GROUNDS FOR INVESTIGATION

by Adele Chadwick, Sarah Hirons, Gary Mellor, Jamie Wakelam and Jamie Davies

Our tour of Everton started in the Players’ Lounge where we were told where each of the players chooses to sit before and after games.

We were then taken through the match day reception area into the Vice Presidents’ Lounge. There was a 1966 FA Cup Final ball in the cabinet. At the top of the stairs was a picture of William Ralph Dean, who is better known as ‘Dixie’. Dixie died at Goodison Park in March 1980 after the final whistle of an Everton versus Liverpool ‘derby’ match. He scored 377 goals in 431 appearances during his Everton career.

We then carried on our tour by taking a ‘Walk of Fame’. We got to see team photographs from today and years gone by featuring players like Howard Kendall, Gary Lineker, Dixie Dean, Duncan Ferguson, Neville Southall, Matthew Jackson and Michael Branch.

The next stage of our tour was the Dixie Dean Suite that had many trophy cabinets containing trophies from friendly matches, championships and other winning medals. There was also the trophy that was given to Michael Branch, when he won the title of Young Player of the Year.

There was a separate trophy cabinet dedicated to the medals won by Dixie Dean whilst playing for Everton. There were also his international caps and medals from the three famous years, 1931, 32 and 33 when Everton won the Second Division, First Division and FA Cup in successive years.

The next trophy cabinet consisted of the replica European Cup Winners Cup which Everton won in 1985 and the World Cup replica from England’s 1966 triumph. Goodison Park had been one of the major host grounds for that competition.

Our tour carried on to the Directors’ Box, which can seat 164 people. Sarah decided to sit in Peter Johnson’s seat and Adele sat in Howard Kendall’s. Just above us were the press boxes and we were also shown the police control room.

Facilities at Goodison Park have changed for the better since Everton played their first match there against Bolton in 1892, which they won 4-2. The stadium today holds up to 40,183 supporters.

Below the pitch are 20 miles of pipes which control the undersoil heating and sprinkler system. We passed the room where the referee and referee’s assistants get changed and we also passed the medical room.

Our next stop on the tour was the dressing rooms. After seeing the away dressing room we then went into the home team’s. Sarah took great delight in trying on Michael Branch’s shirt and once Adele had put on Danny Cadamarteri’s shirt she didn’t want to take it off!

After leaving the dressing room we took a walk down the tunnel which leads onto the pitch. On match days, the players would come through the tunnel on to the pitch ready to play. Sadly, our tour had to come to an end but we all thoroughly enjoyed the day and learned a lot from the experience.

A special thanks to Kim, our tour guide and Dave Hickson, an ex-player, who talked us through the tour and made us feel very welcome.

The players actually train four times a week away at Melwood but when they are not training they often find time to come to the Players’ Lounge at Anfield, where they enjoy a drink and generally relax.

We went from the Players’ Lounge through a door and into the stadium. The stadium is extremely large but in emergencies can be cleared in three minutes. Liverpool is the biggest conference facilitator on Merseyside, accommodating up to 3000 people on match days.

Behind the Kop, which has 12500 seats, there is a large area which is often used for entertainment.

Columns have been put in place to support three sides of the ground. For safety reasons there are seven closed circuit TV cameras in the arena and more on the outside.

The press room is specially designed to meet all reporters’ needs. Interviews and player signings are also held in this room. Most of the press sit in the press box on match days and they come into the press room to send scores and information to their offices via computer.

Our tour carried on to where the trophies are kept and although the room was only one of five of the lounges there were many trophies from all over the world.

The final stage of our tour was the Visitors’ Centre. Outside the centre there was a statue of the legendary Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly. As we walked up the stairs in the Visitors’ Centre, we all noticed a surf board, owned by Craig Johnston, hanging at the top. All the major silverware is kept in the Visitors’ Centre.

There was much for us to do in the Visitors’ Centre. There were interactive CD-ROMs containing an electronic history of Liverpool Football Club and the Anfield Stadium from their humble beginnings towards the end of the 19th Century.

The three lads enjoyed practising their shooting techniques and we all learned how to be a commentator on match day in a specially-designed TV gantry. We then watched a film that demonstrated how the club is run so smoothly and successfully.

We also got to see all the memorable trophies and shirts that are kept in the display cabinets. Michael Owen's shirt from the 1997 Coca Cola Cup 4th round game against Grimsby was in a display cabinet. This is the match in which he scored his first hat-trick for the senior team.

A special thank you to Brian Hall who showed us around the ground and also told us about the days when he played for Liverpool between 1968 and 1976.

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