Lasting effect of Stadium switch

Jul 19 2007 Blue Watch by Mark O'Brien, Liverpool Daily Post

THERE’S a scene in the Simpsons where a logging company makes a presentation regarding its plans to cut down a local conservation area.

Their ‘before’ slide shows a dense, dark forest filled with spiders’ webs and the staring eyes of terrifying wild beasts.

The ‘after’ picture, showing the same area after deforestation, has a rainbow in the background and cute bunnies and racoons picnicking happily at tables made from the tree stumps.

It seems more than likely that Everton will be employing the same public relations tactics in the build up to the ballot in August regarding the proposed ground move to Kirkby.

By agreeing to a vote for something that they believe is an utter no-brainer, the club have put themselves in a position where they need to now go on a major publicity offensive to ensure that they get the mandate they desire.

In truth, they might as well cut to the chase and offer the following alternatives on the voting papers:

A) Are you a Luddite who wishes to see us fall further behind the other lot over there, who have already spent a zillion pounds on players this summer while we’ve only managed Phil Jagielka? If so, please tick here.

This option could be accompanied by an artist’s impression of an almost deserted Goodison in ten years’ time, with jagged pieces of masonry falling from the Top Balcony.

B) Do you wish to see someone else pay for us to get a smart new stadium like the one in Cologne? If so, please tick here.

The picture here, of course, would be of the arena in Cologne, except in blue, and probably with the Everton team parading the league trophy, no, let’s make it the Champions League, around the pitch.

The idea of the once unthinkable, of leaving Goodison, was accepted by a lot of fans a long time ago. Since then it has just been a matter of the club finding the best way of making it happen.

Many will feel that their golden opportunity was missed when they failed to become part of the city’s skyline at the King’s Dock, but the powers that be obviously believe that this new arrangement being offered by Knowsley Council and Tesco now offers the club’s greatest – make that only – chance of a brighter future.

As a result they will do everything to persuade the fans to vote for the move.

That’s the easy part though, winning this ballot by a landslide – which they undoubtedly will – the bigger task is to keep them coming for generations to come, through thick and thin, as they have to Goodison Park.

Whether they can actually do that is far harder to predict.

Transfer talk is driving us crazy

WHO CAN complain about the lack of signings when Swiss international Johann Vogel is in talks about coming on a free?

There is still plenty of time for Everton to be linked with all and sundry from home and abroad, and the fans will continue to build their hopes up despite David Moyes confirming what most suspected: that a lot of clubs are paying silly money for average players.

The truth is as well, that despite all the denials and apologies, until he actually signs for someone else, even the most realistic and hard-headed of Evertonians still thinks there just might be an outside chance that Argentinean wizard Juan Roman Riquelme is Goodison-bound.

Go on, admit it.