Flagging... but fans group still determined to get it right at new home

1878S FUNDRAISING TO DO HILL DICKINSON JUSTICE WITH THE GOODISON TREATMENT

- By CHRIS BEESLEY ECHO Reporter

EVERTON fan group the 1878s are to create a fresh set of flags and banners large enough to suit the scale of Hill Dickinson Stadium after the ones they used at Goodison Park were deemed too small.

With a capacity of 52,769, the Blues’ new home by the banks of the Mersey is enabling them to play in front of the biggest regular crowds in their history (although they had 16 attendances of 70,000 plus at Goodison, Everton have only topped the 50,000 figure once over a season when they had an average gate of 51,603 for the 1962/63 title-winning campaign) and the fact that they are now playing at a venue approximately a third bigger than their previous base has prompted the 1878s to have a rethink over how they decorate the stands.

A planned display ahead of Everton’s home game with Tottenham Hotspur on October 26 has now been postponed and instead the group of seven dedicated volunteers, who in addition to their day jobs are dedicated to improving the atmosphere on matchdays, are to hold a fundraiser night in conjunction with A View From the Bullens the previous evening at Bierkeller Liverpool (Saturday October 25, 7-11.30pm).

An 1878s statement said: “On Saturday the group went to Hill Dickinson to test all of our flags. Unfortunately, with the amount we have compared to the size of the stand, the group would not be satisfied going with what we've got and putting on a display for the Tottenham game in October as we wished.