A Day On The Boos At Anfield

No one should preach to fans about how they should express their opinion. The idea of You'll Never Walk Alone is a conditional illusion. Liverpool supporters have always had an edge

BOO, BLOODY HOO. Has Anfield ever seen a bigger storm in a teacup?

The jeers that greeted Trent Alexander-Arnold’s introduction as a substitute during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal have divided opinion. At a point in the season where there’s nothing at stake for Arne Slot’s team, it’s given the fanbase something to get passionate over. And the pundits something to pontificate about.

Does it matter? First, let’s shatter a few myths.

Liverpool fans back their players unconditionally

Really? The Kop have always had their whipping boys – often local lads – and while the disapproval may not have been expressed by booing, low-level grumbling has always characterised Anfield.

Back in the 1970s, Ian Callaghan – the man who made a record 857 appearances for the club – was on the receiving end of huge amounts of stick. Cally started off his career as a dashing winger but, as he reached the end of his playing days, he morphed into a hardworking midfielder who won and maintained possession. That made him, in the words of many in the crowd “a fucking crab.”

Sammy Lee, the kid from the Bullring who ran himself into the ground for the team, heard almost as many groans as cheers during his time at Liverpool. He wasn’t flamboyant enough for some. At the 1984 League Cup final against Everton – a drab, attritional, wet slogfest of a 0-0 draw – a fella standing by me and my mates at Wembley screamed throughout the game that Lee was "shite" and demanded he was substituted. Our group thought Sammy was man of the match.

And you didn’t need to be local. Ronnie Whelan, who made the same journey as Callaghan, from thrusting, forward-looking attacker to a more defensive-minded operator, was howled at for becoming the best player in his position in the league. Now, in an age when defensive midfielders cost in excess of £100 million, the Irishman would be priceless. But, nah, loads at Anfield weren’t having him because they couldn’t see he allowed the likes of John Barnes and Peter Beardsley to play.

I could give more examples.

Oh, and players leaving? I can remember small but nonetheless substantial groups chanting “What’s it like to be a twat?” at Kevin Keegan after he announced his decision to leave Liverpool. The club got a fee for Keegan, too.

There’s the problem: the fee

Yes, it would have been better for Liverpool to sell Alexander-Arnold for money. I had a conversation with someone last week who suggested the full back had run down his contract to do Real Madrid a favour and give them more options in the transfer market, an opinion repeated frequently on social media.

This is a really, really stupid viewpoint. In the summer of 2023, Liverpool should have tied down their most significant asset. They should have offered Alexander-Arnold a two-year extension with a substantial pay rise. It would have guaranteed a fee in the upcoming transfer window.

If they had, no one can say with certainty that he would have signed. BUT… very few players turn down an increase in wages. There was too much uncertainty for Alexander-Arnold to dismiss an extension.

Imagine he’d decided to run down his contract at that point. He had two seasons to play for Liverpool and no guarantees from Real. If he’d have suffered, say, a cruciate ligament injury during that period, the Spanish giants would not have sorted him out. They would have moved on without a second thought and Alexander-Arnold would have been, put simply, fucked.

Fenway Sports Group screwed this one up badly. Forget all the “no sporting director” excuses. If you’re booing because Liverpool are not getting a fee, aim those catcalls in the right direction.

Trent has no morals, the traitor

He’s joining Real Madid, softarse, not ISIS. He’s going to play in La Liga, not ethnically cleanse Gaza with the IDF.

This is not an issue of morality. He’s making a professional decision for what he believes is best for his career. Is he right? I hope not.

But let’s look at the evidence. Real have been champions of Europe as many times in the past 11 seasons as Liverpool have in their history of European adventures. Alexander-Arnold has played in three Champions League finals, in two of which he’s been beaten by Real Madrid. It’s not like he’s going to Chelsea.

He could have been a one-club legend like Gerrard

Steven Gerrard was not a one-club player. He wanted to be. But his manager didn’t want him around any longer and the owners didn’t want to pay him the relatively paltry wages he was asking.

The way it was explained to me was: “It wasn’t about money for Gerrard, but the offer was so bad they made it about money.”

So he went to LA Galaxy. Unless I’m badly mistaken, that’s a second club.

When football clubs are finished with you, all the love and loyalty in the world won’t save you.

All the former players in the media have had a go at the fans

Yes, they’re former players. They understand you have to park your fandom while you’re a professional. It is that simple.

He’s a Scouser, he owes it to the city to stay

In the 1980s, we had a saying: “Are you taking the piss because I’m on the dole?”

You'd use it whenever anyone – particularly outside the city – said or did anything that was either patronising, offensive or stupid. It was confrontaional.

So whenever anyone starts the “… he owes it to the city…” discourse, they get that response from me.

He owes no one anything, you plank. Don’t insult my intelligence by claiming it.

Should people have booed?

Up to them. Me, I prefer scornful disdain. This should be a celebratory time but it’s been overshadowed by this.

Maybe, too, people are still a little pissed off by the defeats by Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United. The season suddenly felt a little anticlimactic. It shouldn’t have, because winning the title is one hell of an achievement and securing it in such style is magnificent.

But, again, I think back to the 80s when a sense of entitlement infected the crowd. But this is only Liverpool’s second title in 35 years and the first with a full crowd in Anfield.

For me, the priority is the party. Not a player who’s moved on psychologically if not physically. It's up to you, but I've better things to do than boo.

So much for You’ll Never Walk Alone

Opposing fans are loving it. Look, Blues, Mancs and the rest of you Arses, we know quite well it’s a sentimental cliché. We also know love and devotion are conditional, even in football. To be honest, we don’t care what you think. Anfield will still outdo most other stadiums for atmosphere – at least on big days and nights. With time, too, people will remember Trent for his goals, passes and his corners. Particularly his corners. How epic is your folklore when it includes a corner like that?

Slot shouldn’t have brought him on

The manager’s just romped to the league. He can do what he sodding well likes as far as I’m concerned. Get over yourself.

Should we wish Alexander-Arnold well for the future, then?

Hell, no. When a player leaves a club of his own volition, he should be dead to the fans unless there are serious mitigating circumstances. That goes for every club, not just Liverpool.

When should we boo, then?

Whenever you like, mate. I'm not policing you. But I’m saving mine for the National Anthem when I can show disapproval for something worthy of eternal scorn.

• Far Foreign Land, a book about Istanbul and Liverpool’s supporter culture, is available here £10 UK, £15 Europe, £18 Rest Of World. All including postage. Get it in time for the 20th anniversary