my mouth was I'm a big fan. Could I have a photo? I?
Speaker 2:must have sounded like a total moron, um, but yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, on. On actually talking about baines and col, it was nice that colman got to lead the team out and play. Even though he got in he got injured after 20 minutes, it was. I thought that was good, for you know it was. It was a nice symmetry that he was able to sort of do that and wear the captain's armband and lead the team out. I thought that was good. Yeah, it was. You know, all the players got because did Michael Keane came on, didn't he? Yeah, he came on for Brad's play.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for Brad's play and I think there was a little bit of a, a little bit of a goodbye tour with. So, I think coleman, I think we understand he's going to stay for another year, but the you know, decore and keen, I think you know, got their opportunity to play for the last time, which was nice, because I think I mean decore, I think yesterday, said he was leaving. I'm sure michael keen will as well, because I suspect you know he's right for one of the promoted teams to pay him too much money, michael keenane. So I imagine it will be the last time we see him. Any other thoughts on squad stuff for the summer? I think you know obviously there's going to be a lot of change, but any strong views on what we've seen so far, what we're hearing? Can I pose a question? Should we sign Charlie Alcaraz? Good question Open to the group.
Speaker 1:At 12 million. I think it's a no-brainer yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd agree with that. Yeah, because the fee is so relatively low. Yeah, because even if it doesn't work out, you can probably sell him and get most of that back.
Speaker 1:I think Doge is another question, though, isn't he? What do we think of him?
Speaker 2:I mean he hasn't. I think he's not If he was going to be signable for the kind of money Chelsea will need to get for him, because they are a club without any leeway in terms of what they receive in terms of transfers. He can't be behind Beto in a pecking order. You know which I think he is and and you know because, whether I think you know the DCL better thing's interesting, because I think DCL is probably most people would agree is a better footballer, but I'm not sure he's a better striker actually than Beto.
Speaker 2:I think he was you know Beto was really unlucky against Southampton because he scored two good goals and he was rightly offside in both, but not by much.
Speaker 3:You know so. Yeah we didn't see those on. He didn't show those on Match of the Day, so we sort of knew that he was going to be offside.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the first one half a body offside the second one, it was even less than that. He's a good finisher For me. Brozier, are you signing him where he's going to be knocking around with Beto competing for a team? Chelsea will want £50 million for him, or something.
Speaker 3:We've got an agreement to sign him for £30 million, so it wouldn't be far them. Sorry, adam, go on, but at the same time I think, unfortunately he's done his ACL. He spent a good period of his loan tenure with us, being out with injuries as well. So he's a better player than Pepto and Calvert-Lewin, and he's obviously 21. He's a better player than calvin lewin, um, and he's obviously, you know, 21, 22, I think. Um. So you, you're buying an awful lot of potential there, but it's with the huge risk that he has that he, um, you know, stays fit and I don't think, I don't think we're really in a position to to do that in such an important position. Um, it'd be interesting.
Speaker 2:It depends partly I guess what happens with dcl, which would be interesting, depends partly, I guess, what happens with DCL, which would be interesting for people's views on, and also what happens with that. What's that striker from Ipswich who we are, liam Dillat. Liam Dillat, who has a 30 million release clause and apparently Moyes is very interested in. So you know, brozier might be somewhere on that list, I guess.
Speaker 1:It depends who's top of it. He's going to go to United as well. Apparently, carragher thinks he should sign first. Yeah, yeah yeah. I mean the. Thing.
Speaker 2:I mean I'd love it if we signed Liam de Lappe. I don't think it's necessarily that realistic. I think he'll go to a bigger team. The thing about Brogier is like I was excited when we signed him because I've always thought maybe there was something there.
Speaker 2:But if you took away the name and the hype, right, and the history of being this young player who was potentially this next big star, if you told me we'd signed a player on loan with a release, who spent a lot of the season injured, coming off an ACL injury, hadn't scored a goal, and then we had an option to sign him for £30 million, no one would take that deal. No one would say that was a smart deal. And I think if you, it sounds silly. But if you ignore that he's come from where he's come from in Chelsea and the hype, there's no logical reason why you would do that deal. The one that you might do is go OK, we'll take him on loan again next season and the option to buy is now £15 million. If we like him, you might do that. There's no way we're signing him for anything close to the fee that was built into that way. Because, to Austin's point, I actually don't think.
Speaker 2:I think he's a better footballer. I think you know, we've said this all along and we've sort of been proven to be true. You start Beto for an entire premier league season. He'll score you 15 goals. Because he just gets in the position to score goals like yeah, and so like he makes things happen as well. He's got a bit of an x factor where you can't you know. Is he the most technically accomplished footballer? No. Is he the best finisher? No. Is he the best person who can hold the ball up? No, but stuff happens when he's at the top of the pitch. And just going back to where Liam de Lappe may or may not go, manchester United are three minutes plus injury time away from losing the Europa League final. You've jinxed it, andy.
Speaker 1:Andy, you've done it now, you've done it now.
Speaker 3:Manchester United are so shit.
