New Stand, New Fortunes – Why Liverpool’s Anfield must become a fortress again

On Friday, September 9; Liverpool’s owners, manager and various legends opened the new Main Stand that has been under development at Anfield for some time. It has increased the capacity of the famous ground to up to 54,000, adding an extra 8,000 voices to sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

These fans are now expecting to see a side compete for silverware and get back into the Champions League, having only qualified for the competition once in the past seven years.

All the factors needed to become a successful, silverware-winning club once again have now been put in place. Liverpool have got the manager they have been craving since the departure of Rafa Benitez. Trust in Jurgen Klopp to return former glories is something I as a fan have never seen before, and I too share that feeling of trust towards the German.

Now that the redevelopment of the main stand is complete, the club now has a stadium big enough to pack in plenty of passionate fans to spur their side on.

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

The new tunnel has admittedly lost some of its feeling of history and is no longer as daunting, but new achievements and successes will only recreate a new feeling of dread for away teams who pass under the ‘This is Anfield’ sign.

Finally, the club has the players and financial means to push on towards greater things. Bringing in players such as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Joel Matip has proven to be good business after four Premier League games.

Mane has arguably been our best player so far, winning the Player of the Month award for August. Matip and Wijnaldum have shored up the Red’s back four and midfield, with the former looking a much more composed figure in defence compared to Liverpool’s other centre-backs.

The Red’s ended the transfer window in profit, with big money sales of Jordan Ibe, Christian Benteke and Joe Allen topping a huge clear-out at the club. Despite this, I think many fans would agree that Liverpool now have a much more stable base to build upon, and the club are developing an identity set out by Klopp.

Now that all these factors have been set in place, the Red’s must make Anfield a fortress again. For years now, away sides have come to Anfield believing they can leave victorious, and so many times they have. The demolishing of champions Leicester City proved to be a great start to life under the new stand, with Roberto Firmino, Mane and Adam Lallana securing a 4-1 win.

Summer signing Mane has now scored two goals in three league games for the Reds this term – Photo: Mark Leech / Offside.

The victory was a perfect example of the new identity Klopp wants his team to undertake. Pressing high up the pitch, getting in the opposition’s faces and playing nice, quick passes. It’s a blueprint he has tried to implement from the start, but now the players are starting to match the levels of fitness needed, and they understand the philosophy.

This style of play frightens opponents, as they don’t have a second’s rest on the ball. For a player to come to Anfield, he should be thinking of three things. The noise and atmosphere created by the fans, the style of football they are about to face from one of the fittest teams in the league and the history of the club.

These three elements will distract a player from his individual performance, and the game will be won before a ball is kicked. Now that all factors are in play, the ground must become a fortress again, and players must arrive with those thoughts.