Two men and two women are smiling as they stand next to each other while the two women in the centre are holding the "This Is Anfield" sign.
Image caption, Phil Thompson, right, with Bill Shankly's grandchildren Christopher Carline and Karen Gill and his daughter Jeanette Shankly at the ARC Hotel in Anfield
ByPhil Munns, Reporting fromin Anfield and Angela Ferguson, North West
Published
52 minutes ago
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".
A framed red sign saying 'This is Anfield' with the Liverpool FC logo is displayed on a table in a bar area. A signed trophy and a Liverpool FC scarf and next to it.
Image caption, The sign remained at Anfield during Liverpool's first two European Cup victories in 1977 and 1978.
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".
A photo shows Kevin Keegan with a 1970s long hairstyle, wearing flared jeans, a blue top and a blue and white striped tank top. He is standing next to a goal post and an older man in a suit and grey coat is standing next to him.Image source, Empics/PA Media
Image caption,
Bill Shankly pictured with Kevin Keegan in 1971
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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