Speaker 2:They can overcome an Andy jinx Carry on. So de Lappe and other players Now, if they don't win this game, they're obviously, you know, tottenham rescue their season. Man United are just plunged further into crisis. So I think that is going to be a massive factor in determining whether De Lappe and any other player goes there this summer, because they are in such a hole. If they player goes there this summer because they are in such a hole, if they don't win this final, they are in such a hole that, quite frankly, if it's between a choice between Manchester United and Everton, if they're your two options, we will be much more of an attractive option compared to Manchester United, and we may be able to pay him more as well.
Speaker 2:Bizarrely, you know, because I think you know, I don't, I mean, who knows, but I don't think man United's financial situation is conducive to them. You know, giving someone nutso money, yeah, so you know it's, I think it's. It may be. I mean, you're right, I mean what? You know? Where do man United so far? I love the fact that man United are shit. And do you know why I love it?
Speaker 2:because we grew up with all these guys who were like in school who were man United fans oh yeah, oh yeah and I just I love the fact that they've got to take stuff down and there are so many, so many people so many people as well picked them in the 90s and the nought. They were winning loads of stuff and they're stuck with it now. Yeah, the other reason is that. The other reason is that reuben amarin is wearing a blazer over a t-shirt, which is is is a is a is a reason to not support someone at the best of times.
Speaker 2:On the, on the dcl thing, the I would. I would happily have dcl back, but I think he, I think he will want more money than he's actually worth.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Because the perfectly good striker on his day holds the ball up well good link-up play better than Beto in that sense. But outside of that one season with Ancelotti, when has he ever actually been a reliable number nine that you want to pay £100,000 a week for, which is probably what he's like? The rumor was he turned £130,000 down from Newcastle last summer when we were trying to swap him for Minte, because he thought he was worth more. If he's asking prices, it's six figures, not five figures. I think it's a non-starter because I just don't think he's worth that money. I think you could go OK, thanks, dom, we'll have Beto, we'll have Chimiti, we'll bring someone in as a backup to Beto, we're set. Actually, we don't need to pay that amount of money for someone who is injured quite a lot and not prolific when they are playing Because he's a bad finisher, like, yeah, all the plays great, he's a bad finisher.
Speaker 2:Beto is an infinitely better finisher than Calvert-Lewin is. Yeah, yeah, and it depends how you're going to play right, because I think if you're, if you're going to play how Sean Dyche plays, you can't. Beto can't work because you've got you need a target man who can hold the ball up. Beto's not a target man. He's big but he's not a target man. He needs to, he needs chances to finish or he needs to run onto the ball, because he's powerful and scary. He makes defenders do strange things, basically, you know, because I think he just scares the crap out of them. But if you're, if you're not going to need that kind of hold up, play, then what you know, because, right, I think, if you you said it earlier if you play better for a full season, he gets you 15, 16 goals. If you play Calvert-Lewin for a full season, he maybe gets you a few fewer, probably. You know, maybe he brings more other things in, but I think there's kind of a judgment there. How do people feel about Richarlison?
Speaker 2:I'd crawl over hot coals to have that man back too right.
Speaker 3:I think we'd Spurs are likely going to win win the Europa League, but I don't think that is necessarily indicative of the chances of him leaving. I think they're going to have quite a big overhaul over the summer in multiple ways Spurs, but I'd love to have him back. I was saying to dad um on sunday, um, that I think he's a real moise player because moise likes he likes hard-working we, he likes hard-working uh attackers at the skillful attack as we. Like. You know he doesn't accept players who will um where their their work ethic is a sacrifice. Their work ethic is a sacrifice for the, for being more skillful. He wants players to have both and Richarlison is, you know, absolutely top of that sort of list of players.
Speaker 3:Um, and we could get him for, you know, I think 30, 40 million. I mean we sold him for 60. I think that wouldn't be um, yeah, out, um, impossible. And you know, I think 30, 40 million. I mean we sold him for 60. I think that wouldn't be impossible. And you know he's still got. He's in his prime. Is he 27? You know, he's maybe slightly younger than that. I would absolutely love to have a Charlesson back.
Speaker 2:He posts a lot of Everton stuff on his Instagram, put it that way. So I think there's, you know, to whatever extent it makes a difference, I think he'd jump at the chance to come back and play for us, especially if we're not scrapping around at the bottom, which we, you know, really shouldn't be.
Speaker 1:Well, he was a regular for Brazil when he was playing for us, and he hasn't played. He's not even in the squad now. Yeah, he's got to play.
Speaker 2:He's got to play. I think he'll want to play. If you're Spurs and you want to rebuild and everyone's got to think about PSR, he's a saleable. If you were to think about the combination of value of asset and what you can get in terms of money versus how many games that player's going to play, he's a pretty good sale for them. I would say.
Speaker 1:All right, we've got a few minutes left Should we talk about? The.
