Capacity for disaster
Tony Evans, deputy football editor of The Times, child of the Kop and author of Far Foreign Land - Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way, sets the Scouse agenda in the countdown to the Champions League final. His daily examination of Liverpool's challenge for their sixth European Cup will be online each day
The atmosphere is disappointingly sour. There are too few tickets knocking around and too many Liverpool fans. The club’s selling policy has created rifts. Last night, in the hotel bar, two Scousers were snarling at a group of out-of-town fans because they had tickets. They appeared to think that their birthright should have guaranteed them a place in the ground. It was unpleasant and it took the intervention of another Liverpudlian to calm the situation - me. But the club’s policy has exposed the unpleasant rift that is under the surface of the Kop. Militant Scouse elements resent the out-of-towners.
The out-of-towners feel that they cannot fit in because they lack the crucial accent. It is the fault line that runs through Anfield. The problem for Gillett and Hicks is to balance the two groups. Does the money that day-trippers bring to the club outweigh the passion that locals bring? How can the two constituancies meet? Certainly not with a ticketing policy like Liverpool’s. The mood is much angrier than at any European Cup final I’ve attended, with the exception of Heysel. And that’s a link we don’t want to make. If the fans were given priority for games like this, then there would be no schisms within the support. In this situation, there is the capacity for disaster.
Now you see it, now you don't
No ticket yet. In Istanbul, I had one nine hours before kick-off. Six hours before the game, I’m still on the outside. Life is cruel. But there’s still time...
Corporate hospitality
Last night there were a number of corporate parties. Normally, I’d be mixing with local low-life. Because I need a ticket, I thought it would be a good politcal move to go to the do. It wasn’t a succesful trip, but we managed to drink copious amounts of the sponsor’s beer. Yet most of the people there were Liverpool supporters - there were songs being sung all night. While it’s easy to sneer at the prawn sandwich eaters, a lot of them were real supporters. Honest. And you’ll notice, I haven’t mentioned the company’s name.
Out-of-towners debate crops up once again
Not good hi.
Tony Evans, deputy football editor of The Times, child of the Kop and author of Far Foreign Land - Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way, sets the Scouse agenda in the countdown to the Champions League final. His daily examination of Liverpool's challenge for their sixth European Cup will be online each day
The atmosphere is disappointingly sour. There are too few tickets knocking around and too many Liverpool fans. The club’s selling policy has created rifts. Last night, in the hotel bar, two Scousers were snarling at a group of out-of-town fans because they had tickets. They appeared to think that their birthright should have guaranteed them a place in the ground. It was unpleasant and it took the intervention of another Liverpudlian to calm the situation - me. But the club’s policy has exposed the unpleasant rift that is under the surface of the Kop. Militant Scouse elements resent the out-of-towners.
The out-of-towners feel that they cannot fit in because they lack the crucial accent. It is the fault line that runs through Anfield. The problem for Gillett and Hicks is to balance the two groups. Does the money that day-trippers bring to the club outweigh the passion that locals bring? How can the two constituancies meet? Certainly not with a ticketing policy like Liverpool’s. The mood is much angrier than at any European Cup final I’ve attended, with the exception of Heysel. And that’s a link we don’t want to make. If the fans were given priority for games like this, then there would be no schisms within the support. In this situation, there is the capacity for disaster.
Now you see it, now you don't
No ticket yet. In Istanbul, I had one nine hours before kick-off. Six hours before the game, I’m still on the outside. Life is cruel. But there’s still time...
Corporate hospitality
Last night there were a number of corporate parties. Normally, I’d be mixing with local low-life. Because I need a ticket, I thought it would be a good politcal move to go to the do. It wasn’t a succesful trip, but we managed to drink copious amounts of the sponsor’s beer. Yet most of the people there were Liverpool supporters - there were songs being sung all night. While it’s easy to sneer at the prawn sandwich eaters, a lot of them were real supporters. Honest. And you’ll notice, I haven’t mentioned the company’s name.
Out-of-towners debate crops up once again
Not good hi.