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English Premier League
SportFootball
Tony Evans
Tony Evans

On The Ball | Lack of Anfield crowd is the biggest plus point for Liverpool’s Premier League rivals next term

  • The Community Shield against Arsenal will be played in front of empty stands at Wembley on August 29
  • Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will be most affected by continued lack of supporters in Premier League grounds next season

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Bill Shankly used to say that the Spion Kop end of Anfield was able to ‘suck the ball into the net’. That’s the kind of advantage Liverpool will likely have to do without next season. Photo: AP
Tony Evans

Liverpool have all the advantages going into the new season except for one thing. The crowd. Support has been a huge factor in the success of Jurgen Klopp’s team. The way they draw energy from the supporters gives real meaning to the phrase “on song”.

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This week it was announced that the Community Shield against Arsenal will be played in front of empty stands at Wembley on August 29. The British government and the football authorities are keen to get people back into the stadiums but it will not be an easy process. A number of clubs conducted feasibility studies earlier in the summer that suggested it would take around four hours to funnel 25,000 fans into position to watch Premier League football live. Getting them out after the final whistle presented even more difficulties.
That was in a period of stricter lockdown limitations on movement and social distancing but uncertainty over the pandemic’s direction means it is hard to imagine returning to pre-Coronavirus conditions any time soon. Football will be a largely televisual sport for some months to come.
Every club in the top flight suffers from the lack of atmosphere but Liverpool are arguably the worst affected by the absence of supporters. This is not because of the legendary Anfield roar. It is a particular quirk of Klopp’s side that they feed off the noise and excitement from the terraces. There have been Liverpool teams over the years that seemed oblivious to the tumult around them as they went about their business with dispassionate efficiency. These title-winners are more emotionally tuned in to the mood on the terraces and are visibly influenced by the bedlam around them.
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Compare the champions with Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s men have a different approach. They operate as if games are a training session. Their lockdown football had the same vitality and vim as when the Etihad is full. Opposing fans sometimes mock City supporters but there is little basis for such criticism. They are as passionate as any of their rivals – although the layout and acoustics of the Etihad do them no favours. It is just that Guardiola’s side perform with a different temperamental perspective. The crowd does not seem to influence their tempo – at least in a positive manner. The opposite has sometimes occurred, as at Anfield in the first leg of the quarter final of the Champions League two years ago, where City froze in the frenzy and were beaten 3-0.

This year’s Champions League mini-tournament in Lisbon with its one-off ties and spectatorless stadiums is set up for City. No team is more suited to take advantage of the situation. If the English side beat Lyon on Saturday, they face Barcelona or Bayern Munich. With home advantage removed Guardiola has the edge over both of his former clubs.

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