20 years ago next week, astonishing to see how quickly the time has gone. Remember watching this at home, was rooted to the spot, I guess you just cant get your head around something like that as a kid.
Newstalk had a piece on it last night, tackling the Sun’s role in the aftermath quite good. I imagine we’ll be hearing a lot more in the days to come.
Remember the day well. Semi-final Saturday, RTE always had one of the matches on. It was a real sunny day and we were after playing a great game of headers and volleys. Came in to watch the game but all was not right. Utter tragedy. Needless loss of life. Even the fact that the huge support for Liverpool were put in the smaller end as such was the 1st mistake.
Still remember it very clearly, firstly thinking that some idiots had started causing trouble and then the realisation of what was happening.
Heard the piece last night alright, apparently they were talking about it on the “Talking History” programme on Sunday also which I missed.
Kelvin McKenzie has never been anything other than a pure scumbag. He was on Question Time two yers ago around the time of the anniversary and once again pointedly refused to apologise.
I was 9 at the time and was a mad Liverpool fan. Used to get dressed up in my Candy or Crown Paints gear for every match that was on TV. Like Locke I remember the day very well as a sunny one and we were playing football before going in to watch the match. Remember Peter Beardsley hit the bar and them all the people started spilling out and saw people being pulled into the upper deck.
As I was only nine I didn’t realise fully what was going on and that it was a pitch invasion at first. Then it was announced that the match had been called off and I remember feeling more disappointed about there being no match more than anything. Then of course all the news about the deaths started coming in. My mother wouldn’t let me go to the terrace for the Ireland v Spain game eleven days later because of what had happened.
Never really hit me as I wasn’t mad into the oul soccer when I was younger. Blew me away though when I saw the film about it. I always remember the line “Chief Inspeccckta Doooccckkkenfield” with a lot of hocker at use saying it.
Did you win the headers and volleys Locke?
My memories are much the same as the rest here… We had been playing ball on the street, sun was belting down and i had my white crown paints jersey on. Came in to watch the game and couldnt believe what i was seeing… I remember standing infront of the tv a few months later in the same kit and also not believing what i was seeing… When Michael Thomas made it 2-0.
[quote=“Pikeman”]Never really hit me as I wasn’t mad into the oul soccer when I was younger. Blew me away though when I saw the film about it. I always remember the line “Chief Inspeccckta Doooccckkkenfield” with a lot of hocker at use saying it.
Did you win the headers and volleys Locke?[/quote]
Shyeah! Would have been the more talented of the bunch though our rules were so complicated it usually ended up in a big row. Remember coming in with about 3/4 mins to go before kickoff sweatin like a pedo in a Barney suit…
20 years ago. Wtf!! Where did the time go…
Like sand through an hourglass lockey, like sand through an hourglass…
I don’t think there has ever been an English football season as dramatic in every way as 88/89. The actual game to be played that day was a repeat of the previous years semi-final at Hillsborough when Aldridge scored a brilliant goal. The FA Cup was probably never as important as the second half of the 80’s as English clubs were banned from Europe.
The problem if I remember was that the lower terrace was divided into different “pens” with fences running directly down the terrace. The side pens were left relatively uncrowded compared to the centre one where the crush occured, but the police wouldn’t open the gates into the side pens to allow for the overspill therefore the people got crushed against the main perimeter fence at the front. There were ticketless fans milling outside the gates and the police opened the gates to allow everybody in adding to the already appalling congestion on the terrace. But there are ticketless fans outside any big game. It’s up to the police to control it. The policing was the main reason why it happened.
This was on Newsnight last week:
[media=youtube]3P-WmOfR-08
Definitely the most important day in modern football history when you examine the implications that came out of it, and they weren’t good ones in my opinion - ie all-seater stadiums and ultimately the progressive attempts to price the ordinary fan out of football. English football has become more and more “sanitised” in the last 20 years as a result. Terraces weren’t unsafe in themselves, it was the negligence that allowed the crush to build up and the fences that were the cause - there have been crowd disasters in all-seater stadiums too such as at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Staggering to think how perimeter fences were ever allowed. There were a few near misses of this nature at GAA matches over the years too. My father told me a couple of times about the 1983 final between Dublin and Galway being a very near miss in terms of nobody getting killed - I think the gates were forced by people outside at that. The crowd spilled out onto the pitch also after a crush at the Canal End at the 1993 final between Cork and Derry - was sitting right beside it down on the lower Cusack.
[quote=“myboyblue”]
Newstalk had a piece on it last night, tackling the Sun’s role in the aftermath quite good. I imagine we’ll be hearing a lot more in the days to come.[/quote]
Newstalk also had a piece on Talking History on Sunday night, and they read out my text, which was a bit embarrassing.
Why was it embarassing?
I think Mac sends in the odd text to newstalk too…
Sure Bandage is a regular contributor to OffTheBall
What was that again? I recall a WUM regarding this…
No WUM, bandage is a regular contributor, remember his jacket comparison about Celtic being discussed on it
Ah I see, jaysus we’re all contributors then if thats the case…
[quote=“myboyblue”]Why was it embarassing?
I think Mac sends in the odd text to newstalk too…[/quote]
I’ve never texted Newstalk in my life
[quote=“myboyblue”]Why was it embarassing?
I think Mac sends in the odd text to newstalk too…[/quote]
I sent them a text stirring it, asking when they were going to do a feature on Heysel, and Justice for the 39 etc etc, and the gobshite presenter actually put it to the scouse professor they had on. In fairness to him, he handled it OK, waffled on for a while about how they were separate events etc.
I’ve never texted Newstalk in my life[/quote]
What is the idea behind these “tags”? They seem to be totally pointless, apart from affording people the opportunity to post insults and offensive stuff anonymously.