The atmosphere at Anfield is proving to be a hot topic at the moment. It feels like Liverpool’s rivals relish any opportunity to brand the famed experience at the Reds’ iconic ground as a ‘myth’......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
Anyone who’s watched Liverpool in action recently will no doubt be familiar with the chants of ‘where’s your famous atmosphere?’ from the away section. Meanwhile, Gary Neville has had plenty to say over the past year or so, most notably criticizing the atmosphere during last season’s goalless draw with Manchester United.
It’s not just the Reds’ rivals though that have pointed out a problem. Jurgen Klopp was left less than impressed with the home crowd’s efforts on a couple of occasions last season, and Jamie Carragher seems to agree with Neville to some extent.
It’s no secret that the atmosphere at Anfield can be improved upon, and Liverpool fans know that themselves. At the same time though, it’s not like other Premier League sides have much to shout about.
Switching on last night’s Champions League clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, I was struck by what I could hear through my TV as all the noise seemed to be coming from the 3,000 or so traveling fans from the French capital.
Of course, you can never truly judge an atmosphere while watching a game from home, but it was clear that the only noticeable sound coming through the speakers was via that small corner of the Emirates Stadium.
It wasn’t really until Kai Havertz put the Gunners ahead that the home supporters found their voice, with the usual chants of ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ greeting the German’s goal. That didn’t seem to last long though before it was the PSG contingent making all the noise again.
After Bukayo Saka’s free-kick managed to sneak in 10 minutes before the break to make it 2-0, the Gunners faithful decided to treat their visitors to a rendition of ‘you’re not signing anymore’. Oh the irony.
Once again though, it didn’t take long before those same supporters turned the volume down, and the away section raised their game again. As half-time approached, Amazon Prime’s commentator Jon Champion was even moved to confirm that it was indeed the PSG supporters making all the noise as the camera picked out a multitude of Arsenal supporters looking considerably stoney-faced.
Looking at them, you would never have guessed that their side was comfortably beating a team expected to give them one of their toughest tests in Europe. While the scoreline read 2-0, their faces and the noise being created gave the impression they were being subjected to the dullest of nights.
It should be pointed out, Arsenal is by no means alone in this. As much as all the focus seems to be on Liverpool’s atmosphere, none of the Premier League’s top sides can really boast the sort of atmosphere even a relatively small amount of PSG fans demonstrated on Tuesday.
Rising ticket prices across England have skewed the age of the match-going crowd upwards, with many of the younger supporters more likely to make noise priced out of it. And while it seems players are the only ones banging the drum about there being too many games, there is a real argument to be made that the sheer number of fixtures now is also taking its toll on supporters.
We’ll no doubt see fans proclaim the return of the famous Anfield atmosphere this evening for the first home European outing of the season, before more questions are inevitably asked when league action returns after the international break. As Arsenal proved last night though, this is certainly not a problem exclusive to Liverpool.
