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The Dark Side Of Anfield That No One Wants You To See

September 10th, 2008 By The Gaffer --> Comments

condemned-houses-anfield-liverpool The Dark Side Of Anfield That No One Wants You To See

There’s the Anfield that we all know on TV. The sight of Liverpool supporters waving their scarves as millionaires such as Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard run around the pitch. But directly behind Anfield is something that Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett don’t want you to see. The most deprived neighborhood in Britain.

On a visit to Liverpool in 2006, I was shocked to see the state of the rows of houses literally under the shadow of the Main Stand at Anfield. Even on a bright Sunday morning with no one in the streets, I was scared to walk past the houses by myself. I’d seen poverty before in the States, but this was much worse. The majority of the homes were condemned and boarded with metal doors.

condemned-houses-anfield The Dark Side Of Anfield That No One Wants You To See

Growing up in the UK, I knew how Liverpool had suffered badly during the harsh economic times of the 1980’s, but I was still shocked to see that level of poverty in 2006. Now though David Conn, the best journalist at The Guardian in my estimation, has written a must-read article about how Liverpool’s American owners are hurting local residents due to their inability to raise enough money to build Liverpool’s new ground at Stanley Park.

terraced-houses-anfield The Dark Side Of Anfield That No One Wants You To See

After reading Conn’s article, he paints a bleak picture for Liverpool supporters and the community around Anfield. The future doesn’t look too bright for Hicks and Gillett either. The sooner they sell Liverpool FC, the better.

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Tags: George Gillett · Liverpool · Tom Hicks · anfield

Viewing 44 Comments

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    i feel i've got to inform you of a few facts before people starting taking your article at fact value.

    firstly, you are correct that anfield is a deprived area of liverpool and that the delay to the new stadium is stopping the re-development work in the area from taking place - hence much of the resentment from liverpool fans towards george gillett and tom hicks.

    however, the houses you saw around the stadium are in fact owned by the club. they were bought by the club from liverpool city council many years ago with the thought of a stadium expansion in mind which has become unworkable since for various reasons. The houses have been kept by the club and boarded up because to let people live in them with the volume of people walking through these streets on match days would be extremely un-safe. The area is not as bad as it looks around anfield as you have to look past the houses directly next to stadium to see

    that said george gillett and tom hicks can get the hell out of our club and our sport! they know nothing about it and were naive enough to think they could afford to invest in a sport they are not successful enough to afford
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    Anfield is a very, very poor area but these houses are boarded up because LFC bought them and therefore nobody lives in them. So either you have not researched before writing your article or you are trying to portray a worse image of the area than is actually the case. Either way, very, very poor journalism.
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    Thank you for changing the emphasis on the ownership issues at club I love. It is terrible to see those picturs so clearly illustrating the bigger problems for the people of Anfield. Gillett and Hicks must go now, not just because of footballing reasons but mainly because of the social and econimic reasons stifling the lives of people around the stadium. G & H PLEASE LEAVE NOW
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    Its not that bad, can seem a little shocking at first but you get used to it.
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    Even the poorest people in the UK have access to free healthcare and social insurance. Put that in yer US pipe and smoke it.
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    I think its quite funny that you 'visited Liverpool in 2006' so of course you are an expert on the state of housing in Liverpool now! hahaha

    Many many streets in Liverpool are like this, its because the Conservative Governments including Thatcher et al never spent a penny on regeneration in Liverpool.

    The area has been deprived of Government funding for decades.

    With the European Capital of Culture Money some good progress is being made albeit just in the City Centre.

    LFC as a club bought and boarded all of those houses up and they have been trying to assist in the regeneration of the area but to claim that it is all LFC's and Tom and Jerry's fault is a bit far (even if I do hate the yanks).

    Scores of Governments at differing times have denied Liverpool regeneration funding, I don't know exactly what the beef is down south but the City has been denied funds for so long, there are still bombed out buildings from the second world war (even in the city you can see this).

    No vitriol or anger at your post but you really should get your facts straight otherwise you will look like a numpty mate.
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    What a lazy half arsed attempt at journalism with a hook of a headline to draw people in. Most facts have been said below by other posters in that these houses are ear-marked for demolition as part of the regeneration of the Anfield area. The fact that this hasnt begun yet does, as you point out, relate to the two yank tossers moores sold our beautiful club to and their lack of capital. It does amuse me when americans talk of social depravation in our society when the country they live in has areas which have been described as worse than third world, but of course, the writer here would never go near those places and be "scared to walk past the houses"! What is it about a boarded up empty house I wonder?
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    it's just the same everywhere else round the city. worse in fact in some parts.

