A letter from 20 April 1989

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Today I found the copy of a letter that I had hand written on 20 April 1989. I sent the letter to MPs, including Eric Heffer, MP for Walton; Sean Hughes, MP for Knowsley South, who forwarded it to George Howarth MP for Knowsley North.

I have typed it word for word so the grammar and structure may not be the best but as you can imagine it was an emotional time. I also gave evidence to the police and the letter was forwarded to Lord Justice Taylor’s investigation.

With the continuing poor and untrue reporting of the Hillsborough Disaster e.g. the Boston Globe. I thought I would share it on here as it was written at the time with fresh memories of that awful day.

“I feel it is important for as many people as possible who were at Hillsborough to write their version of events down and send them to yourself or other MPs. It is the only way our voices will be heard. My version is below.

I am not in any way anti-police but I feel I am justified in criticising some officers on duty both inside and outside the stadium.

I arrived at the Leppings Lane turnstile area at about 2:30 and the crushing was pretty bad then. The mounted officers however were at the front of queue shouting at fans to stop pushing. Myself and other fans asked them to go further back to ease the crowd and make a barrier with their horses but we were ignored.

Once inside almost everyonemade for the tunnel which leads to the middle section of terrace. In my opinion this is because it is the only clear means of getting to the terrace. (The same happened last year)

The crush on the middle section of terrace was so bad even ten minutes before kick off that a number of us were shouting to the policeman on the perimeter fence to open the gate; He did hear us but refused.

Everybody who was in that section were being pushed in all directions. I was lucky – I went sideways and was able to climb over the railings into the section to the right. Everybody at this stage were helping other fans into this section, over the railings.

I seen none of the game, it didn’t matter we knew something was badly wrong.

I cannot comment on the opening of the gate as I used a turnstile and was inside the ground when I heard it had been opened.

I feel I must point out that possibly a bigger factor than the perimeter fencing was the segregation railings with NO gates to my knowledge, which stopped the sideways flow of fans.

It makes me extremely angry and sad that the police, who have sophisticated crowd surveillance equipment did NOT learn any lessons from last years semi.

Even watching the Match of the Day video from last season you can clearly see space on the outer terraces while the middle terrace, as this year, was clearly over capacity.

What is the use of having all this equipment if it is not used to its full potential?

Please make my views known to those who matter.”

The truth is out there. One day 96 souls will have justice. YNWA

Dear Mr Hicks

Thanks to Mike Jefferies and everyone else involved in the making of this video.

They showed they care about OUR CLUB. Now it is our turn....

Can you please:

• Make sure that this is watched as widely as possible.

• Send the link to anyone you know.

• Post it everywhere you can.

Liverpool Football Club is OUR club
Let's make certain we take it back to where it belongs.

IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO TOM &
TAKE YOUR WEASLE MATE GEORGE ALONG WITH YOU

GET OUT OF OUR CLUB - GET OUT OF OUR CITY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO55BazkiZ4

If I never saw the sunshine, I wouldn’t mind the rain…

The trouble is, not only did I see the sunshine, I saw a long hot summer lasting from the mid 60s until 6 February 2007. Then the weather changed, as slowly but surely two new owners gathered in the clouds above L4; it’s been raining ever since.

The rain is now so heavy that come 11 October 2010 Liverpool Football Club as we know it could sink into the mire as the banks decide our fate.

Today Liverpool face Blackpool sitting in the bottom three after our worst start to a season in my memory.  A win is of course vital and could see us move up to 10^th in “this oddest of Premier League seasons” – something straight of the Sky Sports book of bullshit quotes.

If we win today it won’t alter the fact that this is poor, this is wrong and this is totally unacceptable!

I happen to think that the manager has been tactically inept, the players, some of them at least looking less than hungry or caring – but by far the biggest problem is the current ‘ownership.’

