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Will fans return prove the boost Everton need

By Matt Townsend

A banner honouring Everton's Italian head coach Carlo Ancelotti is unfurled during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Newcastle United at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on January 21, 2020. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A banner honouring Everton's Italian head coach Carlo Ancelotti is unfurled during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Newcastle United at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on January 21, 2020. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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It’s been almost a year since they were able to watch a game at the ground, so will the return of supporters to Goodison Park be the boost Everton need to beat Chelsea tomorrow?

It’s strange to admit but we’ve almost got used to watching Premier League games without any fans in the ground and the last time Everton supporters were able to watch their side live was back in March.

Seeing them return will almost feel odd after the virtually empty stadiums and the slightly surreal friendly-like atmosphere we’ve had in recent months.

The impact of the absence of fans has been a major taking point in football generally and whether it influenced the early results of the season is probably something we’ll never know for sure.

But there were strange and very unexpected results early this season and some of those matches threw up massive surprises, the most enjoyable of which was obviously Aston Villa’s 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool!

My only regret is that it wasn’t Everton able to play them at that time when the Toffees were flying high at the top of the table.

Whether the lack of home fans helped away teams or not is difficult to determine with absolute certainly although it didn’t help Liverpool that night in Birmingham!

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After the initial shocks we saw in the first few weeks of the season, results have recently began to return to something like normal again and unfortunately from the Blues point of view, the table has a much more familiar look to it now.

Everton have always been a club that has benefited from a great home support at the ‘grand old lady’ otherwise known as Goodison Park.

The ground is a real throwback to the origins of the game and represent’s one of the last of the traditional stadiums left in English football.

I have many happy memories of going to games especially in the mid-1980s as the Toffees were winning titles and cups.

It has a certain ramshackle, dilapidated charm as many fans will attest to and the Blues have been playing there since 1892 when the club left a ground called Anfield Road, their previous home, after a rent dispute with the Landlord.

That event of course led to the formation of a new football club Liverpool FC who took up residence at the Anfield ground and the Merseyside rivalry began.

The crowd at Goodison Park can make a really big positive difference to the team’s performances and historically Everton have been a tough team to beat at Liverpool L4.

Conversely though sometimes the crowd can be a burden to players when they’re not performing well and supporters understandably react and can get on their back. Goodison Park can also sometimes be an unerringly quite place when the fans are subdued.

Next. Hard test for Everton against west London opponents. dark

At any rate that’s hope that even though the fans will be few in number and sparsely spread around, they can provide a bit of a psychological lift to the players tomorrow as they face a stern test against Chelsea.