MY FOOTBALL MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES RANGE FROM WATCHING SCARBOROUGH AWAY TO TEAMS LIKE BARROW AND RHYL IN FRONT OF CROWDS OF AROUND 120 PEOPLE TO THE FANTASTIC EUROPEAN NIGHTS OF THE LATE 60's AND EARLY 70's AT THAT MAGICAL PLACE CALLED "ANFIELD", WHERE I WAS A PART OF THAT MAGNIFICENT FAMILY OF 26,000 SWAYING SOULS ALL PACKED IN TOGETHER BEHIND THE GOAL ON THE FAMOUS "KOP". 
NOW AS LIVERPOOL PREPARE TO LEAVE ANFIELD AND MOVE ACROSS TO STANLEY PARK AND BUILD THEIR NEW SUPER STADIUM, I AM WONDERING WHY THEY CANNOT INCLUDE A TERRACED KOP IN THEIR PLANS. I FEEL MOST FANS WOULD RELISH A RETURN TO THE OLD ANFIELD ATMOSPHERE.
APART FROM FOLLOWING SCARBOROUGH F.C SINCE CHILDHOOD, I HAVE BEEN A LIVERPOOL FAN EVER SINCE WATCHING THEM DEFEAT LEEDS UNITED IN THE 1965 FA CUP FINAL AT THE OLD WEMBLEY.
I SAW THAT GAME ON A BLACK AND WHITE TV AND BECAME HOOKED ON THAT GREAT TEAM, THOSE WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS AND THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL MANAGER OF OUR TIMES, POSSIBLY ALL TIME, I MEAN OF COURSE THE LATE BILL SHANKLY. AND I KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY THAT I JUST HAD TO GO TO ANFIELD TO SEE THE TEAM AND EXPERIENCE THE KOP AND RELISH THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.
SO MUCH HAS BEEN SAID AND WROTE ABOUT THE GREAT MAN AND I AM NOT GOING TO REPEAT ANY OF THE STORIES IN THIS POST, BECAUSE I WOULD BE HERE FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. THE MAN IS A LEGEND, HE WAS LOVED BY ALL, HE WAS LOYAL AND EXPECTED THAT SAME LOYALTY IN RETURN, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE HIM, AND FOOTBALL LOST A LOT MORE THAN JUST A MANAGER WHEN IT LOST BILL SHANKLY.
THE GREAT MAN PROUDLY WEARING A CLUB SCARF.
THAT MAGICAL ERA FOR FOOTBALL HAS ALWAYS STAYED WITH ME IT HAD SUCH GREAT CHARACTERS, NOT JUST LIVERPOOL BUT MOST TEAMS, THE LIKES OF TOMMY LAWRENCE, IAN ST JOHN, ROGER HUNT, IAN CALLAGHAN, PETER THOMPSON, TOMMY SMITH AND RON YEATS FROM LIVERPOOL, LEEDS HAD PLAYERS LIKE BREMNER, CHARLTON, SPRAKE, MAN CITY WITH COLIN BELL, SUMMERBEE, FRANNY LEE, MAN UTD'S BEST, LAW CHARLTON ETC, SO MANY GREAT NAMES WHO PLAYED THE GAME AS IT SHOULD BE PLAYED, IN FRONT OF PACKED GROUNDS WITH TERRIFIC ATMOSPHERES, AND THE WORKING MAN COULD AFFORD TO WATCH, EVEN A 14 YEAR OLD GETTING 5 SHILLINGS A WEEK POCKET MONEY GOT TO A NICE FEW GAMES BY TRAIN, I REMEMBER LIVERPOOL WAS TOO FAR FROM SCARBOROUGH TO GET A CHEAP DAY RETURN, SO I HAD TO GET A DAY RETURN TO MANCHESTER, STAY ON THE TRAIN TO LIVERPOOL AND PAY THE DIFFERENCE AT LIME STREET- I THINK THE DIFFERENCE WAS EQUAL TO 80 PENCE IN PRESENT DAY MONEY. HAPPY DAYS!
THE KOP IN THE EARLY 60's.
