No one intended to kill football fans at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest 27 years ago. In 1989 British football stadiums were inherently unsafe, many of us felt in danger at the regular crushing entering and leaving grounds.
Crowd management was considered a control issue, not a safety one. In England, fences penned spectators in to prevent pitch invasions.
Hillsborough had staged many FA Cup semi-finals, including one the previous year between the same two clubs, so no proper thought or planning went into the game. During the 80s measures to control the crowd increased, while Sheffield Wednesday, who played home games at the ground, seldom came near the stadium’s capacity. The mean the stadium was unprepared for anything out of the ordinary, and the police were completely unprepared.
Access gates were open to relieve pressure on turnstiles which were inadequate to deal with a crowd of that size – a common, but dangerous, occurrence at the time.
Control measures were such that what was once a terrace area open from one side to another had been sectioned off. Once you were in one pen the only route out was to leave the terrace via the long tunnel underneath the Leppings Lane stand that fans used to enter the terrace. The two pens at the wide end of the terrace were under-filled, while the central two were crushed.
No one entering a tunnel knew if there was crushing ahead and there was no way to segregate fans off into available pens. Anyone attempting to exit through the tunnel would have been met by a large crowd of people trying to go the opposite way.
The system was stupidly crazy by design. Any Health and Safety attention would have deemed the terrace unsafe the moment the tall fences went up to prevent overspill onto the pitch area. It was a fatal incident waiting to happen.
Once the incident was underway South Yorkshire Police failed the victims spectacularly. Officers were watching the fatal crush from yards away but were unwilling to raise the alarm. They ignored terrified pleas from fans. After evidence of fatalities first arose, they turned ambulances away, delaying treatment to casualties for a crucial period.
When the incident was over the police invoked a smear campaign against the victims. Lies were told. Newspapers bought into the conspiracy, among others. The bereaved were left on their own to defend the memory of their lost ones as inquiries bathed all in whitewash.
There will be an understandable demand for prosecutions now, but for those who died 27 years ago, and many of their loved ones, it’s all too late. I hope the survivors gain some small comfort from today’s inquest verdict of unlawful killing. The torture they went through listening to the official lies must have been unbearable.
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BLANTYRETIM IS PRAYING FOR THE KNOX FAMILY on 27TH APRIL 2016 9:59 AM
Macjay
And meantime , doctors go in strike.
We had a stoush on here a few weeks back.
I seemed to be only one condemning them.
Sick.Disabled.Doctor`s strike.
God.What a combo.
O tempora.O mores.
Incidentally , no doctor`s strike when Thatcher was in charge.
The Brits are masters of the art of the “cover-up”. Hillsbough victims getting are at last thankfully getting some justice after many years.
However I feel that back in those days the english game was inevitably heading towards a mega disaster with hooligans running amok . We should be remembering the 39 who died at Heysel too. Deaths caused by rampaging Liverpool fans. They didnt get much justice with just a very few fans getting light sentences.
Something doesnt sit quite right with me about Hillsbourgh -Heysel. Maybe the Liverpool fans should sometimes include the Heysel 39 when remembering the 96 Liverpool victims.
.
As someone Who was at the Everton Vs Rapid Vienna Cup Winners Cup Final..Then 6 Days later sat in a Room full of Scousers many of whom were also in Rotterdam the week before..We Watched the Heysel Disaster unfold..
6 days earlier Many of us in Rotterdam were left stranded as the Bus full of Evertonians l was going home with drove away in front of our Eyes..Leaving 12 of us were left stranded in Holland..
Long story Short and l was with a Old Scouser in his late 70’s who’s Son in Law ran the Bus and left Him Stranded..
after a Day and a Half in Holland we all Split up..l said to him..”Stay with Me i Promise You.. i’ll get You Home” In 1985 No Credit Cards and we had No Cash..We hitched a ride to The Hague where the Dutch woman who gave us a lift gave us 10 Guilders maybe 5 Pounds then for food..We then went to the Ferry Port The Hoek of Holland if Memory serves..l went to the Dutch Immigration police l was going to tell the Old Scouser to pretend he was Ill but by that time He was I’ll with Worry.. hunger Etc..
I asked the Dutch Police to Deport us..
The Dutch Police Answer was: Normally we wouldn’t do this by You Fans (Everton & Celtic) have been Brilliant for the last 4 Days..
They Officially Deported us from Holland.. put us in a Holding Cell for 5 Minutes then Marched us on to the Ferry..and Shook our Hands..
The next day after Hitching across England I Left the Old Scouser at The Junction on the M6 that goes to Liverpool..Shook his Hand and wished His Son in Law all the best..Ha
6 Days Later the People from the Same City were called SCUM of the Earth..
l know Who l have always blamed for The Heysel Disaster..
Below is a Very Long and sometimes Harrowing read of Football Stadium Disasters..
Hillsborough, Heysel, Valley Parade and Ibrox: Why Are Stadium Disasters Always Prone To Urban Mythology?
https://thegreatcritique.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/hillsborough-heysel-valley-parade-and-ibrox-why-are-stadium-disasters-always-prone-to-urban-mythology/
Keep the Faith..
