Anfield Totally Explained

Everything about Anfield totally explained

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. The stadium was built in 1884 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. until 1892, when they left after a rent dispute. Since then the stadium has been home to Liverpool F.C., who were formed as a result of Everton leaving Anfield. It is a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) 4-star rated stadium and has hosted many international matches at the senior level, including England matches. The ground was also used as a venue during Euro 96. Earlier in its history the stadium was also used as a venue for different events, such as boxing and tennis matches.
The stadium currently comprises four stands; Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenary Stand and Anfield Road, giving a total capacity of 41,362. The record attendance of 61,905 was set in a Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) tie between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952 before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium. Each of its four stands has since been converted to an all-seater layout following the recommendations of the Taylor Report. Notable features of the stadium include two gates named after former Liverpool managers: the Bob Paisley Gate and the Bill Shankly gate. In addition, a statue of Shankly is situated outside the stadium.
Anfield's public transport links include rail and bus services but it lacks dedicated parking facilities. There are plans to replace Anfield with a new stadium in Stanley Park which would hold around 25,000 more spectators than Anfield's current capacity. The site is near the current stadium and its construction would lead to Anfield's demolition. The opening of the new stadium is scheduled for 2011 but the state of the financial market and disagreement between the club's American co-owners makes this doubtful.

History

Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell, a brewer and friend of John Houlding; the leaseholder of Anfield. Everton, who had recently been banned from playing in Stanley Park, were in need of a new venue to play at and Orrell let the land to the club for a small fee. The first game played at Anfield was between Everton and Earlstown on September 28, 1884, which Everton won 5–0. During Everton's tenure at the stadium, a small stand was erected for some of the 8,000 spectators regularly attending games. Houlding purchased the ground outright from Orrell in 1891, and proposed increasing the rent from £100 to £250 per year. Everton refused to meet his demands, and moved to Goodison Park. Houlding was left with an empty stadium, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. The team was called Liverpool Association Football Club, and their first match at Anfield was played on September 1, 1892, against Rotherham Town, which they won 7–0.
   Liverpool's first league match at Anfield was played on September 9, 1893, against Lincoln City, with Liverpool winning 4–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. A new stand was constructed in 1895, capable of seating 3,000 spectators, and was built on the site of the present Main Stand. The stand had a distinctive red and white gable, and was similar to the main stand at Newcastle United's ground St James' Park.
   Coloured seats and a police-room were added to the Kemlyn Road stand in 1987. In 1989, after the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report recommended that all grounds in the country should be converted into all-seater grounds by May 1994. In 1992, a second tier was added to the Kemlyn Road stand, turning it into a double decker layout. It included executive boxes and function suites as well as 11,000 seating spaces. Plans to expand the stand had been made earlier, but two elderly residents living in Kemlyn Road refused to move out of their house and the plans were put on hold. When one of the residents died the other decided to move out and the expansion plans were put into action. The Hillsborough memorial is situated alongside the Shankly Gates, and is always decorated with flowers and tributes to the 96 people who died at Hillsborough. At the centre of the memorial is an eternal flame, signifying that those who died will never be forgotten. The most recent change to Anfield came in 1998 when the new two-tier Anfield Road end was opened. The stand has however encountered a number of problems since its redevelopment. At the beginning of the 1999–2000 season a series of support poles and stanchions had to be brought in to give extra stability to the top tier of the stand. During Ronnie Moran's testimonial against Celtic many fans complained of movement of the top tier. At the same time that the stanchions were inserted the executive seating area was expanded by two rows in the main stand, lowering the capacity for seating in the paddock.
   The Centenary Stand was originally named the Kemlyn Road stand before the addition of a second tier. After the expansion was complete, the stand was renamed to mark the club's hundredth anniversary. The capacity of the stand is 11,762, with 4,600 spaces on the upper tier and 6,814 on the lower tier, while 348 spaces are also available in the executive boxes within the stand. The Anfield Road stand is used to house the away fans during matches. Originally a simple single-tier stand with multi-coloured seats, a second tier has been added to the original stand, increasing the capacity to 9,074, consisting of 2,654 spaces on the upper tier, 6,391 on the lower tier and 29 spaces for disabled persons.
   Above the stairs that lead down to the pitch hangs a sign stating "THIS IS ANFIELD". Its purpose is to both intimidate the opposition and to bring those who touch it good luck. Accordingly, Liverpool players and coaching staff reach up and place one or both hands on it as they pass underneath.
   The stadium also features tributes to two of the club's most successful managers: the Paisley Gates, in tribute of Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to three European Cups and six League Championships in the 1970s and 80s, and Shankly Gates, in tribute of Bill Shankly, Paisley's predecessor between 1959 and 1974. There is another tribute to Shankly, a statue of him is located at the visitor's centre in front of the Kop. which is just above the FA's recommended pitch dimensions of by . The pitch at Anfield is cut two times a week during the football season and four times a week during the close season. The grass is one inch during the football season, and two inches high at any other time. Under-soil heating was introduced in 1982. During a matchday the groundsman are assisted by staff from the club's training ground—Melwood. They assist by filling in divots at half-time, and usually restore the pitch for two hours after full-time. There are 400 to 420 stewards in attendance during matchday and in addition to this 65 police officers, along with a doctor, two paramedic teams and 40 St. John Ambulance officers are also present. Safety is paramount at the ground, as it features an in house police station, a fire warning system linked to Merseyside fire brigade, electronic exit gates, Closed-circuit television cameras in and outside the ground, four fully equipped first aid rooms and three ambulances. At that time the proposed capacity was 55,000, but it was later revised to 61,000, with 1,000 seats given for segregation. Several attempts were made by the Liverpool City Council to instigate a groundshare of the proposed stadium with local rivals Everton from 2003 to 2007, but this move was rejected as neither club favoured it.
   Liverpool were granted planning permission on July 30 2004, to build a new stadium, just away from Anfield at Stanley Park, and on September 8 2006, Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease of the land on the proposed site. Following the takeover of Liverpool F.C. on February 6 2007, by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the proposed stadium was redesigned to reduce the costs of construction. In November 2007, the redesigned layout was approved by the council and construction was due to start in early 2008. The new stadium, provisionally called Stanley Park Stadium, is being built by HKS, Inc. and is scheduled to open in August 2011 with a capacity of 71,000. Once the new stadium is built Anfield will be demolished and become the centrepiece for the Anfield Plaza development, which will include a hotel, restaurants, and offices.
   However, the construction of Stanley Park, as of 2008, has been delayed following the slowing of the American economy, directly affecting American-owned Liverpool. This has been worsened because the club was bought with loaned money, not the owners' own capital, and interest rates are higher than previously expected. The Americans have had trouble financing the estimated £300 million needed for the Stanley Park development and the deadline to begin work within 60 days of the Americans' acquisition of the club has been missed and the site remains untouched. The delays have had repercussions in the local area of Anfield, with regeneration plans on hold till the future of Anfield is decided.

