In August 2007, the Everton board dispatched over 35,000 ballot forms to fans to gauge opinion on whether the club should relocate away from Goodison Park.

They told anyone who would listen that they were allowing the fans to make the choice and how they were the first club to do so. They failed to mention the inclusion of a glossy brochure highlighting the benefits of relocating to a new stadium and none of the detriments to deter fans from voting 'no' to the proposed move.

The “Keep Everton in the City” (KEIOC – pronounced ‘key-ock’) campaign asked the club to include documentation that would allow fans to make a more informed vote. Their request was declined.

'There has been a great division in the Evertonian family since the vote was announced'


David Prentice, Sports Editor of the Liverpool Echo declared in vain that it wasn’t a vote, but in fact “a decree."

During the voting period, propaganda was released through the local media, knocking the tragic tale of Madeleine McCann off the front page, telling chilling tales of how Goodison Park would fall down and would fail to obtain a safety certificate. Conversely the author of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds, Aston Villa fan Simon Inglis, also had an article in the Liverpool Echo published advising Evertonians to demand proof that this was the case.

His exact words were: “If I were an Everton fan, before signing up to the Kirkby proposals I would want to see clearly defined evidence that Goodison Park is no longer viable, and that all possible alternative sites within the city have been studied. If such evidence is not made publicly available then no supporter can hope to make a properly informed judgement.”

Another story that was published in the Daily Post that Grosvenor, the company behind Liverpool’s newly opened billion-pound shopping centre, were going to oppose a scheme that fans were putting together to build a stadium near the city centre with the help of the landowners, a world renowned stadium specialist, and the city council.

The next day they printed a retraction as Liverpool One’s CEO, Joanne Jennings, had told them they would only object if it involved retail. It has since been revealed that Grosvenor will object to the ‘Destination Kirkby’ project.

Even the media-friendly Professor Tom Cannon clambered to get in on the scaremongering act, telling us all how Everton could become the new Marine unless we move and how Tesco, as a public company, could put more money into a stadium development than a private company who own a concrete manufacturer and a bank!

The less said about Dominic King’s article in the Liverpool Echo "Being sent to Coventry is the perfect experience" citing the benefits of a Tesco-led stadium development like the Ricoh Arena, the better!

The results of the vote were leaked to and announced by Sky Sports the night before they were officially released, which incidentally fell on Goodison Park’s 115th Anniversary. I still can’t decide whether the date was apt or ill-fitting. Some have claimed that this information was leaked to ‘soften the blow’ of Everton relocating to Knowsley.

The result of that vote was 59.27% in favour and 40.73 against, but the problem with the voting eligibility was that non-season ticket match-going Evertonians never had a vote. A lot of votes came from non-match-going fans for whom the move would have little or no effect.

There has been a great division in the Evertonian family since the vote was announced; there are those who wish for Everton to stay within the city boundary and those who wish to see the club relocated to a neighbouring borough. All have differing reasons on which their views are based.

Those who want to remain in the city of the Liverpool are deemed ‘luddites’ and ‘neanderthals’ by those who wish for Everton to build a new stadium in Kirkby as part of the Tesco-led development called ‘Destination Kirkby’. Likewise, those who believe that relocating to Kirkby have been referred to as ‘yes men’ and ‘sheep’.

The relationship between the ‘yes voters’ and ‘no voters’ has not been helped by the presence of individuals employed by ‘Destination Kirkby’ project partners with the sole intention of repeating pro-relocation propaganda to the fans and residents of Kirkby.

On an Everton message board one fan told a tale where two of his friends who he has known for 20-plus years no longer speak to each other because of the huge gulf in difference of opinion.