Shankly family welcome Anfield sign's return

The family of legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly has welcomed the return of his iconic 'This Is Anfield' sign to the city.

The sign, which hung above the tunnel at the stadium, was bought at auction in September, bringing it back to Liverpool after 20 years on the Isle of Man.

Its wording was chosen in 1972 by Shankly, who rejected the original idea of 'Welcome To Anfield' as being too friendly to rival players.

It is now on display at the ARC Hotel in Anfield, in the shadow of Liverpool FC's home ground. Shankly's granddaughter Karen Gill said seeing the sign back in Anfield made her "proud".

She said her grandfather's choice of words was important because he was "a motivator".

Shankly's grandson Christopher Carline said the sign was "a huge building block in the folklore that surrounds Anfield", adding it was "unwelcoming to the opposition".

Reds players traditionally touched the sign as they passed it before matches. Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson said it is "wonderful" to see the sign return to the city after being bought at auction.

Thompson, who played for the club in the 1970s and 1980s, recalled coming out of the tunnel as a young footballer and seeing senior players such as Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan stretching up to touch the sign and "knowing what it meant".

"To touch it again just feels so special," Thompson said. "You can feel it, touch it, and sense the history of it."

He described it as "one of the most legendary items that Liverpool has ever had".

Former Reds player George Scott said Shankly wanted any opposition player passing beneath the sign to know they were "going into a cauldron and they weren't going to come out with a win".

The original sign remained at Anfield during Liverpool's first two European Cup victories in 1977 and 1978 before being removed in the late 1970s. It was given to Ronald Wilson, a former member of Liverpool FC's boys' team, whose family displayed it in an Isle of Man hotel for more than 20 years.

It sold at auction for £115,000, almost eight times the estimated guide price.

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