History
As a rule, the club builds the stadium, but Liverpool is a unique football club. And in his story, everything happened the other way around. Liverpool was born as a result of the greed of one of the board members of Everton, the first owner of the Anfield stadium. It was the Toffees who played their debut match on September 28, 1884.
It is quite ironic that one of the reasons why the Reds will lose their status as the leader of English football in 100 years will be their inability to adapt to new market realities. The irony is that one man in Liverpool behaved similarly in the 1890s. Then one of the bosses of Everton, John Houlding, quarrel with his own club because he asked him to buy for 8,000 pounds the land under Anfield Road, motivating it by the fact that it would not be necessary to throw 250 pounds into the wind every month. And later such a significant investment will definitely pay off. But this did not happen, and John bought the stadium with his own money.
John knew how to make money. He was a brewer and owner of several hotels. Houlding sought to profit from everything. He wanted the Everton players change their dress to uniform at the Sandon Hotel, which belonged to John. This should have made a great advertisement for this hotel, because the Toffees were then considered one of the best teams in England. So, in 1891, they won their first championship title, winning the season against undefeated Preston. Everton’s players were not too comfortable using the hotel as a dressing room, as they had to make their way in uniform through crowds of people to get to their own matches. But Houlding was not bothered by this at all. He was only interested in money. John also wanted to have the exclusive right to sell alcohol at Anfield. The entrepreneur was clearly ahead of his time.
Houlding attempted to seize absolute control of Everton on 26 January 1892 by registering the name Everton Football Club and Athletic Grounds Company Limited, but were left with nothing when the majority of the club decided not to pay the stadium rent and to leave Anfield. Later Everton buy a ground near Goodison Road. John tried to retain the right to the name Everton, but football officials sided with Goodison. So, John now had an empty stadium where no one wanted to play, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. Houlding founded his own club on June 3, 1892. The new team was called Liverpool FC (this date is considered official, because the Reds historians prefer not to mention that Liverpool was called Everton for the first three months of its life).
On Thursday, September 1, 1892, the Merseysiders team played their first match at Anfield. The opponent of the newly born club was the champion of the Midland league Rotherham Town. Reds captain, ex-Everton player, Andrew Hannah won the toss and selected the half Walton Break Road half. Now it’s a tradition, The Reds prefer to attack the gate near the Kop in the second half. And this is logical, because the historical tribune can intimidate even the fearless. The opening ceremony of the match was not complete without Houlding. Liverpool won the Midland champions 7:1.
At first, fans did not pay attention to Liverpool, preferring Everton. And therefore there was no need to expand Anfield. It was extremely difficult for the Reds to gather 8 thousand spectators to fill the stadium. However, Houlding looked to the future and three years later completed the tribune, which could accommodate 3 thousand spectators and stood on the place of the current Main Stand.
One of the most significant events in the history of Anfield happened in 1906. Then the Kop sacred tribune was opened. This name was proposed by journalist Ernest Edwards. He wanted to perpetuate the memory of the Liverpool Regiment, which suffered irreparable losses in the battle with the Boers in 1900 near Spion Kop. During the bloody battle, more than three hundred soldiers died. The silhouette of the fans standing in the stands reminded Ernest of the soldiers storming the Spion Kop. Despite the fact that England’s most famous stand is named after the defeat, it helped Liverpool to hundreds of incredible victories.
The Anfield remained unchanged until 1928, when the Kop was redesigned and expansion. Now the tribune could accommodate up to 30 thousand standing fans. The Kop was the largest grandstand in the country. It could hold more fans than most stadiums in England. In the same year, the tribune received a roof over its head.
Near to the Kop stands another Anfield meeting point for generations of match going Liverpool fans – the flagpole, which Liverpool inherited from Everton. Those with a reasonable grasp of Liverpool FC history will know that the flagpole originated from one of the first great iron ships, The Great Eastern, an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, which was acquired by then-residents of Anfield, Everton FC, who purchased her top mast before they left in 1892.
In 1957, artificial lighting was installed at the stadium. The spotlights cost the club £12,000. The Reds played their first match under the spotlight, of course, in the derby against Everton. Liverpool won the Toffees 3:2. The game was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Liverpool County Football Association.
In 1989, after the Hillsborough tragedy, the Taylor Report mandated that all stadiums in the country be converted to seating only. That is why, since 1994, the Kop has been cut from 30,000 to 12,390 viewers.
The Reds’ management started thinking about expanding the stadium back in the 1970s, when they started buying up houses on Camlin Road. But they had to be postponed because two elderly sisters, Joan and Nora Mason, flatly refused to sell their house. It was only in 1990 that the Merseyside managers managed to find a common language with these women and the expansion plans finally became a reality.
