Liverpool and the Anfield area

gosplan

Was listening to David Conn recently on newstalk and he gad some pretty shocking stuff to say about L.F.C. He basically alleged that the club knowingly let the area around Anfield turn to sh1t.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2013/may/06/anfield-liverpool-david-conn

Essentially LFC have been secretly purchasing the houses around Anfield for 20 years and just boarding them up. This followed a previous delay in expanding a stand caused by a couple of elderly people that wouldn't move out.

There actions have had the obvious impact of depressing the area and further driving down prices.

I haven't seen it discussed anywhere but I was pretty apalled by this. I've visited Anfield a couple of times and remember thinking how depressing the area around it was. I get that Liverpool in general has been in decline but the club either let their immediate surroundings turn to sh1t through general apathy, or knowingly did it to drive down house prices.

fergiesfolly

Heard the same interview. Basically, the club were in collusion with Liverpool council to buy up properties around Anfield for the expansion of the stadium. Seems its been going on for 20 odd years with all the clubs owners during that time aware of the practice.
Whatever about the clubs actions, the fact that the elected officials of the city let it happen is disgraceful.

~Rebel~

Yeah, got discussed a fair bit on and off over the past while in the Superthread. By all accounts some pretty despicable stuff was done alright. Seems more recently under FSG they've been a lot fairer, paying above the odds for property to expand.

LuckyLloyd

It's an absolute disgrace. Wasn't aware of the extent of it until recently.

gosplan

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Yeah, got discussed a fair bit on and off over the past while in the Superthread. By all accounts some pretty despicable stuff was done alright. Seems more recently under FSG they've been a lot fairer, paying above the odds for property to expand.

In a way Conn is very fair pointing out the previous issues with expansion and why they went down this route. Also alludes to the fact that this all began under the threat of Utd dominance and financial imparity.

But Christ, for me what Liverpool always had was status as a local club and really strong ties with the city and the people.

Sappy404

I saw an interview with someone from this website a while ago. The site is awful but it's shocking what the club have done:

www.anfieldscandal.com

mike65

This isn't exactly news, though obviously many people might not be aware of the omnishambles that has characterised the redevelopment of Anfield and the wider L4 area.
There is supposed to be some news forthcoming in the next month I think about the stadium.

Just to add some parts of that David Conn article are somewhat scurrilous re the implication that the club are basically responsible for some local murders.

roanoke

I knew nothing about this news but I do recall that when google streetview first came out I was checking out some of the stadia round the world and their environs in order to get a feel for the areas.

When I checked Liverpool even I noticed that many of the houses surrounding Anfield were unoccupied and boarded up. I didn't know why this was but I actually just presumed (correctly now it seems?) that Liverpool FC were 'playing monopoly' and just buying up any house that went on the market with the eventual hope of owning the entire street. I figured they were just paying market value like everyone else, but now I guess not.

I noticed in particular that 'Lothair Road' looked like a ghosttown. I'd estimate about 75% of the houses on that road are boarded up on Streetview. You can see it for yourself here....
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Anfield+,+liverpool&hl=en&ll=53.431884,-2.961599&spn=0.002256,0.005718&sll=51.426186,-0.221786&sspn=0.151132,0.365982&t=h&hnear=Anfield,+Merseyside,+United+Kingdom&layer=c&cbll=53.431801,-2.961714&panoid=IBiEwdHRcEGNu_7ac0DASg&cbp=12,213.32,,0,-2.12&z=17

Augmerson

Several implied attempts in the article to attribute LFC to murders and arson, lovely.

daRobot

You can't have it both ways.

Would people prefer that the club massively overpaid for the houses? This is what is what would have happened had such tactics not been employed- as the residents would have got wind of it fast, and held out expecting a nice payday with an over inflated price.

One might argue that the other residents "fighting" to stay in their homes, are perhaps doing just that, holding out for a payoff, as to be fair, who wants to live in a place where houses are boarded up? Surely they want to GTF out of there as fast as possible.

LFC are a business, not a charity, and if these things free up more cash for the running of the club, buying players etc, I see nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Amirani

daRobot wrote: »

LFC are a business, not a charity, and if these things free up more cash for the running of the club, buying players etc, I see nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

It's immoral. Just because an organisation isn't a charity doesn't absolve them of all social responsibility.

citytillidie

Why is this even a thread it was discussed last month when the article came out in the Liverpool super thread

dsmythy

citytillidie wrote: »

Why is this even a thread it was discussed last month when the article came out in the Liverpool super thread

Warrants greater coverage.

batistuta9

citytillidie wrote: »

Why is this even a thread it was discussed last month when the article came out in the Liverpool super thread

Probably because not everyone reads superthreads

I'd say only l'pool fans & a few others knew about it

Darkglasses

I had no idea this was happening. Despicable.

shamrock55

Lfc is a football club it is not responsable for the city or its surrounding area when i went to my first match at anfield nearly 30 years ago the area was every bit as bad as it is now alot of the houses are run down anyway and only fit to be knocked lfc need space to revamp their stadium and are buying up houses so they can knock em noone elseis gonna by these properties anyway wheres the problem

Leiva

the truth is somewhere in the middle on this one.

The_Kew_Tour

Plenty of football grounds be it in England, Scotland or even here are in poor places.

You think Anfield is bad? Try Upton Park or WHL.

