Friday, January 12, 2007

Getting there

First, get to Liverpool! Duh...

Go to Queen's Square bus station and take the Stagecoach buses no. 17 or 117. A day ticket would set you back only GBP2.40.

Tell the bus driver to give ya a holler (mine did) when you approach the relevant stop. But you can't miss it. The bus stops directly in front of the stadium.

The tour cost GBP9 - a well worth investment if you are a Reds fan. The price includes the entry to the Museum too.

Get there early and you can hang out in the museum or browse in the shop. Be prepared to spend money, tho!!!!

Come on in!

Welcome to Anfield! :-)


You can enter thru the front gates, the Paisley Gateway which leads to the Kop end


Or you can come in from the back, thru the Bill Shankly Memorial Gates

The Museum (1) - Trophies

The most important of all is the Champions League Trophy - which is ours to keep as we won it 5 times!!!!





Then, there's the FA Cup which will not be staying there for long. *sniff*


And the UEFA Cup

The Museum (2) - Memorabilia

Loads of interesting stuffs. Here are some examples:-

One of the match balls used in Istanbul that nite! It could be the one that Dudek saved. It could be the one used by Alonso in the penalty. Who knows!


Alonso's boots used in Istanbul!

Jersey signed by Rafa


The jersey worn by Rush in one of the FA Cup finals

The Museum (3) - Others

There are tributes to each and every manager of Liverpool since Shankly. There is also a tribute to arguably the best Liverpool player ever, Billy Liddell.


There was a projector room where scenes of the penalty shoot-out in Instanbul were played in a loop. What interested me more were the many banners hung in that room.

Note: In the Gladiator banner, the full words are "Success is a journey, not a destination"

The Changing Room (1)

First, thru the players' entrance... then, thru the changing room doors...

The jerseys were all hung out and ready. It was interesting to note that everyone gets an XL - so Garcia and Crouch wears the same size!!!!



In good company!


Outside the changing room is where the players' interviews take place

The Changing Room (2)

Here are a couple of videos taken in the changing room. Kindly note that these videos are taken by me humble 2 megapixel camera and does not have any audio.



One thing we noticed when we first entered the changing room was how small it is!!!! It really is! The away team changing room is bigger... but there are a few subtle differences! Like it's usually always a bit colder in the away changing room during winter, and always warmer during summer! ;-P

The playing field and the seating

From the changing room, we walked along the corridor leading to the steps which will take out to the field, passing the famous "This is Anfield" sign.

Here are a couple of vids of me doing just that. Sori but i took the vids in "potrait" mode instead of landscape - so u'll have to watch them tilting your head 90 degrees to one side!!!!! ;-P



Here's a collage of pics of the field and seating area:-


We were also allowed to sit at the "technical area". It was interesting to note how close to the field and to the supporters we were. Note that the area is not situated at the centre line of the field.

Me at the Kop end!


Let me end of with a vid showing 180 degrees view of the stadium:-

Around the grounds

Take a pose with Shankly - and no, it's not me new Beatles' hairstyle. It was windy!


Need directions?


Doesn't say anything about guns and grenades...


Remembering the fans who perished at Hillsborough. There's another shrine next to the Shankly Gates at the back.

Goodbye

So that's the end of me tour there. Altho at the time of the visit, the Reds were still hurting over the most humiliating defeat there since 1930, yet we know that no matter what happens, the motto above Shankly Gates at the back will be always be remembered.