One of the quirks of football’s rich past meant it was commonplace for the more resourceful supporter to sneak into game after half-time to catch a glimpse of their heroes without paying.
Fast forward to the present day, and there are many Anfield regulars who would probably be happy doing the same thing.
After all, the opening 45 minutes have not exactly proved a fertile period for Liverpool at home this season.
In 18 games at Anfield this season in all competitions, Rafael Benitez’s have led only four times at the interval, with only two of those occasions coming in the Premier League.
Indeed, Liverpool have netted only seven goals in the first half of their 12 home league games this season, a contributory factor in drawing five of those encounters.
Benitez’s side can begin altering that statistic when they entertain Manchester City tomorrow.
And the Spaniard admits: “Clearly, we need to improve. Look at the game against Portsmouth. I was watching the replay of the game and the commentators were talking too much about team changes and us being defensive, but we scored three goals.
“It’s better to score early on when we have plenty of possession. Against Portsmouth, we had control of the ball and were controlling the game in the first half.
“We’ve done that a lot this season, and it shows how important it is to score an early goal. It will make the game less stressful for the team and it will give the fans more confidence and be better for my heart.
“When you have quality players and are playing at home, then it’s much better to score first as it brings the other team out and their defence will play higher and you have more space to attack.”
Benitez adds: “A couple of years ago we were scoring the first goal and winning majority of these games. It’s difficult to explain why we aren’t doing that now.
“In football there are too many things that can change games. Maybe the other team is strong, or we can’t take out chances.
“Maybe it’s easier in the second half to score because the other team gets more tired, but we I can guarantee we try to score from the very first minute.”
By contrast to their first-half woes, Liverpool have developed a habit of snatching victories with late goals.
Both Chelsea and Portsmouth were beaten in recent weeks with last-minute strikes, and, earlier in the campaign, an injury-time Dirk Kuyt strike earned a 3-2 win at City from a game in which they were 2-0 down.
And Benitez accepts that ability to transform potential draws into wins must be retained for Liverpool to continue a realistic championship challenge.
“At the end of the season every game is very important,” he says. “You don’t want to lose points, but the other team could lose even more. You never know.
“But it’s clear the top sides don’t drop that many points. Every single game will be important. But the nearer you get to the end of the season, you cannot allow the gap to get too big.
“It’s better to be five points ahead than behind, but if you win games in a row then you can close that gap.
“Each week will be different. Games that are supposed to be easy might end up being difficult. I think every game will be difficult between now and the end of the season.
“But it doesn’t matter what people say, the most important thing is what you can do on the pitch.
Tomorrow’s visit of City would appear the ideal fixture for Liverpool top begin rectifying their home woes, with Mark Hughes having steered his side to just a single victory on the road this term, with four draws and seven defeats.
However, Benitez warns opposition players are always more motivated when visiting world famous stadiums like Anfield.
“You can analyse how teams perform away all season but it's different at Anfield,” he says. “Clearly Anfield is a window, especially for players with quality.
“They could show this more than in other stadiums. They have good players, players who can change games so it will be tough. The only thing will be whether we can score one or two goals in the first half.”
Meanwhile, Benitez has warned Hertha Berlin their efforts to sign Andriy Voronin on loan for another year are doomed for failure.
The Ukrainian, on a season-long loan at Hertha, shot his team to the top of the Bundesliga last week with both goals in a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich.
And Benitez says: “We are not surprised he is a very good player but always the first year in the Premier League is difficult and with the players that we have it was difficult for him to play every week.
“He is playing every game now, he is playing really well and the fans love him. He has confidence.
“He is our player and we are monitoring him. We have to decide at the end of the season. But they will not keep him on loan for another season. That cannot happen.”
Fast forward to the present day, and there are many Anfield regulars who would probably be happy doing the same thing.
After all, the opening 45 minutes have not exactly proved a fertile period for Liverpool at home this season.
In 18 games at Anfield this season in all competitions, Rafael Benitez’s have led only four times at the interval, with only two of those occasions coming in the Premier League.
Indeed, Liverpool have netted only seven goals in the first half of their 12 home league games this season, a contributory factor in drawing five of those encounters.
Benitez’s side can begin altering that statistic when they entertain Manchester City tomorrow.
And the Spaniard admits: “Clearly, we need to improve. Look at the game against Portsmouth. I was watching the replay of the game and the commentators were talking too much about team changes and us being defensive, but we scored three goals.
“It’s better to score early on when we have plenty of possession. Against Portsmouth, we had control of the ball and were controlling the game in the first half.
“We’ve done that a lot this season, and it shows how important it is to score an early goal. It will make the game less stressful for the team and it will give the fans more confidence and be better for my heart.
“When you have quality players and are playing at home, then it’s much better to score first as it brings the other team out and their defence will play higher and you have more space to attack.”
Benitez adds: “A couple of years ago we were scoring the first goal and winning majority of these games. It’s difficult to explain why we aren’t doing that now.
“In football there are too many things that can change games. Maybe the other team is strong, or we can’t take out chances.
“Maybe it’s easier in the second half to score because the other team gets more tired, but we I can guarantee we try to score from the very first minute.”
By contrast to their first-half woes, Liverpool have developed a habit of snatching victories with late goals.
Both Chelsea and Portsmouth were beaten in recent weeks with last-minute strikes, and, earlier in the campaign, an injury-time Dirk Kuyt strike earned a 3-2 win at City from a game in which they were 2-0 down.
And Benitez accepts that ability to transform potential draws into wins must be retained for Liverpool to continue a realistic championship challenge.
“At the end of the season every game is very important,” he says. “You don’t want to lose points, but the other team could lose even more. You never know.
“But it’s clear the top sides don’t drop that many points. Every single game will be important. But the nearer you get to the end of the season, you cannot allow the gap to get too big.
“It’s better to be five points ahead than behind, but if you win games in a row then you can close that gap.
“Each week will be different. Games that are supposed to be easy might end up being difficult. I think every game will be difficult between now and the end of the season.
“But it doesn’t matter what people say, the most important thing is what you can do on the pitch.
Tomorrow’s visit of City would appear the ideal fixture for Liverpool top begin rectifying their home woes, with Mark Hughes having steered his side to just a single victory on the road this term, with four draws and seven defeats.
However, Benitez warns opposition players are always more motivated when visiting world famous stadiums like Anfield.
“You can analyse how teams perform away all season but it's different at Anfield,” he says. “Clearly Anfield is a window, especially for players with quality.
“They could show this more than in other stadiums. They have good players, players who can change games so it will be tough. The only thing will be whether we can score one or two goals in the first half.”
Meanwhile, Benitez has warned Hertha Berlin their efforts to sign Andriy Voronin on loan for another year are doomed for failure.
The Ukrainian, on a season-long loan at Hertha, shot his team to the top of the Bundesliga last week with both goals in a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich.
And Benitez says: “We are not surprised he is a very good player but always the first year in the Premier League is difficult and with the players that we have it was difficult for him to play every week.
“He is playing every game now, he is playing really well and the fans love him. He has confidence.
“He is our player and we are monitoring him. We have to decide at the end of the season. But they will not keep him on loan for another season. That cannot happen.”
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