Hours before supporters take their seats at Anfield and hold coloured cards aloft, an army of volunteers is already at work inside the ground. Coordinating much of that effort over the years has been Andy Knott, whose mosaics have become an integral part of Liverpool's matchday culture since the first one was displayed when Liverpool faced Manchester United on 19 December 1995. A yellow ‘LFC’ was spelt out on a red background but the problem was that the little A4 sheets of cards that had been attached with stickers had literally fallen off by the time the Andy and his helpers had got to the end of the row after lining them up. From annual Hillsborough commemorations to tributes for managers, players and club legends, Andy has spent decades turning ideas into displays seen by tens of thousands inside the stadium and millions around the world.
Thicker A3 cards are now placed on the seats,
making them more secure in the build-up to kick-off.
Andy Robertson and Mo Salah were celebrated in Liverpool's final home game of the season against Brentford on 24 May. Around 80 volunteers turned up on the day before the match, many grateful for the shade provided by the Kop or the Centenary as they carefully placed blue, black, white and red cards under the direction of Andy. I, the editor of LFChistory, was delighted to be one of the helpers. Following the conclusion of the preparations around three hours later, we were able to sit down with Andy to discuss his work and the origins of the Anfield mosaics.
Andy Knott - the mastermind behind the Anfield mosaics
How did your involvement with the mosaics first start?
I had my own design and print business and we were doing Red All Over The Land fanzine. So I was printing that, selling it, helping do all the design work. And then we had a meeting with Rick Parry in '95, just to say what we could do to increase the atmosphere.
A few of the supporters’ clubs that travel abroad were present at this meeting and they had been inspired by Genoa's supporters mosaic when Liverpool faced the Italian side in the UEFA Cup in 1991/92. The Kop was not allowed to stand anymore and there were concerns about how fans could get the atmosphere back into a seated ground. Andy was ready to do a mosaic on one condition.
I said to Rick Parry, 'You give me a seat in The Kop and I can do it.' And basically that's how it started. And then we did one for Hillsborough in 1997 when we were playing Sheffield Wednesday as a bit of a protest to the fact there was no memorial at Hillsborough. After that, it was just the anniversary every year for Hillsborough. We've done Shankly days, Paisley days, the 50th anniversary of Shankly taking over the club, the same for Paisley, when it would have been Shankly's 100th birthday... when legends have left, players have left; Sami, Stevie G, Jamie Carragher, Jürgen. It seems to be now that we tend to do them more now for when legends have passed. So we've done Ronnie Moran, Ron Yeats, obviously Diogo which was a bit raw because he was a present player. It's never been heard of, has it really?
The mosaic for Shankly 100th birthday
on 1 September 2023 when Liverpool beat Man Utd 1-0.
Would you say that's been your most emotional?
The Hillsborough one every year, that's the one I worry about not working. I'm stood holding it up. Until my missus sends me a picture off the telly or my mates up in the Main Stand, I'm always a bit nervous. As soon as I see it, then I'm all right.
Did you think the mosaics be such an important part of the matchday?
No, it was just one of them that we'd give it a go and it sort of worked, didn't it? A lot of them now are using the tifos with the banners and plastic sheets, but I found the plastic sheets flimsy. It's harder to do a message or a word. Everton did one last year and it looked like "Goudie Gun Prick" (instead of Goodison Park) because they were using the sheets and if there's one sheet out, it can change the way a word looks. So the way we do it with a thick card, you get better coverage and you get clear designs.
Andy directing his troops in front of the Kop
How far in advance does your preparation, when does it start?
Well, on this one, as soon as Mo had announced he was leaving and then Robbo quite soon after, it was just as we'd done the Hillsborough. I was emailing the club about coming in to do the Hillsborough one and we said, we're looking to do one for Mo and Rob and they said, we'll revisit it after we've got the Hillsborough one.
So in effect, it's a month and a half from getting the designs, speaking to the club, see which way we're going to do it, obviously getting the sheets printed and arranging the volunteers. We've done them pretty quick when people have died, we've done them in like four or five days, which is a push, but it can be done. It's better to have loads of time to plan it and lay it out, it just makes it a lot cleaner and a lot easier.
