You'll Never Walk Alone

They say a week is a long time in football. By that definition 22 years must be an eternity. However, some things go beyond the passage of time and cannot be allowed to fade into distant memory. The events at Hillsborough on 15th April 1989 may be literally a lifetime, or even more than a lifetime, ago to many football fans, but that is no reason to forget the tragedy that unfolded at what was meant to be a joyful occasion.

I am not a Liverpool fan. I wasn't at Hillsborough on the day the tragedy took place. To the best of my knowledge, nobody that I knew was at the game. Like many football fans up and down the country, however, I was watching Grandstand. As the seriousness of events unfolded, and images of crushed and injured fans were broadcast, I don't mind admitting that tears were running down my face. I wasn't there, but I could have been.

I could have been there because there could have been anywhere. In the 1980s nearly every football ground caged in the fans. Many grounds were extremely outdated in terms of access and safety. Any child who attended a game at that time will remember being surrounded by bigger, older fans pressed against them from all sides as they struggled to leave the stadium. Any father who took a child to a game will remember the battle to keep hold of a child's hand so as not to lose them in the swarm. Football fans in those days were not people. They were animals. We weren't really, but that is how we were viewed. Caged in, herded, pushed and controlled. We tolerated it because at least it seemed to work. It wasn't a pleasant experience but the people charged with protecting the public seemed to protect us 'animals' too, even if they had forgotten that we too were the public they were supposed to protect. We got to support our teams, win, lose or draw, and we got to go home afterwards in one piece to reflect on another episode of success or failure.

However, in April 1989, 96 fans did not return home. The attitude of treating fans like animals finally took its toll as the authorities lost the control that they were there to enforce. Make no mistake, no matter some of the vitriolic comments that followed - comments that sadly a minority of fans who are too young to remember the events are willing to pass on now in the name of banter or tribal loyalty - there is no question of where blame lies. The Taylor Report laid the blame clearly and totally at the hands of South Yorkshire police and the football authorities.

Football learned its lesson. Fencing was removed and stadia were redesigned. The experience of attending a football match is very different now than it was in the 1980s. Now we sit in comfort and safety. Access to grounds is generally improved and the threat of a repeat tragedy is greatly diminished. The football authorities accepted their mistakes and by and large corrected them.

Football learned its lesson, but sadly it appears that the police did not. Not only have they failed to accept total responsibility, but nobody has ever been prosecuted for the negligent actions that lead to the tragedy. From the outside it looks like another whitewash as excuses are offered for what took place. The danger of not accepting responsibility is that mistakes get repeated.

The families of the 96 have never seen justice carried out for the death of their loved ones. It may be easy for some to pass off remembrance of the events as sentimentality, but that misses the bigger picture. It is not sentimental to seek justice. It is necessary for the good of our free society. The mistake of treating large sections of the community as animals based on the actions of a small minority may seem like a thing of the past, but what of the G20 summit protests and the student demonstrations. It is ironic that as the 22nd anniversary of Hillsborough is marked another enquiry is taking place to investigate a situation where police actions (may) have lead to the death of a member of the public - and actions that will lead to nobody being prosecuted once again.

Not only do the families of the 96 have every right to keep these events in the public memory, but society as a whole has a moral obligation to help them in doing so. We will never fathom their personal loss or pain. However, we all live with the consequences of a failure to seek justice. We have already seen an improvement in football grounds as a result of their loss. Let us not waste the opportunity to see an improvement in the way the authorities treat the public they are supposed to protect. Justice is essential.

The 96 football fans did not give their lives to see these improvements take place - their lives were cruelly and negligently taken from them. Let us at least let the families have the comfort of knowing that their loss lead to a better world for the ones left behind. I for one will never forget the loss of those fans and I believe that many others will always remember the events of that day.

The events could have happened anywhere to anybody, but they didn't. They happened to Liverpool fans at Hillsborough. We should all set aside tribal loyalties for one day and remember the loss suffered by a great football team from a great city. You truly will never walk alone!

Deadline Day: Fans Sweating Buckets!

Once again transfer deadline day is living up to the hype - in terms of rumours so far, if not actual deals. Fans up and down the country, and indeed around the world, are sweating on what is going to happen to their own favourites.

At the time of writing - and stories are updating by the minute - the three biggest stories involve Liverpool. The Suarez transfer looks like it is a done deal. However, latest news reports suggest that Liverpool have made a renewed bid of £35 million for Andy Carroll of Newcastle United. We wait to see if this is enough to tempt Mike Ashley into incurring the wrath of Geordie fans and accepting the offer.

Any deal for Carroll would have implications for Fernando Torres who is the subject of an offer from Chelsea. Liverpool have rejected an initial offer of £35 million, but rumours indicate that they would accept a bid of £50 million.

Both deals would break the current British transfer record.

