LAST Sunday must have felt like familiar territory for Jürgen Klopp. A copycat 2-1 defeat with a headed winning goal for Crystal Palace at the Anfield Road End will have had the manager’s thoughts laden with déjà vu.
Swap last week’s bright spring sunshine for last November’s dank, depressing day and you have the exact same scenario. Another mass exodus, to remind Klopp of his “feeling alone” moment near the outset of his arrival in Liverpool, reinforces the battle he and his players face with Anfield’s version of the modern Premier League crowd.
Of course, many of Sunday’s premature departures are rooted in disappointment and frustration. I’ve known times when a late, result-confirming goal has seen me heading for the exits cursing all and sundry. However, by the full-time whistle only the die-hards – stood in resigned silence – remained and thousands had flooded out with the game still in the balance and as much as 10 minutes of the game left.
The sight of row upon row of empty seats was a backdrop unlikely to spur the Reds on to salvage a crucial point. An emptying stadium offers a subliminal message that the game is up and the Reds’ final efforts to escape with a draw reflected this. Surely, if you’re really into it, the desire to rescue something from the weekend should outweigh the desire to beat the traffic, get on the first bus or just be first to the bar.
What is more, leaving a football match with a chunk of time still to play is to fundamentally misunderstand the ebb and flow not just of the game, but also seasons potentially defined and shaped by vital late goals. Equally, the relish for a late equalizer seems to have gone out of fashion; with all three points the only satisfactory outcome. As soon as the prospect of victory looks out of reach, too many are content to vote with their feet and head for the hills.
Sunday fixtures are a menace at the best of times but apathy reigned from the start. Despite the club’s Champions League hopes riding on the final five matches, with the added incentive of putting one over on Sam Allardyce and a Palace side who had already won at Anfield two years running, a funereal atmosphere and an unfathomable, gathering sense of anger towards players who have performed consistently well at home this season, set the tone for a limp showing on the pitch.
It seems that despite Liverpool’s problems residing in dispatching lowly opposition, the crowd – and in turn, the team – remain sniffy at the prospect of the routine home wins against unfashionable outfits. As a club and a fan-base we need to be more humble; to recognise the worth, talent and no little intent of the opposition and their right to the points as much as ours.
Contrast Sunday’s attitude with the crackling noise accompanying the Saturday tea-time games against Spurs and Arsenal and you have a bipolar Anfield unsure of its true identity. The sight of traditional foes can still make the old ground remember itself every now and then, as though clinging for dear life to an age-old, worldwide reputation for support still matters.
However, the occasions when the home crowd recognises the need for the backing that makes a difference, and responds positively to adversity – especially against teams we’re expected to beat – are becoming few and far between.
For a newer breed, the tariff on the ticket carries with it an assumption of pre-ordained victory. And for the old brigade, ever more cynical with each passing year, the ghosts of distant triumphs and heroes taint the efforts of impressionable young players – still with it all to prove – who would long to hear the more resonant voices of their youth.
The curmudgeons and cynics would in days of yore retire to the havens of the old Main Stand and Kemlyn Road stands and while many still reside there, as many battle-weary relics who remember past glories now occupy The Kop seats; content to sit, prone to anxiety and liable to pollute what was once a youthful ambiance.
Yes, there are too many Premier League tourists inside the theme park Anfield has become, but the absence of young, infectious passion to dilute such neutrality or even inspire a more collective vibe is the critical missing link.
Alongside those who treat a pilgrimage to Liverpool like a trip to Disneyland are those who belong in home for the criminally ancient and narky. If the club were to ever entertain the idea of safe standing, or more accurately the railed seating section now being enjoyed by supporters of Glasgow Celtic, part of the challenge would be finding 3,000 supporters young and vibrant enough to stand and shout for 90 minutes.
Joking aside, the effect of a designated area for supporters whose prime motive is to add noise and personality to proceedings goes way beyond the section itself and transmits to the whole stadium. It’s fair to say many who lament and moan about Anfield’s lack of atmosphere will readily admit to being largely mute themselves.
Everyone needs something tangible to feed off and in today’s more reserved sporting society, we’re all afraid of being the embarrassing lone wolf. Responsibility for creating the noise once associated with Anfield shouldn’t rest solely with the smattering of proactive younger fans who still attend home games and the willing old stagers whose voices have seen less gravelly days.
