Match Thread: Liverpool v Everton

[justme]

We could have delt with the final phase of the Everton goal better.. But Macca gave away a stupid pass a few moments earlier that lead up to the bitters goal..He looked god for the most part though.. still nowhere near his level yet

[Steveo]

Nobody is going to mention it in light of another great result BUT

Merseyside derby… and the ground was like a mortuary. Literally no atmosphere at all.

[miller0863]

12:30 kick offs always struggle for atmosphere at every ground to be fair

[jozza800]

Nobody is going to mention it in light of another great result BUT

Merseyside derby… and the ground was like a mortuary. Literally no atmosphere at all.

It was massively noticeable. It was as quiet as a midweek league cup game.

[ianlfc]

12:30 kick offs always struggle for atmosphere at every ground to be fair

100%, go to any Derby in the world and the atmosphere would be different from 12.30 to even 3 o'clock.
A couple of hours in the pub makes all the difference. When we won the league in 19/20 we beat Everton on a wet November/December night under the floodlights and the atmosphere was amazing.
Tv companies can have everything.

[Kev0909]

100%, go to any Derby in the world and the atmosphere would be different from 12.30 to even 3 o'clock.
A couple of hours in the pub makes all the difference. When we won the league in 19/20 we beat Everton on a wet November/December night under the floodlights and the atmosphere was amazing.
Tv companies can have everything.

It's not just that, I imagine most of the fans in the stadium spend most of the time shitting themselves at the moment and nervy as fuck

Feels like that watching at home, anyway.

Every single game has been close or we've nearly fucked it up... it's not good really

Not been able to relax and enjoy it one game yet this season.

[Steveo]

It’s not just the midday KO’s tho. Been an issue for years now. And getting worse each year. Last few years it’s been the worst I have witnessed be it under the lights for Cup Quarter finals - CL games even one during the height of the title race last Christmas . The atmosphere is just nothing like it was.

Even the NY Times has picked up on it - it’s glaring


https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5784965/2024/09/23/liverpool-anfield-atmosphere-supporters/


Forum barely works for me btw. Sticky and beyond slow.

[Steveo]

The below is heavily US centric and for every 50 voices that have an issue with it they will have found 1 to counter it but the reality is - the Anfield atmosphere doesn't pass the smell test.

We need to talk about the Anfield atmosphere

Liverpool’s Anfield home is a stadium widely associated with noise and passion. But, for a few years now, the experience of attending games there has been a topic discussed among those who do so regularly.
On the past two weekends, back-to-back 3pm Saturday fixtures there against teams who are not considered immediate rivals gave some insight. In the shock 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, it is widely accepted the supporters did not play their part in helping the team, perhaps through surprise at the scoreline.
However, during the 3-0 win over Bournemouth this Saturday, the atmosphere was better — and not just because Liverpool were winning. There was a genuine effort to get behind the men in red down on the pitch and to silence those who call out the supposed underwhelming experience of a modern Anfield matchday. One of the supporters interviewed for this article hoped Saturday would be so good it would end any need for The Athletic to write about it.

Yet a section of the away following up from the south coast felt it apt to chant, “Two-nil (up), and you still don’t sing” when Luis Diaz scored his second goal of the match midway through the first half. The travelling Forest fans a week earlier roared, “Where’s your famous atmosphere?” — a song heard often from the stadium’s away end in recent years.

Such throwaway banter does not happen without reason. In short, there’s an expectation to be blown away by a matchday at Anfield. The occasional song about in-form players does not quite cut it, although the new chant for Ryan Gravenberch to the tune of This Girl — previously used to honour midfield predecessor Georginio Wijnaldum — has the hallmarks of a classic.

Every supporter spoken to for this article said they would like the atmosphere to be better but pinning down exactly what is to blame for the reduced noise levels is difficult.

English crowds, typically, are reactive. New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, having been questioned on the topic by The Athletic in the press conference before the Bournemouth game, said: “We as a team, and as players, have to be aware of the fact that fans need something to get behind. The only thing I can ask the fans is if we don’t show up enough, maybe they can help us and say, ‘OK, it looks like it’s not their day, let’s help them’, by singing, cheering, or whatever they can come up with.” Slot wants Liverpool fans’ help if the team are struggling

The demographic at Anfield has changed.
In a stadium with a capacity of 61,276, there are only 28,000 season-ticket holders and the average age of matchgoing fans is rising. With more than 30,000 names on a waiting list, it is difficult to get a seat in the ground and the price of tickets now puts many off.
The “too many tourists” discussion has grown because Anfield is a bucket-list experience. On any matchday, there will be first-timers soaking up the surroundings. Some of these people will be lifelong Liverpool fans and others will be there just for the occasion. Those fortunate to get a ticket when the place is rocking will have memories for life.


