Everton – The News Desk

29Dec

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The football stadiums that never were

Peter Storrie can remember visiting the London studio of Herzog & de Meuron, the renowned Swiss architects, and being shown a striking vision of Portsmouth’s future.“It was something else,” he tells The Athletic. “They put it up on the screen for us and it certainly had the wow factor.”This was 2007 and the ambitious plans were for a new 36,000-capacity stadium on the city’s docks. Storrie, then chief executive, had accepted that Portsmouth would need to leave Fratton Park, the club’s home since 1899, and a proposed relocation could hardly have been more impressive.Located in between the Spinnaker Tower and the historic naval base, a £600million waterfront project that would include apartments and restaurants promised a transformational impact.“This will be the most spectacular stadiu...

Why are football stadiums so expensive to build?

30Nov

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Why are football stadiums so expensive to build?

Manchester United and Chelsea share a problem they cannot hope to run away from. Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge might be able to narrate storied chapters of the Premier League’s history, but neither can project a compelling future.At least not in their current states. The famous homes of Manchester United and Chelsea have become weights that threaten to hold back their owners. They are not fit for an elite long-term purpose.The day the first bulldozers come rumbling over the horizon might not be imminent, but it has become inevitable. There is an acceptance of that reality, even from those with the onerous task of funding it all.The Premier League’s landscape will soon be modernising elsewhere, too.Plans are afoot for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Manchester City to...

Everton 0 Manchester United 3: Was Garnacho’s overhead kick Premier League’s greatest?

29Nov

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Everton 0 Manchester United 3: Was Garnacho’s overhead kick Premier League’s greatest?

Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning overhead kick helped Manchester United maintain their status as the Premier League’s form team with victory over Everton at a feisty Goodison Park.Everton supporters staged protests against the club’s 10-point deduction before and during the game, holding up posters saying “corrupt” before kick off and in the 10th minute.After being stunned by Garnacho’s acrobatic opener, Everton carried the greater attacking threat but went 2-0 down when Ashley Young fouled Anthony Martial in the box (VAR Chris Kavanagh prompted referee John Brooks to review his decision to book the United striker for a dive) and Marcus Rashford (not Bruno Fernandes) converted the penalty.Martial scored his ninth goal against Everton for United’s third in the game to ensure a first Premier L...

It’s reckless Premier League owners who deserve punishment – not fans or communities

27Nov

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It’s reckless Premier League owners who deserve punishment – not fans or communities

Ahead of Wednesday’s autumn statement – one of the UK government’s two annual ‘fiscal events’ where budgets are decided – Liverpool’s council leader, Liam Robinson, and his deputy, finance chief Ruth Bennett, told the nation’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt that without immediate help, the city’s local authority would have to slash more services.Since 2010, the Conservatives have cut funding to Liverpool by £314million ($393m), a fall of 56 per cent based on what it used to get under Labour’s government, which ended in 2010. Robinson and Bennett reminded the chancellor that during the same period, prosperous areas of the country have had their funding reduced by just three per cent.Their letter also suggested this policy was “unsustainable”, warning that a number of councils – no...

Every Premier League club’s stadium plans – from new stands to ground moves

23Nov

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Every Premier League club’s stadium plans – from new stands to ground moves

As the Premier League gets bigger and bigger, so – it seems – do the stadiums that play host to it.The vast majority of clubs in the top flight have either drawn up plans to expand their grounds to service the overwhelming demand or are poised to open gleaming new stands – or, in some cases, open new stadiums altogether.Here, our experts guide you through what each club has done to their home ground and what could come next, plus how we rated each stadium in our rankings published last month.Arsenal: Emirates StadiumCurrent capacity: 60,704What The Athletic said: “The Emirates has its critics, but it now delivers the atmosphere, facilities, accessibility and product any sports fan would expect from the Premier League.”The Athletic ranking: 4thWhen was the last redevelopment work done? Ars...

Bad language, worse jokes and riot police: What really happens in the tunnel

3Nov

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Bad language, worse jokes and riot police: What really happens in the tunnel

“I’ll see you in the tunnel.”There was a time when that was more than a throwaway line on the pitch, even if some players found a way to make sure that they never showed up.“One of my standard challenges was to (jump and) head the ball and put my studs down someone’s back — which you’d get sent off for now,” Liam Ridgewell, the former Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Portland Timbers defender, tells The Athletic. “I did it to the late, great Papa Bouba Diop at Fulham.”Ridgewell, now a coach with MLS side Portland, pauses as he thinks back to what happened next.“You know that GIF when Jim Carrey wipes his mouth and changes his demeanour? Well, Bouba Diop turned around, rubbed his back and went: ‘What. Did. You. Just. Do?’ And I thought: ‘S—.’“He said: ‘I’ll see you in...

John Barnes and a banana: The story behind English football’s most notorious photo

19Oct

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John Barnes and a banana: The story behind English football’s most notorious photo

This article is part of The Athletic’s series celebrating UK Black History Month. You can find the full series here.Bob Thomas had no idea he was about to take an era-defining photograph.When he set off from his home in Northamptonshire bound for the Merseyside derby in February 1988, his focus was simply on capturing an almighty sporting tussle between the two most successful football clubs of the decade.Everton, as reigning First Division champions, had won the title in two of the previous three seasons; Liverpool had claimed the other, having dominated English football in the 10 years before that.Thomas liked to arrive early. For a 3pm kick-off, he would be settled two hours before. He considered Everton’s Goodison Park an awkward venue for angles, depending on the light. His favourite...

Premier League stadium rankings: All 20 from worst to best – so you could shout at us

19Oct

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Premier League stadium rankings: All 20 from worst to best – so you could shout at us

Welcome to The Athletic’s Premier League stadium rankings, an exercise in entertainment, creating arguments nobody can win and questionable mathematics.Before we start, we should beg for forgiveness. This is an almost impossible task and however we choose categories, weight categories and then mark the teams is going to annoy you. It’s a subjective topic and there isn’t a right answer.All we ask is that you know we have put far too many hours into all this, tried to make it as fair as possible, and are not deliberately trying to upset anyone.So take a seat — or stand, if you prefer — maybe get one of those squeezy stress balls and enjoy. Hey, you might even agree with some of it.Coming to this order has been a long, methodical process involving a working group that broke the scoring into ...