Luis Súarez needs to be shown the red card from Anfield

Luis Súarez was only born in 1987 by which time I had been supporting his current team for 13 years. However, I am not a Liverpool fan who will sit idly by when they are wrong!

On Saturday the Football Association released the report behind their decision to ban the player for 8 matches and fine him £40,000. It makes horrific reading in this day and age. I remember watching Match of the Day in the 70s when players like Viv Anderson and others who followed were the subject of racial abuse from the terraces and even their own fans. This was a decade before Saurez was born, so the excuse that he does not know that such language as he used should not be used on the field. It was always a ridiculous defense and one I'm ashamed that Kenny Dalglish and his team mates defended so publicly and erroneously.

In the meantime I'd like to remind Liverpool of the image below, of the club's poster to show racism the red card, including at the extreme right on the front row Súarez himself holding up one such red card. As a fan I love the contribution that Súarez has made the club, but as a liberal I think the club should try and offload him in the current transfer window.

You'll not continue to walk in ignorance

For me it has now been over half my lifetime from the match I never got to, but for 96 it was the day their lives ended.

Unlike 'The Truth' headline that one paper which I, and many others associated with Liverpool, refuse to to read to this day the truth will soon be revealed. Parliament tonight voted to release the papers. It will not of course bring back the 96 who lost their lived that day at Hillsborough but it will allow the families to get closure over just what happened on that day. Why only one ambulance was able to get unto the pitch to offer assistance. Why fans were told off by police and stewards when they started to spill over unto the pitch when things started to get dangerous in the Lepping Road End rather than assistance being given.

To the 96 and their familes You'll Never Walk Alone and today the MPs have also said you shall not continue to walk in ignorance.

Two Legends Show Families of 96 They'll Never Walk Alone #YNWA

Regular readers will know that as a Liverpool fan of some 36 years there is one newspaper that I don't even mention let alone link to on this blog. Although its namesake has been very welcome in our sky the last few days and long may it remain visible.

Well two heros of the Kop have put the reason that Liverpool fans and players boycott that publication before personal gain when they were invited to host RTÉ's Premier Soccer Sunday. So it is hats off to Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton two of the players from the team on that day at Hillsborough. That certain newpaper was sponsoring the show that the Liverpool and Republic of Ireland greats had been due to appear in.

These two are saying to the fans and the relatives of the Hillsborough 96 You'll Never Walk Alone as we're walking there with you all the way.

Poems for the Ninety Six #YNWA

Two years ago I did one of my simpliest yet most emmotional blogposts ever. All it was was the lyrics of one show song adopted on terraces and a list of 96 neames with the ages they were on a sunny afternoon in Sheffield 22 years ago.

It is a regularly visited blogpost ever since especially about the 15th April. This year to mark my love for Liverpool FC I'm found some poems on YouTube about the 96 and that afternoon in Sheffield. ***warning*** have a tissue to hand I did when I first played these and every time since.



And more



One final tribute on this day is the 20th Anniversary reworking of the Kop anthemThe Fields of Anfield Road which was released two years ago, with the addition of a Hillsborough verse to add to those for Shanks and Paisley. I'm not sure if we ever see Kenny Dalglish shouting "And could he play!" in the response to the line "Where one we watched the King Kenny play". But the Liverpool collective included many of the players who were on the pitch that day 22 years ago, this is their tribute and ongoing contribution to the families of the 96.

You'll Never Walk Alone

Hillsbourgh, 15 April 1989

Postscript: Also two years ago I wrote about the final part of the journey I never made on that day. Recently I stood on the same platform, waiting to make the same journey, to find myself surrounded by as many police as were around that day, not for football but for a party conference. It was also a sunny day but I stood for a moment to remember them, the 96, there where I'd been 22 years ago and not been back until that day.

The Failings of Andy Burnham

Just what was Andy Burnham playing at yesterday?

