Written by Roy Thomas – @roythomo
There’s has been a notable amount of people on social media of late talking about the perceived lack of atmosphere at Anfield. Many fans have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts in recent weeks on the lack of noise coming from the Liverpool faithful.
Often in large parts of games there is a reticence, an unease, an agitation amongst the crowd. I’ve said for a while that if we played Manchester United, Everton, Manchester City or even Chelsea every week then there would be no concern. The atmosphere at those games and European nights are by far and away one of the best atmospheres in Europe. Away fans take pictures of the Kop as we sing You’ll Never Walk Alone aloud.
Sadly that can’t be said when the likes of Brentford, Burnley and Watford come to town. Why is this? I think it’s a case of two things, one the “smaller clubs” are on a hiding to nothing and their fans come to L4 to have a good time, sing their hearts out and enjoy being at Anfield as they may not get there again for a few years.
The other side of that is everyone from the media, the pundits, fans and season ticket holders expect us to roll over the opposition whilst they sit back and wait for the inevitable. Only when things aren’t going to script can Anfield awaken and get wholly behind the Reds. I’m not saying that the fans aren’t supporting the team during the quieter periods but it’s been blatantly obvious inside the ground or watching from home.
Take the Arsenal league cup game, yes it’s the league cup the less fashionable trophy to aim at once we kick off a season in August but it’s the semi final!!! Arsenal out sang us for almost the entirety of the game, with the 2nd leg now down in London in my opinion LFC needed to put the game to bed in the 1st leg, once they went down to 10 we should have gone at them with pace and purpose instead it was all too safe, on and off the pitch.
I get the argument of “the players have to provide the entertainment to get fans off their seat” but we’re Liverpool FC we do things differently don’t we? Away from home you can’t hear the home fans for the travelling Kopites so what’s the difference? Surely the more Reds in Anfield the more noise?
Perhaps it is the travel agent match breaks taken up by fans who get once a lifetime that affects the atmosphere or the new ticketing system where they can simply be emailed from one person to another so groups of fans can’t always be in the same part of the ground. Further more to that , there has been a lot of newer faces around Anfield this season due to COVID. Regular game goers, especially from abroad have had to face strict travel restrictions as the world tackles a global pandemic.
In summary there could be numerous reasons why the Anfield crowd has been very lacklustre of late but one that is probably a considerable factor is the inconsistencies on the pitch. We have seen very nervy moments in too many matches this season and it has left fans nail biting and wondering where the first goal is coming from and then ultimately worrying if he can see out games.
Fans find themselves engrossed with every kick knowing that any dropped points in todays Premier League can often feel like our title challenge is over. So a usual ferocious set of supporters can often be found deep in thought, wondering which way the pendulum will swing. One thing is for certain, when we see the return of the Champions League, I’m sure we will see the return of the historic Anfield roar as we push for our 7th European Cup.
By Roy Thomas from Top of the Kop