One thing that is certain. By the close of business tonight, there will be plenty of fans disappointed at players that have been sold, signed and missed out on. Already, as it looks like Carrol may well be heading to Liverpool, there are Liverpool fans stating that Carrol is being over valued while Newcastle fans are upset at selling him at any price.

Whatever happens, we all need to reserve judgement until everything is done and dusted. It is not just about who leaves your club, but about who comes in as a replacement. This transfer window looks like it could well be the craziest of all in terms of transfer values and money spent.

Like everyone else, all we can do is watch and wait.....

Torres Clash: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Only hours after learning that Liverpool had rejected a bid in the region of £35 million from Chelsea for Fernando Torres, news emerged that the player has handed in a transfer request. In a turbulent season for Liverpool and its loyal supporters this is a particularly hard blow to take. Should the unthinkable now become thinkable?

Throughout the difficult season, discussions have raged over who was to blame for the poor run of form. Was it Roy Hodgson or just a legacy of Rafa Benitez? Was it the off the field distractions of an awkward takeover and buyout? Or was it the players? However, two players seemed immune from criticism - Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. They both maintained talisman status. Building blocks upon which to base a recovery to former heights.

The biggest surprise of this turn of events is the timing. Earlier in the season the Spanish striker was clearly struggling for form and fitness, and appearing not to be enjoying his football as he once had. Playing in a team struggling to live up to expectations it may have been understandable if he had expressed a desire to move to greener pastures. However, all the indications were that he remained committed to the cause and loyal to the fans who adored him from the Kop.

Since the return of King Kenny, Liverpool have started to put together a run of results that pushes the club closer to more traditional heights within the Premier League. With Chelsea only nine points ahead, and themselves struggling to reproduce their early season form, a challenge for a Champions League spot that had looked unlikely now appears a possibility. More importantly, Torres is starting to look more like his former self, scoring goals and playing with more support. Not only that, but earlier in the day Liverpool announced the signing of an exciting strike partner, Luis Suarez. So why now?

Only those close to the club and to the player himself will have any inkling of the answer to that question. A more pressing question for Liverpool and their fans to face up to is whether or not they want to keep a player who has publicly stated that he no longer wishes to play for the club.

Judging from the earliest reactions on fan forums, opinion is more divided than the contents of a bent MP's shredder. That is to be expected. The break up of any love affair is an emotional matter. Conflicting thoughts pull in many directions. It is not easy to give up on someone you love. Nor is it easy to hold back anger at someone who has hurt you. So let us look at the cold, hard facts.

An unhappy Fernando Torres actually is not all that good. When circumstances are not 100% right the player struggles to perform anywhere near the levels that he is capable of. Look at how ineffective he was at the World Cup and in the first half of the season. Whether it is injury, unfamiliar playing styles or club unrest, Torres shows no signs of being a player that can deal with distractions and still turn it on week in, week out. That has to be a cause for concern.

There is also the reaction of his fellow players to consider. Realistically, most of them wont be bothered. They know the game. However, what of those that live and breath Liverpool? They could be another matter. It is hard to imagine Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher being as unemotional or unaffected by it as those who are just passing through. Perhaps Liverpool really would be better off without a player who is not committed to the club, even if that player is Fernando Torres.

On the other side of the coin, what message would it send out if Liverpool let him go? Would it send out signals to other potential transfer targets that Liverpool is not an ambitious club? Would it show that Liverpool is no longer a club that can attract and keep world class players? Perhaps that would be taking things too far, but it remains a risk.

And what of contracts? What of the recurring issue of players failing to recognise that putting pen to paper actually means something? More than one fan in the forums has presented the 'let him rot in the reserves' argument. For those of us who can only dream of the financial rewards offered to these players by their lucrative contracts, there will always be a part of us that understands that emotion when a player wishes to tear up the contract that has helped make him rich.

In the real world however, ideals and acts of principle are luxuries that the quest for instant success cannot afford. Liverpool is a great football club and is bigger than any one player. The reality is that an increased offer for Torres could prove to be very good business for Liverpool. A multiple million pound sale may not look so bad for a player who has scored less premiership goals than Kevin Nolan of Newcastle, the same as Elmander of Bolton, and only one more than Campbell of Blackpool, Dempsey of Fulham or Odemwingie of West Brom. The total value of all of those players combined is probably less than Liverpool would recoup in any sale of Torres.

Ultimately, the main reason that Liverpool will be better off without an unhappy Torres is that they are in a fight. They need players with the heart to prove that Liverpool deserve to be in the upper echelons of the league. History and reputation count for nothing - and that applies to players too. Liverpool have a battle on their hands and they need players who are up to the task. As unthinkable as it may have been, the time has come to let go. Fernando Torres wishes to try out new pastures. Let him try. He may find out that those new pastures are not as green, or as blue, as he hoped.