Hillsborough Remembered - Updated

Been busy moving house – back to blogging and where to start? Last time it was lamenting the woes of young Wayne and other villains. Honestly, there is a long list of players one could comment on! Good guys? Well, Michael Owen didn’t make the list but he is good egg, Scott Parker too. Now, as for meanies I could have dipped back into time and mentioned half the Leeds team of the 70’s or Argentinian teams of the past. Zinedine Zidane? That’s an epic.

Going through personal items as you move house is a really great experience. You get to cleanse possessions yet remind yourself of so many great memories. I have so many West Ham shirts it is ridiculous – quite a few England too but always worn with disappointment. I found the claret and blue flag I waved as I sat in the Arsenal end of the old Wembley in 1980. I remember little from that day, just riding on the tube to Wembley Park, the excitement, Brooking’s goal (13^th minute and my lucky number) and simply the enormity of the event. I even dug out the 2^nd Rayleigh cub scout outfit I wore as a cover to get picked for the cub soccer team. Now that takes me back to misty cold mornings and collared shirts smelling Persil clean. I sit have those boots I polished so often the toes turned purple. My mum pulled them out of the bargain bucket from a shoe store called Bata. Apparently that company has sold 14 billion pairs of shoes world wide – 25% of them to Imelda Marcos. I have no idea how much they cost back then, maybe $5? My mum would remember and my Dad probably still has the purchase written in pencil in the accounts he kept – we ran a tight and efficient ship. I now own a personalized pair of Adidas Predators worth $300. How things change…

Sorry, rambling a bit here! In looking through the newspaper cuttings my dad kept about West Ham I found some great pics and stories. I want to save them for a blog coming soon. I need to read and pull them together – but I can say it includes:
West Ham team photo with Moore, Hurst, Best, Heffer and Greaves.
Picture of the man with the planet’s biggest chin – Jimmy Hill.
A story from around 1970 entitled ‘Soccer will succeed in the States’.


But instead, April 15th 1989. Sheffield.

A friend shared a story with me about the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster. For many English football fans it was a ‘JFK’ moment – where were you at the time. It was a semi-final cup match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. In those days the semi finals were played at a select few grounds around the country that could cope with the crowds. The investigation has never been made public up to now and many has been pushing hard for this to released. It was a turning point in football ground safety. The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry Report, also known as the Taylor Report changed stadia for ever. 96 people died, 94 at the ground itself. The Police failed to open the gates that released onto the pitch – these were the days following many years of crowd violence and one solution was fences around the terraces. Many thought the reason for the deaths were fans arriving late and crushing those already there. Many families still lack the truth about this horrific and terrible event.

The most significant outcome of the Taylor Report was the requirement for all British Stadia to be all-seated. Other points introduced control of the sale of alcohol, turnstiles, ticketed seating and safety revisions. That being said, in 1989 fans were crammed into a space impossibly too small for the number of people present.

The incredible fact is this entire event was broadcast live on TV.

Listen to the story here..... 

The ‘terraces’ were always a special place to watch soccer. At Upton Park my dad remembers how the men would pass the boys over their heads as the ground filled up. The boys were sat on the pitch side of the low wall around the ground. When you stood at West Ham in the old stand you were lower that pitch level and kids would stand on milk crates to see over the wall. The only way you avoided people being crushed were the placement of bars in certain spots. This was an attempt to contain the crowd as they surge forward when a goal is scored. That was part of the excitement - everyone getting squashed while cheering. 

The story is really worth listening to. Football is the beautiful game but as Bill Shankly said "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." 

March 24th 2012 Update:


With another anniversary approaching, government papers have been leaked to the BBC - it shows how Merseyside Police blamed 'drunken Liverpool fans' for the disaster. Below are some links to BBC webpages that give a little more detail. Just click to pull them up:


1) BBC reports the 1989 papers have been leaked


2) Reaction from a victim's mother

 


 James Aspinall - 18 when he died at Hillsborough. His mother, Margaret, is the Chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG). You can visit their webpage, find out more and see how you can help - just click on the logo - left.


    3) Subsequent and ongoing government inquiry into the leak itself


Sept 25th 2012 Update:
 
The release of secret government papers finally brought the truth to the public and those who had been battling for justice for the 96 who died at Hillsborough.

 Prime Minister Cameron Apologizes... 

Bishop James Jones of Liverpool, who led the panel, said the documents offered clear evidence of failures by British authorities. He said they showed authorities' extensive attempts to shift blame for the tragedy onto fans and some proof that a number of Liverpool fans were denied medical treatment that could have saved their lives

"The tragedy should never have happened," Jones said. "There were clear operational failures in response to the disaster and in its aftermath there were strenuous attempts to deflect the blame onto the fans."