Speaker 2:Newcastle game? I guess we probably should. So Everton's players have got their flip-flops stapled to their feet by this point, right, because last game at Goodison's gone. We're going to finish 13th Newcastle chasing Champions League football. If they beat us, I think I'm right in saying they're guaranteed to be in the Champions League, so it's a big, biggest game of their season. Uh, ben, start with you. How's this gonna go? Uh, I think we'll lose, I, but I, I really hope we give them a game, because I don't want. I won't use the terms I used on the WhatsApp group, but I don't Because this is public, because this is public.
Speaker 2:I don't want. You're not a fan of the owners of Newcastle. I don't want the people who own Newcastle United to enjoy a modicum of success ever, so I really hope, because they chop journalists up, because they chop journalists up precisely.
Speaker 2:I think, the nature of it the fact that our flip-flops are on and it's the biggest game of their season, I think means that they will win and they are a better team than us. That's why they're dying for the Champions League and we're going to finish 13th. So I think we will lose, probably 2-0. But the thing I would like to see is I'd like to see Chimiti given a few more minutes, because I think there's definitely a player there. I'd like to see how Alcaraz works in that number 10 position now that we've established that Decore is leaving. I don't see any value in playing Decore there, so I'd like to see him use it as an opportunity to try a couple of things out. But short of that, you know I'm not overly fussed about the about, about how we, how we approach it, andy thoughts, yeah, I'd um go along with that. Um.
Speaker 2:I have got no liking for newcastle or any or, or their owners any more than anybody else, but I just and I would love to see them fall flat on their face every single game they play, but this one, I can't see any situation where we get a victory because, let's be honest, we're going to be the least arsed about a game that we've been for years. And it's a good position to be in, because how often in recent years have we had to be very arsed about a game against Bournemouth? It's the last game of the season, so it's great to be in a position where we can go up there and it doesn't matter what happens. We couldn't have finished 13th. It'd be nice to win and you know sort of you know piss on their chips in terms of getting into the Champions League. But I just can't see it happening and I agree with Ben. I think we might lose, possibly 2 or 3-0. Dad, any optimism that we can do better.
Speaker 1:One thing I'm just pleased that we're not playing Arsenal away for the last game of the season. I can't seem to do every season, for some reason. No, I mean, I expect them to get beat, because you know form would say that and everything. I just want them to turn up and you know, to give it a go and to make us feel that they, you know they're not giving up and they're still fighting for something. But I do think we'll get beat. But, as we always, as Evertonians, we live in hope. You never know. I'd be surprised if they do win, adam.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I, like Ben, share the same sentiments. I don't want the under 12s team to win a throw in. And also one thing I hope does sort of motivate the players is that if we were to win, we would equal last season's actual points Tally of 48. And so I don't want Sean Dyer to be sitting in his armchair with his cup of gravel and tea next to him going.
Speaker 2:You know I did better last season than this lot did and yeah, that's another ad motivation speaking of Sean Dyche, if you want to enrage yourself to like a level that I didn't realise I was capable of, he's on the one of the latest episodes of the overlap to like a level that I didn't realize I was capable of.
Speaker 2:He's on the one of the latest episodes of the overlap and it is honestly the most infuriating thing to listen to him talk about his tactics and talk about football and talk about, like you know, he goes on this whole rant about teams who are set up to play a certain way rather than trying to win a game. I'll say that again, sean Dyche complains about other managers setting their teams up not to win games. It is honestly, I don't know what planet he is living on or what he thinks he's doing, but I mean it's interesting because it's always that's a good show and it's interesting to listen to. But like it is infuriating to listen to him talk about like football in the most dinosaur way, like that you could possibly imagine. Totally right, I, I watched that and it's like, oh, you actually are exactly what people say. You are, yeah, like actually he really is. He's just really. He's like you know that simpsons meme where man, old man, shouts at cloud.
Speaker 1:That's basically all right, that's about Dice, though already today, which surprised me, he was the longest serving manager appointed by Moshiri.
Speaker 2:That's nuts, that isn't it.
Speaker 1:That says quite a lot, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Another great starting. Adam, you told us about this earlier that if we'd have had no points on the day Moyes took over, we'd have still stayed up.
Speaker 3:That's how shit. Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester are. Yeah, that was Ben, to give him the credit he's due for that one.
Speaker 2:So, on a happy note, man United have lost. Yay, good luck with that 3-4-3 next year, amaran, because it's not working. The funniest thing that's going to happen now is Spurs are still going to sack Ange. I'm convinced of it. He's going to have won their first trophy in ages and they're going to sack him. It's going to be hilarious. What Ange should do now is, during his post-match interview, just throw his medal into the crowd, mourinho style, and just go. I won a trophy in my second year. Like I said, I would fuck the Lotties, just walk away and walk off.
Speaker 1:And just get a bus to Bilbo.
Speaker 2:Airport. Yeah, you shouldn't even go back to the dressing room. Get in a cab. Airport done, go on holiday. All right, we're going to wrap it up. Thanks for listening. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, we'll be around over the summer not sure what kind of schedule, but we'll definitely be around as we start doing transfers and stuff. So look out for that and then we'll see you. Next season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium come on you. The season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium Come on you.
Speaker 1:The dick on the dock? No, come on, it grows on you. Well done, that's what they do. I don't say that.