Through the Wind and the Rain Fanzine Archives

'MATCH OF THEIR DAY BBC 2 extract
Graerne Souness talking to Garth Crooks

GRAEME SOUNESS:" I'm hammered for my time at Liverpool and I think it boils down to one enormous mistake which I'll always be remembered for which was.... when I was going to have this operation, I was contacted by the newspaper and decided to sell to the newspaper and the whole bit - and that was an enormous mistake because I didn't understand the depth of feeling against that newspaper over the Hillsborough thing .Cos I wasn't in Liverpool at the time. I've been hammered for it and I'm sure I'll continue to get hammered for it by my critics"

(Followed by footage of the Villa Park semi v Portsmouth)

GRAME SOUNESS: 'Cos it had been to extra time, because it had gone to penalties, they missed their deadline on the Tuesday and that picture ended up in the newspaper. (Then a caption of Tuesday's Sun' front page - I Lost My Heart To Souness and NOT the 'Loverpool' of the Wednesday) The Wednesday was the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. I should have resigned then.

GARTH CROOKS:" Really?"

GRAEME SOUNESS:" Yeah. Looking back, yeah

GC: You see, I never realised and I think many People outside of Merseyside wouldn't realise.... just the impact of what was going on"

GS: "That hurt me- I will forever be sorry that it happened but y'know, erm it was just out of my control for a start. I had no idea the depth of feeling there was against that newspaper. I was in hospital having an operation that, as it turns out, was life-threatening - and then the way the whole thing happened with the extra time, the penalties missing the deadline and then that picture appearing when it did appear. I've been hit over the head at every opportunity by certain people over that. It was a foolish mistake but again, when someone tells you at 37 you're going to have open heart surgery and you might just die - how would you react? Well, we'd all react differently…"

GC: mmmmmmmm........

GS: I reacted in a way, which I'll regret for the rest of my life and I'm sorry to the people of Merseyside that I offended and I'll be eternally sorry.

-------

I saw this programme on Feb 22nd the same day that Sheffield Wednesday announced they would put a memorial at Hillsborough after all this time. Irony, eh? Can't beat it, can you. Because the dominant thought in my head was "far too little far too late* for both of them. Grahams words of regret are welcome, but he's still pushing this 'didn't know' crap when a shareholder had the letter he sent stating that he would instruct the players not to deal with the sun or the star. While you may have every sympathy over the by-pass operation, it's hardly a valid excuse for entering into a contract with that loathsome rag. He may be history here, but a lot of fans (myself included) have never really felt the same about this club since his services were retained in '92 and that anger/ cynicism /sense of exclusion still exists today - hardened as it's been by the greed of a club that has completely lost it's bearings and sense of purpose.

As for Sheffield Wednesday, it is my own personal editorial decision to ask all Reds to stay out of that match in May. By all means, if you are allowed, go and see the memorial outside Hillsborough - but I've put my argument for a boycott on the back and hopefully it makes some sort of sense to you.

'Red All Over The land' #30 stated 'it is unfortunate there is a divide- over the campaign for Justice but we want to give the opinions of everyone concerned without bias' - and I'm very much in agreement that this IS the fanzines' role in all of this. To actually dig through the kind of detail necessary to secure a full understanding of what has gone an over 10 years would take an amount of time that frankly I'm not prepared to give out of my life, and in all honesty it would be out of all proportion to the amount of influence the fanzine can have in this matter anyway. That doesn't mean I haven't got my opinions on the matter(s) - anyone reading TTW&R for any length of time will know that I'm not short of those For the moment, I'll keep them to myself. The next issue is out in the summer, and the private prosecutions wit; probably be over. That would seem to be a good time to take stock and review the whole situation. Fence-sitting? Perhaps, but it's the way I want it.

On matters that can be influenced between now and issue 43, I'll say this; fans should not attend the match in May (again, see the back page), and it Is my opinion that not only should the Sheffield memorial he closer to the part of the ground where those fans perished, it should also feature EVERY SINGLE NAME. I appreciate the idea that the Anfield Road memorial is special and should not be duplicated at Hillsborough; however, the enormity of the Disaster can only really connect to the strangers passing a memorial by the personal detail.

