Everton Board must back Dan Meis’ grand ambition for Bramley Moore

Those in power at Everton will have been watching the sad events at West Ham United this season with a keen interest.

The Hammers move to the London Stadium has been nothing short of a disaster and shown, in the most concerning of ways, just how badly things can go when a club moves from its traditional home without a proper transition in place.

Their failed move from Upton Park has largely been a case of poor planning with an unhealthy dose of unfulfilled promises thrown in for good measure. What the London Stadium has taught anyone else planning to move is that it is very easy to get it wrong. Everton’s hierarchy will certainly be wary.

When we do eventually leave Goodison Park it will be with a heavy heart, Evertonians love the Grand Old Lady as much as West Ham fans loved their Boleyn Ground. Most will be as upset about leaving as the Hammers were too.

The first step, and arguably the most crucial, to ensuring the move to Bramley Moore is a success was selecting an architect who understands the weight of history that comes with the Toffees. In Dan Meis, it appears the Everton board have chosen wisely.

The fan consultations that took place this week have only helped to strengthen that belief.

Although fans were only shown initial drawings the impression left by the majority have been resoundingly positive.

Ideas such as steep stands close to the pitch, a huge Borussia Dortmund style home end and incorporating key elements of Goodison Park such as the Littlewoods clock and the Archibald Leitch latticework have been met with approval all around.

Meis’ plans are bold and ambitious, to say the least, and if he achieves only half of them then the stadium at Bramley Moore will comfortably sit among the best in the world. It is certainly clear that is what he plans to build regardless.

The American architect has become a Blue in the last year or more and is showing a desire to build Everton a stadium fit for a big club, the kind of stadium Evertonians dream of their club being housed in.

The Board must do their utmost to ensure he is successful in his plans to build it. If they do so, they may just earn back the favour of a fan base that has long lost their faith in them. For too long this Everton Board has held the club back and failed to take advantage of the big opportunities presented to them.

The current debate surrounding the capacity of the new stadium is another example of where the Board needs to do what is right by the club not just for now, but for generations to come as well. Planning wisely and executing accordingly is of paramount importance.

Bramley Moore, with Meis as its creator, feels like the perfect opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past and truly push the club forward in more ways than one. There can be no dithering about cost or the difficulties in executing Meis’ grand plan. He has shown striking ambition in these early plans and the Board must match him step for step.

Of course, they cannot just wave a magic wand there will be many hurdles to overcome before Bramley Moore becomes a reality. They must not, though, show anything but 100% commitment to overcoming each and every one of them, including the local dog walkers and small ship enthusiasts.

If they do so they will not only secure Everton a world-class new home but potentially a world-class future to go with it. An opportunity like this that only comes once in more than a century is one that both they and the club cannot afford to pass up.