In the Merseyside derby on Saturday afternoon, Liverpool supporters deviated from their long-standing custom of applauding the opposing custodian.
Mohamed Salah scored two goals late in the game to help Jurgen Klopp’s team defeat Everton 2-0 on Saturday.
When Ashley Young was sent out for two yellow cards in the first half for a late tackle on Luis Diaz, their mission became much easier.
Upon the teams’ arrival for the second half, Jordan Pickford ran towards the Kop, and Liverpool supporters defied convention by failing to applaud him.
Anfield has a longstanding custom that dates back to the 1960s: this is a show of respect for the top opponent.
Because Pickford didn’t clap as he rushed towards the goal, they allegedly refused to applaud him and started to jeer.
Dave Ball, a football statistician, discussed the custom with This is Anfield.
“I always remember the Charity Shield match between Liverpool and Everton following England’s World Cup victory in 1966, and then our league opener here at Anfield against Leicester City.” the man remarked.
“Gordon Banks was in the Leicester goal, and I think Shankly had sent him out early doors to take the cheers from the Kop and everything. But when he came out to face Liverpool, the Kop went absolutely ballistic. That was the first time I had ever seen the Kop react the way they did.
“Some people say it did happen in the ’50s and ’60s, but I’ve spoken to people and they don’t really remember, but I certainly remember it was the Gordon Banks one. He was a great person on Merseyside, he was loved by the Kopites.”
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West Ham United, having been “hammered” by Aston Villa, is now on the undesirable list alongside Everton and Tottenham.
West Ham now holds one of the worst unfavourable records after falling to Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League on Sunday, 22 October.
At Villa Park, Douglas Luiz (two), Ollie Watkins, and Leon Bailey scored for the home team, while Jarrod Bowen scored for the visitors.
After their appalling performance, the Hammers have now given up 1,500 goals in the competition, placing them third on the list of teams that have given up goals in the competition’s history, according to Squawka (October 22).
As per , only Squawka Everton (1,552) and Tottenham (1,509) have conceded more Premier League goals than the Hammers. Following the defeat to Villa, the publication noted that “The Hammers get hammered and join the club.”
David Moyes has had plenty of highs and lows during his time in the West Ham dugout, with a real low coming at Villa Park on Sunday.
The manager may point to the fact that he had several players involved over the recent international break, but the home side had that same argument to use given how they were well represented by various countries.
In addition, despite playing for England just before the match in the Midlands, Hammers winger Bowen was in excellent form and the only true standout in claret and blue.
Unai Emery just had to outshine his counterpart in the dugout as the hosts ran amok with some fantastic goals.
Moyes will be eager to move on from the setback as quickly as possible, fervently praying that it doesn’t portend worse things for his squad in the future.
And considering how well they’ve started the season, that ought to be the case. A defeat to Villa, a high-flying team, is definitely not the end of the world.
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