A closer look at the famous Anfield Atmosphere

The second half against Brighton bought up the topic of the Famous Anfield Atmosphere again. The famous atmosphere has been an entity from the days of Bill Shankly at Liverpool.

It was also the time of The Beetle’s. The Kop would sing their songs and other popular songs at the time. The wit of The Kop was such that they would use the mainstream songs to sing tribute to their own players.

So let us start with the elephant in the room. The Famous Anfield Atmosphere is not going to exist in every single game. It is also not going to exist from minute 1 to minute 90.

That is just impossible as it is difficult to maintain. This week for example Liverpool will play 3 home games. Brighton, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa to come this weekend.

That would take its toll on anyone. The demographics of people attending the game has also changed. In the earlier years it was mainly young men in their teenage years and twenties.

That time of life where you would be full of energy and very boisterous. Now you see a more mixed crowd. You see couples, families and more women generally.

That is not to say that there is no longer the famous Anfield Atmosphere. It is very much there and it can be called upon at any point of the game. It just needs lighting. Here are some scenarios where you are likely to see The Famous Anfield Atmosphere.

The Big Rivals

The most obvious occasion where you are likely to see this atmosphere is when Liverpool are playing their rivals. In the first instance you have Everton and Manchester United.

These games are built up over the proceeding week and therefore once the game starts you will see a release of the tension that has been built up. Then there is the rivalry with teams that are competing for the same prizes.

Man City and Arsenal come to mind for this category. Again the games would have a build up over the week and the fans know that they are on 12th man duties and need to show up from minute 1. It was Chelsea in the mind to late 2000’s and Nottingham Forest in the late 1980’s.

European Nights are always special at Anfield. Especially in the knockout rounds. There is an extra edge to these games.

Continental Competition

Games against European opposition have tended to be intense affairs with only the odd goal making the difference. For this reason again the fans know they need to show up to ensure that the Reds get through the tie.

There have been occasions where Liverpool have had to come from behind in the 2nd Leg. Who can forget the recent Barcelona turnaround with the famous quickly taken corner kick?

That game saw Liverpool score goals 2 and 3 quickly and Barcelona was on the ropes. This is in no small part to the crowd. They very much contributed to the performance and result. 

We saw a bit of the above on Tuesday night against Bayer Leverkuson. Luis Diaz gives Liverpool the lead. The team and crowd are buoyant and they quickly get the second goal through Cody Gakpo.

This is where the crowd feeds off the teams performance and the team respond to the crowd. All of a sudden there is a feedback loop between the 11 players on the pitch and the 12th man in the stands.

This was evident against Brighton on the weekend too. The first half was flat from the team and the crowd, but when the teams came out in the second half and the players started to press more intensely that gee’d up the crowd.

The first goal goes in and the crowd can smell blood and shortly after, the second goal is delivered. 

Visiting teams know the unique challenge

Managers of both Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen have attested that the atmosphere is something that cannot be planned for.

Xabi Alonso has been on the other side of the fence and felt the positive impact of the crowd at Anfield. Jamie Carragher spoke on Monday saying that regardless of which manager you play for the crowd carries you forward. You have no choice but to embrace the force of the Anfield Atmosphere.

We have seen footage of Arteta putting in place provisions to cope with the Anfield Atmosphere. In a recent game against Arsenal all it takes is a disagreement between Arteta and Klopp to fire up the crowd.

All of a sudden the control and handle Arsenal had on the game is lost. Liverpool get the upper hand and Jota bags a brace. 

Having said all of the above as mentioned there are periods where Anfield can be as quiet as any other ground.

It could be because Liverpool are cruising to an easy win with a significant scoreline. Early kick off times are also notorious for quiet atmospheres.

The 12.30 Kick Off times tend to be quiet affairs. Unless of course there is an incident that lights the fuse and the crowd explodes. It can happen any time. At the end of the day, the "Anfield Atmosphere" is as prevalent as ever and a strong ally to the Reds.