During its existence, Anfield has been expansion and modified many times. Changes are taking place in the stadium to this day. The stadium fully meets all the requirements of numerous football federations and is suitable for matches of any level.
This is Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Liverpool Football Club are the sole tenants of Anfield stadium and have been since 1892. Currently Anfield capacity 54,074 fans and split between four stands:
• The Main Stand
• The Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand
• The Anfield Road Stand
• The Kop
The Main Stand is the three-tiered Anfield stand. Under it are the dressing rooms for the teams, a hall for press conferences, the tunnel leading to the pitch with an iconic This Is Anfield sign.
The Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand and The Anfield Road Stand consists of two tiers.
The Kop is a large single-tiered and most vocal Liverpool’s supporters congregate stand. The club museum and the official club store are located on The Kop. Stand is the most-renowned stand at Anfield among home and away supporters, with the people who occupy the stand referred to as kopites. Such is the reputation of the stand that it was claimed that the crowd in the Kop could suck the ball into the goal.
Above the tunnel leading to the pitch hang a sign stating “This is Anfield”. Its purpose is to both intimidate the opponent and to bring the Liverpool players who touch it good luck. The words are synonymous with Liverpool FC and its place inside the Reds spiritual home holds significance across world football. The words resonate to both players and fans alike and have done so for over half a century.
Anfield is a landmark of Liverpool
Truth be told, Anfield is one of Liverpool’s landmarks. Many tourists walk around its territory and look at interesting monuments, such as:
• The Paisley Gateway
• The Shankly Gates
• Bronze statue of Bob Paisley
• Bronze statue of Bill Shankly
• Bronze bust of John Houlding
• The Hillsborough memorial
• The Heysel memorial
• The Champions Wall
The Paisley Gateway is a tribute to Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to 3 European Cups and 6 champions of First Division League. The gates were erected at the Kop. Their design includes representations of the 3 European Cups Paisley won during his tenure, the crest of his birthplace in Hetton-le-Hole, and the crest of Liverpool FC.
The Shankly Gates is a tribute of Bill Shankly, Paisley’s predecessor, are at the Anfield Road end. Their design includes a Scottish flag, a Scottish thistle, the Liverpool badge, and the words “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
On 4 December 1997, a bronze statue of Bill Shankly was unveiled at the visitor’s centre in front of the Kop. Standing at over 2.4 m tall, the statue depicts Shankly with a fan’s scarf around his neck, in a familiar pose he adopted when receiving applause from fans. Inscribed on the statue are the words “Bill Shankly – He made the people happy”.
Bronze statue of Bob Paisley was unveiled outside the Main Stand in Paisley Square on 30 January 2020. The statue is 2.4 m tall and depicts an iconic image of the club’s history, Paisley carrying future club captain Emlyn Hughes off the field during a match against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in April 1968.
The Champions Wall with main photomosaic image is a mural of moments of great celebration with an exciting twist. The mural will be made up of photos which have a unique spot within the mosaic to form a composite photomosaic image, making photo part of the very fabric and make-up of The Champions Wall at Anfield. The length of the Wall is approximately 13.5 m by 2.4 m high and has space for around 12,400 photos.
Music concerts & other events
Anfield stadium has been a venue for musicians of different genres.
Anfield was featured in Liverpool’s 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations. 36,000 people attended a concert on 1 June 2008, featuring The Zutons, Kaiser Chiefs, and Paul McCartney.
Live concerts made a return to Anfield in the summer of 2019, with Take That, Bon Jovi and Pink performing. Take That lead singer Gary Barlow, a Liverpool FC fan, brought out a guest vocalist, Gerry Marsden, and they sang the club’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Artists set to play at the stadium in summer 2022 include Elton John, The Rolling Stones and The Eagles.
Anfield has also been the venue of a number of rugby matches. Including the 2016 Rugby League Four Nations Final, where 40,042 spectators watched Australia come out victorious over New Zealand.
Anfield tour
Liverpool provides Anfield stadium tour which includes views of the pitch from the highest level of the Main Stand, the Home and Away Team dressing rooms, the Press Room, This Is Anfield Sign, the Players’ Tunnel, Manager’s Dugout and The Kop. Also includes entry to the Club’s interactive museum The Liverpool FC Story, the six European cups and The Boom Room: The Epic Story of Jurgen Klopp’s Dream Team. Which tells the story of Liverpool’s Premier League title win under Jurgen Klopp, 30 years on from their last.
Tickets cost £23 for adults, £18 for student/senior and £14 for child (under 16).