So you printed them yourself?
I owned a design print business, so I used to print them. I sold my business and had a change in career to go into education. I've got a printer in Blackburn who's a Liverpool fan and he's done them for probably the last 10-12 years.
Does the club pay the expenses?
Yeah, the club pays for it. I work out how many sheets we do, speak to Steve at the printers, he gives me a price, I tell the club and then the bill comes in, I pay the printer and that's it.
LFChistory’s favourite mosaics include a number of standout displays, with the Hillsborough ones remaining in a category of its own.
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18 December 1999, Coventry 2-0. The 40th Anniversary of Bill Shankly’s arrival at Anfield. ‘SHANKS’ was spelt across the top of the Kop. Below were two images of Shankly's face flanking the Cross of St Andrew. Great names from Liverpool’s past 40 years were introduced to the fans and two Scots pipers played Shankly’s favourite hymn, Amazing Grace. A fan remembers this occasion on Red All Over the Land'a website. "Barely a minute into the hymn and the Kop began singing slowly and almost in hushed tones, ‘Shankly, Shankly.’ I swear it was one of the most moving things I’ve ever heard; the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. It was difficult to hold back the tears. The cards were then hurriedly put aside and the massed flags and banners were unfurled. This was the loudest, most passionate YNWA that I’ve heard in years."
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Have there been occasions when the weather was destroying your plans?
The one we did for Jürgen actually, because it was four sides. It's mad when you're in a stadium, but if you open an exit gate in one corner, it can create a whirlpool, so when we did the Jürgen one, the first four or five rows in Annie Road started blowing off. The wind can affect it. The rain, all it does, makes them soggy and they flop. But the wind's the one. if the wind picks up, If one gate opens, the wind takes a different direction around the stadium. That's why we try and ram them in hard so they don't come out.
Have you ever seen any mural come out wrong? You spot something when it's too late?
No, they've all always come out. There's been times where there's been little gaps, but that could be a bus of lads who sit together who've not turned up and they've been late and what have you. When we did the Carragher one, I did his face and I did one of Shankly with his face. They're difficult because if you create a face out of 20 squares by 30 squares, it looks like a pixelated photograph, for want of a better word. So it is difficult doing that, but none have actually failed.
Which mural is the most personal one that you've been most attached to?
The most poignant one and the one that kicked them off massively was probably the Houllier one, the GH, because it's the first time we'd ever done anything for the current manager. So it was a case of what do we do? Obviously GH, French flag. But then when he came back for the Roma game, we knew three or four days, and that's when we had to rush the one through, because we knew he was going to be here, and that's when we did the "Allez Allez" one.
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4 November 2001, Manchester United 3-1. Three weeks after Gérard Houllier underwent a life-saving heart surgery a mosaic with the initials ‘GH’ within the tricolor French flag was portrayed as Houllier’s name echoed around the stadium. Houllier was watching the game at home and in his final interview with Liverpool’s official website in 2004 he said this was one of the highlights during his Anfield career. ‘When I spoke to Gérard last night he said he was deeply touched when he saw the mosaic on television,’ Phil Thompson told the press the following day. ‘His wife Isabelle was at the game and she was very emotional. When I came out of the tunnel and saw it, so was I. It was magnificent. The fans who organised that should be very proud of themselves.’"
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What has been the most difficult to execute because of the time frame and logistics?
You've got to get the volunteers. As you've seen today, we've had 80 volunteers and it took us a couple of hours. We've been here where we've had 10 and it's took us all day. When we did the FA Cup final against Arsenal in 2001 at the Millennium, that was 26,000 seats and there was 12 of us. So it took us all day.
Are there more and more people participating as the years go by?
As people volunteer over the years, they'll come to the next one. It's always better to have more than less, so they put something on the official website for volunteers. The people who come today will all come next time and it just builds up so you've got a core of 50 that have been here today that have done it loads of times in the last 10-15 years. And then they all get to know each other, so it's a bit of a social thing as well.