In an ideal world, it would not only list their names and ages but also the families that they left behind, their interests and their ambitions before their lives were so cruelly cut short That would mean a monument the size of the ground itself; white you or 1 might think that entirety appropriate, common-sense suggests that something smaller will have to suffice. The name and age does humanise the misery a touch. '96' only means something to us; a lot of outsiders get the death toll wrong, in any case. If I may take one example; Kevin' is one of the most popular male first names in this country, and two of the victims were called Kevin and aged a mere 15 years old. Imagine someone with a young son looking at the names and thinking 'that could have been our Kevin - MY son'. It is the same thought with surnames, or any connection really. My sister loves me and loves Liverpool she worked with Alan Johnston, who died on April 15th 1989. He was 29, also MY age at the time. It hurt her more as a result. So I feel, in this way, we can also bring home the pain of the event to total strangers and those who were previously unsympathetic to our cause. Yes, we are saying to them - it could have been you ............

SK

Ten years after a tragic event like Hillsborough, we would normally be remembering those who lost their lives and that would be that - but there is still no Justice. We are still fighting the system and the lies. So while we must always spare a thought and a prayer for the 96, we must also remember that the fight (THEIR fight) goes on. That is what is mostly reflected on in this part of the fanzine.

'And now we're going across to Hillsborough, where something big has happened' Those were the very first words 1 heard when I switched on Radio 2 at around six minutes past three, on that fateful day a decade ago. I have no idea why I thought of putting on the radio at that precise moment but I can still remember that my first instinct was "we've scored' - after all, JB's run, Chettles tackle and Aldo's penalty had brought us the early goal a year before. Maybe they'd done it again?

How wrong I was. The TV was turned on almost immediately after I'd heard; watching the horror unfold before you, the rest of the day was spent in shock as the death toil rose. It was all so unreal, and I was not even there. God help those who were. A Forest fan I know went to the game, and remembers waking up on the next day. Having thought that it was all just a horrible nightmare, she got up and started getting ready to go to the match ..............

Who would have thought, on that sunny afternoon, that we would still be here .10 years later? That the efforts of the families, Liverpool City Council, the FSA, the fanzines, the Echo etc would have got us nowhere. The trial restarts soon, so that's something, but back in '89 no-one would have believed that the police and media could have destroyed our reputation and made this outrage a no-issue for ten years. Individual abuses by the system had been covered up, we knew that, but 95 (then 96) victim?! Surely they could not cover this one up?

You bet they could. There's a theory that people are never more dangerous than when they're cornered. The same applies to rats, and God, were these rats cornered. They came out fighting - as dirty as only they know how. The roll-call of the guilty is a long one; the FA for not checking the facilities, for NEVER retracting the lies that Duckenfield fed them, for being so insensitive and stubborn about playing out the rest of the season -a return to normality South Yorkshire Police, the Scum and the Slur (and the right-wing bastards at most other papers), Sheffield Wednesday, successive governments, Stuart-Smith. That's a LOT of people to take on. It isn't impossible; ask the families of those who lost their loved ones on the 'Devonshire', the families of the Birmingham 6, Derek Bentley, Stephen Lawrence. It wasn't necessarily a lost cause - unless we gave up.

And, let's be honest, many of us did. It's hard to constantly fight everyone and everything. I know, because that's how I deal with the world, but there are times when you just want to go to sleep and fuck everyone off. You cannot criticise anyone who tried and then lost the heart for a battle. It's just not human to chase and chase after a target that not only keeps moving but gets further and further away all the time.

