Anfield
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Anfield is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. It is the home of Liverpool F.C.
History
In 1882 Everton F.C. were forced by a new ruling to find an enclosed ground for their matches - previously they had played on the public pitches in Stanley Park. At a meeting conducted in the Sandon Hotel in Everton they managed to rent a field off Priory Road. However, two years later the owner asked them to leave and John Houlding (a Liverpool brewer) helped them secure a pitch from fellow brewer John Orrell at Anfield Road adjacent to Stanley Park. The first game was played on 28 September 1884 when Everton beat Earlstown 5-0.
Over the ensuing eight years Houlding poured money into the club and improved the facilities with pupose-built stands. Attendances topped 8000 and in 1888 Everton became founder members of the Football League. Houlding became more proprietorial and insisted that the club use his hotel for changing before and after games; he also increased the rate of interest on his loan to the club. John Orrell threatened to withdraw the tenancy of Anfield Road in 1891 unless certain alterations were undertaken.
Houlding proposed the formation of a limited liability company to purchase the ground (along with an adjacent plot that he owned and from which he would profit handsomely) but at a meeting of the club in January 1892 his proposal was rejected and the club were given notice to quit. Houlding also registerd the name of Everton Football Club so that for a short period there were two clubs with the same name.
At a further meeting on 15 March 1892 Houlding was outvoted and the club decided to leave. A building fund was immediately set up and £1,517 pounds raised to purchase a new ground. The chosen location was Goodison Park on the north side of Stanley Park, less than a mile away, and was purchased for £8,000.
Formation of Liverpool FC
Houlding promptly formed the Liverpool Association Football Club in May 1892. On Thursday 1 September while Everton played their first game at Goodison, Liverpool F.C played their first ever game at Anfield, a friendly against Rotherham Town which they won 7-1. While the new Goodison Park was filled with over 10,000 supporters, Anfield had only a handful of spectators. In their second home game (and their first in the Lancashire League) a few days later they beat Higher Walton 8-1 in front of less than 200 spectators. However, the wining ways soon attracted larger crowds and more than 3,000 paid to see them defeat Stocton on 10 September and go top of the league. Since then the two clubs have been traditional rivals and both are among the most successful of English teams.
The Stands
In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop, after a hill in Natal that was the site of a battle in the Second Boer War, where the British forces suffered heavy losses (many of the fallen were Scousers in the Lancashire Regiment). Many other football grounds, such as St Andrews, Birmingham and Hillsborough, Sheffield, adopted the name of "Kop" for one of their stands. At its largest, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier stands in the world.
Local folklore claimed that the fans in the Kop could "suck the ball into the goal" if Liverpool were playing towards that end. The stand was considerably reduced in size due to safety measures brought in following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and it was completely rebuilt as an all seater stand in 1994, although it is still a single tier. The current capacity is 12,409.
The other stands are:
- Main Stand - rebuilt in 1973 and more or less unchanged to the present day, with a capacity of 12,277.
- Centenary Stand - known as the Kemlyn Road stand until it was rebuilt for the club's centenary in 1992, with a capacity of 11,762. This redevelopment saw all of the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent.
- Anfield Road Stand - rebuilt in 1998, with a capacity of 9,074, including the away fans section.he Away fans are located in the Anfield Road Stand, where just under 2,000 seats are available. This stand is also shared with home supporters, some of whom will be sitting in the small seated tier above the away fans.
The ground incorporates several notable features, including a memorial to the 96 fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster. There is a statue of Bill Shankly [link], as well as a pair of gates at two entrances to the stadium, the Shankly Gates [link]and Paisley Gates [link], named after Shankly and his successor Bob Paisley. Floodlights were installed in 1957, and first used in a game against Everton.
"Fortress Anfield" gained a reputation as one of the most difficult grounds for visiting teams. Manager Bill Shankly, who engineered the club's dominance of English football in the 1970s and 80s, had a sign proclaiming "This Is Anfield" [link] [link] mounted on the wall above the exit from the players tunnel, which was "to remind our players who they're playing for, and remind the opposition who they're playing against". Many of the Liverpool players reach up and touch the sign as they pass underneath it for good luck.
Difficulties of Expanding
Due to the difficulties of expanding Anfield beyond its current boundaries (an entire terraced street had to be demolished to make way for the Centenary Stand expansion), Liverpool are expected to leave the ground in the next few years. The plans, originally approved in February 2005, needed to go before Liverpool City Council for a second time some 12 months later to ensure that the proposed stadium complied with new planning regulations. It was reported on 11 April 2006 that the plans had passed without amendment The club now looks for investors to help fund the £160m, 60,000 all-seater stadium.[link].
In the early stages, there had been suggestions for the new stadium to be shared with local rivals Everton F.C. but this is unlikely.