COMING HOME MEANT A CHANGE AT MANCHESTER, AND A CHANGE OF STATION ALSO, THEN ANOTHER CHANGE AT STALYBRIDGE AND FINALLY YORK TO CATCH THE 4.30 a.m MAIL TRAIN HOME TO SCARBOROUGH. IT WAS ALWAYS WORTH IT TO SEE THOSE GREAT TEAMS, GET A GLIMPSE OF SHANKS, AND BE A PART OF THE KOP. THEN THE LONG WALK ALONG "SCOTTY ROAD" BACK TO LIME STREET. IT WAS USUALLY A GOOD EXPERIENCE AS LIVERPOOL RARELY LOST A GAME, ESPECIALLY IN EUROPEAN COMPETITION.
I ONLY KNEW ONE OTHER PERSON AT THAT TIME IN SCARBOROUGH WHO WAS A LIVERPOOL FAN, NOW , LIKE MOST OF THE BIG TEAMS YOU SEE PEOPLE WALKING AROUND WEARING THE COLOURS EVERYWHERE, BUT DO HALF OF THEM EVEN KNOW WHERE ANFIELD IS ?
GETTING TO THE POINT OF THIS POST.
THE LARGE CONCRETE BOWLS WHICH PASS FOR STADIUMS NOWADAYS, ARE TERRIBLE PLACES TO WATCH THE GAME FROM, THEY HAVE NO ATMOSPHERE AND THE ONE THING THAT IS MISSING IS THE TERRACES, WE ALL KNOW WHY ALL SEATER STADIUMS HAPPENED, BUT SO MUCH HAS IMPROVED SINCE THOSE DARK DAYS, STADIUM DESIGN, ENTRANCES AND EXITS ARE MUCH SAFER, STEWARDING IS VERY PROFESSIONAL, EVEN THE POLICE HAVE LEARNT LESSONS. IN THE PRESENT DAY THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST COULD BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN, AND IN TRUTH THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT EVENTUALLY LED TO ALL SEATER STADIUMS COULD NOT BE BLAMED ON THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THE FANS WERE STANDING.
THE FOOTBALL CENSUS OF 2005 SHOWED THAT 91% OF FANS WOULD WELCOME A RETURN TO TERRACING.
WE SEE FANS STANDING IN SEATING AREAS AT MOST GROUNDS NOW AND THIS FROM A SAFETY POINT OF VIEW IS FAR WORSE THAN STANDING IN DESIGNATED AREAS WITH ALL THEIR SAFETY FEATURES.
WE HAVE ALL SEEN THE FOREIGN BATON WIELDING RIOT POLICE LAYING INTO INNOCENT FANS TRAPPED BETWEEN SEATS AND EVEN FANS RIPPING UP SEATS AND USING THEM AS WEAPONS.
I THINK THE TIME HAS COME FOR TERRACED AREAS IN GROUNDS TO BE GIVEN A CHANCE , PROPERLY POLICED AND CAREFULLY CONTROLLED NUMBERS OF FANS ALLOWED IN, THIS WOULD HELP CREATE A BETTER ATMOSPHERE INSIDE THE STADIUMS, IT COULD ALSO PAVE THE WAY FOR CHEAPER ADMISSION PRICES AND AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE STADIUM CAPACITIES. SO EVERYONE WOULD BENEFIT.
WE, AS FANS ALSO DESERVE THE CHOICE TO STAND WHERE WE WANT OR TO SIT.
COMPUTERISED IMAGE OF THE NEWLY PLANNED STADIUM.
THE TIME IS RIGHT TO HAVE SOME SORT OF TERRACING INTRODUCED AND WHAT BETTER PLACE TO START THAN THE NEW KOP AT THE SOON TO BE BUILT NEW HOME OF LIVERPOOL F.C. IN SPITE OF THE MASSIVE CROWDS OF THE PAST, I NEVER SAW ANY SERIOUS INCIDENT ON THE OLD KOP AND IT USED TO BE SO PACKED THAT IT WAS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT UNTIL THE END OF THE MATCH, AND THEN YOU JUST GOT CARRIED ALONG LIKE A WAVE AND STRAIGHT DOWN FLIGHTS OF STEPS TO THE ROAD OUTSIDE THE GROUND, AGAIN THE STEPS WERE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN, BUT EVERYONE USED TO GET OUT JUST FINE, THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN NOW ANYHOW AS EXITS ARE NO LONGER BUILT THAT WAY, THERE IS NO REASON AT ALL WHY WE CANNOT HAVE TERRACED SECTIONS IN OUR GROUNDS.
