Time to move on

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By Brian Reece

Twitter @oldfattoad

Anfield the home of Liverpool Football Club, the ground has so many famous moments so many fantastic European nights so many fantastic supporters but soon it all may come to an end.

Liverpool Football Club has a soul searching dilemma do they try and stay at Anfield and hope the stadium can be redeveloped or move to a new and bigger stadium, every Liverpool fan deep down wants to remain at Anfield but the reality is that Liverpool Football Club has out grown Anfield and it is now a time to move on.

All Liverpool supporters want the club to develop and become the team we all want Liverpool to be, but this dream of being a consistent top two team we all pray for will not happen simply because we need to be in a financial position to command the best players in the world and at present we are miles away from even becoming a top three team, Liverpool have to move with the times and not be caught up in old sentiment towards Anfield.

A move away from Anfield will not only provide Liverpool Football Club with extra money from ticket sales which in turn will provide the funds to afford top quality players, but will benefit the whole of Liverpool itself, the building of the stadium will generate thousands of jobs for local Liverpool people, I hope that whoever gets the contract to build the new stadium has to offer the local people the job first before looking elsewhere, Liverpool people are not work shy in fact its work that is shy in Liverpool.

FSG must realise by now that a redevelopment of Anfield is sadly unrealistic and cannot produce the funds needed to propel Liverpool into the next phase of rebuilding both the team and the club, what Liverpool Football Club must not become is a faceless club with a stadium that lacks atmosphere and heart, but is full of supports with song in their hearts and a place where travelling away fans and players wish to come and experience.

Anfield will always be in every Liverpool supporter’s heart and that will never go but as a club who wants success, it’s time to move on.

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17 Comments

  1. Moving from Highbury has hardly helped Arsenal, so you’ll forgive my skepticism towards a move away from Anfield.

  2. It was said a long long time ago. It never was on the cards.Simple romance of the past drove it. From day one the LCC said that the rejuvenation intended removal to the park as it was the whole area not just LFC that needed dragging into the 21st century. The idea of rejuvenating just Anfield was a ruse to mark time and save immediate decision-cum-expense . The time is NOW that the decision to physically start the move is upon us. We take the vales of Anfield with us. That will always be there and our sound will prevail over newer buildings!

  3. Never happen in a squillion years. Anfield is a burial ground as much as a sports ground . Many have had their ashes scattered there . Bill Shankly said ‘ Aye bury him behind the goal he’ll get up and head the ball off the line’

  4. I believe the redevelopment of Anfield is not viable. If you take the example of the redevelopment of Fenway park (Boston Red Sox ground) – in order to compensate for the reduced seating (relative to other MLB clubs larger, newer stadiums) the fans had to pay extortionate ticket prices (the highest in MLB if I remember rightly). The city of Boston is more wealthy than Liverpool, and I for one would find it ridiculous if the local community are priced out of going to the games just to retain Anfield. The Anfield magic comes from the unwavering, passionate supporters who’ve supported the club through generations of their families – without them its just another stadium. Addmitedly its design works well acoustically – but things like that can be replicated in a new stadium. The only sad part is the history lost, but it will live on long in the memory of the people who’ve been supporting the club week in week out for years. I wouldnt want to see them unable to afford a home game in 2014 (or whenever) just so we could keep the current Anfield. Lets look to the future not live in the past.

  5. whilst it will be a wrench to leave anfield, it’s important to remember the anfield spirit is more than steel and cement.

  6. This is a sensible article. Unfortunately renovating Anfield does not seem a viable option. It is my understanding that renovation would take two years longer than building a new stadium in Stanley Park. Maintenance of the new stadium would also be cheaper in the long term.

    The main proviso of course is that any new stadium design must focus on acoustics and intimacy. We must not move to a soulless identikit bowl. That would be a disaster.

  7. It is not the moving from Anfield to a new ground that bothers me it is the fact it will inevitably come with naming rights and instead of Anfield it will be called something really naff like the “Bank of America Stadium” or “The Wal-Mart Super Stadium”. I appreciate football is all about money these days but it’s sad when our great institutions have to yield to the not so mighty dollar.
    Maybe the new naming sponsor will be made aware that “Anfield” is an iconic name and brand in itself and be encouraged to incorporate it into the new name.

  8. LFC fans….I was born and raised about 40 miles from Fenway. I have been a diehard Sox fan since birth. I became a LFC fan about 10 years ago as my children started the sport. Kind of ironic now that the 2 are joined together under the same ownership…..but I digress.
    Fenway holds as much history and heart and soul as Anfield does. One thing Boston does not have is viable land space to build a new stadium. Plain and simple….they would have to go outside of the city to build a stadium. Simply moving to Stanley Park will give an additional 15,000+ people an opportunity to see the greatest club in the world in person. I have been to Fenway and seen the Red Sox play our hated rivals the New York Yankees but it was all done via a lottery system. Nothing can compare to the atmosphere of a great rivalry in person. It was all luck of the draw. With moving to a new stadium, the spirit of Anfield will never die. It’s very soul is in every player and every fan…..does your support for club waiver when they play away? YNWA

  9. The memories of Anfield and the glory that has happened there will never be forgotten. The time has come(unfortunately) to move on. We have to be able to compete with the other big clubs who we need to overcome in time, and the only way to do that is to be able to match any money power they may have. As long as the new place has the name of Anfield somewhere in it , I can live with that. There must be a deal to be done with that proviso in it.

  10. Anfield “Warrior” Stadium, Warrior Den Anfield, Adidas Anfield Stadium, I’m racking my brain but nothing seems to sound right!!!

  11. So glad to see so many people have been doing independent studies into whether redeveloping Anfield is a viable option. You have absolutely no idea how hard it would be, and yes, I saw john Henry’s statement, but it was very vague.

  12. Seriously, if the Anfield stands were redeveloped and the pitch re-laid, what would be left of the old stadium anyway? Only the things that could easily be moved to a new stadium – the crowd, the atmosphere, the team, statues, gates, etc. The history can’t be moved, but it’s not there anyway – it’s in our heads and our hearts. No-one can take the memories away. Let’s move on and create new memories.

    Regarding the naming, the stadium itself is only a part of the site where it sits. Can’t we call it The Carlsberg Stadium, Anfield? Or The Warrior Stadium, Anfield? That way the sponsor is happy, the club gets the funding, and all the fans can still call it Anfield….

  13. I have had the occasion to write a few articles on EOTK about the stadium dilemma. My view remains that Anfield is the most romantic and retains the heritage of the Club intact, a new build on the otherhand is a more practical solution and possibly economically more viable and may coincide with a new glorious cycle for the Reds.
    I will go with whatever decision is taken, because I know the Reds will have a better home befitting a glorious Club.

  14. I’ve been going since 1970 and I don’t mind a move or a new name because the only people who will use the new name are Sky etc I will still be calling it Anfield when I speak to my mates.

  15. the owners have been excellent so far and have heard the fans at every stage but decision like this one need to be carefully thought out and if the owners feel that it is not viable and will only hamper liverpool’s growth then i think all liverpool fans will agree that a move to a new stadium is the best option for the club and doesnt matter liverpool play their matches what matters is that the fans are behind their team always

  16. What will be great if we put.kind of statues on each stands.like statues of shankly,dalglish,paisley or may be rush.like we hav stands on cricket ground named after gr8s alike.may be gerrard replacing rush after 5 years.not like mj statue outside cravin cottage though.lol.

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