I didn't get to see the live coverage from Hillsborough yesterday and still being without Broadband at home* was unable to do more than throw up a few Tweets from my phone as I watched the news coverage. First off I would say that most of the people present at Anfield would have had no problems with the Sports Minister a lifelong Evertonian being present at yesterday's memorial service to the Hillsborough victims 20 years on. After all the grief engulfed the whole city as well as us fans not from Merseyside. The problem came when he opened his mouth on the platform.

In actuality the problem came from whatever clandestine invitation was sent to him to speak, as well as his acceptance of that offer when he had nothing new to add. In the build up to the event anybody who was watching coverage realised two things. First yesterday was supposed to be about remembrance of the 96 lives that were lost as a result of what happened on April 15th, 1989. But also underlying a lot of the coverage was that this anniversary was being used to make calls for an inquiry into what happened after 15:15 on that day, as well as the actual decisions made by individuals from 14:45 up to that point and beyond.

If the Sports Minister didn't have anything to add to that second issue, and he didn't, he should have sat there head bowed like 35,000 others. Then he went unto the News programmes afterwards and spent most of his Time ducking and diving behind the Taylor report. But as I said on Saturday though the Taylor report had gone some way it had not gone far enough.

There is the question of the vetted statements from junior police officers. There is the lies about just how Gate C came to be open which the Duty Officer told and the three letter titled red top took as gospel. There are the 40 ambulances equipped with oxygen that were denied entry to the pitch and may well have saved lives.

Andy Burnham may well have been trying to deflect attention from the email fall out, which I notice is still higher up the Times than Burnham managed today. It does however show that Labour are once again failing to listen to the people.

*Hopefully that will be resolved later today.

In Memorium

When you walkThrough a storm

Hold your head, up high

And don't be afraid, of the dark

'Coz at the end of the storm

Is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song

Of the lark

Walk on, through the wind

Walk on, through the rain

Though your dreams be tossed

And blown

Walk on, walk on

With hope, in your heart

And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Alone

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your hearts

You'll never walk, alone

John Alfred Anderson (62)
Thomas Howard (39)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Alan Johnston (29)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Simon Bell (17)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
Richard Jones (25)
David John Benson (22)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
David William Birtle (22)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Tony Bland (22)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Paul David Brady (21)
Carl David Lewis (18)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
David William Mather (19)
Carl Brown (18)
Brian Christopher Mathews (38)
David Steven Brown (25)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
John McBrien (18)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Alan McGlone (28)
Joseph Clark (29)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Clark (18)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Gary Collins (22)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Stephen Francis O'Neill (17)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
Jonathon Owens (18)
James Philip Delaney (19)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
Christopher Edwards (29)
David George Rimmer (38)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Barry Glover (27)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Inger Shah (38)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Paula Ann Smith (26)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Adam Edward Spearritt (14)
Philip Hammond (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
Eric Hankin (33)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Gary Harrison (27)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Reuben Thompson (30)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
David Hawley (39)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Colin Wafer (19)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Graham John Wright (17)

Hillsborough (Doncaster Station) Twenty Years On (Almost)

At six minutes past three almost twenty years ago I was sitting in the pub on Doncaster station with a ticket for the Lepping Lane End of Hillsborough for the FA Cup Semi Final in my bag containing my athletics gear. A failure to delivery a timely urine sample after competing in an Athletics meet that morning meant I was still some distance away from my second sporting venue of the day; that time as a mere spectator and not a competitor.


The television in the pub went to the game I was at that time missing. But focused not on the football but on the fans. This was an age before mobile phones so I had no idea how the friends I was meant to have met up with in that terrace were. They also had no idea that I still wasn’t in the stadium, or Sheffield for that matter. We’re weren’t to know about each other until many hours later when we all returned to London to carry on our studies; unlike many others we were lucky. I saw fans being carried from the terraces on advertising hoardings by their fellow fans.
The train came for Sheffield but I still didn’t move: there was no point.