Look at the list of setbacks; the lies about the gate, the Scum, the flawed and totally inadequate coroner's inquests, the DPP rejection of the case, Souness, Duckinfield's retirement, the police compensation for PTSD Clough, the awful nonsense of Stuart-Smith (shamefully rubber-stamped by Straw), the endless bullshit over a memorial. A long, long list of being kicked full in the face. There were small victories; 200,000 wiped off the Scum's readership, 'No Last Rights', Mc Govern, the. Justice concert, the current trial - but they will only truly console if the guilty are nailed. Whatever you want to say about Trevor Hicks (and sonic people have said plenty), you've got to admire the sheer determination that has kept the campaign going.

And what then pisses you off even more is when the disaster is used by people whose only motive is profit; they take all the government hand-outs, build horrible Lego land stadia, hike the prices up SIX TIMES more than they were and sit in their counting houses, rubbing their hands with barely-disguised glee. That was not what lord Justice Taylor wanted to see. The difficult, inconvenient little bits of his report were simply dumped in the river by cynical money-grabbing clubs. Hillsborough may well be a defining moment in British Football, but not in the way it could and should have been. - Fans are still very firmly left out of the equation (Premier League Panels, my arse), the money went to the directors, players and Murdoch-vision (irony alert), while anyone who dared complain about "the best league in the world" was accused of blind nostalgia. Decent, honest people like John Mackin were told (during his Save The Kop protest) to 'think of the dead' - a bit rich, that, coming from leeches who had taken all the ground-building hand-outs and legged it. Ah enough of that.

The human suffering has continued for a decade, not only unchecked but continually rubbed in. We all know someone who was affected forever by that day - some who even emigrated to get their heads straightened out, others who just suffered in silence. Beyond the 96 who never came home, the human cost of lives destroyed, careers wrecked or marriages and families tom apart are incalculable. The real tragedy of that day is that it was all so easy to avoid Simple operational mistakes, arrogance, total stupidity came together in a so-called civilised country and caused so much death and destruction.

This was no tornado, no earthquake, and no flood - where you just blame God and get on with clearing up the mess - this was due to individual mistakes, carelessness, idiocy and institutional prejudice. This needn't have happened, end of story. Tell the lad I met at 1am at a railway station, who could not sleep and needed to talk about Hillsborough six years after the event, that this was some simple accident for which no-one will ever he held accountable. Look into his eyes and say that the struggle is not worth it. I know I couldn't.

People talk about having your day in court, we have to talk about having our year in court, but that will finally happen I hope. And then there is May 8th what game? If you can avoid it, do not travel to that shit-hole of a ground. If you must, then walk tall and proud, because just by being there you are annoying the hell out of the tossers who support SWFC. Watch yourselves; the locals have heard about the plan, and I am not sure what kind of 'welcome' those who do travel will get. It certainly hasn't been very pleasant on the last two visits. Best to stay at home, basically- it's only one game.

"Ah… but we have our memorial now, so we can all go to Hillsborough again Fantastic" Sorry…. that's wrong. The boycott idea arose from the appalling treatment Reds have had on their last two visits to Sheffield and the involvement of the Scum last year. It was not entirely dependent on a memorial being erected. So when the local press reports that the boycott is off and then doesn't print press releases to the contrary, you start to get very angry indeed. Trevor Hicks and the HFSG can call the boycott "futile" if they wish-but that's just their opinion on the matter and NOTHING MORE.

There is, of course, no secret any more about the split in the Families, but TTW&R has never taken sides and never will; anyone accusing us of siding with the new group should be made aware that, at a meeting last year, Trevor Hicks said that we had been a help to the Support Group Actually, we have always tried to help the campaign (there can be a difference) but we've never slagged anyone off. Space within the fanzines has always been made available to both groups to express their point of view; the Survivors group chose to do so, and it's only recently that the HFSG have, but let's repeat that everyone has an equal chance to have their say.

Having said that, it's about time people realised there are others connected to this disaster with opinions to voice, not just Trevor's or the Hillsborough Family Support Group I for one was getting a little fed up of the way everything that gets proposed had to he cleared with them first. I do admire Trevor's determination and refusal to give in, but that does not mean I have lost the ability to think for myself and It certainly does not make him my spokesman. There is a whole lot more to be said, especially in response to the ongoing debate In 'Red All Over The land', but I will leave it.

