My dad was born in Eastern Germany and spent his first 10 years in Berlin. Later he would move to England and a certain Bill Shankly sparked his interest and he would go to watch Liverpool FC in the old second division. My first football games were Derby days as my Grandad worked for Everton despite being a staunch Red.
I vividly remember my first game and my surprise when the game started and there was no commentary!! In time I decided that I preferred the team in red to the team in blue and my mum accepted defeat! I graduated from the stands to watching the games while standing in the Paddock.
Football being watched while standing with friendsβ¦. A personal highlight was seeing my childhood hero , Kevin Keegan, return to Anfield in the Super Cup β playing for Hamburg and get beat ! It was over 40 years ago but I still remember the feelings I had that night. I did manage to stand in the Kop just once before it became seated but football was becoming more expensive, the recession hit the North hard as the Tories sold off the family silver and lined their own pockets.
Unemployment was followed by low-paid jobs and there were now more mouths to feed. Football had to take a back seat and I would watch on tv and grab a match when I could. The Premier League had taken things to another level and , awash with money, the relationship with fans changed. We were thought of as customers and prices got silly.
Clubs and players became greedy and fans were expected to pay for it. The old style fan was being priced out and with them the atmosphere that had once thrilled thousands. I can well remember sitting with my daughter in the Anfield Road end and starting to sing along with the Kop before realizing that everyone around me was sat in silence Shortly after this I moved to East Anglia and after a 6 hour journey to arrive just before half time and sit in a restricted view seat in a quiet stadium I fell out of love with going to the match.
