Through the Wind and the Rain Fanzine Archives

Issue 32 - Here We Go Again - Article About Hillsborough Docu-Drama

In late November, the latest Mc Govern piece about Hillsborough will be broadcast on Granada. Just called 'Hillsborough' it is 2 hours of 'docu-drama' that will again attempt to relate the anger and bitterness of reds and espeacially the families. But while no-one has seen it yet,I still really wonder about it for all sorts of reasons.

Firstly, Granada are riot Channel 4 and so will not sink loads of money into a project that might not generate ratings. Which makes me, like the bitter cynic 1 am, wonder what they will try and get put into the programme to get the viewing figures. They will of course trail it as If rom the writer of Cracker', but that in itself sends the wrong message, since it implies a similar sort of fictional drama. which leads onto a question that no-one has managed to answer adequately yet: what the bloody hell does' docu-drama' actually mean? Basically, is it going to be fact or fiction?

Make no mistake, there are lots of people out there who will sift through Hillsborough with a fine toothcomb - any pissing about with 'events' and they'll jump on it, putting Reds back on the defensive again. Don't kid yourselves, that idiot Ingham will be watching, just itching to nail any deviation from the tissue of lies and totally discredited hearsay he laughingly calls the truth. Add to him the collected brains trust that is the Scum, the Mail and the Express, Waugh and Littlejohn, and we're off.

A lad I know in Sheffield (a Blades fan) has told me that the local paper and radio are so up the police's arse, they might as join the official PR payroll. The news paper has been described as Yorkshires answer to the Daily Mail and therfore totally unintrested in radical stuff like telling the truth of what happened. Local Loyalty is one thing but defending Duckinfield, SWFC ancl Mackrell is not loy alty, it's total fucking stupidity. The local radio is apparently not much better when it comes to Hillsborough. The police mean while claim that they will not co-operate with the programme because 'it would expos their officers to emotional stress'. Which would take some beating in the Bullshit Excuse of the Year awards!

All of which means that McGovern better have every single fact, quote and line checked and double checked, or else him and his pro- gramme is going to get absolutely crucified. The wider problem is that even if it is accurate in every detail, McGovern is local and therefore the bigots will see it as just Scouse self-justification. If he strays from the truth in anyway, the impression left of all Reds will become even worse than before, probably never to recover. I have also wondered in the past about McGovern himself: accusations of cashing in on the Disaster are unfair, and I admire the sentiments he tries to express. I just doubt though, from Cracker, whether he is the right person to express them? But the families are right behind him on this one, and that counts for a lot, so we can give MeGovern the benefit of the doubt. But there is clearly a great deal riding on this: I doubt we'll ever get another chance like it, to nail the cheating two-faced bastards who run this 'democracy' , and the incompetent fools who managed to get jobs into its police force. I really hope we don't miss it....

Rex

Letters - Dalglish

Dignified as ever, and oozing class - that is the Dalglish that comes from this autobiography. Clough won't like it and nor will Thatcher, so every Red should do then! Most footballers lead cocooned lifestyles detached from hum- drum everyday existence, but Dalglish is an exception and shows that he still has the common touch. The idea of the dour Scot is shattered too, and you can feel the sheer joy that he got from being a footballer and manager. And this is despite the horrific scenes he has witnessed at football, which makes some interesting reading. His opinions on Heysel and Hilisborough and the press are forthright and sound (including one great story of a phone call from Kelvin MacKenzie the day after The Truth), and though Kenny clearly loves Liverpool, the city and its people, he makes it clear he is proud to be Scottish, first and foremost. OK, £17 is a lot of cash, but for an insight into a Liverpool legend, then this is about as good as you will get. And you also get the feeling there's a lot more to come from Kenneth Mathieson Daiglish in the future.

Phil Roberts, Dovecot

My daughter and I recently paid a visit to Anfield and did the'Stadiurn Tour'. This cost £4 adult and £3 child, which is not cheap: for that, 60 of us were herded into the museum area, sat down, and shown a video of LFC for 10 minutes. We were then told we couldn't go into the Players' Lounge, as some of the reserves were lounging around (what, off the pitch as well as on it? At least they're consistent! - Ed), and they weren't allowed to mix with the public! We then visited the dressing room and sat by the pitch for a few minutes. That was that.

Not surprisingly this was a mite disappointing, as it wasn't really a tour of the STADIUM at all. There are 6 tours a day, with 60 people on each (all are fully booked). That must bring in about £10k a week for the Club, with only the two 'guides' and ticket sellers to pay. i think it would be a nice gesture to give this money to a local charity.

Mj Lynskey, Solihull

Rather unlikely, but it makes you wonder. Inside Anfield, we're fans, but on the Tour, we are cus- tomers, and so we can demand all sorts. I was going to go on this eventually, but I can't be arsed now! Never mind, eh, Mr Robinson? Apparently the club answered Mr Lynskey with.. 'we are continually trying to improve the quality of the tour'. How about actually allowing people to see the whole stadium then?

Rex

So McDonald's have arrived, with much fanfare and the sound of much laughter echoing from their board- room as their influence grows. But they're not the only ones: Sky are everywhere, and Reebok have managed to get in on the act too. OK, so they spend an obscene amount of money getting the contract, and they intend to use high-profile ads to sell the merchandise, but I was still surprised to see a centre-spread ad for the cream away top in the first programme, rather than the team photo. I have heard the picture was retaken to include Burger (sorry, Berger), but three home games later, and we were still waiting!

OK, sponsorship is integral to any sport, with football top of the list now. But I do question the interpretation of some companies on how far their exploitation can take them. What lengths will they go to get their message across to fans? Don't be surprised to see corporate UK actually owning clubs during the next millenium. It could even be us ..... just think of it: McLiverpool FC.

PG, Shrewsbury

I've just watched the away leg versus Mypa-47 on the TV and I was disappointed to see that the players just walked off at the final whistle. A few walked towards our travelling fans and applauded them - but only a few. The game was being played in FINLAND, for God's sake, in a town nobody had ever heard of! But still a few hundred (ultra dedicated) fans got their maps out and travelled to watch the game. It's not much effort for the players to walk to one end of the ground and acknowledge the fans'efforts in travelling to see THEM, does it. Sort it out!

Les Howard, Old Swan

Perhaps it's better to see for ourselves who does care (Macca, Fowler, McAteer) and who doesn't give a fly-ing one.

Rex