    I'm born an bred in liverpool but i hate the city. it's full of self pitying idiots. if there not full of self pity they're full of smack.

    stay away from this city. capital of crap!

    good post!
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    to Mike
    WHY ON EARTH DID YOU BOTHER TO REPLY.
    THE CITY IS NOT PERFECT NO CITY IS .
    THE IRONY IS - YOU HAVE JUST CRITICISED YOURSELF BY MOANING
    I THINK YOU A RE A MANK-NO ONE FROM LIVERPOOL WOULD COME OUT WITH THAT OLD CHESTNUT
    GET OUT OF LIVERPOOL IF YOU LIVE HERE AND GIVE US ALL A FAVOUR.
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    So much for investigative journalism, a quick phone call or chat to anyone in the area would have told you LFC own these houses. Might be worth checking your facts in future before writing your sensational heading
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    Robbie who first relied to this completely correct. The boarded up houses are owned by the club and will form part of the redevelopment work. 3 streets down from this are a number of houses currently being redeveloped and on the other side of the satdiume there are 2 streets of terraced houses that have been completely renovated.

    Whilst I do not doubt that the hold up on the stadium is interfering with some of the development work, it worth remembering that £3m of the money granted to LFC for the stadium has now been re-assigned to the community as a result of stadiium delays.

    I despise Tom Hicks, George Gillett, Rick Parry and all the lies that come with them. I love to see bad press against any of these however I feel it should be accurate and true. Something this article, quite simply, is not.
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    Mike, You sir are a complete idiot.

    I think you will find that 99.9% of Liverpudlians are extremely proud of their city. Its people like you that give our wounderful city and club a bad name.

    Do us all a favour and crawl back under your rock! What gives you the right the flame Liverpool!
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    What a stupid attempt at sensationalism . The club owns these empty houses. People don't live in them you dope. Walk around any of the old grounds in England in the cities , they are all surrounded by empty boarded houses.
    Americans are the most clueless xenophobes in the world today, that's why LFC has to shed the two that attached themselves to the club and think again.
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    Can by the gaffer please stand up and admit that he was wrong?
    im appalled that people outside the club will think badly of us now if they take it for face value
    Many thanks to the locals who have put this idiot in his place. Im putting this guy alongside Mr Comford from Caughtoffside as possibly the two worst internet journalists ever.
    If your from outside liverpool, your not there to see the houses, your there to see 43000 Liverpool fans going mental cheering for their heroes.
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    These houses are have been bought up over many years by liverpool FC as previously a expansion and redevelopment of the current stadium was on the cards. This plan has now been shelved for many reasons and as part of the new stadium to be built on stanley park the government has finally given money towards the redevelopment of the area and stanley park, yes it took liverpool spending many millions on a new stadium to encourage the government to part with cash to regenerate the surrounding area. Even as we know now that the stadium plan has been shelved for 12months or so the area is still seeing some regeneraio with the stanley park project well under way. Your comments are way off the mark, dont take something for just for face value do a little more research about the subject matter and you might have a credible argument.

    HICKS AND GILLET OUT DIC IN!
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    You are all overreacting to the ONE LINE where he does not include the fact that the properties are LFC-owned. Ok... Understood by Robbies first post, let alone every successive one.

    But that one line aside, the focus of the article - the poor state of the Anfield area and the new owners' failure to help the situation - is dead on and agreed upon by all of you, even though many of you seem to deem this as 'poor journalism' almost as if an involuntary reflex. I understand that the fans feel strongly against the american ownership, and frankly, as an American I dont disagree with you, but try reading the whole article before trying to tear it apart, not the first 30 words.
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    I'm sorry, but when did it fall to football clubs to "help the situation" with urban regeneration? What other club has regenerated their local community? many may have sold the old stadium off to house builders, but that's for profit, not to help.

    Quite how you can defend the article beggars belief because from it's sinister title to it's woeful fabrication of rubbish, it is just run of the mill, anti-Liverpool bile My god if you want to see an area that was desperate, you should have gone and had a look at Maine Road while it was the home of Man City, that was a real nasty dive. It made Anfield looks like West Kensington or Knightsbridge!

    Overall I have to laugh at American's trying to come across as authoritative about social issues in Liverpool, I bet none can even find it on a map!
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    As has been said above the boarded up houses surrounding Anfield are indeed owned by Liverpool Football Club having been bought up over the past ten years or so with a view to expanding the existing stadium. The plans to expand the existing stadium eventually proved to be impractical as the club decided to build a brand new stadium directly next door to the old one on the end of Stanley Park.

    Since then the situation has changed still further. The North Liverpool areas of Anfield and Breckfield have become the subject of full scale redevelopment plans of which the New Anfield stadium is the centre piece. As such these plans attract additional money from the EU and some other various public funds. Part of these involve the renovation and restoration of the historic Victorian Stanley Park.

    Also, once the new stadium is built, the old Anfield stadium will be demolished as will the surrounding boarded up houses. These will make way for Anfield Plaza; a space that will complim