In the fourth of his series of interviews with some of the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes at Goodison Park, Joe Thomas speaks to Everton maintenance technician Paul Shelley
“To walk around the stadium at night was very eerie, but I was in awe of it.” Paul Shelley has had some high-pressure jobs in his almost four decades of work at Everton’s home ground Goodison Park.
He still does. But few compare to the time he spent as a one-man security guard, stalking the stands and corridors in the dead of night.
Much is made of the power and magic of the Grand Old Lady under the lights but Paul is one of few who knows what it is like when they are eventually switched off and the spirits of past glories still give life to one of football’s grandest arenas.
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“Back then we did not have proper security like we do now,” he added, referring to the period in the early 90s when he essentially lived at Goodison. “We had a night watchman who used to come in and whenever they were off sick or on leave, I would cover that as overtime.”
Paul did live at Goodison for three years. This was a time when homes sat on what is now the directors’ car park – what was once Goodison Avenue. They were typically filled with people who had connections with the club and, when the ground floor flat on the corner of the avenue and Goodison Road came up, Paul was given the keys.
Over the years that followed, until the home was demolished in the mid-90s, Paul gained intimate knowledge of the ground he started working at as a 16-year-old after leaving St Winifred’s in Litherland.
Living on site came with pressure but also perks – his roof was a perfect vantage point for the FA Cup parade in 1995.
Hoping to be a joiner after leaving school, Paul started on a three-month YTS placement in September 1985. He has not left – despite earning the nickname ‘the jinx’ from some of his colleagues given the lack of silverware since his arrival.
He initially worked with the joiner and tiler at the ground before moving on to the plumbing and the electrics and now has the title of maintenance technician.
He is part of a maintenance team that ensures the tens of thousands of supporters who fill Goodison can do so safely despite the ground’s old age, his roles ranging from testing the exit gates to overseeing the fire alarm system on a matchday from the reception area on Goodison Road. He also prepares the dressing rooms – his favourite place in the stadium.
Paul remains on 24-hour call and is part of the beating heart of the Old Lady in her final year. The football will have moved to the waterfront by next September, when Paul would be celebrating 40 years on site in that part of L4.
But his life will forever have Goodison at its centre – the ground having also been where he met his wife after being called to do an odd-job in a function room 21 years ago. The only thing missing from the story is a Goodison wedding – instead they eloped to Jamaica.
Of the prospect of the move to the new stadium, he said: “Just the thought of coming to a place like this, it does grow on you and that saying, once Everton has touched you, is true. It is emotional [the thought of leaving].
“For the fact I have also lived on the premises and been here so long. The thought of driving past here when it is gone doesn’t bear thinking about. But we do have to move on, there are exciting times ahead and they are a new challenge to look forward to.”