Other uses

Anfield has hosted numerous international matches, and was one of the venues used during Euro 96; the ground hosted four matches, which included three group games and a quarter-final. The first international match to be hosted at Anfield was between England and Ireland, in 1889, with England winning 6–1. England have also played Wales at the stadium on three occasions, in 1905, 1922 and 1931, with England winning all three matches. Anfield has also hosted five FA Cup semi-finals, with the last being in 1929. The record modern (all-seated) attendance is 44,983 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur on January 14 2006. The lowest attendance recorded at Anfield was 1,000 for a match against Loughborough on December 7 1895. The highest average attendance at Anfield over a league season was 48,127, set in the 1972–73 season. The lowest average attendance at Anfield was 29,608, set in the 1960–61 season, whilst the team was in the Second Division. The highest total seasonal attendance was recorded during the 2000–01 season when the aggregate was 1,328,482. That season Liverpool had won a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
Liverpool didn't lose a home league match at Anfield during the 1893–94, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1987–88 seasons. They also won all their home games during the 1893–94 season. From January 1978 to January 1981, Liverpool didn't lose a match at Anfield, encompassing 85 games, in which Liverpool scored 212 goals and conceded 35.

Transport

The stadium is about from Lime Street Station, which lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston. Kirkdale Station is the nearest station to Anfield and is about from the stadium. The stadium has no parking facilities for supporters, and the streets around the ground allow parking only for residents with permits.Further Information

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