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Goodison Park tunnel revamped as feel-good factor sweeps through Everton
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE)
Frank Lampard during the Everton Training Session at Goodison Park on October 27, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
It is a walk Everton players make countless times every season.
From the home dressing room in Goodison’s inner sanctum, a narrow corridor snakes left towards a set of steps leading to the dugout and pitch areas.
For decades, that walk has largely remained the same for home players. Security staff gathered to the right behind a small partition as they exit the dressing room with a backdrop featuring the logos of club sponsors for broadcast interviews on the other side. Then there is a similar billboard as the corridor twists left towards the tunnel. And, finally, before a set of steps, an overhead sign that reads: Goodison Park, home of the Blues.
But Everton’s players will have noticed some changes when they trained at Goodison last Thursday ahead of the draw with Fulham. The usually bare blue and white walls in the tunnel had been decorated with banners and evocative images showing some of the key moments in the club’s history.
It is understood manager Frank Lampard, director of football Kevin Thelwell, chairman Bill Kenwright and fan group The 1878s were all consulted by the club’s marketing team as part of the revamp of the Goodison tunnel area.
The aim was to tap into a new sense of momentum around the club.
There has been a different feel around Everton since the final months of last season. The adversity of a relegation battle proved a galvanising force and created unity, while the appointment of Lampard and a succession of new signings have helped heal some of the bonds fractured during Rafael Benitez’s time at the club.
Everton have looked to find ways to build on that connection ever since, with one idea to take the passion from the stands inside the players’ tunnel. They included first-team performance analysis lead Matty Hawkes, Lampard, Thelwell and Kenwright in their initial consultation, with the 1878s group then asked to identify particular images that would resonate most.
Set up last February with a view to improving the atmosphere at Goodison, the 1878s meet regularly with club officials. They were responsible for the introduction of the siren played before the theme from cult TV show Z-Cars and also helped arrange for supporters to be able to bring banners inside the stadium for the win over Leeds and the subsequent run of matches. For Premier League games, every banner must have its own fire safety certificate but here they were actively encouraged, with the process facilitated by club officials.
In the final months of the season, the 1878s created a pre-match playlist for home games, which was shared with players for feedback. All of the Lights, then a dressing room favourite, was played immediately before kick-off in crunch games last season on the request of the players.
This time, it was felt by the group that the tunnel images should remind players not only of Everton’s storied history but also their enduring responsibility to the fans that follow them every week.
The images chosen reflected the club’s past and present: a road sign for the Gwladys Street end; a picture of the iconic Toffee Lady who throws sweets into the stand before games in a tradition that dates back to the 1950s; banners of the songs We are the famous EFC and Marching down the Goodison Road, and the Everton the Gear flag from the 3-2 FA Cup final win over Sheffield Wednesday in 1966.
Even though the move to a new stadium close to the River Mersey is now only a few years away, the experience of Goodison — its sights, sounds and smells — continues to be a selling point.
Some prospective new signings have been sent videos by the club showcasing what it is like to play for Everton and highlighting the atmosphere on match days. Many of the images in the montage used were from the end of last season. Together with phone calls from Lampard, it has proven to be a highly persuasive tactic.
Conor Coady and James Tarkowski were among the summer signings to reference last season’s scenes after joining over the summer.
“When I first came, I wanted to be part of the bus welcomes,” Coady told Everton’s official channel recently, referring to how the Everton team coach is greeted by fans before games. “It’s something every new signing mentions when they join. It’s surreal. A pinch-me moment. You can’t see past your hands because of the blue smoke. It gives you goosebumps and that’s what you want to be a part of.
“It’s hard to describe that feeling but you know something’s coming together for the club.”
His central defensive partner Tarkowski spoke of watching bus welcomes last season as a Burnley player while the two clubs battled relegation.
“The support the fans gave the team last season was incredible,” he said. “You saw just how big the fanbase is. Despite a difficult season, Everton fans got behind their team more than ever. I think they are a massive factor about this club.”
The focus from Lampard and his staff has been on improving the culture at Everton. They have looked to be inclusive, meeting fan groups at Goodison and members of staff at the Liver Buildings headquarters. New signings needed to fit into that same ethos.
Prominent figures at the club have spoken of a buzz not seen since the end of David Moyes’ tenure. Others reference the healing process that has taken place over the past year.
The distance travelled in such a short space of time is impressive. Goodison is a happier, more unified place now and the new tunnel is meant to be the visual representation of that.
A valuable lesson has been learned in the past 18 months: without cohesion across all levels, success is hard to achieve.
In that sense, Everton finally appear to have turned a page.
