Themed Matchdays Return With ‘The Originals’ & ‘Retro Day’

As the move to Everton Stadium gathers momentum, preparations are escalating with a series of themed matchdays for what is sure to be a poignant farewell to Goodison Park. 

To mark the journey to our new home, between now and mid-May, there will be a series of themes for every Premier League home game at the Grand Old Lady, designed to reflect the moments, characters, sights and sounds that made games at the 133-year-old stadium so special.

The series will kick-off on Wednesday with Everton’s home fixture with Aston Villa, themed as ‘The Originals’ – a celebration of the most played fixture in the history of top-flight football.

This will be closely followed by Retro Day on Sunday for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur, giving Blues a chance to reminisce about their footballing yesteryears.

The Originals

An unashamed week of Royal Blue nostalgia starts with two of the most storied institutions in sport as The Originals celebrates the most played league fixture in the history of English football.

Wednesday will be the 214th staging of the fixture – and every single one has been in the top-flight!

The showdown also features two of only three clubs to boast the distinction of being founder members of the Football League and the Premier League (Blackburn Rovers are the third).

To mark the history surrounding the fixture, members of the Everton Heritage Society will be speaking about the clash in the Fan Zone at the Park End of the ground ahead of kick-off, while the Society will also have a special display upstairs at St Luke’s Church ahead of kick-off.

The matchday programme cover will recognise a true Everton original and last of the Corinthians in Brian Labone.

Inside the stadium, in the build up to the fixture, content on the stadium screens will remind us of some of the stirring clashes between the two sides down the years, while at half-time an Aston Villa fan will join their Everton counterpart to take part in our popular ‘Hit The Bar’ competition.

Retro Day

To round off a week of reminiscing, Retro Day will return on Sunday for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur. 

Supporters attending Retro Day are encouraged to sport old shirts and scarves for the Spurs match, and the Everton Heritage Society will have retro shirts displayed, and for sale, in the church before kick-off.

A series of some of the most popular retro shirts, mashups and blackout kits are available to purchase at Everton One and Everton Two store or Everton Direct. Click here to purchase online and take advantage of the 15% winter sale discount. 

The 1878s Fan Group will have retro banners on display in the Park End Stand while the Gwladys Street 1938 Group will have a specially made banner, depicting retro shirts, for the game.

The big screens will play out retro content in retro styling and the cover of the official matchday programme celebrates, Dixie Dean, the Everton Giant who scored 60 league goals in one season.

Eagle-eyed fans will also notice different Everton emblems on the corner flags on Retro Day. In conjunction with Club partner Socios.com, $EFC Fan Token holders have had the opportunity to vote for the retro crest of their choice through a specially commissioned poll. The winning crests will be revealed on Club channels on Sunday morning and three lucky token holders, who voted on the winning designs, will be invited to the game by Socios.com to see the corner flags.   

So, get involved with The Originals matchday and Retro Day – and look out for further themed matchdays as the countdown accelerates to our farewell of Goodison Park.