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, a minor landowner who was a friend of Everton member John Houlding. The first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. The ground was considered of international standard at the time, playing host to the British Home Championship match between England and Ireland in 1889. 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. to occupy the empty stadium. The club's first match at Anfield was a friendly on 1 September 1892 against Rotherham Town, which Liverpool won 7–1. Liverpool's first Football League match at Anfield was played on 9 September 1893 against Lincoln City, a 4–0 win. 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 the Walton Breck Road, named the Spion Kop by local journalist Ernest Edwards. The Kop was redesigned and extended in 1928 to hold 30,000 spectators, all standing. Floodlights were installed in 1957. The old Kemlyn Road stand was replaced by a cantilevered stand in 1963. The biggest redevelopment came in 1973, when the old Main Stand was partially demolished and extended. The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982. After the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, the Taylor Report recommended all grounds convert to all-seater by May 1994. A second tier was added to the Kemlyn Road stand in 1992, renamed the Centenary Stand. The Kop was rebuilt in 1994 and became all-seated. A bronze statue of Bill Shankly was unveiled on 4 December 1997 in front of the Kop. In 1998, a new two-tier Anfield Road end was opened. The club proposed relocating to a new stad

In Their Own Story

The air inside Anfield was thick with anticipation, smelling faintly of rain and old grass. As the England players walked through the tunnel, the walls seemed to vibrate with the collective voice of thousands singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone.' It wasn't just a match; it was an arrival at one of football's sacred sites. The red flags waved like a sea of fire from The Kop, a visual testament to decades of passion that transcended club loyalties for this single night.

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 at the stadium 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.

Did You Know?

• Anfield hosted a British Home Championship match between England and Ireland in 1889.
• The Spion Kop stand was named after a hill in South Africa where a local regiment suffered heavy losses during the Boer War in 1900.
• The topmast of the , one of the first iron ships, was erected alongside the Kop in 1928 and still serves as a flagpole.
• The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982, a tribute to former manager Bill Shankly; his widow Nessie unlocked them for the first time on 26 August 1982.
• The Hillsborough memorial is situated next to 97 Avenue in front of the redeveloped main stand, with an eternal flame at its centre.