NOW AS LIVERPOOL PREPARE TO LEAVE ANFIELD AND MOVE ACROSS TO STANLEY PARK AND BUILD THEIR NEW SUPER STADIUM, I AM WONDERING WHY THEY CANNOT INCLUDE A TERRACED KOP IN THEIR PLANS. I FEEL MOST FANS WOULD RELISH A RETURN TO THE OLD ANFIELD ATMOSPHERE.
APART FROM FOLLOWING SCARBOROUGH F.C SINCE CHILDHOOD, I HAVE BEEN A LIVERPOOL FAN EVER SINCE WATCHING THEM DEFEAT LEEDS UNITED IN THE 1965 FA CUP FINAL AT THE OLD WEMBLEY.
I SAW THAT GAME ON A BLACK AND WHITE TV AND BECAME HOOKED ON THAT GREAT TEAM, THOSE WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS AND THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL MANAGER OF OUR TIMES, POSSIBLY ALL TIME, I MEAN OF COURSE THE LATE BILL SHANKLY. AND I KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY THAT I JUST HAD TO GO TO ANFIELD TO SEE THE TEAM AND EXPERIENCE THE KOP AND RELISH THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.
SO MUCH HAS BEEN SAID AND WROTE ABOUT THE GREAT MAN AND I AM NOT GOING TO REPEAT ANY OF THE STORIES IN THIS POST, BECAUSE I WOULD BE HERE FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. THE MAN IS A LEGEND, HE WAS LOVED BY ALL, HE WAS LOYAL AND EXPECTED THAT SAME LOYALTY IN RETURN, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE HIM, AND FOOTBALL LOST A LOT MORE THAN JUST A MANAGER WHEN IT LOST BILL SHANKLY.
THE GREAT MAN PROUDLY WEARING A CLUB SCARF.THAT MAGICAL ERA FOR FOOTBALL HAS ALWAYS STAYED WITH ME IT HAD SUCH GREAT CHARACTERS, NOT JUST LIVERPOOL BUT MOST TEAMS, THE LIKES OF TOMMY LAWRENCE, IAN ST JOHN, ROGER HUNT, IAN CALLAGHAN, PETER THOMPSON, TOMMY SMITH AND RON YEATS FROM LIVERPOOL, LEEDS HAD PLAYERS LIKE BREMNER, CHARLTON, SPRAKE, MAN CITY WITH COLIN BELL, SUMMERBEE, FRANNY LEE, MAN UTD'S BEST, LAW CHARLTON ETC, SO MANY GREAT NAMES WHO PLAYED THE GAME AS IT SHOULD BE PLAYED, IN FRONT OF PACKED GROUNDS WITH TERRIFIC ATMOSPHERES, AND THE WORKING MAN COULD AFFORD TO WATCH, EVEN A 14 YEAR OLD GETTING 5 SHILLINGS A WEEK POCKET MONEY GOT TO A NICE FEW GAMES BY TRAIN, I REMEMBER LIVERPOOL WAS TOO FAR FROM SCARBOROUGH TO GET A CHEAP DAY RETURN, SO I HAD TO GET A DAY RETURN TO MANCHESTER, STAY ON THE TRAIN TO LIVERPOOL AND PAY THE DIFFERENCE AT LIME STREET- I THINK THE DIFFERENCE WAS EQUAL TO 80 PENCE IN PRESENT DAY MONEY. HAPPY DAYS!
THE KOP IN THE EARLY 60's.COMING HOME MEANT A CHANGE AT MANCHESTER, AND A CHANGE OF STATION ALSO, THEN ANOTHER CHANGE AT STALYBRIDGE AND FINALLY YORK TO CATCH THE 4.30 a.m MAIL TRAIN HOME TO SCARBOROUGH. IT WAS ALWAYS WORTH IT TO SEE THOSE GREAT TEAMS, GET A GLIMPSE OF SHANKS, AND BE A PART OF THE KOP. THEN THE LONG WALK ALONG "SCOTTY ROAD" BACK TO LIME STREET. IT WAS USUALLY A GOOD EXPERIENCE AS LIVERPOOL RARELY LOST A GAME, ESPECIALLY IN EUROPEAN COMPETITION.
