The Opening of Goodison Park

It makes you proud and stronger than ever to be an Evertonian, the mythical but superbly true commitment of Evertonians, last season, but also over the last 50 years, in retrospect, has made the difference, in terms of survival, at tough times, in the 1st Division and Premier League.

Some things change: "Lord Kinnaird['s]...object...was to. not to allow [the game] to play second fiddle, even to cricket".

Some things remain the same: "...it was his endeavour to save the game from the taint of rowdyism and betting".

I'd suggest there's a degree of correlation between the relative demise of cricket and the increase in rowdyism over the past few decades, but hey.

I love pieces like this. They are an important part of our social history and take me back to my first visit to Goodison back in the early sixties.

I was thinking the same as you Steve, re the taint of “rowdyism and betting”. Some things never change.

Your link to the demise of cricket and rowdyism may be valid, but not so sure about betting, Hanse Cronje? IPL scandals?

No doubt over the next couple of years, we will all look back on the memories of our respective generations...

Many of them are the small things. Being tied to and then tieing my brother to the Gwladys Street ledge with a scarf. Being checked up on and checking at half-time to see if all is okay and hand him a sausage roll and one of those awful cheap cartons of orange juice.

I'm sure many more memories will come out as we head to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock to make more memories.

Hi Danny [8] I have "One or two"? books that I can turn to when needed, I find little reason to log on to 'Google'. I've just discovered that Lord Kinnaird, in his playing days captained Old Etonian's and played in nine Cup Finals between 1872 and 1883, gaining five winners medals.

My 'Young Lady' keeps asking, when are you going to get rid of this junk? she obviously doesn't understand. You would think that after 63 years, [59 of which we have been man and wife] she would, but it's a strange world.

My good lady just looks at me in despair and shakes her head when I go on one of my rants or emotional recounts baked in nostalgia.

As for my I'd Rather Walk Alone tee-shirt. That gets me a red card and dismissal from the field of conversation.

There's a saying that there's 'no future in nostalgia', but I don't buy into that. It's my opinion that nostalgia will be around forever and a day. I believe that today's events are tomorrow's nostalgia, whether it be of good memories or bad. I have memories of both good and not so good experiences, but then if I'm correct in my belief, so will everybody else.

The first time I set foot on Goodison was 1970 when Everton won the 1st Division title. Not being local, I came by car and parked in the back streets. One thing I remember was three young boys ran up and said "Can we mind your car, mister?" I gave them a £1, it still makes me smile.

One thing that doesn't, how were Liverpool FC allowed to call themselves Liverpool, the club should have objected when the reds were formed. It still rankles with me now.

I think when Everton left Anfield, John Houlding wanted to form a team called Everton Athletic. I think there was objections to this, as the Everton board, or whoever, didn't want two teams with similar names, and so the team that we know today as the RS became the RS!!

I think that gives them a suffix. And a more appropriate name.

We are Everton.

My Granddad, and a friend who I never learned the name of, we just knew him as "Old Mac", could go back as far as Jack and Bert Sharp, the Balmer brothers Robert and Walter, Harry Makepeace, and Alex [Sandy]Young.

My uncles used to talk of the 20s and 30s and their stories of Dixie Dean, Alec Troup, Jock Thompson, and Warney Cresswell captivated me, my uncle Tommy 'waxed lyrical' when describing the half-back trio of Albert Virr, Hunter Hart, and Jerry Kelly. Hunter Hart played with one eye, the result of a childhood accident. There were many others but too many to discuss at the moment, maybe at some other time.

Hi Raymond [15] as Barry [13] said, the Liverpool contingent attempted to register as Everton, but were prevented from doing so.

After Houlding decided upon 'Liverpool', it brought an immediate objection from the existing Liverpool Football Club (the rugby team - formed in 1857). Sadly it was determined that there was no conflict, and the objection was dismissed.

It's a shame that the footballers haven't buggered off to St Helens to play, like the rugby players now have.

FFS, and Blackpool. See what you've started, Nick.

History is what makes us what we are today; in Liverpool's case, unscrupulous.

Raymond #26.

When the original Liverpool Football Club (the rugby union club) objected to Houlding stealing their name (after his unsuccessful attempt to steal our name), a compromise was reached. Houlding named his new club The Liverpool Football and Athletic Club.

I thought that this thread had run its course, but you are correct in saying that Houlding named his new club 'The Liverpool Football and Athletic Club. A portion of Football on Merseyside by Percy M Young reads:

"On January 25, 1892, a large majority at Everton (while the club was occupied in a High Court action in Glasgow concerning Dan Doyle's breaking of contract during the previous season) threw out Houlding's proposition, whereupon the club was given notice to quit, and Houlding registered his Everton Football Club and Athletic Grounds Company Limited, with himself, R.E. Berry, A Nesbitt, William Houlding, J. J. Ramsay, J. Derwent, W.F. Evans, and John McKenna as sponsors. At this juncture it seemed that before long Liverpool would be blessed with two football teams, each styled Everton."

Allegedly; It was just after its completion that the aftermatch announced attendance figures started going into the realms of fantasy, eg, ¾ full by eye, say mid 40s... came out as 34,567.

Some times in those post-Championship days of dire, replacement players, performances, results, to accompaniment of a sky full of flying cushions (I miss those), it was the only thing to make you smile as you left the ground...

"34,000? Get to fuck!!".

Chelsea done well to integrate that stand into their now modern stadium. It was the only stand they had. And like you say, build it at the time without obstructive posts.

I would also say Newcastle has done similar. Their only original stand that had any credit of what was a nothing stadium still forms part of a much-transformed stadium.

What is it or was it with Goodison and posts?

The Park End was a missed opportunity but we would still have had to sort out the rest of the ground to make it a modern stadium.

It was either do what Tottenham done; build on site but swivel. Easy for them as they played at Wembley when the construction was going on. Where would we have gone? Possibly the Etihad as I think Old Trafford is a No and, let's face it, we are not playing home fixtures on our original ground as it is now tainted soil by Lucifer himself.

We've made our choice and it's going to be iconic. Especially when we parade our 10th league title around Bramley-Moore Dock.

While John Moores was Chairman (1960-65), we did pretty well. We won the league in 1970 but sod all else. We then sold Alan Ball who went on to become an Arsenal (a direct competitor to us, having just won the double) legend.

Alchemy, personified by "The Dome", unexpectedly descended on us in the mid-'80s to our collective but all too brief delirium as a result of the Heysel atrocity.

That board though, headed by Thatcher-ass-kisser Sir Philip Carter (and we have a stand named after him!?) then totally failed to progress the club when the Premier League was incepted.

Quite soon a total no-mark shyster acquired alleged "leadership" of us and nigh on 30 years of drudgery has ensued ever since.

And yet our current (alleged) owner now seeks to draw support for his/our "enterprise" by citing "the thorough strategic review" conducted by that same no-mark shyster into his own abject failure.

God give me strength.