Throwback Thursday: Liverpool In The 1970s

For the past week and change Liverpool have dominated the headlines in English football. Apart from their manager being hospitalized for appendicitis hours before kickoff of their 2-2 draw on Saturday and then getting knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham in extra time, the club have been at the center of a reignited debate over ticket prices in the Premier League. We’ve covered the controversy and subsequent protests previously. At press time, it looks like the club are willing to compromise and go back to the negotiating table with supporters’ groups. This is good news for every fan of a Premier League club— it sets a standard for other clubs to (hopefully) follow when it comes to engaging with their supporters.
In the midst of the controversy came an article from The Economist that defended the price increases in part by negging Liverpool supporters and their city. The subtle digs— entitled, economically disadvantaged, stuck in their own past— are nothing new, but the sentiment is worth addressing. Liverpool fans do tend get chuffed over their club’s history. They were, after all, a juggernaut of English and European football. But more than the silverware, Liverpool’s golden years exemplified an era of English football very different from our own. An era in which the wall of separation between fans, players, and staff was not so impermeable. An era in which fans were treated as stakeholders rather than customers. An era featuring, as Bill Shankly said, “everyone working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards.”
This week, we won’t be looking back at a particular game. Instead, we’ll take a brief visual tour through the 1970s with Liverpool Football Club, and perhaps catch a glimpse of the history that is the Liverpool fan’s telling weakness and greatest strength.
None of these videos have sound. They’re all essentially unused b-roll. The effect is something strange; the footage was obviously produced to be seen, but its “unused footage” feel makes it seem like we’re barging in on private moments. Even when it’s the writing mass of fans in the Kop.
The first video, of course, is training at Melwood. It’s unclear what season this was from, but Shankly is seen toward the end of the footage, so it had to come before 1974. You could focus on the aesthetics— the film grain, the short-shorts, the sideburns— but there’s something to be said for meditating on the context. A group of men doing work late in the day. Hard, physical labor. The sun has all but vanished. They can’t go home just yet. This is a football team, quite probably a title-winning football team, but there’s a near-total lack of mystique here. These are just regular people working late. It could’ve been you, maybe.
In the early 70s tickets for Liverpool home matches topped out around £1-2, with matchday programmes running about 5p. Even adjusting for inflation, prices have become downright exorbitant since then. And yes, a lot has changed, and even the most crotchety fan knows that they and the club need to adapt. Yet only the most craven capitalist would deny football’s role in a community. It flattens social strata. It breaks down barriers. It provides a common language and a shared experience. It pulls people together in ways few other things do.