10月10日,来自英国的BBC媒体透露,香克利家族对“这就是安菲尔德”标志牌重返利物浦表示热烈的欢迎。
历经二十年于曼岛积淀,昔日球场走廊之巅的标志性标语,于九月的一次拍卖会上易主,重返利物浦。1972年,香克利对其内容进行了精心挑选,摒弃了原定“欢迎踏入安菲尔德”的版本,因其被认为对客场球员过于亲善。该标牌现已成为安菲尔德ARC酒店的一部分,紧邻利物浦的主场区域。
凯伦·吉尔,香克利的后代,在目睹那块标志性牌匾重返安菲尔德时,心中涌动着自豪之情。她深知祖父所选择的言辞之重,因为他是一位鼓舞人心的领袖。另一方面,香克利的孙子克里斯托弗·卡莱恩认为,这块标志牌构成了安菲尔德传说的坚实基础。
在利物浦两次成功赢得欧洲冠军杯的1977与1978年间,这块象征性的标牌始终矗立在安菲尔德球场。红军的球员们在比赛前夕都会虔诚地抚摸它。已故的前利物浦队长菲尔·汤普森对标志牌重返故土表示由衷的喜悦。汤普森,这位曾在70、80年代为俱乐部效力的球员,回忆起自己初入球场时,目睹了汤米·史密斯、埃姆林·休斯以及凯文·基冈等资深球员在经过时对标志牌的敬仰之举,从而深刻领悟了它的非凡意义。
"Experiencing it once more is truly extraordinary," Thompson commented, "For you can feel it, touch it, and sense its profound history—it stands as one of Liverpool's most legendary artifacts." George Scott, a former Liverpool player, echoed these sentiments, noting that Shankly's intention was to make every opponent passing beneath the sign牌 aware that they were entering "a crucible from which they would not emerge victorious."
The original sign was removed in the late 1970s and was presented to Ronald Wilson, a former Liverpool youth team member. His family displayed the sign at a hotel on the Isle of Man for over two decades. The sign was eventually sold for 115,000 pounds, a figure that was nearly eight times the initial estimate.