Liverpool FC Forum

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First Visit to anfield and your abiding Memories.

I have just taken my son to anfield for his first visit, Liverpool V's Fulham. 

Being an Out Of Towner from Cheltenham(Went to the races Tuesday) I have only managed to get him there at the tender age of 10.

We arrived at the ground at 4:30pm, managed a tour around the Museum (Old Big Ears out on a charity bash a bit dissapointing), Visit to the Shop.  Photograh at Shankley's statue.

A poigniant visit to the Hillsborough Memorial, explaining to him what happened that day, what I was doing at the time and that the youngest supporter to die was the same age as him. (Brings the whole tragedy into perspective).

Off to a cafe next to the ground (can't remember the name) for Chicken Mushroom Pie Chips, Peas and Gravy (quite an eye opener for a young lad from cheltenham),  excellent food and lovely ladies to serve us.

Then waiting for both coaches to arrive, he was absolutely amazed at the size and number of police horses also the volume
and smell of the horse they left!.  I had to hold him on my shoulders so he could see the Liverpool players leaving the coach, he managed to see most players but definately remembers Crouch almost smashing his head on the ceiling as he went through the players entrance.

And finally into the ground when the turnstiles opened. 

We sat in the Centenary Stand, Lower Tier, Block KG Row 13 Seats 21/22.

Then over the next hour we get to see the ground fill up from empty, go from darkness into light as the floodlights turn on, absolute magical time. Watching the players warm up, having to explain to him who the hell Dave Besant was (Definately getting Old).

Now for the special part, scarves (although usefull because of the extreme cold on wednesday!!) especially brought to stand and sing to 'You'll Never Walk alone' .  Sang his heart out!! (Not a bad effort for a self concious 10 (going on 16) year old).

So, how lucky is he on his first visit to watch Robbie Fowler scoring for the first time since his return and charging straight at us sat in the stand!

Then to witness a 5-1 win (hasn't happened to often lately) at anfield, does it get any better for your first visit as a youngster.

So, what will his abiding first memory of anfield be, the singing of You'll Never Walk Alone, a 5-1 stuffing of Fulham, he visit to the Hillsborough Memorial.

In years to come when I ask him, I think it will be of Robbie charging at us after his goal, what a moment!

(Unless in my nightmares, he remembers that imperious performance of the left winger come part time left back Djimi Traore, aaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!)

So come on lads (and lasses) tell us about your first time at anfield.

[Woollyback]

nice one priv, your lad's a lucky charm from now on

[RAFABENITEZ]

Strasbourg, Uefa cup 1997 at Anfield.
Liverpool 2 - 0 Strasbourg
God and Reidle went out 2-3 on agg
ah well, 8 years old first game a Euro on The Kop.

[Woollyback]

oh yeah nearly forgot, my first time at anfield....

think i was probably about 10 or so, been over at my parents' frinds place near ellesmere port for the day and as was customary the men and my older brother went to the game in the afternoon but that year i was deemed old enough to go with them, god i felt like a real man then   went to anfield quite early (dad's mate des loved to "savour the atmosphere" even though the silly fecker had been a season ticket holder for god knows how many years). got a bellyfull of pie & chips then into anfield, main stand near the Kop

f*ckin brilliant, the noise just blew me away - i'd never heard anything like it. my favourite player back then was supersub no.2 sammy lee and god i shouted myself hoarse when he came on. anyway we beat southampton 5-0 and i was smitten   

[Dundalk]

Liverpool vs Newcastle United

Coca-Cola Cup 4th Round

Wednesday 29 Nov 1995 7.45 p.m.

Main Stand Area ME Row 28 Seat 227 

Ticket Price £16.00

Steve Watson scored the only goal for the magpies and we were beaten 1-0, he chipped David James. didnt put me off though

The first time I seen Liverpool play was in 1991 against Villa in Villa park, we were beaten 1-0 again this time Tony Daley scored the winner. Big Ron was the manager of Villa at the time.

