Liverpool
8
September 2006 the Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease on the land on the proposed site. Following the takeover of the club in February 2007 by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the proposed stadium was redesigned. In November 2007, the new design was approved by the Council, and preparation of the site started in June 2008. HKS, Inc. are to build the new stadium. No construction has taken place as the owners have been unable to finance the project. Melwood, in West Derby, Liverpool, has been the home of Liverpool's training ground since the 1950s. It is not attached to The Academy, which is in Kirkby. The ground previously belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school.
Training ground
During the season 2009–10, Liverpool had the fourth-highest average League attendance for an English club: 44,392, which is 94.4% of available capacity. Liverpool fans often refer to themselves as "Kopites", which is a reference to the fans who once stood, and now sit, on the Kop at Anfield. The song "You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and later recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers, is the club's anthem, and has been sung by the Anfield crowd since the early 1960s. It has since gained popularity among fans of other clubs around the world. The song's title adorns the top of the Shankly Gates, which were unveiled on 2 August 1982 in memory of the former manager Bill Shankly. The "You'll Never Walk Alone" portion of the Shankly Gates is also reproduced on the club's crest. Liverpool's longest-established rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Everton, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. This stems from Liverpool's formation and the dispute with Everton officials and the then owners of Anfield. Religious differences have been cited as a cause of division, although both teams stem from a Methodist origin, which undermines the notion of a Catholic–Protestant split. The Merseyside derby is usually a sell-out fixture. More players have been sent off in it than in any other fixture in Premier League history. It is one of the few local derbies that does not enforce fan segregation.
Supporters