TIM HOWARD: Everton’s Goodison Park farewell is devastating… here’s what makes the Merseyside derby against Liverpool so magical

David Moyes had this saying. He would bring it up before the Merseyside derby – it was about the blood and thunder and emotion of facing Liverpool. ‘If that’s what they are expecting,’ he’d say. ‘Then make sure you don’t disappoint them.’

I’m getting goosebumps now just thinking about it. Because he was right. It is a day to strike first and never shirk the challenge.

I can still remember the first of my 21 derbies in 2006 – my family and friends came over and we won 3-0 at home. It was incredible and everything I thought it might be.

Tomorrow marks the final ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. It will be sad and emotional – for Everton but for the red half of Merseyside, too. Not many cities are as intertwined as Liverpool. Never is this more obvious than derby day.

There are generations of Scousers who grew up with their parents or their grandparents taking them to games at Goodison – even if they’re reds.

Yes there is hatred. But in order to have such a fierce rivalry, there has to be respect and love. It all adds up to 90 minutes of electricity.

There aren’t many grounds like Goodison left – older, proper English grounds where the sight lines are blocked and pillars remain in the middle of stands. They are majestic.

What sticks with me about Goodison is the tunnel. It’s so small and so narrow and players have walk up a small flight of stairs to reach the pitch. Normally, on Merseyside, you would be greeted by rain and gloom.

But the derby tends to kick off early so you would walk out to blue skies and the sound of Z-Cars. I always remember that feeling. It was different at Goodison to anywhere else.

The dressing rooms were just four walls, a bench and some pegs. No USB plugs, no LED lights, nothing but your shirt, your name and your number. That was always very special to me.

But Goodison could be comical, too. If you were named man of the match you had to walk from the dressing room, down a hallway, through reception, and almost out through the turnstiles into the supporter’s suite. 

Just to collect your bottle of champagne. You were still in the stadium – just about. I still miss that.

What makes Goodison unique, though, is the soul of the place. And the soul comes from the people. I spent 10 years Everton and there were certain figures who are sewn into the fabric of that club.

I always remember the legendary kit man, Jimmy Martin. He drove the coach at one point and he was as loving and grumpy as you can imagine. He retired last year after decades at the club.

Then there was a woman named Val who ran our community program. She was just always there on reception – anything you ever needed? You could ask Val and she would do it with a loving smile.

That’s what makes Everton so magical – the people who would do anything for the club, without asking for anything in return. Together, they will give Goodison a proper derby send-off.

No club in England has more history than Everton, so tomorrow marks the end of a magical era. But if you’re a football fan, if you want the best for your club, you have to say goodbye. 

You have to make a new house a home.