[Lando_Griffin]

January 31st 1998.

We played Blackburn Rovers at Anfield, and slaughtered them (or at least - that's how I remember it!!!!! ).

It finished 0-0, so maybe my memory is a little biased!

The best game I've seen live was against the Scum at Anfield, 31st March 2001, when we battered them.
Gerrard nailed a 30-yarder past Barthez, then Robbie finished with a pearler.
Danny Murphy was sent off, but the best memory of that game (apart from God scoring!), was Stevie G and Gary Mac trying about 10 times to lob Barthez from their own half!!!!!

I went with my Bro, but we were in different stands cos of the high demand for tickets, and I tell you what:

I never felt on my own once. There was this chap stood next to me, he must have been about 30, and he was like a f*cking kid!!!!! We had a right giggle!!!!!

[Ace Ventura]

Good thread.

Mine was Liverpool Sheffield Wednesday at Anfield, first game of the season 93-94 i think, Clough and Ruddock making there debuts and Nigel scored both goals in a comfortable 2-0 win.
I was in the KOP that day, and quite a few more during that season, what i remember most was outside when i was queuing with a couple of mates to get in, the noise was deafening.
I couldnt wait to climb all of those steps and ran up them to get tp the top.
My ticket i think was £4.00 and it was money well spent, i didnt get to see the first goal cos when Ruddock headed it and the keeper parried everyone in the Kop surged forward and i was lost in a sea of Kopites...i didnt care, the atmosphere was unbelievable...and i was hooked.

[Ace Ventura]

January 31st 1998.

We played Blackburn Rovers at Anfield, and slaughtered them (or at least - that's how I remember it!!!!! ).

It finished 0-0, so maybe my memory is a little biased!

The best game I've seen live was against the Scum at Anfield, 31st March 2001, when we battered them.
Gerrard nailed a 30-yarder past Barthez, then Robbie finished with a pearler.
Danny Murphy was sent off, but the best memory of that game (apart from God scoring!), was Stevie G and Gary Mac trying about 10 times to lob Barthez from their own half!!!!!

I went with my Bro, but we were in different stands cos of the high demand for tickets, and I tell you what:

I never felt on my own once. There was this chap stood next to me, he must have been about 30, and he was like a f*cking kid!!!!! We had a right giggle!!!!!

That was one of my favourite games as well Lando, i had a season ticket in the upper centenary borrowed off some fella for the season, every game i had sat there and hardly spoke to anyone, all middle aged people moaning most of the way through matches, even though we won something like 14 out of 19 home games that season.
But that United game when Robbie smacked in the second, some elderly lady behind me virtually jumped on my back, the whole ground erupted.
Apart from European games i havent been in a game where the whole ground have sang throughout the game, that was one of them and was a day i will never forget.

[stmichael]

first day of the 1991/92 season against sheffield united. we won 2-1 (paul stewart scored)

that was souness' first full season in charge and although we were pi$$ poor in the league we went on to lift the fa cup that season.

[puroresu]

Father and Grandad took me and my brother was about 12. Stood on the Kop v Sheff Utd.  Could only see 1 end as was so rammed and I was small (still am).  Lost 2-1 but was still great!!!

That was the last season of the KOP so just glad I got to stand in the Kop at least once.  If memory serves me right it only cost £4 each for me and bro.

1st ever game was away to Wimbledon in the Coca Cola Cup.  We lost on penalties. Atmosphere was electric at Selhurst.  Again was standing and even though we lost had a great time that night!!

[Trewyn]

you guys are very lucky.
living in Asia, my dream is to watch a match at Anfield.

by the way, how receptive is the Kop to foreign diehard supporters?

