My Top 5 Goodison Park Memories

The news we have all been waiting for has finally been confirmed. Everton's new stadium at Bramley Moore dock has now received the seal of approval from the government, paving the way for work to eventually commence of the club's new 52,000 seater stadium.

Of course, it has long been a fact that from a commercial point of view Goodison Park as a stadium has held us back. The new stadium at Bramley Moore will bring in additional revenue due to increased capacity and sponsorship and will also bring us alongside other Premier League clubs in being able to host other events, such as concerts, outside of the football season.

There is no doubt that a stadium move is what Everton needs to take us to the next level as a club off the pitch, hence why when Farhad Moshiri came into the club in 2016 he made it his number one priority.

Sentimentally though, I can't yet bring myself to think about what life will be like as an Evertonian without Goodison Park. The Grand Old Lady has given me (and I'm sure a lot of people reading this) some of the best and most cherished moments of my life, so much so that I really don't know what to expect emotionally when the time comes for us to attend one last game.

The current international break has given me some time to reflect on my own experiences of Goodison Park and I have come up with what I consider to be my top 5 memories. There were so many I could have picked but here is what I have gone with in reverse order. Have a read and see how they compare with your own. I would love to hear from as many of you as possible with your own memories, please send them in!

5. Everton 1 Man Utd 0 2012

Many of you I'm sure would have the Duncan Ferguson game v United ahead of this particular game. Unfortunately I was not at the Big Dunc game so couldn't include it in my top 5. The game in 2012 was up there for me though - for the result, the performance (of one big haired Belgian in particular) and the atmosphere.

I'd seen us play and be beaten by Man Utd a couple of times prior to this and so I was not confident at all going into this one. It was the first game of the season and the media narrative before the game was completely focussed on how United would go about winning their title back from Man City who had won the league the previous season, and also how their new star man Robin Van Persie would do.

As it was, Everton spoiled the party, with Marouane Fellaini putting in maybe his best performance in an Everton shirt. That season Fellaini was outstanding - I remember arguing with my Liverpool fan mates that he was good enough to play for any team in the world - and this game he was the best player on the pitch by a country mile.

It was the perfect start to the season for us and set us on our way to another 6th place finish under David Moyes.

4. Fiorentina

Quite simply the best atmosphere I've ever seen at Goodison Park.

There were other European nights that could have made the cut - watching us play in the Champions League qualifier against eventual semi finalists Villareal a particular highlight - but Fiorentina was the one.

We lost the first leg of our 2008 Round of 16 tie with the Italians 2-0 away, so we had it all to do in the return game at Goodison Park.

I don't need to go into detail in terms of the match itself as we all know how it panned out. Instead I will give you my two overriding memories from the game - both atmosphere-related.

The first was during the penalty shootout. Thomas Gravesen had scored our first spot kick and then up stepped Yakubu. I remember the whole ground in unison singing "feed the Yak" as he walked from the half way line to the penalty spot to take his kick. I remember being in my seat just thinking this is it. The way the game had gone to that point, it was as if we were destined to win. It was our night.

And then the Yak hit the post.

My main memory from the night though, I'm sure you've guessed, is the Arteta goal and the celebrations afterwards. It was like nothing I had ever seen before or since. I was in the Lower Glwadys for the game, and I can remember eventually pausing for breath and looking over to the Bullens Road and I swear I could see the stand shaking. It was immense.

The fact that we ended up being dumped out of the competition on penalties obviously puts a downer on this game, but there was no question of it being in my top 5 Goodison memories.

3. First win - Everton 4 Leeds 0

So when I first started going to Everton games with my dad in the 90s, we didn't have season tickets as my dad often worked weekends. As a result, we would just go to the odd few games a season when my dad was off work and had the money to take me.

Unfortunately for me, this, coupled with the fact that Everton weren't actually very good in the 90s, meant that I had to wait a number of seasons before I went to a game that Everton actually won!

Having seen us get beat by teams like Blackburn, Southampton (Kevin Davies ran from pretty much the half way line to score in this game - that's how bad we were), Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa among others, I finally saw us win in the 2003-4 season when Leeds United came to town.

Leeds had been one of the strongest teams in the division up until this point, but this was the season that their stay in the Premier League came to an end. Everton didn't do much better mind, finishing 17th, but this game was one of the highlights of an otherwise forgetful season.

I just remember being elated at the fact that I'd finally seen us win a game after 7 years of going to games and amazed that I'd witnessed one of our players score a hattrick, let alone defender-come-attacker Steve Watson.

It was a great win, my first win and a worthy entry to my top 5.

2. Everton 1 Liverpool 0 FA Cup 4th Round Replay

The Dan Gosling Derby. What more to say about this game, other than to say I'm glad I was at the match and not watching on ITV!

Weirdly, my main memory from this game isn't the goal. I mean, the goal was amazing wasn't it. Beating Liverpool is good enough at the best of times but doing it in extra time of an FA Cup tie was something else.

My dad and I had moved from our usual seats for this game and sat in the Main Stand directly opposite the Liverpool fans. I remember settling after the celebrations and looking across the pitch to see the away end completely empty!

But my main memory from this game, rightly or wrongly, is the feeling I had when Steven Gerrard went off injured. That immense feeling of "we'll win this". That feeling doesn't come often for me in derby games, but when it does it is a feeling to savour.

1. First game - Everton 0 Blackburn 2

How could I have any other game as my top Goodison Park memory?

New Year's Day 1997.

That feeling of going to Goodison for the first time is absolutely priceless. The walk along Walton Lane with the sight of the stadium in the distance. The crowds of people in the surrounding streets, all in Everton blue. The strange smelling combination of fish and chips and horse muck. The sight of the pitch glistening under the floodlights. Hearing Z Cars for the first time. Seeing the players in real life who I idolised and had only ever existed to me on television or in my sticker books.

The fact that we were 2-0 down at half time, lost the game and got booed off was absolutely immaterial.

I'm sure the things I'm describing will resonate with many people reading this. It is why leaving Goodison is going to be so emotional for everyone and for all sorts of different reasons.

Whilst I understand and can appreciate that moving to Bramley Moore is both right and necessary for Everton as a football club, when the lights go out at Goodison Park for the last time I for one will have an extremely heavy heart.

Oh and for those of you who don't believe me, here's that Kevin Davies goal I mentioned earlier!