Anfield

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This article is about the football stadium; for the district see Anfield, Liverpool

Facility statistics
Anfield

Image:Anfield+birdseyeview.jpg
Full Name	Anfield
Location	Liverpool, England
Opened	September 1884


Owner	Liverpool F.C.
Operator	Liverpool F.C.
Construction cost
Architect
Former names

Tenants
Liverpool FC
Capacity
<center>45,362
Dimensions
<center>110 x 75 m

Anfield (sometimes known as Anfield Road) is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. An UEFA 4-star rated stadium, it is the home of Liverpool F.C - England's most successful club, having won the English Premier League 18 times and the European Champions' Club Cup a total of 5 times.

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" [1] [2] 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. During the 70's and 80's, Anfield had the famous 'Boot Room', a small alcove which became engrained as Liverpool tradition. Anfield also has the famous gate with those immortal words inscribed: "You'll never walk alone".

The Spion Kop also housed a small enclosure in the top right hand corner called the BOYS PEN... It was lovingly known as the mini-kop as young Scousers graduated to the main kop in the days when sixpence was very hard to find in Liverpool. The Spion Kop are also world famous for singing the song 'You'll Never Walk Alone' made famous in the 1960's by Gerry & The Pacemakers. This song is played and sung with gusto as Liverpool run out onto the turf at Anfield.

The Kop has also picked up the name of "the 12th man" after historic performances by the team in coming back from the dead on occasions like the 2005 European Cup Final, when down 3-0 at half-time, the '12th man' started up a rousing rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' which inspired the Liverpool players to one of the greatest comebacks in European history to win the Cup for the fifth time in a dramatic penalty shootout.

1 History
2 The Stands
3 Difficulties of Expanding
4 Attendance
- 4.1 Records
- 4.2 Average attendances (Premier League)
5 International matches
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Image:76672557 45f63b3324.jpg

In 1882 Everton F.C. were forced to find an enclosed ground for their matches due to rent problems - 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.

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.

[edit] The Stands

Image:Anfield wide view.jpg

In 1906, Liverpool and Preston North End formally renamed the banked stand at one end of their ground 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 Blackpool FC (Bloomfield Road), St Andrews, Birmingham and Hillsborough, Sheffield, adopted the name of "Kop" for one of their stands. However, contary to popular belief, Arsenal F.C.'s Manor Ground was the first to have a Spion Kop.

At its largest, the stand could hold 30,000 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 - and on most occasions, Liverpool play the second half of the game towards the Kop. 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 giant flagpole found at Kop End was the top mast from the SS Great Eastern, one of the first ever iron ships. The club came by it when they were looking for a flagpole, and with the ship being broken up at nearby Rock Ferry, they decided to purchase it <ref>http://www.liverweb.org.uk/g.htm</ref>

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 - originally known as the Kemlyn Road. Despite the club buying every other house in the street and holding them empty from 1981 onwards so they could be demolished to make way for the new stand, Joan and Nora Mason refused to move out of their home until finally accepting a settlement in late 1990 <ref>http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Anfield--Home-of-Liverpool-FC-193002.html</ref>. The development saw all of the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent. The newly completed Centenary stand was opened for the club's centenary in 1992, with a capacity of 11,762.
Anfield Road Stand - rebuilt in 1998, with a capacity of 9,074, including the away fans section. The Away fans are located on the lower tier, 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.

Image:76693565 b44605f726 2.jpg

A chart showing the seating stands can be seen here [3]

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 [4], as well as a pair of gates at two entrances to the stadium, the Shankly Gates [5]and Paisley Gates [6], named after Shankly and his successor Bob Paisley. Floodlights were installed in 1957, and first used in a game against Everton.

Great Eastern - the giant flagpole found at Anfield's Kop End was actually the top mast from the Great Eastern ship which was one of the first ever iron ships. It originates from the start of the century. The club came by it when they were looking for a flagpole and with the ship being broken up at nearby Rock Ferry. they decided to purchase it.

[edit] 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.[7].

In the early stages, there had been suggestions for the new stadium to be shared with local rivals Everton F.C. but this was ruled out by Liverpool's Board of Directors in 2005.

[edit] Attendance

[edit] Records

Record Attendance: 61,905 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, February 2nd, 1952 (FA Cup 4th Round)

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

My Anfield - Collection of fans' memories
Pictures at Anfield
Anfield at Google Maps
Fan Photos from Anfield

Liverpool Football Club
The Club \| History \| Statistics
Players \| 100 notable players
Seasons \| Merseyside derby \| 2005-06 Champions League qualification
Anfield \| Boot Room \|Stanley Park Stadium

UEFA 4-star rated football stadia

v • d • e</div>

Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark	Parken Stadium
Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg England	Anfield
	City of Manchester Stadium
	St Mary's Stadium
	Stadium of Light
	Villa Park
	Riverside Stadium

Image:Flag of France.svg France	Parc des Princes
	Stade Gerland
Image:Flag of Greece.svg Greece	Karaiskákis Stadium
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands	Philips Stadion
	Gelredome
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden	Råsunda Stadium
	Ullevi Stadium
Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland	St. Jakob Park

FA Premier League Venues 2006-2007
Anfield \| Boleyn Ground \| Bramall Lane \| City of Manchester Stadium \| Craven Cottage Emirates Stadium \| Ewood Park \| Fratton Park \| Goodison Park \| JJB Stadium Madejski Stadium \| Old Trafford \| Reebok Stadium \| Riverside Stadium \| St James' Park Stamford Bridge \| The Valley \| Vicarage Road \| Villa Park \| White Hart Lane