Baracking at Anfield

April 2, 1913
“G,” writes: – I have been interested for some in reading in your columns the remarks about “barracking.” It appears to me to be quite funny the way writers will jool away from the real cause for the meaning of it. The simple meaning of it is that at both Goodison and Anfield you have spectators – almost equal in number – belonging to both camps. This does not happen at other grounds; at least not to the same extent. Everton and Liverpool never play at home on the same day. The Everton crowd go to Anfield to see the visitors win; the Liverpool crowd go to Goodison to see the visitors win; and each lot veat their sarcasm on their rivals. There are no more bitter partisans than the Liverpool crowd at Goodison and vice versa. You have many times praised the impartiality of Liverpool crowds for giving the other side a good reception. As a matter of fact, that cheer which greets the visitors is a very partisan cheer; it is given them in the hope that they will win. I have often been a visitor to these grounds, and am quite certain of these facts. It is not Everton spectators who “barrack” at Goodison, and it is not Liverpool spectators who “barrack” at Anfield.
(Source: Liverpool Echo: April 2, 1913)