Premier League
Everton’s Goodison Park set for emotional last Merseyside derby
Goodison Park, home of Everton since 1892, plays host to the Merseyside derby for the final time on Feb 12 as the Toffees aim to derail Liverpool’s English Premier League title charge.
Everton will move to a new state-of-the-art 53,000-capacity ground on Liverpool’s Bramley Moore Dock next season when they finally leave behind England’s first major football stadium.
The origins of Goodison gave birth to the rivalry between the city’s two clubs.
Everton, formed in 1878, once called Anfield their home before a dispute over rent between their landlord John Houlding and the club’s board. Rather than meet Houlding’s demands, Everton moved to new land just across Stanley Park little more than half a mile away.
Left with a stadium but no team, Houlding, a local businessman and politician, decided to form his own – Liverpool.
Goodison was a ground-breaking development. It twice hosted the FA Cup final in 1894 and 1910 and allowed Everton to become the richest club in England at the time thanks to bumper crowds.
“Behold Goodison Park!” The Out of Doors publication reported in October 1892.
“No single picture could take in the entire scene the ground presents, it is so magnificently large.”
A series of developments ensured it remained among England’s leading stadia for over a century, playing host to more games than anywhere but Wembley during the Three Lions’ World Cup triumph in 1966.
Everton’s golden era arrived in the 1980s, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup between 1984 and 1987.
They still sit fifth for most English top-flight titles, behind only Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. But the last of those came 38 years ago and Everton have not won a trophy since the 1995 FA Cup.
“It’s a place that is steeped in history. You can feel it and that brings that added bit of bite to the atmosphere,” Peter MacFarlane of Everton fan podcast The Blue Room told AFP.
“As an Evertonian there aren’t many people who follow us because they are glory hunters, especially over the past 30 years. We go there because we love the football club and that translates from us into Goodison. It’s not just any game, it means a lot to us, especially the derby!”
The club’s grand old ground has mirrored the decline on the pitch.
At the time of the latest major development, with the opening of the Park End stand in 1994 to bring the capacity to 40,000, it was only surpassed by Old Trafford and Anfield. Now it sits 12th.
But as Everton have battled relegation over the past three seasons, the Goodison atmosphere has been crucial to maintaining a 71-year uninterrupted stay in the top flight.
The return of David Moyes as manager in January has steered the team towards safety once more and hope for a fresh start in a new home.
“We’ll all miss Goodison. It is where my grandad went, my dad went, it is all we know, but it is time to move on,” added MacFarlane. “It doesn’t matter where Everton play, Evertonians will still be there.”
A long and emotional goodbye has only seven games to go.
Putting a spanner in the works of leaders Liverpool’s bid to match United’s record of 20 English titles would be the perfect farewell for long-suffering Toffees fans.
Jarrad Branthwaite, for one, has said that Everton must go into the final Goodison Park derby believing they can win.
“It is the Merseyside derby, another game that we are looking to win, that’s it,” the Toffees’ defender told beIN Sports.
“If you build it up too much then you can fall under pressure, so I think for us as players, we are going into it with the belief that we can get a result like last season (2-0 win).
“The fans they create the atmosphere for us to go out there and do a job. We need to go out and perform.”
-AFP
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Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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