Have players or managers talked to you about the displays?
When we were here doing the Allez Allez one, Phil Thompson, who was their manager, brought the players. We were doing it as the players were walking past... No, I mean... I'm not one for limelight. I'm a bit reserved when it comes to things like that.
Are there designs that you had to back off from? Because they were too complicated?
Designs have backed off because they were too controversial. I would have loved to have done a FIFA one after Paris... We had to cancel one two days before the game against Fiorentina. And the reason we were doing it is because when we went to Fiorentina, they did a memorial banner for Hillsborough with our fans. So we said, ''We'll pay them back.'' But then we found out they're Juventus' biggest rivals and is it going to cause controversy? So I had loads of purple sheets that we couldn't use. The only one I had to cancel was the final in Dortmund because I was supposed to do one there. I'd planned it all out, got everything sorted. I'd hired a van to drive over with the sheets, but the fire brigade put a block on it the weekend before. So I was left with a van to go over with loads of sheets. Who would set fire to one of these sheets? Only some kind of moron would do that.
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21 April 2009, Arsenal 4-4. A unique occasion as the fans of the opposition also played their part in the display. Ray Kennedy, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, came onto the field to huge applause from both sets of fans as he was a legend at Arsenal as well as at Liverpool. Kennedy’s Gunners’ number ‘10’ was at the away section in the Anfield Road lower and Kennedy’s Reds’ number ‘5’ at the Kop.
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Where is your spec at the ground?
I am in 104, so smack bang in the middle of the Kop. 1977 was my first game. I know I don't look 56, but I am. And I was in the Annie Road, just going there with my mum. My mum used to take us. Started going pretty much every home game. 79-80 season. And then I got my first season ticket in 1985. When I renew it tonight, it'll be 41 years that I'll have had a season ticket.
Who's your favourite player from all those years?
Kenny will always be my idol. Kenny's the god, isn't he? But in that era, Ray Kennedy was my favourite player. I'm more for the 100%-er, not the limelighter. So, for me, my favourite players down the years have been Ray Kennedy, Alan Hansen, Carragher, them kind of players. Probably in the current squad, Jota. I didn't really like Jota when he first came in, it's mad to say it. I don't know if it was because of the song, but after about five or six games, I thought he's the kind of player we need. He had that little bit of needle where he wasn't bothered about leaving his foot in. He let people know he was there, and he gave everything he could, as Robbo does.
Can you talk to me a bit about the Jota mosaic?
Yeah, we certainly didn't expect to be doing it, and the fact that it was his brother as well. We spoke to the club, and we were looking at doing the 20 and the 30, but then they said, well, if we do Diego in the Kop, and do Andre Silva in the Centenary, then it's probably the best way to do it, rather than squash it in.
I don't know what effect that has had on the team this year, and whether that's caused some of the changes in the way we played. You can't quantify grief, can you? We're all sad and upset. We didn't have to work with him every day, share rooms with him. We come to the match and we don't see him, but he's not going to walk in that dressing room again. Particularly Mo, Robbo, Jimmy Milner, they seem to be very, very good friends with him, because you do get groups of friends who see more of each other. Them four or five used to be very close.
You are also behind Red All Over The Land. How does a fanzine survive in these times?
It's getting harder because of social media. We still have our regulars. John Pierman edits it, gets it out and I design it. As I said, we all have our regulars, we're still selling it. But obviously because of social media, everything's so instant. A lot of our regulars are a bit more old school. They'd rather sit and read something than scroll on a phone or a computer. It's difficult, but we're still going. Out of all the clubs, there's not many still going. On a paper, there's some that are doing digital, there might be.
How many copies do you print of each?
It varies, because what we do is we're planning on how many games we've got. So if we've got two or three home games, we'll print more than if we've got a home game and then a couple of away games, because John looks to get ten over the season. So it might be that if we've got a league game, a European game, and then an away game, we'll print more than we would. It varies. Last season, I think he did a 500 run just for one game. Just because it was an end of season one. We used to print, in the old days, our print numbers were 2,500, 3,000 every issue. But obviously social media and the other thing as well, a lot of the fans who used to buy it don't come to the game anymore or are no longer with us. But yeah, it gets harder and harder every year.
