It’s the hottest ticket in town but while thousands of football fans are clamouring to be there, one person’s attendance remains unclear. At high noon on Sunday May 18, 2025, Everton will host Southampton in their final fixture at Goodison Park. Affectionately known as ‘The Grand Old Lady’, the first purpose-built football ground in England has been the Blues’ home for 133 years since 1892 and has hosted more top flight matches than any other venue, plus two FA Cup finals and five World Cup matches, including a semi-final (the only English club ground to be afforded such an honour). When David Moyes’ side walk out onto the turf in just two-and-a-half weeks’ time they will be making sporting history, not just for Merseyside, but on a global scale. Liverpool will be lifting the League Championship across Stanley Park the following weekend, but they’ve been fortunate to do that 20 times. Everton enjoyed a title celebration party at Anfield before the Reds even existed! In contrast, Goodison’s farewell will be a true one-off event. You could say ‘once in a lifetime’ but it’s more than that... no human being has ever lived for 133 years. Tickets have been seen for sale online for four-figure fees, although Blues chiefs have warned that fans trying to indulge in some profiteering could face bans from the new stadium while Southampton are taking measures to make their travelling supporters pick up their tickets in person on the day to ensure they don’t fall into the wrong hands. The demand is gargantuan with many non-season ticket holders facing the prospect of disappointment that they cannot be there. This correspondent was told by an Everton legend that even former players being invited back for the occasion have been warned that there is no scope for ‘plus ones’ with their tickets. Yet there’s one seat among the 39,572 at Goodison that could potentially remain empty. The Blues’ previous owner Farhad Moshiri increasingly became an ‘absentee landlord’ towards the end of his tenure, and that was a trend that predated major supporter protests against his regime. The Monaco-based businessman last attended a Premier League fixture at Goodison on October 23, 2021, when Rafael Benitez’s side suffered a 5-2 capitulation against Watford having been 2-1 up 12 minutes from the end. Although he did go to a couple of Everton games at West Ham United in 2023 (sacking Frank Lampard after the first) and a Carabao Cup tie at home to Burnley following the death of chairman Bill Kenwright, Moshiri’s sale of the club to The Friedkin Group was not confirmed until December 19, 2024, almost 38 months after the debacle against the Hornets. In the meantime, representatives of 777 Partners, including co-founders Josh Wander and Steve Pasko, of whom Moshiri now infamously said: “I believe they are the best partners to take our great club forward,” when striking a deal with them, made frequent trips to Everton matches both home and away during the 2023/24 season as they desperately sought approval for their proposed takeover. The controversial Miami-based private investment firm never got the green light for the Blues and have now collapsed, but in contrast, the ‘white knight’ who arrived to save the club after their failure is yet to show his face. Goodbye Goodison Park - Souvenir edition Everton are soon set to say goodbye to Goodison Park as the Toffees play out their final few matches in their iconic home before moving to their incredible new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. And to celebrate this historic and poignant event, the ECHO has produced this stunning special souvenir edition that no fan can afford to be without as they bid farewell to their iconic and beloved home. We have delved into the ECHO archives to unearth fascinating stories from the famous ground's past, including how it came to be built in 1892 and where its world-famous name came from. Relive some of the most epic games to have graced the Grand Old Lady, including first-hand accounts of those involved in perhaps Goodison's greatest night - the European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final win over Bayern Munich in the unforgettable year of 1985. And then there are the legends - from Dean to Hickson, Sharp to Ferguson, Kendall to Moyes, we celebrate the Goodison icons who will live forever in the hearts and minds of Evertonians everywhere long after the ground is gone. There are also some rare treats with a glorious collection of photographs from the archives, featuring stunning Goodison views and behind-the-scenes footage of what makes the Grand Old Lady truly tick. Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents on Merseyside from April 2, 2025. Dan Friedkin, is now Everton’s owner and chairman, but he’s never been to Goodison. In contrast, the CEO of TFG, who is skilled aviator, who won a Taurus Stunt Award for Best Speciality Stunt when piloting a Spitfire and landing on a beach in the blockbuster film Dunkirk, personally flew former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku and Jose Mourinho into the Eternal City on two separate occasions when they both joined Roma. The Houston-based businessman who owns Gulf States Toyota, has attended several matches at the Stadio Olimpico alongside his son Ryan and the pair of them rode together through the streets of the Italian capital city in an open top bus in 2022 when Roma celebrating winning the UEFA Conference League, their first European trophy in 61 years. Avid golfer Friedkin was in the UK back in October to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland while the following month he was reported to have flown into London for the talks that saw Claudio Ranieri return to Roma as caretaker boss after Ivan Juric became the club’s third coach to be axed in 2024, being told by mobile phone that he was being relieved of his duties before making it back to the dressing room after a 3-2 defeat to Bologna. There has still been no Goodison visit though, and time is obviously running out with Everton’s penultimate fixture at the ground against Ipswich Town on Saturday. Sources close to the Blues owners have told the ECHO that they haven’t heard anything about whether Friedkin has any plans to visit before the stadium move, but insist: “TFG will continue to be well represented at games as they have been since the takeover, including by executive chair Marc Watts.” Unlike Moshiri, who churned his way through eight managers in as many years and whose meddling often proved problematic – particularly for the directors of football he appointed – perhaps Friedkin is deliberately implementing a back seat approach as he lets others with the required experience and expertise run the club? Watts will be joined by Angus Kinnear, Everton’s first full-time CEO in two years, in June. It’s an intriguing position as things stand, maybe, the 60-year-old just wants to start afresh with a brand new era at Bramley-Moore Dock? However, you’d think he’d want to make it at least once to Goodison to experience ‘The Spirit of the Blues’ as it has existed for so long.