That’s why it is not 3pm that is most important time today but 1:30pm outside the supporters club, when the fans, myself included, will come together to show that we aim to get our sunshine back. If you can make it please be there even if you’re not going to the game. (More info on Spirit of Shankly)

Also don’t forget if you can get down to Hope Street this morning do so. Mike Jefferies and Dan Hubbard are continuing their film aimed at showing the world what Hicks & Gillett are doing to OUR club so support them if you can.

The title of this piece is a Beth Orton song – she wrote another called Blood Red River…two lines in that song say a lot:

Why must people always want what they can’t have?

Why must people always take but forget to ask?

Hicks & Gillett you forgot to ask and we will show you that you can’t have. You are not welcome anywhere!

Our fight is against them, the owners of our club – although I don’t understand how they get that title – let’s take back what is ours!

Liverpool Football Club is in the wrong hands!

Toffees or a Marriage Made in Heaven?

29 Years ago today my hero and the best football manager the world has ever known left us. Earlier this year I wrote a guest blog for www.hetoreahamstring.me.uk depicting how I came to support the Mighty Reds.

Bill Shankly was a big influence on me being as fervant a supporter as I am - I therefore dedicate that blog to him, Mr Shankly.

"Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool."

Very much so Mr Shankly, You'll Never Walk Alone.

Read the the blog here: Toffees or a Marriage Made in Heaven?

Optimism - misplaced or displaced?

So Rafa went. I didn’t want him to go but it was either him or new owners so it was a no brainer. Good bye Rafa and good luck.

So Roy came in. I didn’t want him but it was either him or new owners so it was a no brainer. Hello Roy and good luck.

I hope you’re getting my drift.

On the 17 July as a normally optimistic person I tuned in to watch Roy’s new Liverpool, albeit with an under strength squad, take on Al-Hilal. Of course the rain in Austria delayed Roy’s first game in charge.

Since then we’ve managed to scrape past Trabzonspor to gain a place in the Europa League; were unlucky not to take 3pts from Arsenal after a terrible first half performance; got slaughtered at Man City; beat WBA and scraped an “attractive 0 – 0” at Birmingham. Oh, and of course, we made a ‘profit’ in the window.

My optimistic self tells me that the new additions to the squad need time to gel and settle in and the old hands need to get used to what Roy wants of them.

Therefore on Thursday, with more or less a full squad to choose from, we can expect to see Roy’s strongest 11 starting against Steaua Bucharest ahead of Sunday’s game against the Manc’s ‘Howard Webb 12’? No?

Somehow I think half a dozen of that strongest 11 (who knows what that is?) will be getting to know each other in the stands.

There it goes again, the optimism, displaced and right out of the window.

Why am I feeling this way? And I can see by reading other tweets that I’m not alone feeling this way.

The reason for me is simple and showed in the City and Birmingham games in particular. Roy got it wrong. Fair enough, early on in a new job he’s finding his feet, but when it was clear early in both games why did he not change it? To compound that with his “Attractive 0 – 0” statement, well I’m sorry it is not good enough Roy.

I tweeted in angst on Sunday during the game that:

“It looks like Roy is bringing LFC down to his level rather than rising to the challenge of managing a top team”

I see no reason to change that opinion. Roy’s level by the way, in my opinion, is distinctly mid table and I fear that’s where we’re heading.

Pick a strong team on Thursday Roy. Help me replace my optimism in my team. I know it’s not your fault and as our manager you have my support and YNWA.

As for renewing my optimism in the club, well that’s a no brainer. That is until we can say goodbye and good riddance to Hicks & Gillett and say hello to new owners. Now there's optimism for you!

The Liverpool Way

Liverpool Football Club, in the past did things "The Liverpool Way". Something that grew in the Shankly era and was admired far and wide. Then, like now, the press were fed on crumbs but those crumbs were factual and not the leaked drivel we seem to find now.

As Liverpool got on with it with a quiet dignity, we as fans would eagerly jump to the back page of the Echo to see if we HAD signed anyone - not who we might be signing or any of the other dross that is pumped out so frequently and inaccurately now.