When fans visit Anfield for the first time: 'It was hard to hold back the tears'
Anfield may have fallen a little flat in recent years but Les Lawson, chairman of the Merseyside branch of the Liverpool Supporters Club says: “I’ve been going since the 1970s and it’s a myth that the place used to be bouncing for all home matches. It’s always been the case that it would be flatter against the lesser clubs, and we’ve only played Brentford, Forest and Bournemouth at home this season.”

Les sits in Block 104 on the Kop and has been a season-ticket holder for over 40 years, after his father, Eddie, introduced him to the club when Bill Shankly was manager. Like many others, the 61-year-old recognises a need for more youthful faces at games: “The lack of young people is a factor. When I started to go to Anfield on my own, when I was 13, you could just queue up with your mates and pay on the gate. Now you can’t go at that age unless you are accompanied by an adult, and it’s also much harder for youngsters to get hold of tickets in advance.”

Spirit of Shankly (SOS), the supporters’ union, discussed the atmosphere with the club on Sunday. SOS has previously campaigned for a “young people” section within the stadium, believing it would help lift the broader crowd during some of a game’s quieter moments.

Suggestions were put forward to create this section in the new Anfield Road Stand but instead, a hospitality area was prioritised, which is great for bringing more money into the club, but doesn’t particularly help the matchday atmosphere. SOS is also in favour of a migration scheme, where older supporters not interested in singing move off the Kop to seats in another stand. This has already started to happen.

Paul Khan, the chair of SOS who first went to Anfield as a three-year-old in 1966 and sits on the Kop, says: “There is an issue with the atmosphere and we’ve raised that with the club. In the 1970s and ’80s, the atmosphere was so good because people would gravitate together if they were like-minded people and that would help. It’s hard to get that togetherness these days, because getting a ticket is so difficult.”
Even the area in Block 106 of the Kop — originally designed for those passionate about singing — has lost its edge.

Perhaps the bigger question, though, is: how important is the atmosphere?
John Gibbons, 42, has been a season-ticket holder since 1992 and sits in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, where he used to attend games with his father, who has now passed away. John likes to sing but sometimes he’ll just chat with his friends, believing that “quiet is better than negative”. Some fans say there is an issue with the atmosphere at Anfield

Would he like the atmosphere to be better?
“Yes,” he says. “But what do we do with it? Is it to entertain ourselves? Is it to entertain those watching on the TV? Or is it to help the team win? Because if the purpose is to help the team win, then we’ve been doing a brilliant job. The Forest game was the third (Premier League) home game Virgil van Dijkhas lost at Liverpool (since signing in January 2018). It’s early days under Arne Slot, but under Jurgen Klopp our home record was phenomenal.”

John is also a leading voice on The Anfield Wrap podcast. He tries to promote a simple message through that platform to those who pay to watch Liverpool.
“What I would like our fans to consider is, when we go into the ground, are we trying to create a positive atmosphere for the team to win? That’s slightly different to how we talk about atmosphere,” he says. “I’m not particularly bothered about going through every song in the songbook and going through every verse of Poor Scouser Tommy so it sounds nice on the telly. What I’m concerned about is making it good for our players and harder for the opposition. When the Liverpool atmosphere is the best, we’ve seen teams crumble.”

John has his opinions on what’s right and wrong at Anfield — “I don’t like people leaving (games) early, it’s s***,” he says — but when asked if the amount of non-locals, or tourists, is contributing to the issue that so many people are now talking about, he says: “When we’re selling so many corporate tickets and then saying that won’t help the atmosphere, there’s a misunderstanding. I don’t necessarily agree with it from a moral point of view. You’re restricting the amount of tickets people can afford from a price point, but in relation to the atmosphere, I don’t think it’s the problem. These people just want to see Liverpool and will pay whatever they can to do so.”

Les agrees.
“Some people point the finger at too many corporate guests or too many day-trippers but it’s a whole range of factors,” he says. “You get corporate-ticket holders who are just there to be entertained, but others in those seats are just passionate fans who can afford to pay. Pricing is also an issue. Lots of passionate fans can’t afford to go to Anfield every week and have to pick and choose their games. Those who live far away have to make even greater sacrifices to follow the team than someone who lives in the city.”
Sitting together in a group is a struggle these days because of the demand for tickets. That affects the atmosphere because “nobody wants to be going to a game and sitting on their own, or starting songs on their own. It just doesn’t work,” says John. “It’s hard for young people to go to games, sit together and drive the atmosphere, and we know they are the ones who are needed.”