001
Just saw big Vlad Klitschko interviewed on TV, re. His upcoming rematch with Fury.
He actually comes over as a personable, likeable guy…….. But if he isnae, I am not gonna argue with him:)
BAMBOO on 27TH APRIL 2016 10:15 AM
I`d forgotten all about that correlation.
Excellent point.
BLANTYRETIM IS PRAYING FOR THE KNOX FAMILY on 27TH APRIL 2016 8:53 AM
That was a perfect Anchorman moment.
I was a Scottish teacher. I’m proud to say we beat Thatcher. Our Inion, the EIS, out thought and outfought her lackies.
BLANTYRETIM IS PRAYING FOR THE KNOX FAMILY on 27TH APRIL 2016 8:53 AM
OLD TORY GOVERNMENT
UNIONS MINERS FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS
And Murdoch’s grubby mitts were all over it.
Inion???????? Union.
QUONNO on 27TH APRIL 2016 10:19 AM
And who opened the door to Murdoch`s purchase of respectable newspaper titles in U.K. ?
BT,
I agree with your analysis.
When I was commenting on what I see as the current treatment of our supporters with what was meted out to supporters in general 27 years ago, I was thinking too of the miners’ strike and how the Establishment destroyed the only real weapon open to ordinary working people.
I was actually out the country while the strike was on but I returned shortly after and the despair etched on many people’s faces will stay with me.
Now the Tory Government is trying to destroy the NHS in England.
I would vote for Independence tomorrow but I am afraid the SNP have no regard for people like me. TD is quite right, imo, in what he says. They are part of Scotland’s shame.
Lucky Cody
Thanks for your response… I agree that it is outrageous that that the Masons should be so embedded a body like the Police whose duty it is to serve the public in an open and impartial manner..bad too for the police in the sense that some people are promoted on a basis of their membership of a secret society rather than on their abilities…you could add John Stalker to your list of people removed when they got too close to the truth ( in the shoot to kill investigation and the trouble that was visited upon his friend Mr Taylor if my memory is correct).
As much as i rejoice in the vindication of the Liverpool supporters I have read little on it as I find the whole process of stonewalling and burying of the truth so depressing
Bmcw
Tories, SNP? I’v yet to see the difference , two cheeks from the same arse, both hell bent on destroying the Labour Party, and have a great distaste for anything Glasgow, and don’t be kidded by Sturgeon either, ask anyone from Govanhill who live in her ward, oh and hey! Wonder what chances are of there ever being a leader of the SNP being an RC,? Aye right, about as much chance as Ian Paisley making his first holy communion.
Macjay,
If you are electioneering for a seat on the Celtic Board you need to move a bit further to the Right. Bye the way Thatcher never won more than 43.9% of the electorate.
”And yet , the decent British people voted for her
and voted for her”
What does that make everybody else?
CLOGHER CELT on 27TH APRIL 2016 10:37 AM
Macjay,
If you are electioneering for a seat on the Celtic Board you need to move a bit further to the Right. Bye the way Thatcher never won more than 43.9% of the electorate.
========================================================
And what percentage of those who voted ?
TD67
Correct on all counts. No time for either.
There’s as much chance of me changing my football allegiances as my political ones.
MACJAY
That was her highest score amongst those who voted,not those eligible to vote.
Of course,in later years she even attempted to gerrymander the electoral role by forcing people to pay to be on it.
A real charmer,eh?
DONTBRATTBAKKINANGER
I hope you are well. I cannot disagree with you. I’m on the same opinion and turning it into practice.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 27TH APRIL 2016 10:49 AM
Ie. the voters ,not the electorate.
I know it`s painful , but she won three times and then her successor won
And his successor won by moving the Labour Party away from the lunacy and electoral suicide of being at the behest of the Scargills of this world.
And the alternatives ?
Michael Foot………Longest suicide note in history.
The Welsh windbag……
CLOGHER CELT on 27TH APRIL 2016 10:37 AM
”And yet , the decent British people voted for her
and voted for her”
What does that make everybody else?
===========================================
Unenlightened.
:-)
ERNIE LYNCH on 27TH APRIL 2016 9:58 AM
I think more renters than owner occupiers is only true for London at the moment but the trend is set to be nationwide within the next decade or so.
Lads,
What`s the point ?
Can`t rewrite history.
But we can learn from it.
And have. It seems.
Cultural hegemony.
Look it up.
It helps explain a lot.
MACJAY
Yep. And by moving the Labour Party so far to the right and continuing the neutering of the unions-albeit with minor concessions-they opened the door for an even more right wing Tory group.
With results such as those described by BT and others.
Employment rights are now so poor that agencies employ more new workers than employers do. Zero-hours contracts are the norm in many industries. Unfair Dismissal has such high parameters that winning is increasingly impossible.
And that’s if you can afford the £1200 it costs to even bring a case nowadays.
A bit difficult as the chances are you’ll be jobless and denied benefits.
“Wonder what chances are of there ever being a leader of the SNP being an RC,? ”
Tony,
About the same chance as a labour leader being a Catholic I’d guess.
HH
And before anyone gets excited I think they are all different glutes of a multi cheeked arse.
