Anfield Memories, Part One
I am Irish. I will always be Irish, but I will always be a Liverpool fan. And now I am also an American Scouser. How could that be? My father’s sister grew up and raised her family in Norris Green, Liverpool. So, my family always had close links to the city. Growing up in Ireland, Liverpool was never too far away. My earliest memory of the Reds is winning the then-European Cup in 1984. I made my first visit to Anfield in March 1995. 30 years later, I had the opportunity to bring my eldest to Anfield.
READ MORE: How Many Points Do We Need? by Morgan O’Sullivan
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The Red Devils Come To Anfield
Back in 1995, the Premier League was not long in existence. The commercial side of Liverpool had not fully developed. Around this time, the Manchester United juggernaut was just about to start moving. Nevertheless, Anfield still had the amazing aura it has today. The club shop was located in a small building, a little more than a portacabin, at the corner of the Anfield Road end and the now Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand. I purchased what I call the green and white Batman away kit that day on sale. The matching tracksuit made its way into my ensemble a few days later. I still have that tracksuit today.
The shop was pretty basic then, a long counter with a few training tops and jerseys hanging up behind. You would point and ask for a size, and that was it. I remember seeing the Gold/Orange jersey being on sale for only 5 pounds, and ultimately not purchasing it! The side of the main stand had a car park going the length of the stand, where the players would park. It also had the ticket office and the entrance where you went for the stadium tour.
AMERICAN SCOUSER TAKES ANFIELD
My parents, my younger brother, and I had travelled to Liverpool in the hope of seeing the upcoming United game. My uncle had secured one ticket, and it was promised to me. A ticket on the Kop. But when we wandered past the ticket office, my Dad went in and asked if there were any tickets left for the upcoming game. They apologized and said, unfortunately, they only had tickets with an obstructed view. My father being amazed at the very thought that they had tickets, quickly purchased two. An obscured view meant that there could be a pillar or post blocking a portion of your view of watching the game. Usually, it can be pretty trivial, but you would never know without taking the chance, and there are plenty of fans out there who would take any ticket to Liverpool/United.
SHOP THE AMERICAN SCOUSER COLLECTION TODAY
We went down past the ticket office and started on the stadium tour. We started in a room where they had press conferences and there were glass cabinets with the trophies we had won over the years. From there we wandered down to the changing rooms, and as the game was coming up, we were not allowed to view the home dressing room, but instead went into the away dressing room. From there we were able to walk down the steps of the players tunnel, touch the This is Anfield Sign and walk out to the side of the pitch. It was the stuff of dreams and something I had always looked forward to.
A couple of days later we went and saw Liverpool beat United 2-0.
Memories, One Stub At A Time
The game was something I will never forget, but trips to Anfield were always like that. I was fortunate to see us beat Chelsea after Vialli had signed, beat Man City 6-0 when Alan Ball was manager, Aston Villa when Jamie Carragher scored (on his full Anfield debut, I believe), Coventry City with Steve Ogrisovic, and SK Brann, and FC Sion in European competition. It is hard to imagine taking my daughter to Anfield 30 years after my first trip, but that story is for another day…