For whatever reason, it took FIVE months to arrange one meeting between the club and a section of representative fans and it was held conveniently the day after the memorial news was announced. I don't know whose fault it was that it took so long, and I honestly don't care. Message received and understood. Over and out.

As I sat beneath the director's box for the Sheffield Wednesday game in December, I wondered what the directors of the Hillsborough team must have been thinking. The show of determination was awe-inspiring and I hope it was embarrassing for those 'gentlemen'. I agree totally with the sentiments expressed in that day's programme.

In fact, about 21 months ago I was with a colleague of mine from Belfast and we were in Sheffield one afternoon. I took him to the ground so he could see for himself where the disaster took place and he was so disgusted with the absence of any commemorative plaque that he started arguing with a Sheffield Wednesday cleaner - the only 'representative' close to hand. When I tell people about the complete lack of acknowledgement they simply don't believe me.

I was so sickened by this, that I sent the following letter (with an image of the Anfield Road memorial beneath it) to the following directors; 0 C Richards. (Chairman), K T Addy (vice)

Dear Sir,

You will see an image at the bottom of this page. This image is a picture of a memorial to ninety-six people who suffocated to death in the open air at a football match in 1989. I point this out to you because, despite this Disaster occurring at the football ground of the club, which you serve as a director, you may be unaware of this event.

I apologise for drawing it to your attention, but by the continuing absence of a commemorative plaque of any sort at Hillsborough it can only be assumed that the disaster has somehow escaped your attention. After all, how else can such in oversight (for surely it is an oversight be explained?

The coming April marks the tenth anniversary of the disaster, and surely a fitting tribute to those who died would be welcomed by the whole of the football world. The fact that almost ten years have elapsed without an acknowledgement of any description of the Hillsborough Disaster is regrettable - some would say unforgivable - but the past is the past and nothing can change what happened. The least a mature football club like Sheffield Wednesday can do now to make any kind of recompense is to finally accept the fact that so many people died there. You will fond similar sad memorials at Lockerbie, Aberfan, Zebrugge and Anywhere else where awful disasters have taken place. These memorials are simply that; a memorial to the dead, neither accepting nor apportioning blame. There is even a plaque on at least one pub wall in Sheffield. Isn't it time you did the same at the actual site of the disaster? The continuing absence of such a memorial is a sad reflection on the directors and management of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.

Yours sincerely

Paul Brannon

Two months later, I found that not one of these men had the decency to respond to what was a simple and respectable request. I know some of the directors perhaps had nothing to do with the club in '89, but all we're asking for is the least the current incumbents can do in the name of human decency. Their apparent denial of the situation shames them.

I know it's only what we have come to expect from that club, but I don't know how any of them can sleep at night.

Paul Brannon January 1999

Liverpool's New York Supporters Club donated £400 to the Hillsborough Justice Group. LFCSC-NY fully, supports the efforts of the Justice group to expose the political cover-up and judicial deception perpetuated since 1989. This donation, made possible by the generosity of our members, follows one that we made to the Hillsborough Family Support Group two seasons ago.

The cowardice displayed by successive morally corrupt governments and the sickening sycophancy of individual politicians and others will riot be forgotten. Neither will those who originate and perpetuate media lies and smears. We support] the Justice group in its efforts to maintain the profile of the campaign for Justice; we commend the HFSG for bringing to court two of those most culpable; we applaud the efforts of everyone who has campaigned since 1989.

It is up to us as Liverpool supporters, and as football supporters, to ensure that the truth concerning this avoidable disaster and the subsequent denial of Justice remain in the public domain. To this end, we challenge every Liverpool supporters group to donate at least £100 to the Justice group, the Hillsborough Family Support Group (or both) before we next play at Hillsborough. Also, we request that the Justice group and the HFSG co-ordinate their efforts to ensure that maximum results are obtained from limited resources.