Jusayin likes
HH
DONTBRATTBAKKINANGER on 25TH APRIL 2016 10:24 AM
‘recently overtook the Anglican as highest active group’ – something else to blame Peter Lawell for.
—///—-//–//—
DBBIA
Yesterday I replied to a post that had (incorrectly) stated ‘50% of English RC were living in Liverpool’.
I was genuinely trying to be helpful to the poster.
You then lifted part of what I had written ( never referenced me) and posted your comments above. Seeking to conflate what I had written as an opportunity for someone to have a bite at PL.
Would you mind explaining to me why you did that?
Hopefully Phil is right and Dermot will run the selection process. Dermot would only need to ask about 5/6 questions to understand the damage Lawwell has done.
Hopefully Dermot fires Lawwell so we can have a properly run football club again ; not a circus run by a control freak.
The apathy the support have towards the club at the moment is frightening. 5 in a row will be greeted with a shrug as we know there has been systemic failure and betrayal of the supporters.
Still waiting on the Big Picture from Lawwell Quick News.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 27TH APRIL 2016 11:07 AM
MACJAY
Margaret Thatcher got the boot in `91 or thereabouts.
25 years later and it`s all her fault.
Subjective,I know …………
The Glasgow I visited last year seemed a far better fed , far better clothed , far better housed and happier place than the Glasgow I left 6 months after the arrival of the great satanette .
Not to mention better grogged.
GEORDIEMUNRO
Genuine question-is there a bar on that?
I remember the kerfuffle when it became clear that Blair was in the process of converting.
The UK has had Jewish Prime Ministers in the past,and the previous Labour leader was also Jewish.
So,as I say,genuine question.
MACJAY
Respectfully,I suggest that living standards have changed in most countries in the last forty years.
Hopefully, Phil is starting to shine his light into the ‘most’ important corners – as far as I’m concerned – the Celtic hierarchies den of iniquity….the boardroom.
Any Celtic supporter with a pair of eyes could see that, the Celtic hierarchy – sold the club and, it’s soul down the swanneee river – after they meekly kowtowed to attend a govt-summit after the so-called shame-game were, Celtic had 3 players booked. Ah mean, why should we be called in front of the government for 3 bookings ?
A Celtic hierarchy with b#lls would have kicked the govt-summit into touch by, calling a media conference for ‘National Media’ only – no local media, to announce ‘why’ Celtic were slinging the govt-summit and, at the same time….kicked the lid off the can of worms that is, Scotland’s secret shame, a country structured to suit one football club.
Who know’s, if the hierarchy had taken that course…we might be playing in England by now!
Anyway…..Desmond, Lawwell and all the rest of the, sleekit-deceitful-kowtowing-serpents have to be gotten rid off – before – a new manager is appointed.
The Desmond, Lawwell era has to be ended – THIS SUMMER – not a single season book should be purchased until – all of the findings of Res : 12 are laid bare and, the sleekit-hierarchies antics, for or, against the resolution are mad public.
Celtic’s hierarchy sold the clubs soul to all the devils in hell at the govt-summit.
So, going by that benchmark….don’t be looking for hierarchy-heroics re: The Resolution…imho.
The Jungle Jury says…
Sack Thum!!!!
SackThum NOW!!!
Stop being a billionaires mug – CSC
DR RAMESH AND THE LOVE POTION
Thanks for Celtic bar in Madrid very much appreciated.HH
I will look it up.
I am staying in the Catalonia Altocha hotel.
SaltiresenSevilla
Far be it for me to put words in the mouth of the inestimable DBBIA, but I think you may be oblivious to a humorous undertone in his post.
Amongst other shames, Peter Lawwell is, of course, responsible for the TTIP, the silence of the Lambs, and downsizing of CQN Humour.
It’s just a matter of time before he’s hauled before the ECHR to answer for crimes against inanity.
Mark McGhee – Director of Football
Jim McIntyre Ar La – Manager
Be bold, be cute – CSC
Everyone’s entitled to express views. But the reasoning offered to support some views here is so ill informed.
BMCUWP, I am really surprised at you happily smooching with a right wing half wit like Macjay to get in a dig at the SNP. The Lab Party in Scotland has destroyed itself because it allowed the right wing to seize control and implement Tory-lite policies. The SNP can’t believe their luck.
If so called socialists dally with the Tories, they will be booted out in Scotland. Lesson not learned yet, it would seem.
MACJAY1 FOR NEIL LENNON on 27TH APRIL 2016 11:16 AM
Thatcher deliberately chose to deindustrialise the UK.
She thought the economy would be better served by relying on financial services.
We, not you, are living with that legacy.
Oops should have been clearer that is the % of those who voted in 1979.
13697m votes won. 31221m cast in total.
43.9% of votes cast. % turnout 76%. (24% didn’t vote/spoiled).
The highest % of actual votes she ever achieved. And yet the lowest number of seats. The Tories gained 47 seats in 1983 despite the % of the actual vote actually slightly falling to 42.4.%. Or 600k souls.
In 1987 she had the highest number of actual votes at 13.7m.
So there are under 14m ‘decent British people (voters)’ in your analysis.
Duty calls