Some of the joy of watching Liverpool in a bygone era was a sense and understanding that you were part of a movement; there to do a job. Bill Shankly’s concept of his “professional supporters” extended way beyond his own time, but too often these days it feels like swathes of the crowd see the match as a nice day out and woe betide if the afternoon gets ruined by misfortune on the pitch. When things go awry, hostility once reserved for the opposition is now recycled into abuse and impatience towards our own players and amid a pervading overall silence it makes for a poisonous mood.
In the short term, there are no obvious answers to an issue that has been around for years. But as Liverpool home in on a crucial spot in the Champions League and a status that is critical to the development of Klopp’s management, if we can at least extol the virtues of patience, positively channel some of our fears and frustrations and stick around until the final whistle, that would be a start.
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leaving early been going on for years 60s the kop singing to the kemlyn road about leaving,not many diehards left,hahahahhahahha
It was wrong then and is wrong now.
People lucky enough to be able to get a ticket should stay until the end. Not too much to ask….is it?
Really insightful stuff, thanks Mike. Looking and listening from afar it’s massively frustrating that a stadium that can crackle with energy for some games, and in doing so influence the result, seems so anxious and quiet and reserved on other occasions. The grounds with the permanently fantastic atmospheres around the world seem to exist in a state where the match itself is almost incidental – it’s about that sense of community, or camaraderie and just making a din. Arguably the EPL has been commodified to such an extent that the patrons now are bound to be less ‘ultra’ in mindset, but that doesn’t mean the owners and the league in general shouldn’t get thinking about ways to reverse the decline and get people up for it again. It does make a difference. If we miss out on top 4, last Sunday’s game will have been a major body blow and everyone involved has to look at how it happened, and that includes the early leavers. But the ground will still be full next season, Champion’s League or not. So if you’re going to go anyway, why not stick around and make a bit of a racket?
Hiya mate. I’m intrigued by your comment
“the permanently fantastic atmospheres around the world seem to exist in a state where the match itself is almost incidental – it’s about that sense of community, or camaraderie and just making a din”.
I find this interesting because I was saying something similar yesterday on Adam’s piece. We all speculate as to the reasons for the poor atmosphere and recently I’ve added a new one to the long list I have. When I’ve been drinking I’m terribly loud to the extent I get glances from people within 20 rows of me, especially on the times I’ve tried out the new main stand. But, when I’m sober I don’t always feel like it and the reason is I’m absolutely fascinated by the game. The point I’m making is – years ago as a youth I was only interested in terrace culture. Football was secondary. It was all about singing. Mike often talks about games from the 80’s that I was at (and the only way I know that was because I still have the programme or ticket stub) yet I can’t remember the context, the score, who scored or even who played. It was just about being on the terraces. I’m not even sure I was even into football yet I was on the Kop from 8 years old. Now though, everything is about the match. We don’t even go for a pint beforehand. Home, to the match and home again. I’m in a spell when I watch them. I’m scrutinising every players contribution, their positioning, every pass and everything Klopp does. I’m suggesting football is so good now that it’s hard not to just sit there studying the game or being engrossed in it. I still only care about winning so even the most dour game has me intrigued.
Out of interest, you say you are afar and must find it odd people leave early. I’ve only left early twice. When Villa scored their third at Anfield a few years ago and I’m not sure why but I left early v Boro in the cup last year was it? I only missed about 30 pens. I watched through the window of a pub opposite the ground but I could hear the result of the pens from the Kop’s roar before they took them on the tv, haha. Back to my point, parking around Anfield is a nightmare. We used to park in Everton Valley and getting out of the estates was a mare. Then once you’re out, for people like me who live over the water then we can only get across by using the 2 tunnels and they bottleneck. When the new stand opened they tried to appease the people on the estate by making it a no parking zone. Parking is even worse now. It’s getting impossible to park for free. If it’s a one off trip it’s fine waiting but when it’s a few times a month it does your head in.
Now, it doesn’t really bother me. I’ll wait. But, a lad I sometimes go with works all over the world on the planes. He comes home for a few days to coincide with matches. So, he doesn’t feel he has the time to sit around. He likes to go to his local at routine hours whenever he’s back. I generally have to make my way down to the stairs and stand at the top of stairs that lead out, to watch the last 5 mins. That causes fights too. People hate it when you’re blocking them leaving, haha. I feel a duty to not hold him up though. I’m just giving an example of why some people do leave early. I don’t like it but often there’s a reason. For example, if you’ve been invited to a do on the Wirral at 7 then for a 3pm kick off you’re leaving 5 mins early or you’re losing an hour. Some have to go to work etc. There’s a lot of people who have to drive to the game and the area around Anfield is absolutely no suitable for it.
