"It oozes class"

I was so excited to visit Anfield. It's one of the historic grounds of world football. So many tales have been told, so many decisive matches and great players have played there.

The stadium's not the best. They've just built on top of the old stands and terraces, so the entire stadium feels extremely cramped and uncomfortable. Everything's tight, gritty and poorly equipped for the 21st century, but not in a nice nostalgic way like Fratton Park or Elland Road etc. A club the size of Liverpool needs a bigger and more comfortable stadium than Anfield.

In saying that there's a special sense in the stadium that you're at a big club. The Kop, the Hillsborough memorial and the Shankley Gates are all part of the entity that is Anfield.

It oozes class.

Location

The ground's quite a distance from the city centre. It's at least half an hour's walk up a slight gradient to get to Anfield from the city centre. We took a bus from the main bus station. It was quick and easy to get to Anfield before the game, but there were too many queues after the game, so we walked it.

It's in a residential area, in the middle of terraced housing. Therefore there's a real shortage of parking spaces. There are however plenty of food outlets and shops.

View

Possibly the most cramped away stand I've ever been in.

We were packed in like sardines, with very little leg room, and thinner seats than at most grounds.

The view at the back of the away stand is a disgrace. The chances are that if you're in the back 10 rows you won't be able to see the goal nearest the away stand. I'm admitedly not the tallest, however everybody seemed to be having the same problem. It was a guessing game whether or not you'd scored. It was an abysmal view of the pitch.

Facilities

By Premier League standards they're shocking.

The concourse was far too small for the thousands of fans that wanted to eat, drink and socialise before the game. At half time it was actually impossible for me to reach the toilets due to the over-crowding, and I had to turn back.

The toilets themselves are small, but cleaner than most football grounds.

Food & Drink

Didn't have any, but it looked pretty standard.

Police & Stewards

The police were great.

Before the game they were well-humoured, polite, jolly and happy to help you with any queries.

During the match they dealt with one obnoxious Liverpool fan that had got hold of an away ticket. They threw him out before he started a fight, much to the delight of the Swansea fans around him.

The stewards were proper Liverpool fans, but they were very polite and chatty after the game as we made our way out.

They were all great.

Atmosphere

Outside the ground Liverpool fans are amongst the nicest I've met. They're genuinely proud of their square mile and of their football club. They like welcoming teams to their stadium and making you feel at home.

In the stadium they gave a rousing rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" which sent shivers down my spine. It was beautiful. Us Swansea fans fell silent and some joined in with one of sport's great cultural shows. It looked and sounded awesome.

During the match they didn't sing much. We find this with most big clubs, and Liverpool were better than Chelsea and Arsenal fans.

At the end of the 0-0 Liverpool's fans showed their class.

They applauded our players off the pitch (we had played far more beautiful football than Liverpool), then turned to applaud the Swansea fans, and we did the same in return.

After the game they were very approachable and still friendly.

You can get a great atmosphere going in the away end at Anfield due to the low roof.

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