Joining Gareth Roberts for our second edition of ‘The Big Question’, where the room discusses the much debated subject of the atmosphere at Anfield, joining Gareth for the discussion are Anfield Wrap regulars Ben Johnson, Steve Graves, Mike Nevin and John Gibbons.
Click here to subscribe and listen.
finally ben johnson is BACK!!!
Brilliant hour of listening. Upshot seemed to be there are too many people who have had season tickets for years and whilst loyalty like that deserves respect, if they can’t get behind the team any more what are they still going for.
Is one possible answer to make season tickets only cover say 14 matches a season selected randomly by a computer. The other 5 matches get put out for sale to kids etc which if I have got maths right would mean about an extra 10000 seats per match on general sale
Club would not want to lose the guaranteed income but there needs to be more churn in the ground to liven things up.
Back in the 80s I could turn up from over the water in Wallasey on the day for any match at the Kop and pay to get in if got there early enough apart from Man U and the bluenoses which back then were known as ‘all ticket matches’ as not being able to pay on the gate was not the norm.
These days I bring my daughter up from London to occasional games now and it is like planning a holiday. But so glad she is a Red rather than making me take her to Arsenal, Chelsea etc like her mates at school. Luckily a mate gets me some away tickets for matches in London and down south. Atmosphere foraways is usually as good as I remember it 30 years ago.
Part of the problem is more and more people expect to be ‘entertained’ and hammer all the lower teams. It’s Professional sport not entertainment like a musical. There are 11 other highly paid fellas out there who are trying to ruin your entertainment.
Like you say the debate will rumble on until either (a) we win the league or possibly CL = everyone happy (b) we get relegated = everyone starts to going to Tranmere instead.
But surely something can be done as it might be some time before (a) and ironically improving the atmosphere might help get is there quicker!
Thanks fellas for an inspiring hour which brought back a lot of memories.
Why not offer season ticket holders the chance to buy less tickets at reduced cost at the beggining of the season. Then sell the seats on the members sale to youngsters.
For new young fans who are commited to coming regularly stoke at home is a massive game. If you go regularly stoke at home is a boring affair.
P.s. ben johnson is great
I used to just turn up in the old days and so true now it is like planning a holiday. My brother got tickets for derby got a meal and picture with Terry Mac and then watched a load of crud. Moaning on the way out sorounded by jubilant bitters . I asked if we can get the 3 point package next time
Sporting contest they are unpredictable , except for Swansea which was exactly like the Derby
One thing that wasn’t mentioned I don’t think is that the Kop used to be loudest when the team was struggling or losing. I remember first times on the Kop when we went behind as a teenager and ‘getting it’ that this is your job as a Kopite – help the team when things are going against them. People throw the towel in to easily nowadays, groans, get on the scapegoat of the months back etc which is probably down to the 27 years or whatever it is since we last won the league. But it is every away team’s team talk at Anfield, get the crowd on their backs. No doubt it was easier in the 80s to be a Red than it has been since then so it’s a bit rose tinted to say how great the support used to be compared to now. Definitely needs something doing though, totally agree with the comment that for someone who can only get tickets for stoke at home then that will be like a cup final.
One word: vuvuzelas
Good luck looking for volunteers for the Paul G cull of loyal supporters who have forked out up front for over 30 years
Loved this. We’ve all got our story – mine is 12 years old 5 years in a row commuting from Neston on a supporters bus and just walking into the Kop 10 mins before the game. Now in London and easier to go abroad for European games. Two things: 1) Wasn’t ‘out of town’ issue surfaced with Keane and prawn sandwiches and 2) the assumption that out of town’ers do not have same political stance.
Liverpool songs way too complicated for irregulars.
Other point: Klopp has been brought up with Dortmund – we aren’t even close to the atmosphere they have now developed.
I’ve heard you guys cover the out of towners before but never as well as you did today. A good lot of us accept and practice every ideal or belief mentipned about how to behave when visiting Anfield. Truthfully, some that go to Anfield are moronic selfie-snapping twats but we’re not all of the same mold. We are a part of the team, the city, the atmosphere, and the general belief that is LFC despite living on the other side of the world. We don’t open any article that comes across our phone that links to the S**. We (20 of us) gather at 4:30 in the morning to scream at a tele’. We’ve cursed at Howard Webb like no other. We boo the site of Whiskey-nose Fergie. We’ve read the names of the 96 out loud in the pub while the rest stand in silence. We’ve never met either of the Hicks’, Margaret Aspinall, and missed our chance of ever meeting Anne Williams. We come only once a year because we don’t have the luxury of living near there. When we do come, we dont posh it up. We drink our bevies and eat our pie. We only purchase official kits and buy full memberships hoping that some small portion of our funds will trickle into the grounds, the players, the staff, or the City and not for another fur coat for Linda. We do it out of blind loyalty. We’ll never run into the players in the city during our everyday comings and goings. Despite the distance we do so because we love the team, the City, and all that it stands for. I live in Pasadena, California now but am proud to be the only non-Liverpool born scouser originally from a small farming town in Mexico. Thanks for raising our voice on this episode. There should be a place in the grounds for visitors like us. Eleven of us are coming in February for the West Ham match. On the odd chance we run into you, the pints are on me. Cheers.
You’re welcome, Efren. What a fine message.