Hillsborough and the 96

[New Dawn Fades]

Have`nt seen anything on here discussing the recent situation. What are peoples thoughts?

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

Well obviously the real truth emerging is a good thing. Now for justice

[Coolcat]

Remember the day well. Ironically, standing on the Hotel End as news and rumours filtered through, it was Sheffield United the Cobblers were playing.

[Coolcat]

Irony No2: Look at the second thread down from this one...FFS! 

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

A "lets all laugh at the scousers" titled thread probably isn't the place for this

[betamax toploader]

I think that most true football fans, have strong opinions on this, no matter who they support. Those theories and feelings can be argued over and over, but i am sure that we can all agree on a couple of things.
It should not have taken 23 years for the truth to emerge, and the scale of police cover up is quite unbelievable.
This is Britain after all, not some third world, military junta.

[Tyro]

I was reading on various socila network sites last night various fans of clubs will start a minutes applause at matches tomorrow for the 96.

[Montgomery Eypoke III]

I'd heard a suggestion of all club's fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone at 3:06pm. Very difficult to spread the word/ coordinate but a great idea and a very apt tribute I thought.

[guest49]

It has been shocking and unsurprising at the same time. Anyone who was around at that time knew what football games and stadiums were like. It may make some chuckle but even the Hotel End had it's moment. I vividly remember being crushed as a young lad against Villa and in front of the barrier was the prime spot to avoid it. In top flight games it was a tragedy waiting to happen and could have been anyone. The bit that shocked the most was how calculated the cover up was.
It worked out perfectly for Thatcher (whether she had any direct involvement or not) to help end mob rule on the back of the miners strikes a few years earlier. Football was already changing but the crowds were still all 'mobs of thugs'. Hillsborough was one of the major triggers in transforming football into the middle class game it is today, well it certainly is at the higher levels and has priced out many people lower down.
Back then I was 19 and used to follow the Cobblers and Liverpool, although not the latter since the early 90's and in one season went to 70 games including games at Coventry and Leicester, a real football junkie. On another day I would have been at Hillsborough. My brother and two friends were, whilst I was in the Hotel End as I was old enough to choose and wouldn't miss a Cobblers game for the world. Fortunately they all escaped injury free but it obviously had a profound impact on them all.

What I really do hope is taken from this (although I doubt it) is that terracing wasn't the cause. Terracing isn't unsafe. The capacity and design is key to terracing. Everyone knows that terracing is safe, that is the frustrating thing. Does anyone believe that it would allowed anywhere if it wasn't? A prime example being at P*sh's London Road. Safe standing looks great but OTT and not sure to what scale it will take off, although I know Villa are going to trial a section.

The families of the 96 must be feeling so many mixed emotions right now and I hope that those who deserve it serve some time.
It's been said several times over the past few days but it could have been any football crowd. If it could be co-ordinated then any recognition from the football crowds up and down the country would be highly relevant and I'm sure well received.

    

[Elad]

The F.A should take some of the blame for this too. Hillsborough didn't even have a safety certificate did it and as Tel says it was no secret that the ground was dangerous. F.A as usual buried their heads in the sand 

[abington_cobbler]

In the 1986/87 season when there was a huge crowd I lost my footing and fell to the ground in the Hotel End during one of the 'you are my sunshine...' chant crowd surges. I struggled badly to breathe and found it impossible to get up but luckily someone realised I was struggling and pulled me to safety. The Hillsborough tragedy could've happened in the Hotel End albeit on a smaller scale. That said, I would love to see the introduction of 'safe standing' areas around the country. The away games with terracing that Cobblers play in create a much better atmosphere than any all seater stadium

[Power Football]

Well said Terry, very well said.

[tcobb]

 All fans who attended "Big" games in the 80s will know that he main concern of the police was Crowd control not Crowd safety.
 A few times i attended games where in the  stadium the crush was bad, also the crush was that bad on the way out you could just pick your feet off the floor and just be carried away by the mass. Even in the Hotel End it had been known that it could be very difficult to leave or attempt to re-enter when the match was in progress with a big crowd in attendence. But what did we as fans do about it ? a few might have complained but we just accepted it as being the norm and carried on.
 The Taylor Report has blamed the police right from the start, the latest news is now aimed at the police to admit that blame, and so they should.  I had a blazing row with a non football supporter in 1990 who said Hillsborough was the fault of the fans not the police, i hope now he can look at himself and admit he was wrong.
 Finally my last point on the subject is aimed at Liverpool and there fans.  I always like the way supporters rally around when things like Hillsborough and Bradford happen, we honour the memory of the fans who have died doing what we do, supporting our team, nobody deserves to die just for doing that. To me now is the time for Liverpool to start playing football again on 15th April, what a better way to remember those who died  than by playing a game of football in there memory on the date they died. Other teams do it and im sure it would be what those fans who died would have wanted.
 

[NTFC Nut]

Glad that Steven Gerrard got himself a goal today, given his personal links to Hillsborough having lost his cousin. You could see it meant a lot to him.

[Birdpoo]

It was good to see that the vast majority of United fans who attended the game yesterday respected the occasion. However, disappointing and sickening to hear the mindless minority trying to spoil the occasion by attempting to get a response for the Liverpool crowd. Why on earth would United fans sing "where's your famous Munich song", especially with their very own Sir Bobby Charlton(one of the Munich survivors) in the stands. Thick, ignorant twats 

[tcobb]

 They sang "wheres your famous Munich song" because the Liverpool supporters had been doing Aeroplane gestures, one Liverpool fan was stopped entering the ground with a model plane !
   But remember nodody is ever as hard done by as a Scouser.

[abington_cobbler]

The 2 sets of fans both behaved during the Hillsborough tribute and during the game the atmosphere seemed ok, but both sets of fans let their clubs down with the way they behaved after the game when Liverpool fans started the bad feeling by doing aeroplane impressions. The United fans responded by chanting "Its never your fault, always the victim its never your fault" and "murderers, murderers, muderers". The worse was 2 Liverpool fans tweeting referee Mark Harsley after the game (who as you know beat cancer and I believe his wife is currently fight cancer), one tweeted "You should've died of cancer! c@nt" and the other tweeted "hope you get cancer and die"

[guest49]

Wasn't it just two idiot Liverpool fans at the end with the plane gestures, followed by responses by several hundred united fans?
It sums up moronic mob mentality nicely and I'm sure the two home fans will be facing a lengthy ban after getting arrested.

[Tyro]

From what I read last night I believe a Liverpool supporter rang Stan Collymore last night on Talk Sport and said things that had many fans saying how right he was, unsure of content but I'm sure it can be found online somewhere?