I ONLY KNEW ONE OTHER PERSON AT THAT TIME IN SCARBOROUGH WHO WAS A LIVERPOOL FAN, NOW , LIKE MOST OF THE BIG TEAMS YOU SEE PEOPLE WALKING AROUND WEARING THE COLOURS EVERYWHERE, BUT DO HALF OF THEM EVEN KNOW WHERE ANFIELD IS ?
GETTING TO THE POINT OF THIS POST.
THE LARGE CONCRETE BOWLS WHICH PASS FOR STADIUMS NOWADAYS, ARE TERRIBLE PLACES TO WATCH THE GAME FROM, THEY HAVE NO ATMOSPHERE AND THE ONE THING THAT IS MISSING IS THE TERRACES, WE ALL KNOW WHY ALL SEATER STADIUMS HAPPENED, BUT SO MUCH HAS IMPROVED SINCE THOSE DARK DAYS, STADIUM DESIGN, ENTRANCES AND EXITS ARE MUCH SAFER, STEWARDING IS VERY PROFESSIONAL, EVEN THE POLICE HAVE LEARNT LESSONS. IN THE PRESENT DAY THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST COULD BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN, AND IN TRUTH THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT EVENTUALLY LED TO ALL SEATER STADIUMS COULD NOT BE BLAMED ON THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THE FANS WERE STANDING.
THE FOOTBALL CENSUS OF 2005 SHOWED THAT 91% OF FANS WOULD WELCOME A RETURN TO TERRACING.
WE SEE FANS STANDING IN SEATING AREAS AT MOST GROUNDS NOW AND THIS FROM A SAFETY POINT OF VIEW IS FAR WORSE THAN STANDING IN DESIGNATED AREAS WITH ALL THEIR SAFETY FEATURES.
WE HAVE ALL SEEN THE FOREIGN BATON WIELDING RIOT POLICE LAYING INTO INNOCENT FANS TRAPPED BETWEEN SEATS AND EVEN FANS RIPPING UP SEATS AND USING THEM AS WEAPONS.
I THINK THE TIME HAS COME FOR TERRACED AREAS IN GROUNDS TO BE GIVEN A CHANCE , PROPERLY POLICED AND CAREFULLY CONTROLLED NUMBERS OF FANS ALLOWED IN, THIS WOULD HELP CREATE A BETTER ATMOSPHERE INSIDE THE STADIUMS, IT COULD ALSO PAVE THE WAY FOR CHEAPER ADMISSION PRICES AND AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE STADIUM CAPACITIES. SO EVERYONE WOULD BENEFIT.
WE, AS FANS ALSO DESERVE THE CHOICE TO STAND WHERE WE WANT OR TO SIT.
COMPUTERISED IMAGE OF THE NEWLY PLANNED STADIUM.THE TIME IS RIGHT TO HAVE SOME SORT OF TERRACING INTRODUCED AND WHAT BETTER PLACE TO START THAN THE NEW KOP AT THE SOON TO BE BUILT NEW HOME OF LIVERPOOL F.C. IN SPITE OF THE MASSIVE CROWDS OF THE PAST, I NEVER SAW ANY SERIOUS INCIDENT ON THE OLD KOP AND IT USED TO BE SO PACKED THAT IT WAS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT UNTIL THE END OF THE MATCH, AND THEN YOU JUST GOT CARRIED ALONG LIKE A WAVE AND STRAIGHT DOWN FLIGHTS OF STEPS TO THE ROAD OUTSIDE THE GROUND, AGAIN THE STEPS WERE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN, BUT EVERYONE USED TO GET OUT JUST FINE, THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN NOW ANYHOW AS EXITS ARE NO LONGER BUILT THAT WAY, THERE IS NO REASON AT ALL WHY WE CANNOT HAVE TERRACED SECTIONS IN OUR GROUNDS.
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