When did it go start?
It's been going now for 30 years. November 1995 John set it up. I've been designing and printing it from Issue 6. It was funny because I used to do the Flag Day flyers. We'd done one for when Rushie was going, Rushie's Flag Day. And I went to the Maine Road for one of the end of season games. There's this guy selling a fanzine with my design. So I've gone over to this lad and said, how come you've got my design on it? He went, 'It's got nothing to do with me, go and speak to John.' So I've gone over to John and said, 'Are you John?' He went, 'Yeah'. I said, oh, 'I'm Andy.' He went, 'Do you want a job?' I said, 'Yeah, go on'. And that was it. Printed it from then on. So I still design it. Now I'm not in my print business. It gets printed by somebody he knows. I still design it, still sell it.
How many issues are you up to now?
323. So it's roughly works out probably 12 a season. I think as long as we've got that core, we'll still do it. I mean, 320-odd issues over the years. It's not bad, is it? When I had my business, I used to do, Red All Over The Land, The Liverpool Way. I used to print Speke From The Harbour, the Everton one and Zulu, the Birmingham one. So my core business was sporting programmes and fanzines, things like that. As far as I know, out of all them, there's certainly only us going. I don't know what the other clubs are like. Through the Wind and Rain was probably, if not the, it was one of the best fanzines about at the time, Steve Kelly. But he got to the point where he'd had enough and it was just getting too much hassle for him. So he jibbed it. We're still going.
Yeah, it's a struggle. Because it's printed media. As you say, it's costings.
Cheers, mate. Cheers, mate. Because the costings involved and the amount of people who actually sit down and read now is a lot less because of social media. Whether the modern times are for the better, I only say that because I work in the school and I have to deal with the kids who are on it all the time.
You can't see it. That's another reason why I panic whether it's going to work because I can't see it. Yeah, he's... I want to do a mural. Yeah? I want to do Hillsborough... I want to do a mural of the mosaic.
John Pearman
started the fanzine back in
1994 and he has touched upon a
common problem for fanzines
in his editorials. ‘Begging people
for articles, raiding the odd site,
keeping an eye on the BBC
weather watch, life could be better
you know. I sometimes wonder if
we should go quarterly, bi-monthly
or go the other way and come out
every fortnight. Somebody
suggested once a season would be
too many. Fanzines of all kinds
face the same dilemma and that is
the modern world of the media.
When we fi rst hit the streets we’d
have about 20-plus writing in
venting their anger at something
or anything. Now they use
phone-ins, drop a tweet to Claire
at LFCTV and claim her as a
devotee; they can go on any
forum. It’s not made any easier
by the make-up of the Anfi eld
crowd nowadays. The amount
of people that have no idea what
a fanzine is, keeps on rising.
You’d be amazed at the number
of people that turn up and think
we’re selling a programme
and how shocked they seem
when you tell them the last time
a programme cost £2 the Kop
was a terrace.’
6 January 2007, Arsenal 1-3. The Kop held cards that displayed the message ‘The Truth’ with a Hillsborough flame for the first 6 minutes of the game to signify the 6 minutes played before the game at Hillsborough in 1989 was abandoned. ‘The Truth’ was a reference to former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie’s repeated lies about the behaviour of Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough.
24 May 2009, Tottenham 3-1. Sami Hyypia said a tearful goodbye to Liverpool fans. Never before had a current player of the club been honoured in this way. Disappointed not to see him in the starting line-up the Kop demanded that Benítez should put him on. Hyypia came on in the 84th minute in place of Steven Gerrard, who handed him the captain’s armband. ‘I told him before the game I wanted to wait until the last minute, but the fans were pushing,’ Benítez explained. The Mosaic spelt ‘SAMI’ on top of the Finnish flag.