Tony Cottee was left seriously impressed when he paid for a maiden trip to his old club Everton’s magnificent new home on the banks of the royal blue Mersey
Tony Cottee salutes the fans at the end of the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park’s farewell game on May 18, 2025. Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Former Everton striker Tony Cottee hopes the club’s new ground will provide a platform for a future spent challenging in Europe.
The 60-year-old said he found Hill Dickinson Stadium to be “wonderful” despite having held reservations ahead of his first visit given the emotional attachment he has to Goodison Park. They quickly disappeared once he was on the Liverpool waterfront, however.
Cottee said: “I was driving up from Essex and thinking what I am I going to feel like when I walk out … and it’s not disappointed. It’s a wonderful stadium and, for me, the best purpose-built football stadium in the country, in my opinion.”
Cottee, who scored 99 goals across a six year spell with the Blues, added: “Obviously, all my memories and all my goals here are at Goodison, but I must admit, I’m really impressed with the stadium. It’s fantastic. It’s a football stadium, built for football and that’s the main thing.
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“Some stadiums are built not always with just football in mind. I know they’re going to be doing other stuff here, which is great for the club, but football should always be the main priority, and I think it’s been designed for the fans, which is so important.”
For Cottee, as emotional as the move away from Goodison was, it was a change that needed to happen for Everton to move forward.
He praised current manager David Moyes for his work with the club during his second spell and drew on what the Scot did with Cottee’s other footballing love, West Ham United, as the inspiration for the Blues to now follow.
He told the club’s media team: “Hopefully by making this move, they can do what we all want, which is for them to compete.
“They’ve got a fantastic manager now and some good players and the ambition has got to be for the club to get back into Europe. I saw what a European run did for a club like my club, West Ham. It reinvigorates the club and it’s a wonderful experience.
“There’ll be a lot of young kids who have never seen Everton play in Europe, so the stage is here, the platform’s here.
“The Evertonians are wonderful fans and they deserve the best. It’s a fantastic city and the people of Liverpool have always been so kind to me and so happy to see me on Merseyside.
“It’s my second home. It always has been and always will be and it’s great that they’ve got what you would call an amphitheatre to come and celebrate everything that’s good about Everton.”