Anfield

Lore & Background

The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Anfield. The word originated in the combination of Old and Middle English words, which mean 'a field on a slope'. Anfield, and its deviations, has been associated with the area since at least 1642. It has been suggested that the name is linked to the influx of Irish people into the spreading city in the 1850s, and was associated with Annefield, outside New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell. The first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. During Everton's tenure, stands were erected for some of the 8,000-plus spectators regularly attending matches, although the ground was capable of holding around 20,000 spectators and occasionally did. The ground was considered of international standard at the time, playing host to the British Home Championship match between England and Ireland in 1889. Anfield's first league match was played on 8 September 1888, between Everton and Accrington F.C. Everton became Anfield's first league champions in the 1890–91 season. In 1892, negotiations to purchase the land from Orrell escalated into a dispute between Houlding and the Everton committee, culminating in Everton's move to Goodison Park. Houlding formed Liverpool F.C., and the club's first match at Anfield was a friendly on 1 September 1892 against Rotherham Town, won 7–1. Liverpool's first Football League match at Anfield was on 9 September 1893 against Lincoln City, won 4–0. A new stand was constructed in 1895 on the site of the present Main Stand, designed by Archibald Leitch. Another stand was built at the Anfield Road end in 1903. After Liverpool won their second League championship in 1906, a new stand was built along Walton Breck Road, named the Spion Kop by local journalist Ernest Edwards. Around the same period, a stand was built along Kemlyn Road. In 1928, the Kop was redesigned and extended to hold 30,000 spectators, all standing, with a roof. In the same year, the topmast of the Great Britain was erected alongside the new Kop as a flagpole. Floodlights were installed in 1957. In 1963, the old Kemlyn Road stand was replaced by a cantilevered stand. In 1965, alterations were made at the Anfield Road end.

Reader's Guide

The stadium has four stands: the Spion Kop, the Main Stand, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, and the Anfield Road End. The record attendance of 61,905 was set at a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. The ground converted to an all-seater stadium in 1994 as a result of the Taylor Report. Two gates are named after former Liverpool managers: Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. Both managers have been honoured with statues outside the stadium: Shankly's unveiled in 1997 by the Kop Stand and Paisley's in 2020 by the Main Stand. The ground is 2 mi from Liverpool Lime Street railway station. The club proposed relocating to a new stadium in Stanley Park in 2002; after Fenway Sports Group acquired Liverpool in 2010, the decision was taken to expand Anfield instead. This extension opened on 9 September 2016, increasing capacity to 54,074. Redevelopments were made to the Anfield Road Stand in 2024, increasing capacity to over 61,000.

Did You Know?

• The first match at Anfield was on 28 September 1884, not 27 September.
• The Spion Kop was named after a hill in South Africa where a local regiment suffered heavy losses during the Boer War.
• The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982 and feature the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.