Everton priority for emotional last season at Goodison Park is clear

Everton kick off their new Premier League campaign against Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park. It is set to be an emotional afternoon for Blues supporters as they prepare to say goodbye to their famous old ground at the end of the season.

However, before relocating to the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, Sean Dyche and his side have another top-flight campaign to negotiate.

If the last couple are anything to go by, then it is set to be eventful.

The Blues have so far added five new recruits to their squad, and it seems unlikely that any more new additions will be made before the window shuts.

And ahead of the start of the season, our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the summer and the campaign ahead.

Paul McParlan - Reasons to be cheerful ?

There seems to be a growing mood of optimism amongst Blues that this season might not see us involved in a fourth consecutive relegation struggle. And there does appear to be some justification for this, especially now that the 777 group did not get their hands on our club!

Certainly, the way Everton finished the campaign with five consecutive home wins, including a memorable humbling of self-confessed ‘Swiftie’, Jurgen Klopp, helped to send fans off on their summer holidays in a positive frame of mind for once.

Transfer activity has been encouraging. The recruitment of Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom offers more width and pace to the attack, while Tim Iroegbunam looks like a useful acquisition in midfield. Jake O’Brien adds more depth to the defensive options, and his towering 6ft 6in presence should prove a potential threat at set pieces.

Receiving over £50 million from Aston Villa for Amadou Onana was excellent business. The midfielder never quite delivered in an Everton shirt, and I have still not forgiven him for that penalty miss against Fulham in the League Cup! But selling him means it is highly likely that we will keep Jarrad Branthwaite, who was arguably our best player last season.

Our miserly defence, the fourth best in the Premier League, was a credit to the tactical nous and organisation that Sean Dyche brought to the team. The challenge for him now is to add more creativity and flair to the side rather than relying on grinding out results.

Up front, we need to start turning those damned xG stats into actual real goals; we were the biggest underperformers in the Premier League in 2023/24 by this measure! And we need another striker, as Beto is yet to convince and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal return is still not good enough.

It is going to be a strange feeling going to Goodison for our last ever campaign at the Old Lady. We need to give the stadium the send-off it deserves. Last season, we lost our first four home games, and that put pressure on the team and manager from day one.

Starting off the season with a flush of home victories will boost everyone and allow fans to relax and enjoy our final flourish at an arena that holds so many special memories for all of us Blues! When we left Anfield to move to Goodison Park at the end of the 1891/82 season, we were the League champions.

Obviously, we are not going to win the Premier League, but is a top-seven finish and European qualification beyond us? And with this being the last hurrah at our ancestral home, we should make the League Cup, a trophy we have never won, a realistic target this campaign? It is our last season at Goodison Park; it’s going to be emotional. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Luke Davies - Am I excited? I am still unsure

As the new season approaches, Evertonians should be excited by the signings of several players; Jesper Lindstrom, Iliman Ndiaye, Jake O’Brien and Tim Iroegbunam all bolster Sean Dyche’s squad. The acquisition of Ndiaye may be the number 10 that the Toffees needed - although Abdoulaye Doucoure did a good job, there were always question marks about his ability.

Pre-season started with a few poor performances, but you should not read into that too much, as the manager will have been looking at the player’s fitness rather than the scoreline. I would expect to avoid the relegation battle this term; Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich may find the step up difficult, and I expect the likes of Brentford and Brighton to drop down the table; Everton can take advantage.

Although there have been some utterances surrounding points deductions, fingers crossed we steer clear of that this year. Sean Dyche and his players coped admirably last term when many others may have seen it as an unassailable mountain to climb.

Am I excited? I am still unsure. The league has become relatively predictable; Arsenal and Manchester City will aim for the title, Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United for the top four, and that leaves the rest of us jostling for position. But we can dare to dream of a miraculous season.

We must prioritise the cup competitions. The League Cup draw against Doncaster Rovers is simple and should be an easy win for the Blues. The League Cup or FA Cup could be our way of marking Goodison’s last dance.