This the nearest Saturday to that match day twenty years ago I have been watching the build up to the game against Blackburn live on Football Focus the memories of that day are very fresh just now. Seeing the headlines from that paper, I still dare not mention by name nor do I read (unless I accidentally follow a link to the online edition), brought back some raw emotions to me as a fan who wasn’t even in Liverpool at the time. But a feeling that in the various times I have stood (officially sat) with my fellow Liverpool fans across London and other stadiums is that we are family, that we lost 96 brothers and sisters as a result of 20 years ago.


Football has moved on a lot from that day twenty years ago. We now compete in top stadia in all seater venues. But being a Livingston fan I still get a kick out of occasional trips to venues where I can stand, East Stirlingshire or Ross County with Livingston, or watching junior football at Bathgate or Linlithgow or somewhere.


Having been someone who should have been there that day I appreciate all that Lord Taylor did in his report as far as making it safer to visit a big match. Although in the tough financial circumstances it has forced many clubs into the meet minimum criteria in entry into the SPL hasn’t all been good news for football as a whole, the prerequisite for safety is sometimes coming ahead of the need for sustainability.


But still there are things that are not settled in Liverpool fans' eyes from that day. The things that were and weren’t done by the emergency services, when what they thought was mere hooliganism became something far beyond that and far more tragic; but even with fresh realisation the slowness to act. The lies propagated as ‘The Truth’ by a red top that still doesn’t sell well on Merseyside.


This Saturday is the hardest Saturday I’ve had in 10 years. This Saturday I should be supporting another team whose name begins with the letters ‘LIV’ but I just can’t bring myself to go. There will be chants that will start up that have emanated from Anfield.


Tuesday on the eve of the day itself see’s Britain most successful team in European club competition take on Chelsea. This set on Champion League fixtures were arranged around the request of the club not to play on the anniversary itself something that hasn’t happened in any of the 20 years since.

For the 96 you'll never walk alone.

Thanks to Caron for hosting my laptop this afternoon to allow me to post.

Oh What a Night

Wow! That was some night of emmotion for any Liverpool or Arsenal fan last night.

Arsenal take the early edge of Liverpool by cancelling out their away goal with Diaby 13 minute strike. Liverpool had been under so much pressure up to that point and for another 10 minutes afterwards. Then some sort of composure came to Liverpool in this game played at high velocity. Attacks started to materialise and a corner was won. Then as regular as clockwork having shrugged off Philippe Senderos, we were told by the commentators, Sami Hyypia scored his quarter final Champion's League goal to go with the ones he scored in 2002 and 2005.

Half time came with the score ties at 1-1 the score in the previous 3 meetings of these teams this season. There was talk about extra time and penalties until a long ball over Peter Crouch found Fernado Torres his back to goal and two defenders behind him. He chested it down turned unto his strong right foot and lauched a strike into the far right of the Kop end goal, giving Almunia no chance.

We were reminded that now the game would finish in 90 minutes no matter what. That the game was on a knive edge as an Arsenal goal would put them through on away goals et cetera, et cetera. Wenger shuffled his pack bringing on Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie. Benitez took off Crouch for a more defensive Ryan Babel.

Then Walcott started a run on the edge of his own box. Started by beating Gerrard, Aurelio, Alonso, left Hyppia with no option on thge edge of the Liverpool box but to let his run. Then with three waiting in the middle he crossed it behind Skrtel into the path of Adebayor to tie up the score on the night but give Arsenal the advantage again with only 6 minutes remaining.

It brought me to my feet I could no longer watch from my sofa. Then at the other end Ryan Babel surged into the box, Kolo Toure looked awkward around him and brought Babel down in the box. The ref unlike last week's tangle pointed to the spot. The skipper Steven Gerrard stepped up in front of the Kop to balst the penalty into the left of the goal giving Almunia no chance.

Arsenal had to throw everyone forward in the last minutes for one last ditch attempt to stay in the competition. But when it broke down a clearance found Ryan Babel one on one with a tired Arsenal defender outsprinting him towards goal and calmly slotted home a forth and decisive goal.

So Liverpool face Chelsea in yet another Champions League semi-final we know where that led in 2005 and 2007. Will history repeat itself?