Inside 'big plans' for Goodison Park as Everton new stadium countdown begins

For some, the pressure of making the most of Goodison Park in her farewell campaign would be overwhelming. For the 1878s, the group tasked with doing just that, it is an opportunity.

"This is an honour," Katie Carter reflects as she considers the importance of this year. "We have got the privilege of dressing Goodison up for her final season."

And Goodison has looked stunning in the home games so far, with the supporters group moving their displays around different areas of the ground as they let their creativity explode, the flags that lined the Park End for the home match with Newcastle United just one of many highlights already.

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More is to come. Everton return from the international break with a home match with Brentford on Saturday. The first wave of a collection of new flags will be on show ahead of kick-off. They include one dedicated to new fan favourite Iliman Ndiaye but it is two club legends who will take centre stage amid the build-up - Colin Harvey and Derek Temple, who each tasted silverware with Everton, are among the latest to be celebrated in the artwork of the 1878s.

Both Harvey and Temple's banners will be decorated with the FA Cups they won - as the group wrote when revealing the Temple flag on X, formerly Twitter, this week: "Not many local lads can say they have scored the winner in the FA Cup final for their boyhood club. Our very own Derek Temple can."

Those banners capture the challenge posed to the group as it tries to support the players of a difficult present while marking the heroes of a more successful past.

But pressure is for others. And even now, following a tough start to the season, there is a hope the worst has passed, such as the relegation battle under Frank Lampard during which the 1878s came to the fore of the fanbase as it played a key role in the supporter movement that spurred the players on to survival.

Katie said: "We enjoy it as a group. It is like a second job - no-one is forced to do this. What happens on the pitch is the most important thing and we would always trade what we do for success for the team. But when things aren't the best on the pitch it helps to have this to focus on. We will feel more pressure when we get closer to the end but there is no idea we have not thought of."

There is a quiet poignancy to their work, plenty of Friday evenings spent setting up in the calm of matchday eve, intimate moments spent in a cathedral of football that will be the centre of the world for hundreds of thousands of people the next day.

And there are times, Katie said, when thoughts during those quiet moments turn to the future. Excitement continues to build ahead of the move to Everton's state-of-the-art new waterfront stadium and many of those involved with the 1878s have already started thinking of how they can have an impact in that new home. "Imagine the Blue Wall decorated with flags", Katie said, referring to the incredible South Stand that will house 13,000 home fans.

For now, it is full focus on making the most of the months to come, however.

Katie said: "We are really busy. We have got big plans for the derby, the last ever one at Goodison Park has to be special, but we are also planning for Brentford and Chelsea for this year.

"At the beginning of the season it felt pretty normal but now, given what is coming up, the significance really is starting to hit home. The closer the final game gets the more real it all feels. I keep seeing videos of Bramley Moore and that only adds to it. The new stadium is only eight months away, that is how much time we have until it is all over at Goodison Park. It's unbelievable, it is just around the corner.

"When we play Aston Villa in January the number of home games left will be down to single figures. We are going to get busier and busier as the countdown continues - we won't be missing a game in 2025, we will be running the displays even for any FA Cup home matches we draw, we're going all out."

*You can support the work of the 1878s by visiting the group's new online shop or by making a donation. Details of both can be found herehttps://1878s.co.uk/