Hill Dickinson Stadium is "an engineering miracle" and David Moyes the right man to lead the club forwards says former Everton striker James Beattie
Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium has been hailed as "an engineering miracle" and with Blues supporters hoping to build on the atmosphere from Goodison Park, the club now have the ideal man in charge with David Moyes.
That's the verdict of former Everton striker James Beattie, who Moyes brought to the Blues over two decades ago in a £6million move from Southampton in January 2005, making him the club's record signing at the time. Before his switch to Merseyside, the Lancaster-born player got to experience the Saints' move from the Dell to St Mary's in 2001, but he's been blown away by Everton's new 52,769 capacity home on the Mersey waterfront.
Beattie said: "There is 133 years of history at Goodison. It's such an iconic stadium, not just for Everton, but in English football.
"I have a real soft spot for the older stadiums and the traditional stadiums. White Hart Lane was my favourite stadium that I played in.
"However, it's progress isn't it. Some people don't like change.
"Some people are scared of it, but it's inevitable. And, you know, the new stadium is an engineering miracle, really.
"The camera footage of when they emptied the dock, then filled it in, then built it. It's just great.
"Hopefully the atmosphere that the Evertonians created at Goodison can transfer into the new stadium. I think they are doing that because they've designed it in a way to do so.
"They must have asked the fans what they wanted because the seats are steep, and everybody feels quite close rather than somewhere like West Ham where you're two miles away from the pitch and you can't see it.
"You're trying to maintain the atmosphere that the fans create. Hopefully they can do that and I think they've got the right man with David Moyes."
Beattie, who netted 24 goals in all competitions for Southampton in 2002/03, failed to produce that prolific form on Merseyside, registering 15 times in 86 outings but the 47-year-old maintains huge respect for his former gaffer and believes he's the right man to have back at the helm at this pivotal moment in the club's history, alongside another fellow Glaswegian. He said: "I think Everton have got a really good manager and a really good assistant manager, Alan Irvine.
"I speak about this a lot. I speak about it with players and with managers as well.
"Managers, when they find a home where they just work and Everton is that place for David Moyes.
"David has a really good management team as well. Alan Irvine was my youth team coach at Blackburn, so I've got a massive amount of respect for him and I know he's absolutely brilliant at what he does.
"When David was at West Ham, Alan was his technical advisor, he wasn't on the coaching staff. He would have just been amazing at that too."