Hi Robin, all good points, and I think when you talk about how your matchgoing experience has changed over the years the same probably rings true for many people. It’s like gigs – you’ve had the time of your life but you can’t even remember what the first song was. But if the ground held a broad demographic, then there would ALWAYS be people in that first flush of fandom, and everyone would benefit.
Never left a match early and will never do so, even when I lived in the Midlands I stayed to the (sometimes) bitter end. I just reason that I am there to support my team and leaving early isn’t doing that. The old Kop used to wither criticism on the Kemlyn Road with a chorus of “Sit down you bums, sit down you bums.” Nowadays it’s the Kop having an early dart too.
I might be one of the “battle-weary relics who remember past glories” but I would love to stand on the Kop again and sing the songs of my youth and the ones of today. Safe standing has to come.
Who at Anfield is responsible for the adopted style of play. The tactics seem to be passing the ball sideways,sideways.sideways and back. Sideways,sideways,sideways and back. Or for a variation, backwards and backwards and a couple more sideways until the ball is given away. Does this sound boring ? You bet it is. The object of the game is to put the ball in the onion bag which is at the end of the pitch. Not on the side. Oh for the days of Ian St.John when standing behind the goal was akin to watching the cavalry charging at you.
Fans have every right to leave early when the team are as poor as last Sunday, football is supposed to be entertainment, that wasn’t!
Would you sit through a boring film just because your favourite actor is in it?
I have a 170 mile round trip by car to each game and attend all home games, if I don’t leave early I will be stuck on the car park and then in congestion making a 2 hour journey 3 1/2 hours. At the age of 72 I am not prepared to do this. I would dearly love to be there at the final whistle but for me it just does not make sense.
However there is no excuse for those with short journeys and are lucky enough to live in Liverpool, so don’t criticize me, what would you do !
I would let my seat go to someone who can stay the whole game.
Another brilliant read on here. There seem to be 2 main camps on this long running question about the Anfield atmosphere. One camp say along the lines of ‘I’ve paid good money to be entertained’ so if the team are not clicking they are entitled to start throwing rotten tomatoes at the ‘overpaid’ players who are ‘not fit to wear the shirt’. The other camp are more the kind of fan Klopp is looking for, who will get behind the team when a match is tight, who will not groan at the first misplaced pass or sliced clearance from Mignolet.
One thing this team cannot be accused of is lack of effort. Klopp would never allow that. I think anyone is entitled to be in the first camp for lack of effort. But the team, even more so given the injuries, deserved better support last week against Palace. Two hard fought away wins had put us back in the driving seat for CL football, Anfield should have been rocking. The deafening silence and increasing tension played into Allardyce’s plan, and any other bottom half team. Streams of people leaving early is the icing on the cake.
So So the first camp do pay there money and are entitled to their opinion. But what if we all join the first camp. 50000 fans telling Mignolet he is shite, hammering the team at at anything short of the perfect start to a match. Are we going to win more games or less games at home with an atmosphere like that? Would we have come back at Istanbul, Dortmund if the fans gave up. Unless we are saying atmosphere has no impact on players performance, which it clearly does, the answer is obvious. 2 home games to go. If we turn up looking to be ‘entertained’, I fear it’s going to be a sad end to a season which offered so much promise . If we turn up ready to fight for every ball with the lads out there, show them we are with them for every second, we have a chance of a getting ourselves back where this club belongs. This is sport, 2 teams of highly trained professionals in a fight, not entertainment. Go to a musical if you want guaranteed entertainment. Massive 4 games coming up.
If fans want to leave early its their choice I did last sunday The article comments on players giving 100% effort. It was a poor performance v bournemouth but they did give 100%. Against Palace they were casual, slow & lacking concentration in all areas from the 1st What drove me to an early exit was the sight of firmino bottling a 70/30 chance against their keeper & the best defender on display being a Scouse discarded by LFC
Heckler and Klopp up to their usual standard of intelligent comment,.
As a supporter that has a return journey of over 250 miles, and attends all home games, I stay and support the team to the end of every game. Yes, the parking and traffic is crap, but having paid £50 for a ticket plus beer and petrol money, why would I want to leave 5 minutes from the end of a game in particular when there’s a chance we could get more out of a game than we’ve got? The Palace game was a typical case – so called supporters streaming out of Anfield with over 5 minutes of normal time left. As the great Brian Clough said “it only takes a few seconds to score a goal”.
So if you want to come and support LFC then do just that or don’t bother!