Fanzines - voice of the ordinary supporter

We highlight Liverpool 'zine 'Through The Wind and Rain' - always a staunch supporter of the HJC and a voice that has kept alive and published articles on Hillsborough throuout the last 12 years. You can read all of their back issue articles about Hillsborough here

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The Hillsborough Justice Campaign
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Through the Wind and Rain
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Liverpool
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Through the Wind and the Rain Fanzine Archives

Issue 30 - Fond Farewell - Tribute To Bob Paisley R.I.P

Saying goodbye is never easy, is it? Since the last issue of TTW&R we have been faced with not one, but two sad loses. The death of Bob Paisley in February was not altogether unexpected. His condition with Aizheimer's disease had long been common knowledge but the cruel wastefulness of this malady were never more unwelcome than in Bob's case.Perhaps fate was kind: God knows what he would have made of the Souness interregnum.

It was rewarding to see the warmth and breadth of the tributes paid to him. We owe a debt of thanks to all of those fans everywhere who stood in silent tribute to him in February. Yes even those (especially those?) at Old Trafford. Forget that tiny minority who need their mums to do their shoelaces for them before they leave for the match: the vast majority honoured a great man. Thank you.

Did you get involved in one of those 'Who was the best manager: Shankly or Paisley?' debates which kept cropping up in February? After my first, I retired from the pursuit. It, was as pointless as it was inconclusive. I just urged the participants to be eternally grateful because we had been fortunate enough to have had two of Britain's four greatest post war managers at our club. Along with Busby and Stein, Shankly and Paisley were the end of a managerial tradition which not only won trophies but did it with integrity. The influence of that quality has diminished in inverse proportion to the growth of the influence of money in the game. It is interesting to note that all four of these men embodied the working class roots of our sport. They ALL came from hard working, Northern mining towns and ALL remained proud of their backgrounds. This gave them far greater empathy with the people coming through the turnstiles than the present crop of pampered, posing prirna donnas who wouldn't recognise integrity even if it slipped them a bung.

Outside of Anfield, I only ever came across Bob Paisley rarely. Twice, at family christenings at St. Peter's Church in Woolton, he was there as a regular member of the congregation. On one occasion, he was there the day after a Saturday match at Ipswich and one of the nastiest away trips in the (then) First Division. His faith was important to him and something as trivial as a five hour journey back wasn't going to stop him from being in church the next day. From church he took the basic Christian code and applied it rigorously to all he did. While no saint, ( he liked a bet and had friends in the racing business ) his way of doing things shines like a lighthouse in a game which is losing it's way in a fog of sleaze and impropriety.

His ability to spot something extra in a player was legendary. His conversion of Ray Kennedy to a midfield role typified this perceptiveness. His simple philosophy of playing to your strengths meant that he was able to consistently turn out his best eleven players and let the opposition worry about us. The sort of cautious approach which led to our European exit this season was anathema to Paisley: "if you don't score, you won't win" is the sort of simple truth which might have taken him half a minute to say, but it's impact would have been conspicuous in shining glory by the end of the season.

Before his retirement in 1983, he had served this club for 44 years: his overall contribution spanned five decades. It is a cruel irony that the man who gave us our greatest footballing memories ended his life with none of his own. Our love and thanks go to his wife Jessie and her family.

Author Unknown

Like everyone, I was deeply saddened by the loss of Bob Paisley. In my opinion he was the greatest. As he said himself, Shankly built the foundations - he just put the roof on. Without Bob and the rest of the backroorn staff, Shankly wouldn't have made us as great as we are. Of course Shankly also helped Bob when he had retired, but the number of trophies, the teams he built and the conquest of Europe makes Paisley the greatest in my eyes. I'm only 18, the first time I ever saw the Reds was in 1986 when Kenny was boss, but when I heard about Bob it felt like a death in the family. The respect the man commanded is amazing and I hope the club find a suitable way to honour him.

I'd also like to offer my condolences to the people of Dunfermline after the death of their captain Norrie McCathie. I know very little about him or indeed Dunfermline, but I do still remember the article in TTW&R 1 about Gary Riddell of the same club who died on a charity run to raise money for the Hilisborough appeal. That tragic event years ago gave me respect and sympathy for Dunfermline, so I hope this letter will act as our message of condolence.

Chris Mac - St Helens