Liverpool — Then and Now
“Yesterday’s Paper”, today.
“Liverpool — Then and Now” submission for Issue 305 of the Liverpool fanzine “Red All Over The Land”. I’m a more than occasional contributor and proudly occupy the column “Yesterday’s Paper” with my words of inane gibberish. My letter of submission to the esteemed editor follows.
Hello John and thanks for issue 304. As ever, just crop and delete everything here and above the dividing line that immediately follows. Hope everything and everyone is well and prospering at RAOTL Towers and I hope the following is worthy of inclusion. If it is and there’s space, could you please include a link to my latest Reds book as I could do with every assistance possible to plug it. Thanks.
Stephen
“Liverpool — Then and Now”
It was just after 5am as I recall when on an early October morning in what seems like several lifetimes ago I boarded the train in my home city of Portsmouth for the near 6 hour journey to the city of Liverpool, and my first ever visit to the coliseum of Anfield. Mere minutes into the journey I had already been reprimanded by the ticket inspector for smoking on the train with this obviously flying in the face of my child’s ticket but at 15 years of age I was still a child, my ticket correct, and duly paid for the previous day in a peak of excitement I couldn’t possibly convey to you in words and perhaps only after having another calming smoke as I recall fondly the day we all dream of and indeed all write about in our own distinctly different ways, our first game at Anfield.
My first walk up the steps leading to The Kop. That oft used footage on VHS cassette tapes back in the day of a bird’s eye view of looking out from The Kop for the first time, the green grass of Anfield, the coloured seats in the Anfield Road End, the away end still a corner full of terracing as similar to the terracing I’m now standing on. For the first time. A smoking 15 year old, wearing his Liverpool/Celtic halfie-halfie hat with pride and way before the abomination that blights our game today (and much to the chagrin of the esteemed editor of this publication) and the halfie-halfie scarves that root us back to present day and not the 3rd of October 1987, and my first trip to Anfield. Since my first Reds game in the pre-season of 1982, a day I’ll never forget and published here in the fanzine last year under the headline “The Day The Reds Came To Town”, I’d made seasonal pilgrimages down the road to Southampton and their dilapidated and quirky “Dell” as well as every London game I could afford until 5 years on my home city of Portsmouth had gained promotion back to the 1st Division of English football and even as a 15 year old and going alone, I was going.
I could weave you a tale of genuine excitement as I still firmly recall the glee I had boarding a train for Liverpool Lime Street rather than seeing it on the departures board as I made my way to Loftus Road or Highbury, Upton Park or White Hart Lane. Wimbledon was even easier as the “slow” train from Portsmouth (Pompey) stopped in this south London outpost and a stone’s throw from “Plough Lane”, a trip I’d make in vain exactly a week after today’s game for a postponement due to a waterlogged pitch (if my shaky memory serves) but that was OK. I’d beg and borrow yet more money from my dear old Mum for the rearranged game almost exactly a month later and a night game, an afternoon off school, more smoking on the train and a debut goal from Ray Houghton. I could accurately confirm to you that this was my third game so far in the 1987/1988 season after seeing the Reds defeat Arsenal on opening day at an overflowing Highbury with many “Gooners” watching the game from the roof of the North Bank, and our 1–1 draw at Upton Park, then home to West Ham United. Or I could boast that a 15 year old schoolboy on the limited means of just his paper-round (and money begged and borrowed from a loving mother) would end up going to 10 games in this magnificent season and which would have been a perfectly footballing pleasing number 11 had a hurricane not smashed into the south coast and my home city of Portsmouth exactly two weeks after today’s game, thus catapulting BBC weatherman Michael Fish into a forever consciousness of embarrassment for scoffing live on air about an incoming hurricane…but also nixing my return visit to Liverpool for the soon to be demolition of early season pace-setters Queens Park Rangers 4–0 and those two wondrous goals from John Barnes that will never, ever, grow old.
I most certainly have and dare I say it, so have you too. All those long years ago I sat with my back firmly against the wooden doors of The Kop turnstiles from late morning until they finally opened and I had that fish-eye view from earlier all to myself for the very first time. School friends Graeme, Shane and Lee passed me as they trooped around Anfield pre-game with their Dad, no doubt taking the piss out of the 15 year old teammate in the football team back home, 256 miles away, and yet here he was, I was, sat expectantly with my back firmly to the door of paradise, smoking far too many cigarettes for a 15 year old and wearing my Liverpool/Celtic halfie-halfie hat.