Back then we trusted that club was being run professionally by the chairman, board and secretary and the playing side including, transfer targets, was the decision of the manager and his staff. Together they worked as a team - bringing the best for our club.

Sadly "The Liverpool Way" has been lost, it's broken. Where once there was dignity, loyalty and respect we now suffer ridicule. Roy Hodgson comes across as a diplomat so may help deflect some unwanted press attention away. That though, won’t fix the problem.

New owners and backroom staff might be the long term cure but old ‘owners’ and their staff and their use or misuse of the press are the current symptoms that need dealing with.

The prescription for me, until new owners are in place, is for LFC to call a press conference, honestly spell out what each of their roles actually are, and announce that all future press briefings will be announced, transparently, via the official website. A bitter taste for those in situ I would guess but something that I believe would bring some sort of stability to the illness inflicted on our club.

Even if we don’t like what we hear, at least would stop all this obsessive and worrying speculation and it may even make the club a better proposition to prospective new owners.

A new season is upon us and we need to get on with ensuring we get the best possible results for the club, our club, with what we have not what we hope to have.

Liverpool in the past played it simply both on and off the field leading the way to our great successes. Doing things simply isn’t always the easy option but it is the Liverpool Way.

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head...

It’s approximately 5 hours to Liverpool v Chelsea, a fixture every LFC fan should be relishing but…everything other than a game of football is on the minds of Red’s fans everywhere.

Reports abound about Rafa’s imminent departure for Juventus. I don’t want that to happen but who could blame him?

Having got within a whisker of the coveted title last season, maybe the addition of a little quality and some decent and experienced players would have seen us reach the heights every fan wants to achieve.

As it was a quality player left in Alonso, along with a decent experienced player in Arbeloa. These were replaced by, in my opinion, a quality (but injured) player Aquilani and a decent experienced player in Kyrgiakos. The addition of Glen Johnson improved the quality of the squad but that was more or less it. No much needed strengthening in the depth of the squad.

Forlan was a player I was talking about last year as someone who would be a great asset to our squad. He was playing really well, had experience of the Premiership (as we know to our cost) and is now a much better player. He would, well should, have been affordable. We of course didn't get him or anyone else of that ilk.


Sadly football now is controlled by money more than it ever was and when Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid rode into L4 it Liverpool turned RED in a way that none of us imagined.

For three years Rafa has had to wheel and deal in the transfer market – selling the very players who add strength to a squad to fund the purchase of players needed in certain positions. It just is not sustainable. That’s why there are mid-table teams and teams at the top. Those at the top don’t wheel and deal, they make their purchases to strengthen the squad, replace the mistakes that have been made with better players and so keep on strengthening.

I’m not going to go into the finer detail of Rafa’s transfers or the policy foisted upon him. Others such as Paul Tomkins have done that in great detail and he also covers it in a recent post http://tomkinstimes.com/2010/04/transfer-tosh/

The owners, Butch and Sundance, have robbed our bank, told lies to escape the law (fit and proper owners?) and hopefully are about to ride off into the sunset if a quote from the film runs true…

“Butch and me have been talking it all over. Wherever the hell Bolivia is, that's where we're off to…”

For me the only thing that can keep Rafa at Anfield now is a swift conclusion to the sale of the club and cast iron guarantees that the effort he undoubtedly puts in is rewarded with the backing he deserves to move our great club on.

I hope that Rafa considers his efforts over the time he’s been here and decides to finish the job he’s started. It would be nice if he could declare once and for all he’s staying, maybe by running to Kop, putting his shirt over his head to reveal a t-shirt with the message:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... meet... the future!”

But how can he with the current turmoil at the club??

Oh well, just over four hours to kick off now and I am slowly beginning to think of the game. Let's big up the support, put on a great performance and show Rafa what he'd be missing.

Even though…those raindrops are fallin' on my head and they keep fallin', there's one thing I know, the blues they send to meet me won't defeat me and it won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me.

YNWA