Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

The Goodison Roar

By Rick   Tarleton  ::  24/01/2012   33 Comments (»Last) On a slightly different note to the comments I have added to various articles in the last six months...

(By the way, yes, I think Kenwright is a fantasist who is damaging our great club; yes, I think Moyes has lost his way and is far too defensive....)

However, having got that out of the way, let me return to my theme. On Saturday I made my third visit to Goodison this season, I live in Rutland and my pension allows only occasional visits; my other two games were QPR and Wolves. Okay, I agree, not our three best displays, but I'm not talking about how abysmal we are (and Saturday was the pits). What I want to focus on is the crowd.

As a youngster in the 50s and 60s, I attended most games and at one time had a season ticket for the old paddock, the attendences were often in excess of 60,000. Now Goodison was never a cauldron like Anfield or the Boleyn Ground, but it was very noisy. Like the old Highbury stadium which had a similar design, it let you know which team it supported with a vengeance.

The demography of the crowd was very different in those days: many young people, like myself were there, we went most weeks and we'd get there a good hour before the kick-off, so thaat we could claim 'our spec'. There was a tangible excitement in the air.

I know I'm talking of Everton's years of success, but even in the fifties, pre Bobby Collins, the atmosphere was one of humour, we almost laughed at the succession of useless left-wingers we bought before Tommy Ring showed us what a winger could do.

But this season, the crowd has been moribund, hardly a cheer, no chants and the atmosphere is so tense. We expect failure.

It's an old crowd: most of the people I see are more my age (over 60) than youngsters. They look at each other and grin, shaking their heads at yet another useless punt to inadequate strikers; they are resigned to a midfield that moves in crablike, predictable fashion; and they expect Neville to make at least one howler a game and to fail to find a man consistently.

Our best players are our defenders: Baines (and even he looked bored on Saturday), Distin, Duffy and on Saturday Heitinga was very good. The football does not move the crowd and the crowd fails to rouse the team.

I have London friends and I've occasionally attended Everton games sitting with them at Chelsea and Arsenal; their crowds have obviously had a lot more to cheer about than the Goodison faithful, but it's a different demography: younger, more demanding, and noisier.

Apart from the booing at the end, we didn't even bother to show our disgruntlement, and my gruntle was well dissed. That mood of moribund resignation suggested a club in decline and supporters who feel helpless to stop that decline.

If Kenwright has any sensitivity at all ? and, remember, he is an ACTOR ? he must realise that the greatest condemnation of his reign is the death of the Goodison Roar; that is the sign of the despair of Evertonians.

The future looks as bleak as I've ever seen at Goodison and I can go back to the old Second Division days; even in Walter Smith's worst days there was anger, not this silent despair.

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