Liverpool v Manchester Utd Tribute on the BBC 

 

The tribute held at the recent Liverpool v Man Utd game also raised some important issues re supporters treatment of each other.  A little too much emphasis was placed on the 'handshake' between Evra and Suarez, nevertheless, efforts by both clubs to do the 96 justice were achieved. 

 

Heroes and Villains

Wayne Rooney's red card was to be expected. I am not sure if he should have played or whether the blame lies in the sensationalization by the media of his father's arrest. I bet the Montenegro players spent the game calling his dad a jail bird.


So, it got me thinking about soccer's heroes and villains. My opinion of them, of course. So maybe this will get you thinking about the players you love or hate. The blog is being read in 52 countries now - we welcomed Malaysia, Kuwait (hi rick!) and Japan. Regulars include the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Netherlands, India, Russia, Australia and France. It is quite simply a miracle that we share the love of soccer. I wonder who the villains are in Russia, India or the Reunion Islands?


OK - here's the format. Two players per round. Villain - Hero


Round 1
Wayne Rooney - yes. The golden boy of English soccer. He's the face we see when FIFA pump World Cup montage through our TVs. He is the face of English soccer. A good player? Of course - mercurial, for Manchester United mostly and only this season. If it wasn't for his soccer talent I'm sure he'd be outside the 'Puss in Boot's in Macclesfield involved in a punch-up. Villain.




Theo Walcott - with wings, literally as he blasts down the right wing. The golden boy of Arsenal and now has Jack Wilshire to speak English with at the Emirates. He is the shiny new coin of soccer but this is what scares me - there are a bunch of really good players around the age of 27/28 who are being bi-passed as we go in search of the next 'group' of talent. Theo is a good boy - but does have a tattoo - so girls may still find him sexy in that bad-boy way.

Round 2
John Terry - booo. He may have played at the West Ham Academy but I like to think we Hammers fans turn a blind eye to the fact. Good player? Yes. Thug? For sure - both in the night clubs and his bedroom (depending on who is there with him). If Terry was in a Xmas Pantomime he would be the Villain with a patch on his eye, mostly because he got pissed the night before and ended up with 5 stitches above his eye. Wayne Bridge clearly took John off the Xmas card list.


Scott Parker. I know, he does play for Spurs, but he supports them so in a strange way (as a Hammers supporter) I have tremendous respect for a man who does a spectacular job week in week out for one of Tottenham's rivals. Parker is a hero both on and off the field. On the field he is a constant worker always making those tackles which count, then turning defense into attack and never giving the ball away. Spurs have dramatically improved since his arrival and the Hammers have gone off the boil since his departure. I remember walking past Avram Grant's office on practice day at Chadwell Heath. He was talking to Parker and the rest were outside. Parker walked out and ran past me to the training ground. Grant stayed put. I knew who was motivating that team.


Round 3


Vinnie Jones. Now a somewhat famous actor (Snatch / Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). He was the bad boy of the Wimbledon 'crazy gang' and was infamous for a number of pranks that most players would have run home to mummy and cried about. The picture below says it all.

Paul Gascoigne. See above. If Shakespeare could write a modern day tragedy it would be about a charismatic man called Paul de Gascoigne, who despite his flamboyant and gregarious nature squandered his fortune only to live his life out as a poor merchant selling dreams. Gascoigne is one of my heros. He was simply a wonderful player and funny with it. True story - a number of years ago a friend met him in California. He was dating a friend of her sister and it was arranged they would all have dinner together. Gascoigne arrived drunk. He 's antics are on video for me to keep. He got very sad about his son after seeing a picture of my Henry. He then proceeded to talk to the camera (knowing I was a big fan) and tell me his date was 'ugly' and that it was a full moon - to which end he turned and dropped his pants to the camera. I showed my family that Xmas. It didn't go down well. I still have the signed picture to me and the signed picture to Henry. I love Gazza.


Round 4
Chris Waddle. I'm sorry, but the penalty he missed v Germany in 1990 sticks in my throat. Sorry Chris - I know Ben Illingworth and you went to school together. It might have been the mullet haircut - he was a success story coming late into the game. Those tight shorts and the step over were mesmerizing. Oh well, I am not sure that move is as convincing with a nice buzz cut.





Gary Lineker. OK - the man is practically St Peter. He scored goals against Poland with a broken arm. He scored goals against Germany in World Cup Semi-Finals. The man was magic. I once watched England v Hungary from behind the goal at the old Wembley. Terrible seats - couldn't see a thing apart from Lineker make those lateral runs all night. 










Round 5. David Beckham. He is the yin and yang of soccer. Hero to villain to hero to God status. Let the pictures tell the story....

More? Maybe not tonight. Trevor Brooking was always a hero of mine. I was just a little too young to tune into Bobby Moore, but he is to all Hammers fans the very epitome of honor and class. My friend Paul Heffer has the same qualities. He was denied the chance to play a full career but has been continually responsible for a long line of talented players.