This Saturday, before the Blackburn game, we will hear a watershed announcement for Everton Football Club.

Last Saturday, whilst the table toppers were losing at Reading, I was sat watching a fantastic musical about the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. And the following night, whilst Liverpool fans were bemoaning the refereeing decision against Chelsea (the drunken Reds fan I asked the score didn’t realise the irony of his ‘same old story’ response) I sat on my own in a cinema to watch Eagle Vs Shark.

Anyway, these events are kind of linked…

The announcement I mention concerns whether or not the majority of Evertonians are for or against continuing to look into the proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby next to a TESCO.

For three weeks, current and former season ticket holders amongst other fans, have been asked to put a cross in a box on a piece of paper sent to them by the Electoral Reform people, and accompanied by a glossy brochure proclaiming the move to Kirkby as being the only feasible outcome in the whole stadium debate. Our chairman, manager and players have come out and stated why a move is important, and interesting stadium designs published, whilst Duncan Ferguson and one of those planes (the ones you always see on Big Brother, this time with a message behind it saying “Vote No to Kirkby”) being two of the loudest anti-move protesters, plus bright yellow stickers saying SAY NO.

Unfortunately, many fans seem split on this topic, which has resulted in some tense arguments on message boards and fanzine pages, and chants in the Gwladys Street. Many don’t see Kirkby as being part of Liverpool (it is in fact proud to be in Knowsley) even though a large majority of Everton fans (and two first-teamers) come from there. The Blue Boys even come out to the theme of Z-Cars, a TV programme set in what was meant to be Kirkby (Newtown).

In the interests of anonymity and fear of lynching, I won’t say which box my cross went in. However, I will say it is sad to see the club not having the guts to continue its initial plans, and that I fear more could happen depending on the result. It is also sad to see Liverpool City Council not being able to push for a definitive site within the city boundaries, despite Warren Bradley’s desires, whilst all along the Echo gleefully prints images of the impressive new Anfield Bowl in Stanley Park – where we started, if you know your history.

Anyway talking of evil witchcraft and green-skinned villains, Wicked the Musical, which claims to tell the real story of the witches in The Wizard of Oz, was fantastically entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon of songs, comedy and special effects and got to thinking about how different that afternoon was to what I normally spend my Saturday afternoons doing.

Whilst we were there, two Americans were sat in front of us in restricted view seats. They moved at the interval, but explained the slight reduction in price made it worthwhile. The unfortunate knock-on effect was that we had had restricted views for the first half, but as I explained to my family, my season ticket at Goodison is not for an obstructed view seat yet I can’t see the whole pitch, do spend a lot of the match on my feet, and don’t grumble (the first time I’ve used grumble, one of my favourite words, in an article, fact fans) even though I don’t get any reduction. It adds to the spectacle in a way.

Anyway the next day I went to a less-soulless-than-most Multiplex to watch the impressive New Zealand(er?) film, Eagle Vs Shark. As I excitedly bought my ticket, little did I know I would be THE ONLY PERSON IN THE CINEMA. Well, for twenty minutes at least, at which point rather embarrassingly a young couple walked in during the opening credits, to great awkwardness on all our parts, but by then the damage had been done. I sat during my period of solitude, feet on chairs, munching popcorn, talking on my phone to someone I wished was with me, thinking – just imagine if you went the match on your own? I mean, I go the match on my own normally and quite like it that way, but imagine an empty stadium apart from yourself and the players and coaching staff. Whilst in the cinema I thought to myself, will they even show the film, or apologise profusely and offer vouchers – similarly, would the match still go ahead? Would it be enjoyed fully if it did?

And that’s where the three moments meet, a bit like the storylines of elaborate US dramas but perhaps less exciting – will this week’s ballot result change the experience of going the match forever? Will we be sat alone, isolated, lonely, with awkward relationships formed in shared seating arrangements? Will we complain if we can’t see the whole pitch or if it’s not a thrill a minute? And will the dissenters take long to complain that we should have moved or stayed where we were?

These questions may not be answered for years. I am proud that Everton have taken the stance of asking their fans, their People, what they want, but am worried that we will divide as a support as a result. We already suffer poor accommodation and facilities and on some afternoons, entertainment, some love this fact, and this might change in Kirkby, but will we lose our identity in the process?

In the Wizard of Oz, it said the Witch melts when Dorothy throws a bucket of water over her. At the end of Wicked (stop reading now if you’re planning to see it, soz) we realise she was never that wicked, just misunderstood, and we see her emerge, alive, and elope with the Scarecrow to pastures new.

Quite how this is symbolic to Everton’s dilemma I’m not sure, I think there is something in it, and we all know that Bill Kenwright does love a drama. Both the musical and the film had a happy ending. For all our sakes, I hope the stadium debate does too.