Goodison Park tunnel revamped as feel-good factor sweeps through Everton
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE)
Frank Lampard during the Everton Training Session at Goodison Park on October 27, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
It is a walk Everton players make countless times every season.
From the home dressing room in Goodison’s inner sanctum, a narrow corridor snakes left towards a set of steps leading to the dugout and pitch areas.
For decades, that walk has largely remained the same for home players. Security staff gathered to the right behind a small partition as they exit the dressing room with a backdrop featuring the logos of club sponsors for broadcast interviews on the other side. Then there is a similar billboard as the corridor twists left towards the tunnel. And, finally, before a set of steps, an overhead sign that reads: Goodison Park, home of the Blues.
But Everton’s players will have noticed some changes when they trained at Goodison last Thursday ahead of the draw with Fulham. The usually bare blue and white walls in the tunnel had been decorated with banners and evocative images showing some of the key moments in the club’s history.
It is understood manager Frank Lampard, director of football Kevin Thelwell, chairman Bill Kenwright and fan group The 1878s were all consulted by the club’s marketing team as part of the revamp of the Goodison tunnel area.
The aim was to tap into a new sense of momentum around the club.
There has been a different feel around Everton since the final months of last season. The adversity of a relegation battle proved a galvanising force and created unity, while the appointment of Lampard and a succession of new signings have helped heal some of the bonds fractured during Rafael Benitez’s time at the club.
Everton have looked to find ways to build on that connection ever since, with one idea to take the passion from the stands inside the players’ tunnel. They included first-team performance analysis lead Matty Hawkes, Lampard, Thelwell and Kenwright in their initial consultation, with the 1878s group then asked to identify particular images that would resonate most.
Set up last February with a view to improving the atmosphere at Goodison, the 1878s meet regularly with club officials. They were responsible for the introduction of the siren played before the theme from cult TV show Z-Cars and also helped arrange for supporters to be able to bring banners inside the stadium for the win over Leeds and the subsequent run of matches. For Premier League games, every banner must have its own fire safety certificate but here they were actively encouraged, with the process facilitated by club officials.
In the final months of the season, the 1878s created a pre-match playlist for home games, which was shared with players for feedback. All of the Lights, then a dressing room favourite, was played immediately before kick-off in crunch games last season on the request of the players.
This time, it was felt by the group that the tunnel images should remind players not only of Everton’s storied history but also their enduring responsibility to the fans that follow them every week.
The images chosen reflected the club’s past and present: a road sign for the Gwladys Street end; a picture of the iconic Toffee Lady who throws sweets into the stand before games in a tradition that dates back to the 1950s; banners of the songs We are the famous EFC and Marching down the Goodison Road, and the Everton the Gear flag from the 3-2 FA Cup final win over Sheffield Wednesday in 1966.
Even though the move to a new stadium close to the River Mersey is now only a few years away, the experience of Goodison — its sights, sounds and smells — continues to be a selling point.
Some prospective new signings have been sent videos by the club showcasing what it is like to play for Everton and highlighting the atmosphere on match days. Many of the images in the montage used were from the end of last season. Together with phone calls from Lampard, it has proven to be a highly persuasive tactic.
Conor Coady and James Tarkowski were among the summer signings to reference last season’s scenes after joining over the summer.
“When I first came, I wanted to be part of the bus welcomes,” Coady told Everton’s official channel recently, referring to how the Everton team coach is greeted by fans before games. “It’s something every new signing mentions when they join. It’s surreal. A pinch-me moment. You can’t see past your hands because of the blue smoke. It gives you goosebumps and that’s what you want to be a part of.
“It’s hard to describe that feeling but you know something’s coming together for the club.”
His central defensive partner Tarkowski spoke of watching bus welcomes last season as a Burnley player while the two clubs battled relegation.
“The support the fans gave the team last season was incredible,” he said. “You saw just how big the fanbase is. Despite a difficult season, Everton fans got behind their team more than ever. I think they are a massive factor about this club.”
The focus from Lampard and his staff has been on improving the culture at Everton. They have looked to be inclusive, meeting fan groups at Goodison and members of staff at the Liver Buildings headquarters. New signings needed to fit into that same ethos.
Prominent figures at the club have spoken of a buzz not seen since the end of David Moyes’ tenure. Others reference the healing process that has taken place over the past year.
The distance travelled in such a short space of time is impressive. Goodison is a happier, more unified place now and the new tunnel is meant to be the visual representation of that.
A valuable lesson has been learned in the past 18 months: without cohesion across all levels, success is hard to achieve.
In that sense, Everton finally appear to have turned a page.