Finally, we join with the victims, relatives, survivors and supporters in the belief that, one-day, Justice will be done.

Sean Woods/Simon Davis (for LFCSC-NY, Jan 1999)

As a follower of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club for well over a decade, I am writing regarding the Justice Demonstration on 19th December 1998.

Although I was not present at that particular game I can only apologise on behalf of our fans for the disgusting bloody minded attitudes of our Directors. It makes many of us feel totally ashamed to be associated with those people, as none of us need reminding of the pain that the bereaved families/friends have suffered since that day In '89. The Sheffield Wednesday fans are among the best in the country when it comes; to vocal support, as many of you will have witnessed. However, those directors do not deserve to be in their positions.

We hope and pray to God that you get your memorial so that at least some form of peace can be restored to those concerned. You will have our wholehearted support when you visit in May and I hope your wishes are granted.

Name and address supplied

Anyone who has ever taken a blind bit of notice of anything I've written (a rapidly decreasing bunch, I know) will have read two issues ago that I said I'd quit football when pay per view came in. Well, its not exactly earth-shattering news, but I've changed my mind. I'll be quitting at the end of the season instead. From 99/00 onwards Liverpool FC, the 'Premier' League and the whole sad sorry mess can bloody well do without me.

Some of you are probably not interested in why that is, but I'm going to tell you anyway and you should listen. Whether LFC will is another matter. I have come to realise that the reasons I gave about quitting over PPV actually apply now. If you feel you can keep going even though Liverpool, Sky, the Premiership etc are ripping you off left right and centre, then that's that your choice and 1 fully respect that, but I've had enough.

I am just not prepared to be treated in the way that football fans have seemingly become accustomed to. They will deny it of course (bad for business, don't you know?), but we are treated as people who can be exploited to the highest degree - they have done nothing else for years. Back in 1991, my Kop season ticket cost me £100. There can be little doubt that the next season ticket will cost a minimum of £300. You don't need me to tell you how many kits and other items of merchandise have been launched during the same period, and like the blind fools we are we snatch at them like junkies after a fix.

It also seems that you are not actually entitled to have any fun at these overpriced events. From the acceptance of all-seater stadiums and the subsequent loss of any atmosphere without any sort of fight whatsoever, to the ridiculous spectacle of a ten year old Fulham boy not being allowed to fly his team's flag back in October - all of these things and more have led to my mournfully paraphrasing the old Celtic song "no more will I stand and cheer you, from the slopes of the Kop".

Anyone who knows me will say that once my mind is made up, that's that. It's unfortunate that I will not be able to see the Reds win the title again before I do quit but that's my hard luck isn't it? I'll doubtless miss out on many good times in the future, but right now I honestly could not care less. At the end of the season, I can quite happily say without any regret at all "that's it, it was fun. Goodbye".

The Red Boyo

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign is asking survivors to be made aware that Peter Bromilow, who was injured at the disaster, won a High Court judgement against his former solicitors Linskills of Liverpool. They were ordered to pay him £50,000 after he had previously only received £3,000. Many survivors were badly represented at the time, and even those who didn't seek legal help then may still have a case to answer. The more survivors who come forward, the more chance of the truth being uncovered on a wider scale. The solicitors who won Peter's case have promised that they will interview any survivors free of charge to assess whether there is a case to pursue. It is very important to the families who lost loved ones at Hillsborough that the survivors come forward, as we believe a sustained campaign of pressure from all angles will eventually lead to Justice for ail victims of Hillsborough. For further details, write to us at 134, Oakfield Road, Anfield L4 OUG or call us on 0151 260 5262.

Kevin Robinson Hillsborough Justice Campaign

Ingham in court-Thatcher's Press secretary -do as we say-not as we do!

SIR Bernard Ingham, Mrs Thatcher's former press secretary, will appear in court tomorrow charged with criminal damage. Sir Bernard, 66, of Monahan Avenue in Purley south London, was bailed after being charged yesterday. He is accused of causing criminal damage to a silver Mercedes car on December 14 last year and will appear at Croydon Magistrates Court.