[Redman in wales]

I was 11.... so we're talking 1992... My Uncle took me and my cousin (who was born 10days after me) to watch us play Southampton. It ended 0-0.
HAHA... i just dug out the programme from it... check out the line up:

Team:
Bruce Grobbelaar
Rob Jones (Sub: Barry Venison)
David Burrows
Steve Nicol
Mark Wright
Mike Marsh
Istvan Kozma - what a player...   
Jamie Redknapp
Jan Molby
Steve McManaman (Sub Ronnie Rosenthal)
Dean Saunders

Just found the pre-season squad photo on web: www.liverweb.org.uk/199192.htm

I dont remember much from it, though I knew it was a bad game..... but from that point on I knew i would be an anfield child forever....   

[livercadista]

I, living in Spain, never have gone to Anfield but I would like much to go. The only time that I have seen a match of Liverpool FC went when they came to Sevilla in champions to play against the Betis in the Lopera Stadium

[stmichael]

incidentally, other abiding memories from my first season at anfield included us turning around a 2-0 deficit at home against auxerre in the uefa cup. i also remember an unbelievable 4-4 draw in the league cup against chesterfield when they were in the old third division. fortunately we won the replay 4-1.

just looking at that team listed above from that season gives you nightmares.

[jonnymac1979]

It was 30th August 1986.  Liverpool 2 – 1 Arsenal.  I sat in the main stand.  My cousin took me.

The World Cup was not long over and the new season was not long underway for the Double Winners.  I was 7 years old.

Rather than go and sit in our seats, my cousin decided that we would go down to pitchside and right by the tunnel to see if we could get our programmes autographed by anyone.  Luckily for me, as a Panini sticker collecting kid, Kenny Sansom and Viv Anderson were the only two players who appeared up the steps of the tunnel and decided to sign autographs on programmes.   I recognised them straight away, I could have told you their previous clubs, their height and weight, their ages and who they made their debuts against at the time.  I lived for football as a kid, and I lived for my sticker collection.

As a 7 year old, obviously I couldn’t push to the front of the crowd and some man (who in hindsight was probably some 15 year old kid) offered to take my programme from me, push through the crowd and return it signed by the two Arsenal players.  He was true to his word.  I had that programme for years until a house move and my general carelessness rendered it lost forever.

Anyway, after all that the real drama unfolded.  John Lukic was warming up and I had the taste for autographs by this point.  In my innocence I thought it was perfectly normal to just bounce onto the pitch and run to the goalmouth and ask him to autograph my programme.  Wasn’t I wrong?  I was collared straight away by a guy in an orange jacket.  “Get off the pitch!!”  It was probably my cousin egging me on, trying to get me into trouble!!!  I normally wouldn’t do stuff like that.

Anyway, you might remember back in the Eighties that the players used to run onto the pitch with autographed flyaway balls and they used to volley them into the crowd. 

As the Liverpool players were running out onto the pitch, my cousin and I still had not taken our seat, we were still pitchside.  Don’t ask me how no steward had moved us, this was twenty years ago remember.  Wasn’t like that back then.

And there he was.

Kenny Dalglish.

Holding an autographed football.

So for the second time that day, I ran onto the Anfield turf, the half closest to the Kop obviously, right up to Kenny Dalglish and I gestured to him to give me the ball he was carrying, “Kenny giz that ball there mate…….”

So when this little seven year old kid appeared in front of Dalglish, he scuffled the little cheeky scally’s hair in front of him as if to say “Get out of it you little scamp!!!!” and he completely ran past me, over to the front row of the main stand and gave the football to some young lass in a wheelchair, leaving me to look like a proper tit in front of 40,000 people.

Kenny if you’re reading that was me.

Anyone else, if you were at the game, that kid in the blue coat (Blue fucking coat, what was my Ma thinking?) that was me.

At least Liverpool won the match.  Everton won the league that season, but the next season was when me and my Dad got a season ticket and I went to every game bar the Chelsea home game cause I was sick, we won the league with some breathtaking football, but lost the FA Cup final to fucking Wimbledon.  Which was the only time I ever went to Wembley.

Anyway, shouldn’t have ended this on a sour note, but there you go. 

We won the European Cup last year. 

That’s better.