It is difficult to know what to expect, but I feel between 10th and 14th would be a fair prediction. The overriding theme of the season will become Goodison Park, especially after Christmas when the total left falls below 10 fixtures. The Grand Old Lady was the scene of memories for young and old - for the 50-year-olds they had Howard Kendall’s sides, for the 70-year-olds they had Harry Catterick's.

As for the younger fans (like myself), I do not have the memories of Kevin Ratcliffe parading silverware around L4, but it is still a special place for many reasons. The players, as ever, must give their all for the supporters and give Goodison a send-off - another Derby victory would go down a treat also!

Alex McMonnies - It's been an impressive window so far

And so the final season at Goodison Park is nearly upon us. I think the reality might have finally started to set in for a lot of people who attended Saturday's friendly match with Roma, potentially those taking relatives to the famous old ground for the final time, as my family and I did with my granddad.

My first visit to Goodison was at the end of 2008, and it's been my home ever since, but for a lot of people, their relationship with the stadium will have lasted for a much longer period of time. Every single one of us will find it difficult to say goodbye come May.

But in the meantime, Everton are gearing up for another season, stubbornly remaining one of the 20 members of the Premier League, and I feel like there is a trepidatious sense of optimism among the fanbase going into this campaign. That will have been helped along by the fact that our transfer business thus far is a lot better than many people would have believed possible given director of football Kevin Thelwell's words of caution back in May.

Jake O'Brien looks a talented, sturdy centre-back who can be relied upon to fill in if either James Tarkowski or Jarrad Branthwaite are unavailable, provided the latter is still an Everton player by the end of the window, and Tim Iroegbunam seems to have surprised everyone by how competent he's looked in midfield throughout pre-season. On top of this, Iliman N'Diaye and Jesper Lindstrom look to be able to provide the sort of spark that Everton's attack sorely missed last season.

It's been an impressive window so far, but there is still time left for important players to leave, namely the aforementioned Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, as well as potentially one or two more arrivals in key areas. Once we reach the final day of August, we should have an even clearer idea of how this season could pan out.

For now though, I feel more than confident that Sean Dyche will be able to keep us away from any sort of serious relegation battle and bring about some more mid-table stability, allowing us supporters to focus our energy on giving Goodison Park the sort of send-off that it deserves.

That all begins on Saturday with the visit of Brighton, under the guidance of the youngest manager in Premier League history, who will be taking charge of his first-ever top-flight match. Let's show Fabien Hurzeler what Everton and Goodison Park are all about and roar the Blues onto an opening day victory. Up the Toffees!

James O'Brien - I was getting worried after the first couple of games

With an exciting yet bittersweet season ahead of us, hopefully we see some progress both on and off the field and give Goodison Park the farewell it deserves. Pre-season was a bit of a rollercoaster, and I won’t lie, I was getting worried after the first couple of games, but towards the end we started to look solid.

The additions we have made are filled with young, hungry players who have a point to prove. Pleasantly, the signings have already impressed and excited fans this pre-season, with the likes of Ndiaye, Lindstrom, Iroegbunam and O’Brien receiving their plaudits online.

It was sad to see Onana go, but if it was between him and Branthwaite, then we definitely made the right decision. Maybe against the rest of the fanbase, but I was also sad to see Godfrey go, as although he wasn’t a starter, his versatility across the backline was crucial for us, especially in the right-back role. I am not too fussed on whether one of Beto or Calvert-Lewin leaves; I just hope that if we do sell, we can get a striker who is more consistent and deadly (Lukaku is an option).

With how frequently Coleman and Patterson are injured, I think it’s important for us to try and get a more solid, reliable choice in. Also, I think signing another midfielder should be a high priority for Everton. Garner is already injured, Gana isn’t getting any younger, and isn’t it too much pressure to put on Iroegbunam right away?

Looking on to Brighton, I am hopeful that we could get a result. The Seagulls have a new, young manager and have made heaps of signings, spending over £100 million this summer. Hopefully it will take a while for them all to gel together, with Everton capitalising on this.

Unlike the Roma match, I am hopeful that Dyche will give starts to our new attacking signings and that we can bid farewell to the wasteful attack of last season. Exciting season ahead, and I am positive we will avoid a relegation fight this season. Up the Toffees!