That's the heart and soul of Liverpool on the world stage. Liverpool FC turns away 20,000 members every home game and there's a 17-year waiting list to become a full member.
The club is the stuff of legends who are worshipped the world over. Managers such as Shankly, Dalglish and Paisley are spoken of in reverent terms. Our tour of Anfield Stadium is given by passionate guides John and Denise who first take us to the media room - a requirement of modern-day television coverage but which once housed the infamous boot room where cadets not only polished the boots of the players but, more importantly, where the management team planned tactics before each game.
The dressing room is plain and sparse by modern standards and kept so deliberately, the guides tell us, because the players need no distractions from the job they have to do. We sit under jerseys with the 2012 players' names across the shoulders and captain Steven Gerrard, who has just signed a two-year contract extension, appears to be the favourite to be photographed.
For a moment, we sit in silence and try to imagine the electricity in the room on game day when personalities and reputations are left at the door and the Anfield soldiers and their vocal army of supporters outside prepare for battle against enemies such an Manchester United.
After touching the "This is Anfield" sign on the stairs to the stadium, we step out into the empty pre-season paddock. The playing pitch is one of the best in the Premier League, anchored by 20million artificial grass fibres or 3-4% of the total. The natural grass intertwines with the artificial fibres to ensure a highly stable pitch.
We sit in the dugout, where John jokes Aussie hero, the once injury-prone Harry Kewell, spent most of his time while at Liverpool. The area known as The Kop is the most feared grandstand of fans where the abuse flows as freely as the beer. The area used to be standing room only (seats were installed following the tragic Hillsborough stadium collapse on April 15, 1989, in which 96 Liverpool football fans died) and once recorded more than 35,000 patrons alone.
The Kop is named after the battle of Spion Kop in the Boer War in 1900 in which the British troops were decimated on a barren, stony hill. A trend began among football clubs to call their stands Kops in memory of the fallen men. Before the Hillsborough stadium collapse, when seats were installed, the Kop at Anfield famously recorded a standing crowd at one match of 35,000 fans.
Meanwhile back in town, Beatles fans who grew up with the Mersey beat join with admirers too young to have ever seen the four lads from Liverpool alive and together to make their pilgrimage to the Cavern Quarter in Mathew Street. They come to have their photo taken with the life-size John Lennon sculpture, visit the rebuilt Cavern Club, buy memorabilia and souvenirs, stay at the Hard Days Night Hotel and immerse themselves in a bygone but highly influential era in music.
Buskers outside the Cavern entrance play favourites from the Fab Four but most fans head underground where the Cavern pumps out Sixties tunes from a huge variety of artists who have an association with the iconic club, past and present, and still attracts big names for live concerts. The Cavern Club presents International Beatle Week each year, including the annual Beatles Convention, from August 21-27.
And if you want to keep the celebrity spotlight on your visit to Liverpool, why not head around the corner to Paradise Street where Jamie Oliver has a restaurant. Jamie's Italian is noisy and crowded when we visit and we get the feeling that may be the case all day and night. But as expected, the food is divinely tasty, presented in Jamie's rustic, quirky style and worth every penny. My tubular spaghetti marinara is cooked and presented in a bag with all the wonderful sea harvest juices and flavours intact.
Lesson of the day: all roads lead to Liverpool for hen's parties and buck's nights. We saw dozens on the Friday and Saturday nights.
Nude men at window count: 1
No comments:
Post a Comment