Inside Everton's long and winding road to new stadium - is it worth the wait? | Football | Metro News

In the third instalment of Metro’s In The Mixer, we’re looking ahead to the second weekend of this season’s Premier League and there’s already plenty to discuss. Sign up to receive this, plus exclusive analysis, insights and transfer talk straight to your inbox every week.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City all won their first games in very different ways and all three have a genuine claim to be title favourites.

Can Liverpool’s defence hold up against what will be a pumped up Newcastle side? Can Arsenal show they are capable of creating chances for Viktor Gyokeres? And can Man City’s new look midfield dominate against a team better than Wolves?

Away from the title favourites, the big story of the weekend is Everton’s first competitive game at their brand new 52,769 seater stadium.

The club have been waiting not-so-patiently for this moment, after a long and winding road that has involved countless council meetings, proposal documents and fan consultations.

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This week’s edition features plenty of transfer talk, including Arsenal shocking Spurs over Eberechi Eze’s move from Crystal Palace and the latest twist in the dramatic Alexander Isak saga.

We have the games to watch, FPL transfers to make and a lot more.

How long have Everton been waiting for a new stadium?

Pretty long. Only four of Everton’s starting eleven against Leeds on Monday were alive when former chairman Peter Johnson announced plans to move the club from Goodison Park to a new home, in 1996.

Plans were drawn up, votes taken and proposals submitted only for the project to stall in 2002 due to a lack of financing, before eventually being scrapped in April 2003.

Everton’s manager back then? David Moyes, of course. The Toffees narrowly avoided relegation the following season, finishing in 17th place.

Even the most optimistic fan might be happy with a repeat of that this time around.

The club’s move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium has been a long time coming. Previous owner Farhad Moshiri made it a priority upon taking over in 2016.

Nine years, eight managers and one new ownership group later, they are finally moving in.

Will it be worth the wait?

That depends entirely on the team. There are some reasons for optimism this year – shiny new stadium aside – in the positive performances towards the end of last season and the signing of Jack Grealish.

But it’s a shame for Moyes that Everton couldn’t have started the season with a home game and all the fanfare that comes with it. Instead, they were in the cauldron that is Elland Road to put in a performance that will have done a lot to douse any flames of hope that have sprung over the course of the last few months.

The expensively-named stadium is an impressive sight on the banks of the river Mersey, but when Brighton come to town on Sunday the pressure will already be on the players to ensure their first season at their new home is one to remember.

Whoever scores the first goal will go down in history – although that honour has technically already gone to a Liverpool fan.

For now, fans will put aside any transfer window misgivings and hope to follow Spurs’ footsteps in winning their first competitive home game at their new ground – something both Man City and Arsenal failed to do.

And considering Derby County’s first Premier League game at a new Pride Park was abandoned in 1997 after a power cut, maybe just finishing the game will be good enough.

If things don’t go so well it won’t be long before the stadium faces its true litmus test: whether or not Goodison Park’s noisy half-time boo translates to new surroundings.