Kenny was the boss (in more ways than one)
Alan Ball too (RIP)
The Reds eased to a comfortable 4–0 win with goals from Beardsley, McMahon, Whelan and a John Aldridge penalty.
44,366 were present and so was I, for the first time.
I could also weave you a tale of speaking to two much older Pompey fans on the underground in London before sharing a carriage with them both on the last train home. I was no doubt still wearing my halfie-halfie hat and still glowing at both the result and my impending return in two weeks time for the QPR game after, of course, seeing the Reds at Wimbledon. 3 games in a row became a single trip to footballing heaven due to mother nature, and I lived mere streets away from my older Pomponian cousins on the train home, both of whom went to my junior school years before I did and both knew my Mum!
All of which is as true as the Mighty Reds in the here and now (at the time of writing and before the trip to “Castle Grayskull”) having two wins from two, with two clean sheets and the Egyptian King looks mean and lean and scoring and assisting in goals as seemingly only he can. Six points from six and whilst the children of the internet wail and gnash their teeth at a lack of signings and especially a “Number 6” (whatever that is) the new boss is unbeaten through both pre-season and the virginal stage of his Premier League tenure. I picked just one of his after-match quotes from Sunday’s easy stroll past Brentford and “It’s nice to inherit a team and individuals that are so special”. Combine that with Klopp’s quote of a “superpower of world football” and although very, very early, there are reasons to be cheerful and optimistic, and reasons to dream once more. This time last season I hoped Klopp would improve on the season before in an evolving phase of a team we never believed he’d leave so soon. Now it’s over to the man from the picturesque village of Bergentheim to improve the team, Klopp’s team in fact, and make us all dream the dream of dreamers.
What’s clear, aside from the maddening fug of transfer rumours (and incessantly talking about players who play for other bloody teams) and the closure of a window before the opening of the can of seasonal worms that is VAR, is that Slot has clearly settled on his starting XI in the league and what a strong, experienced set of winners he’s sending out early every Saturday morning or on a late Sunday afternoon. Kelleher will, hopefully, (at the time of writing) be content with being back-up to the greatest goalkeeper in the world for another (hopefully) trophy winning season and in front of the “Man in Black” (he looks magnificent when all in black doesn’t he?) we have Ibrahima Konaté giving his captain the first two games of the season off in “Cigars and Slippers” mode, Andy Robertson looks fit from injury and desperate to be the team’s continuing left back and Trent Alexander-Arnold will be his defensive partner if not midfield marauder too. I’d play Wataru Endō (because I’m childishly in love with him and his expertise for the position) but I’m not Liverpool manager and even if he’s called “coach” Arne Slot is the Reds MANAGER and he knows far better than I. Ryan Gravenberch (I wish Reds would remember the kid is just 22) has been almost as good as Dominik Szoboszlai (bossed both games of the season so far) and Alexis Mac Allister just does what winners do: play football on the green grass and find a teammate in a red shirt. Salah and Díaz are scoring, Jota too, and whilst he’s clearly higher in the current pecking order than Darwin Núñez, his attacking mates are scoring and assisting goals and Luis Díaz, that darling magician with a ball at his feet now looks a fully formed man, bigger and more muscular than the kid of 3 years ago, his every performance a laughable poke in the eyes of the children of the Matrix who believe Anthony Gordon a better player or his replacement in the team. What larks.
I fear one or two long term injuries (though perhaps I shouldn’t with the likes of Núñez, Endō, Harvey Elliott, Cody Gakpo, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah all desperate for a place in the starting XI rather than a place on the substitutes bench) and it’s only two comfortable victories against a newly promoted team and a Brentford team destined to finish in the bottom half of the league yet well clear of the relegation zone.
But Slot, even by his repeated own admissions, has inherited “a team and individuals that are so special”.
Whether it’s 1987 and the starting of “The Unbeatables” or today and the continuance of “The Unbearables”, an exciting season lies ahead.
Peace.
Thanks for reading. Whilst you’re here, you may as well take a peek at these rather delightful self-published books that are free to read on Kindle should you have an Amazon “Unlimited” package or quite frankly, they’d look a picture on your bookshelves. Go on, treat yourself! It’s nearly Christmas…
"A final word from The Boss" - link to Amazon
"Chasing the Impossible and a Sword of Damocles" - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.