Details
Address
- Anfield Road
- Liverpool
- L4 0TH
Phone numbers
- Main Telephone: 0151-263-2361
- Main Fax: 0151-260-8813
- Ticket Office: 0870-220-2345
- Ticket Office Fax: 0151-261-1416
How to get there by car
Follow the M62 until you reach the end of the motorway, then follow the A5058 towards Liverpool. After three miles turn left at the traffic lights into Utting Avenue. Proceed for one mile and then turn right at the Arkles pub for the ground. If you arrive early there is street parking to be found. Otherwise it as an idea to park in the streets around Goodison or in one of the many schools and other venues who open there land for match day parking for around £5 or £6.
From the South and East: At the Liverpool end of the M62 keep in the right hand lane and take the signs for A5058 (Queens Drive). Stay on the A5058 passing St. Matthews Church (2.5 miles) finally turning left (in 0.5 mile) at the lights into Utting Avenue (Asda should be just visible on the right as you approach the lights). Pass under the railway bridge which continues into Arkles Lane. The ground is just to the right at the far end of Arkles Lane.
Bus: Line 26 (from Paradise St. bus station) or 17B, 17C, 17D & 217 (from Queen Square bus station) stop directly to the ground. Line 68 & 168 (between Bootle and Aigburth) or line 14 (from Queen Square) & 19 stop a short walk away.
How to get there by train
The main railway station in Liverpool is Lime Street which is over three miles from the ground and is really too far to so either head for Kirkdale station or jump in a taxi.
Records
Record Attendance: 61,905 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, February 2nd, 1952 (FA Cup 4th Round)Average attendances (Premier League)
- 1999-00: 44,074
- 2000-01: 43,698
- 2001-02: 43,389
- 2002-03: 43,243
- 2003-04: 42,706
- 2004-05: 42,587
- 2005-06: 44,236
International matches
A number of international matches have been played at Anfield, including some that were nominally "home" matches for Wales. The ground also hosted four matches in the Euro 96 finals. The latest international match to be hosted at Anfield, in 2006, took place on 1 March. This was a friendly between England and Uruguay which England won 2-1.
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 March, 1889 | England | 6-1 | Ireland | British Home Championship |
| 27 March, 1905 | England | 3-1 | Wales | British Home Championship |
| 13 March, 1922 | England | 1-0 | Wales | British Home Championship |
| 20 October, 1926 | England | 3-3 | Ireland | British Home Championship |
| 11 November, 1931 | England | 3-1 | Wales | British Home Championship |
| 16 September, 1944 | England | 2-2 | Wales | Wartime International |
| 23 September, 1959 | England | 0-1 | Hungary | Under-23 International |
| 27 November, 1963 | England | 4-1 | West Germany | Under-23 International |
| 12 October, 1977 | Wales | 0-2 | Scotland | World Cup qualifier |
| 25 February, 1981 | England | 1-0 | Republic of Ireland | Under-21 International |
| 13 December, 1994 | England | 2-0 | Republic of Ireland | B International |
| 13 December, 1995 | Republic of Ireland | 0-2 | Netherlands | European Championship playoff |
| 11 June, 1996 | Italy | 2-1 | Russia | European Championship Group C |
| 14 June, 1996 | Czech Republic | 2-1 | Italy | European Championship Group C |
| 19 June, 1996 | Russia | 3-3 | Czech Republic | European Championship Group C |
| 22 June, 1996 | France | 0-0 | Netherlands | European Championship Quarter Final (after sudden death; France progressed 5-4 on penalties) |
| 5 September, 1998 | Wales | 0-2 | Italy | European Championship qualifier |
| 10 June, 1999 | Wales | 0-2 | Denmark | European Championship qualifier |
| 24 March, 2001 | England | 2-1 | Finland | World Cup qualifier |
| 17 April, 2002 | England | 4-0 | Paraguay | Friendly International |
| 1 March, 2006 | England | 2-1 | Uruguay | Friendly International |
External links
- [My Anfield - Collection of fans' memories]
- [Pictures at Anfield]
- [Anfield] at Google Maps
|- !style="background:#BFD7FF;"|
|- style="text-align:left;" |width="17%"|
Belgium|width="33%"|King Baudouin Stadium |width="17%"|
Germany|width="33%"|Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion
|- style="text-align:left;" |style="background:#e9e9e9;"|
Denmark|Parken Stadium |style="background:#e9e9e9;"|
Israel|Ramat Gan Stadium
|- style="text-align:left;" |rowspan="4"|
England|Anfield |
Italy|Stadio San Nicola
|- style="text-align:left;" |City of Manchester Stadium |style="background:#e9e9e9;"|
Netherlands|Philips Stadion
|- style="text-align:left;" |Riverside Stadium |
Spain|Estadio Anoeta
|- style="text-align:left;" |Villa Park |rowspan="2" style="background:#e9e9e9;"|
Sweden|Råsunda Stadium
|- style="text-align:left;" |style="background:#e9e9e9;"|
France|Parc des Princes |Ullevi Stadium
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