London (AFP) – “Voice of Anfield” George Sephton has had to adjust to vast swathes of empty seats as his beloved Liverpool ended their three-decade wait to be crowned English champions.
Not many football fans would associate the name of Sephton with those of Kenny Dalglish and Jurgen Klopp but the 74-year-old bridges the gap between their title-winning teams.
As the stadium announcer at Anfield, Sephton has been a mainstay through the highs of 12 league titles and six European Cups. But he has also experienced the tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough.
Sephton landed the position after boldly writing to then club secretary Peter Robinson saying he could do a better job than the incumbent.
He made his debut the same day Kevin Keegan did, on August 14, 1971.
On only a handful of occasions has he missed out on announcing the teams, promoting Liverpool bands in the build-up to matches and introducing Liverpool’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Sephton is so much part of the fabric of the club that Dalglish paid him the ultimate compliment.
“George is part of the history and tradition of this club and it would be more relevant if he left than if I left,” said the Scotsman, who managed Liverpool to the title in 1990.
“I was out having dinner (his 65th birthday) with my wife, daughter and son-in-law and received these texts saying what a lovely thing Dalglish just said,” Sephton told AFP by phone.
“It was one of those take me out and shoot me moments.”
Sephton’s daughter went to school with Dalglish’s daughter, Kelly, and the former manager has written the foreword for Sephton’s book due out next year.
Rock musician Elvis Costello has written words for the back cover.
“There is no need for me to write anything in between,” jokes Sephton, who knew some of the stars of Dalglish’s great side but says he is less familiar to the current crop.
Klopp also occupies a special place in Sephton’s heart.
When the announcer introduced himself to the charismatic German, who joined the club in 2015, Klopp immediately recognised him.
“He (Klopp) did not even do a double take,” recalled Sephton. “He said ‘you are the voice of Anfield’.
“That was another take me out and shoot me moment when he recognised me. It doesn’t get better than that.”
– ‘Are you crackers?’ –
Hillsborough resonates with Sephton as one of his sons, the then 15-year-old Rob, was there that day, with many of the 96 fans who lost their lives as a result of the crush standing around him.
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2OyEG4k
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