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I was one of the former Everton players who got to walk out on the pitch after Goodison Park's final Premier League fixture and it was fantastic. I’ve got to thank the football club for

giving me that opportunity to go onto the pitch. We all met up at the Titanic Hotel, early in the morning. A few of the ex-players were a bit worse for wear, and had enjoyed the evening

beforehand, but it was great to turn up and have a breakfast with them all. There were people who I speak to quite regularly, and others who I haven’t seen since I left the football club. We

were all catching up and it felt like you never had enough time to have a chat with everybody. I was born just a few streets away from Goodison Park, then as a kid I was cheering on my

heroes and the next minute I was part of the team, playing alongside some of my idols like Neville Southall. The whole day was mind-blowing really. As we left from the Titanic, I was hearing

from my friends and family that County Road and Goodison Road were absolutely jam-packed from around 8:30am onwards. The fans made the day. We were panicking whether we were even going to

get to the ground in time as we weren’t leaving the hotel until around 11 o’clock. We had to stop off on Walton Lane by the police station and drive on the other side of the road in the

coach and then walk in through the Park End. The roads were full of Blues just celebrating the whole day and it was great to witness it all. I saw a lot of friends as well as we mixed with

the fans while being chaperoned to our seats. It was fantastic sitting there with all the former players. My youngest son has never seen me play football, so it was a nice experience and

memory for him to see me on the pitch. I was trying to spot all my friends and family in the crowd, but it is so hard among that sea of blue, as everyone just merged into one. Sharing that

pitch with all those Everton legends and heroes of fine is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I spoke to Wayne (Rooney), Franny (Jeffers) and I hadn’t seen Granty

(Tony Grant) for a while, but there were also people like Gary Naysmith who I haven’t seen since we were together at Everton and Tim Cahill, who is a similar age to myself but was at the

club after me, so I’d never spoken to him. The whole occasion was just fantastic. Goodison is our home. It’s my home, it’s my father’s and my granddad’s, I’ve been going to that ground since

I was a kid, kicking a ball against the wall. GOODBYE GOODISON PARK - SOUVENIR EDITION Everton are soon set to say goodbye to Goodison Park as the Toffees play out their final few matches

in their iconic home before moving to their incredible new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. And to celebrate this historic and poignant event, the ECHO has produced this stunning special

souvenir edition that no fan can afford to be without as they bid farewell to their iconic and beloved home. We have delved into the ECHO archives to unearth fascinating stories from the

famous ground's past, including how it came to be built in 1892 and where its world-famous name came from. Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can

purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents on Merseyside from April 2, 2025. You can also purchase Goodison's Greatest, our celebration of an era

when Everton ruled English football. If you love Everton, you’ll just love this - order your copy today, simply click here! And that's not all, also available is ParkLife, a a high

quality, 312 page publication showcasing 133-years of Goodison history in pictures. Available here. Then there's Farewell to Goodison, celebrating 100 of the best moments at the Grand

Old Lady, available to purchase now. You always thought this day was never going to happen. Mentally, I just put it on a back burner. When the day came, there was disbelief that it was

actually happening. We all know the reasons why and we all understand it and there’s mixed emotions. When you’re there, there’s so much going on and you try and soak it all in. It’s taken me

a day or two to sit back and ponder what went on because to be honest, the whole thing felt a bit like dream, I was absolutely drained by the time I got home. I thought the best part of the

whole day was when the DJ put on There She Goes. I thought the fans were absolutely fantastic, my first move would be to get it on the playlist for the new stadium. It was the first time

I’d heard it at Goodison Park and I thought the fans all automatically joined in and that got the atmosphere going. It was emotional, we had the violin part that was fantastic, but while the

club set it all up, the fans made the day. We’ve been through very difficult times, but the fans just take this club to a whole new level. They’re the best fans in the world and they

support the best football club in the world. We stick with it, through thick and thin. There was no trouble, just enjoyment and a celebration of it all to provide a huge send off for the

Grand Old Lady. David Moyes wants that attitude from the fans going into the new stadium. We’ve seen at other clubs, players have struggled in their new surroundings, but we’ve got an

opportunity to learn from that and can start by getting the La’s on the playlist to get us all going again. We want to start fast at the new stadium and the manager has put pressure on the

new owners that he wants to bring players in. Those who were present from TFG will have witnessed what the fans are all about with their own eyes and hopefully that convinces them to open

their wallets to get this club competitive again. NDIAYE ENSURED IT WAS A JOYOUS OCCASION FOR EVERTONIANS When it came to the game itself, I’ve got to give the players credit because with

all the noise and all the stories about Goodison Park beforehand could have taken their focus off the job in hand as they had to win. It was great to start off with a quick goal to settle

everyone’s nerves. I thought, especially in the first half, we were much the better side, and while Southampton are very easy on the eye, they’re not very threatening at all going forward.

Really, we probably should have gone in further in front at the interval as Beto had the ball in the net twice only to be ruled offside after he went far too early, while he had another

opportunity earlier on where he probably should have scored. It was a fantastic atmosphere and fortunately our players responded to it all. During the game I was sat next to my mate Danny

Cadamarteri who was on the staff at Sheffield United when Iliman Ndiaye was there and he was under his wing for a while. I was asking questions, saying: ‘Danny, what’s he like?’ He told me

he’s a great lad and a really hard worker. I said: ‘Is he a number 10?’ He said: “Yes, I feel that’s his main position.” That’s where he got his goals. He got into those little spaces that

you expect your number 10 to be in, being clever and finding that space. The way he took both goals was fantastic. He showed skill and composure. Even though Iliman has been our star player

this season when he’s on the ball and making things happen, he’s been quite wasteful at times, especially since he came back from his injury as he probably returned a bit too soon. He holds

the ball up well and can take players on. However, that final delivery, that final pass, that final shot, has sometimes been what’s missing. For that first 45 minutes, he showed all the

qualities that we know he’s got. The way he got the ball, he kept it quite close to himself and made the angle to curl it around to the far post. It showed his ability and got us all on our

feet across Goodison to start enjoying our day. With the second goal, he was a little bit fortunate with how it came to him but the little body swivel that he did and the quick feet to score

a goal just before half-time were fantastic to see and it calmed everyone down and enabled us to believe it was going to be a joyous occasion.