Getting back to winning ways in these early weeks under Slot after a blip late last season has raised expectations and with Liverpool now back in the Champions League, there’s plenty to get excited about. At times in that 2023-24 campaign, the Anfield atmosphere was electric when the team were in the title race and during the final games of Jurgen Klopp’s reign.
Five of Liverpool’s next six home games will be under the lights, which makes a huge difference. There’s a feeling, shared across other stadiums, that 3pm on a Saturday is not the best kick-off time to generate a good atmosphere, and that the biggest challenge is finding a way to get supporters pumped up for such occasions.
John says: “We’ve got an 8pm coming up against Aston Villa (on Saturday, November 9) and I’m sure that will be brilliant.
“I can tell you now, nobody is going to be moaning about the atmosphere after that.”

[sydenham red]

Later ko's = louder atmosphere lol. Correlation between longer boozing time and no. of pints sunk methinks.

[ianlfc]

And is Everton really a big game anymore ? Especially for modern day fans.
How many scousers were on the pitch for both sides ? Maybe if Everton became league rivals then I'm sure the atmosphere would improve at Anfield against them for a 12.30 kick off.
Jurgen hated a 12.30 kick off for this very reason.

[Steveo]

I was at Anfield for this cup quarter final v West Ham - not an 12:30 KO but under the lights and Klopp went on camera and spoke about how unhappy he was with the lack of atmosphere.

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/12/jurgen-klopp-warns-quiet-anfield-fans-to-give-your-ticket-away-in-passionate-plea/

I can promise you Ian - we are fast becoming a tourist club - the amount of day trippers from Dublin off the ferry - the number flying in from Denmark and further afield - is off the scale…. and Anfield is losing its atmosphere in favour of chasing higher paying bigger spending and much much less involved bums ons seats.

[teesred]

I was at Anfield for this cup quarter final v West Ham - not an 12:30 KO but under the lights and Klopp went on camera and spoke about how unhappy he was with the lack of atmosphere.

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/12/jurgen-klopp-warns-quiet-anfield-fans-to-give-your-ticket-away-in-passionate-plea/

I can promise you Ian - we are fast becoming a tourist club - the amount of day trippers from Dublin off the ferry - the number flying in from Denmark and further afield - is off the scale…. and Anfield is losing its atmosphere in favour of chasing higher paying bigger spending and much much less involved bums ons seats.

That's the plan. The owners of the big clubs dont care about atmosphere, working class people have been priced out of the games for years and years now. The amount of "hospitality" options is huge now compared to a few years ago and most of the bigger clubs are going down that route.
The Americanization of British sports is beyond stopping now, they've well and truly bought it.
It's akin to concerts and the whole "golden circle" bullshit at stadium gigs. Standing tickets used to be the cheapest but they're now the most expensive option and it's an easy win because if you don't pay it somebody else will and bands/artists give less of a fuck than ever due to the fact streaming has rinsed their income. Oasis being the most noteable example last year with the dynamic pricing carry on, expect that in football soon. Highest bidder wins=legalized touting.
Both leisure pastimes of football and music concerts have become wealthy and elite, if you can't afford the hospitality ( cheapest ticket around 400 quid at Anfield) then it's into the black market for inflated prices off people selling their tickets to make some money and you risk getting scammed.

All of the above has created like you say the day tripper experience where the fans don't know the songs etc and in truth it's not their fault. It's the price of success and every fan is entitled to go and watch the team, Liverpool have never been more popular which is a double edged sword. It breeds more success but lessens the chances of genuine lifelong fans getting into the place and it won't improve anytime soon.
I got an email today about a survey regarding ticket system. I just deleted as there's no point. 4/5 seasons in that shite fan membership scheme and I've not had a single ticket. I got a nice couple of badges though and a fucking beanie hat when I first joined. I hate that registering for all the games in two stints. I'd prefer to just try and get them a couple of weeks prior like the old phone line system.

[Steveo]

Great post tees.

[miller0863]

Yep, I received the badges and beanie hat, very much doubt I’ll get any tickets.

The fact I’ve been on the waiting list for some 23 years means absolutely nothing.

They told me last month, they don’t even know where anyone is on the list for some reason which frightens the life out of me.

I am fully expecting them to have “accidentally” deleted the waiting list and we have to start again

[justme]

Great stuff