Alan Pardew highlighted the one thing he disliked about Goodison Park following Everton’s farewell victory against Southampton.
The end of an era is now upon us following Everton’s 2-0 victory at home to Southampton on Sunday afternoon, with a move to Bramley-Moore now pending.
Dating back to 1892, the Toffees have called Goodison Park their home, but the clash with the Saints was the last Premier League game to be played there before it becomes the home of Everton Women.
Everton are ready for bigger and better things at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and it’s quite evident what Pardew wants the Toffees to improve.
Goodison Park was an intimidating place to visit
Results over the last few years may not have shown it, but Goodison Park was a very tough place to play your football as an opposition player.
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The atmosphere was electric, and because of how close the stands were to the pitch, Everton fans had a real part to play in each and every home game.
Everton groundCapacityThe difference in capacity between Everton’s current and new ground.
Pardew recognised that, both as a player and a manager, but when speaking on talkSPORT (18 May), he highlighted the one thing he won’t miss from Goodison: the changing rooms.
Pardew said: “As a manager, it’s a disaster. The changing room is about as big as this [talkSPORT] studio. You just have no room, it’s ridiculous.
“You’re trying to get like 40 people in a room that is about eight feet square, so I always felt as though that was an advantage for them.”
Everton’s new ground will house over 13,000 more seats, and more than likely, a bigger changing room to keep Pardew happy.
Everton ready to progress on and off the pitch
Everton’s move to Bramley-Moore marks the start of a new era on Merseyside, and it will hopefully be one that brings a lot more success than the last few seasons have.
The Toffees have the facilities and capabilities to challenge much higher up the table, and their ability to do that in the new campaign may be decided by what happens in the summer.
Recruitment is going to be crucial for Everton in the coming months, and if they get it right, next season could be a very exciting one to be involved in.
