The Hillsborough Tragedy.

[10ClarionSt]

I was away when this came up again last week. I don't think we will ever get to know the real truth. The way it works in this country is that they close ranks and cover things up, then give all kinds of excuses. Sad for the families, but people in high places don't care about them. Only their privileged friends. I hope the families really do find out what happened and they get justice against anyone who was culpable. On Monday 17th April 1989 at 11 am, I walked through the Shankly Gates onto the red shale surrounding the Anfield pitch. I had seen the events unfolding on TV on the previous Saturday. My wife was watching too. It was deeply moving and shocking. Forget football loyalties at a time like this. Me, United; my wife, City. (What a partnership eh?) When we found out that people could leave tributes, we went to Anfield. I remember the sounds and the eeriness. People sat in the seats near the track and behind the goal crying and sobbing. The shuffling of feet on the shale. The rustling of cellophane holding the floral tributes that people were carrying. The sight of the Kop adorned with flags, banners and scarves from various clubs. The goal net covered in the same. We were among the first to lay flowers in the goal area, just one yard from the goal line. People looking at the flowers, tearfully shaking their heads, hugging each other. Sadly, all unforgettable. All of this means nothing to the people in authority and it will be to their great shame if the relatives don't find out the truth. RIP. You'll Never Walk Alone.

[sir.prize]

Clarion - this makes good reading, despite your personal dislike of the author

http://www.contrast.o...h/history/hansen.shtm

[redman41]

Thank you sincerely for Posting this 10ClarionSt !
It will be appreciated by all Liverpool Fans especially those who lost their loved ones on that fateful day in 1989.
Thankfully I never went to the Game as I was unable to purchase Tickets due to the demand.
The Investigation Panel is Chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool Rev James Jones and hopefully in due course the whole truth about what happened on that day can be revealed.The Families of the 96 who lost their lives need to know the whole truth so that they can put the matter to rest but never forgotten.
Too many lies and untruths have been told by some of the Tabloids and this has to be addressed.
Yes RIP the 96 and YNWA
Thank you ClarionSt !

[bednobs]

i don't really understand - surely what happened was that people were crushed to death by the people behind them? What sort of cover up could there be? are you saying it was done deliberately?

[TheTruthHere]

When you say // know the real truth // most football fans who went to matches in those days know the truth.

Far too many so called fans would turn up at Liverpool games with no ticket and try to get in the ground.

The Luton Town chairman spoke out at the time but nobody wanted to listen.
You only have to speak or listen to Liverpool fans who will tell you how they bunked into a ground.

Well that day the ones with the forged tickets and the ones who wanted to bunk into the ground caused this tragedy.

[sir.prize]

OK clarion, maybe the word dislike was out of order. However, you clearly unimpressed with his so-called misdemeanour.

http://www.theanswerb...k/Question541081.html

[DrFilth]

you said it >> What it shows is how people refuse to see things. <<

[DrFilth]

if you think how that mass of fans charged down the tunnel into the crowd which casued them to surge forward onto the crash barriers

think if that had happened at the other end of the ground the spion kop, you would still have had the same problem if not worse. the very high banking to fall down

there were to many fans to fit into the ground space available so who do you blame the thugs with no tickets or the police who trying to stop the crush outside the ground

ordered the gates to be opened to ease the crush from the turnstiles and wall

[joko]

i agree that blame can be spread around.

Many seek to blame solely the police etc...and there does seem to be a general feeling that the fans were totally blameless...

but the fact remains that if the fans were not shoving and forcing their way into the ground, nothing bad would have happened.

the police handled it very badly, ignored pleas from fans to open the fences, and then hid facts etc...but lets not forget who carried on shoving and shoving, despite the screaming, until they got through...

i lost a schoolfriend at hillsborough and am still in touch with his sister, so i was by no means unaffected by this...but those fans that shoved should stand up and accept their part in this and stop trying to blame everyone but themselves...

personally if id lost someone in my immediate family to this, i know my anger would be at the shoving fans just as much as the police...

[Mamyalynne]

I escaped losing anyone that day, the front page of next day's newspaper that showed the picture of my terrified nephew a few yards back from the fencing haunts me still. He was lucky and now a grown man and father, those who still need answers have my sympathy. In many ways I doubt they ever will get a satisfactory response and of course nothing to change their plight.

[bednobs]

i'm glad you said "apparent callousness". My answer didn't mean to appear callous - it was a massive tradgedy. I seriously don't understand how anything else apart from too many people in one space caused this accident though.

[DrFilth]

that tunnel does cause a problem but if you look back over the years at all the semi matches played at that ground there they never had any trouble.

i have stood in that part of the ground a number of times not just for league matches but also for semi finals

they gave liverpool that section because of geographic location of most of the fans, same as when united have played there semis there

they should never have opened the gates like they did but the main problem was all the thugs mixing with true fans that forced there way in

if you had the same number of ticketless thugs charging into any football ground where people are standing in pens you would have the same problem