When you need a" tanked-up mob" to take the blame, you can't always find one.

The Avenging Angel

The following article appeared on a full back page of TTW&R 42 and explains why the Boycott of Hillsborough had to go ahead…………

THERE IS NO AWAY GAME IN MAY………………..

I have always been proud to be a Liverpudlian, and have always been proud of the fact that when we sing to the team "you'll never walk alone" we have always meant it. There is not a football ground in the world that Liverpool FC could visit and fail to hear any number of fans wanting to tell you the story of a poor boy in loud (if not entirely tuneful!) voices.

However, it is time to 'out' myself. Until now, I have always said that it is a matter of choice, a matter of conscience, a matter for the individual Red to decide upon - but no longer. Here is my confession. I have never, and will never, understand how so many Liverpool fans can ever turn up at one ground; Hillsborough. This is not just any other ground. This is not just any other fixture. It was the scene of such carnage, such soul destroying horror for many of us that it has always been beyond my comprehension how anyone can turn up there and sit through 90 minutes of 'entertainment' - much less the supporters of Liverpool FC. The pull of the club is strong, and many will feel that You'll Never Walk Alone' must mean just that; NEVER

But surely not this ground? Surely not this fixture? After the Jimmy McGovern drama documentary, the cause of Justice was given a major boost after years of obstruction from officialdom. The reaction from South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club was to become even more antagonistic; fans bearing floral tributes were asked to leave them outside on a crappy wooden table, while the sponsorship deal with a newspaper that was instrumental in spreading the foul propaganda of a police force that killed YOUR fellow Liverpool fans was seen by many loyal 'never miss' Reds as the final insult. A Sheffield Wednesday representative actually had the nerve to claim that they did not know what Liverpool fans thought of that newspaper - did you believe him?

And now you are being asked to believe (even by the local press - a betrayal in itself) that this same club has had a 'change of heart', and that the decision to finally build a memorial is a "kind act" - despite evidence that suggests they would not even consider a memorial until the possibility of legal action against them had been removed. They have received no such assurances - so why the change? Because a boycott by Liverpool fans would have meant a serious loss of revenue to SWFC, it is a fairly safe assumption to make that THIS - not quiet dignity, not diplomacy - was the major factor in their about-face.

So now a memorial is to be built. Time to return to Hillsborough? No. Sheffield Wednesday FC can make any amount of concessions, but we would still have to deal with South Yorkshire Police. Remember that Duckenfield and Murray will be in court around that time, remember their provocative stance over the years, remember the lies in the media that we have had to defend ourselves against - can you trust them? The answer, surely, is no, no, a thousand times no. The boycott must stay in place.

It will be difficult. The local press has not helped; by reporting the memorial news as the end of the matter, without fully reporting the other side of the argument, they have made our task so much more difficult. Even people who lost their loved ones in 1989 have referred to the boycott as futile' and serving no purpose. This is total gibberish. It became clear from an early stage that we would not get a 100% stay away from Hillsborough, but there is one thing that you as an individual can claim; at least YOU are not giving Sheffield Wednesday any money- money they did not expect to get a few months ago, money that could actually be going towards the memorial which they should be paying for. Money that could even be going toward their court costs if or when the bereaved and the survivors of the Hillsborough Disaster go after them Imagine that, if you will; the money that you paid for a ticket actually ending up in the bank account of a lawyer fighting AGAINST Justice for the 96 Liverpool fans who had the very life crushed out of them by those bastards. Can you really, honestly live with that?

So don't buy the Sun, don't go inside Hillsborough any more, ask your friends and family to stay away too. Make a financial contribution to the Hillsborough Family Support Group or the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, preferably both. Those organisations will say that you could be doing a lot more for 'Justice for the 96', but you could be doing less -you could be doing nothing, and if everyone just did a little bit the cause would be a great deal closer to success. Please……………….

DO NOT BUY A TICKET FOR SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v LIVERPOOL IN MAY

BOYCOTT Hillsborough