Don't see big deal is this.

Was at White Harte Lane before. Rough area putting it mildly!

Leiva

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Plenty of football grounds be it in England, Scotland or even here are in poor places.

You think Anfield is bad? Try Upton Park or WHL.

Don't see big deal is this.

its not the state of the area per say that is the problem although the redevelopment of both main stands will improve on what is currently there. Its the way it got to such a state and who had a part and hand in it.

but the way that article tries to put a link to murders etc is just ridiculous.

homerjay2005

Leiva wrote: »

the truth is somewhere in the middle on this one.

exactly. why what they are doing is a little immoral, i dont really have a problem with it. theres always people opposed to these type of things and they bug me.

not sure why anybody would want to live there anyway, its not the best of places regardless of what the club have done!

gosplan

Sorry but there's a serious problem with all of this. Yeah linking LFC to murders goes a bit too far but what they did was shocking.

They were always my second club. Been to see them a few times and always cheered for them. They're not getting a penny more.

gosplan

gosplan wrote: »

Sorry but there's a serious problem with all of this. Yeah linking LFC to murders goes a bit too far but what they did was shocking.

They were always my second club. Been to see them a few times and always cheered for them. They're not getting a penny more.

This happens in all walks of life, from football stadiums to supermarkets.

It isn't nice but you are going way over the top.

You support Arsenal don't you? Wasn't there big objections over their original move to Highbury from residents? I remember reading it or seeing it in a documentary.

Are you going to boycott them too?


Big companies/business's at times bully smaller business's etc to get what they want. It's an ugly side of business.

smileyj1987

Leiva wrote: »

the truth is somewhere in the middle on this one.

You have it 100% spot on . To me its seems both parties are as bad as each other in this . I would say the club have decided we don't want to shell out a fortune for these homes and the residents could be thinking if we delay the club we can make a fortune .
To me this was an avoidable mess and a meeting between the club and residents of the area should have happened years ago .

applehunter

More evidence that football clubs in the Premier League are losing touch with reality.

applehunter

applehunter wrote: »

More evidence that football clubs in the Premier League are losing touch with reality.

Lol.

You think this sort of thing hasn't ever happened outside England?

mav79

As Rarnes posted this happens all the time, Munster needed to buy the 16 houses next to Thomond to expand, some people moved very early on and some held on for quiet a while and got better offers. No one was forced out onto the street. Its not pretty but don't fool yourself in thinking that this is only a scenario happening in Liverpool.

The_Kew_Tour

applehunter wrote: »

More evidence that football clubs in the Premier League are losing touch with reality.

LOI clubs lost touch with reality by overspending and look what happened to few of them including Cork. Different situation granted, but same base.

I dont like saying it but when clubs sees £££££££ they go for it

applehunter

rarnes1 wrote: »

Lol.

You think this sort of thing hasn't ever happened outside England?

If course it has.

Don't have to look to far in Cork to see examples of poor planning.

aramush

This has been public knowledge for awhile now, no one was forced out of the Anfield area back then, when the locals seen the cash, they moved. Some have waited behind, which is understandable but this "regeneration" was always going to come if Liverpool weren't going to leave Anfield.

gosplan

mav79 wrote: »

As Rarnes posted this happens all the time, Munster needed to buy the 16 houses next to Thomond to expand, some people moved very early on and some held on for quiet a while and got better offers. No one was forced out onto the street. Its not pretty but don't fool yourself in thinking that this is only a scenario happening in Liverpool.

Totally different situation though.

Buying houses ... OK
Expanding stadium ... OK
Trying to secure lowest price ... OK

Deliberately depressing an area where people live - not OK at all.

FFS, this is boards where people freak out is a traveller lives within a few miles of them. Let's see how people would like their new neighbours if someone boarded up half their street and made their houses the cheapest in the city while putting a number of deralict squats nearby.

I couldn't give a toss if Liverpool are buying property and expanding. The problem is they're knowingly doing huge damage to the community on Anfield's doorstep.

Guy:Incognito

gosplan wrote: »

Totally different situation though.

Buying houses ... OK
Expanding stadium ... OK
Trying to secure lowest price ... OK

Deliberately depressing an area where people live - not OK at all.

FFS, this is boards where people freak out is a traveller lives within a few miles of them. Let's see how people would like their new neighbours if someone boarded up half their street and made their houses the cheapest in the city while putting a number of deralict squats nearby.

I couldn't give a toss if Liverpool are buying property and expanding. The problem is they're knowingly doing huge damage to the community on Anfield's doorstep.

So when they buy the houses ( which is ok remember) , if some residents hold out for 20 years, what should they do with those houses in the mean time other than board them up?

gosplan

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

So when they buy the houses ( which is ok remember) , if some residents hold out for 20 years, what should they do with those houses in the mean time other than board them up?

Leave the families there but take the deeds; rent them out; knock them.

Or maybe give people some idea what's going on and what was going to happen to the area. That would have meant going public and people could have held out for more cash but it would have been honourable, and fair to the people living around Anfield. Some people think that those kind of actions are pie-in-the-sky stuff.

~Rebel~

applehunter wrote: »

More evidence that football clubs in the Premier League are losing touch with reality.

Losing touch? This has been going on for a long long time unfortunately (nigh on 20 years), and actually has improved quite a bit more recently, thankfully.