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*Shakes head* Everton again.


Fugitive

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Wonder if they'll sack Koeman in a taxi because they are the Peoples Club and do everything the right way and are a club everyone should aspire to.

 

Are they still the peoples club? I thought they were the worlds richest club or something like that? 

 

I've lost count to be honest - fucking Grant Shapps of football. 

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They stole the people's club in the 90's from a quote by Shankly in the 60's when they were the millionaires. Now they're the billionaires they cannot be the people's club anymore so maybe we should reclaim it.

Wouldn't work now but we should have called ourselves the Peerless Club. Still works in Liverpool.

The real people's club.

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They stole the people's club in the 90's from a quote by Shankly in the 60's when they were the millionaires. Now they're the billionaires they cannot be the people's club anymore so maybe we should reclaim it.

Wouldn't work now but we should have called ourselves the Peerless Club. Still works in Liverpool.

The real people's club.

 

And for a few years they were also known as the 'white peoples club'! 

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They obviously don't listen to good solid advice! Stop going on about how rich you are, the stadium won't turn you into Barca, Moshiri is not 'serious money', the Liver Buildings have nothing to do with Everton, don't leave your kid in the apartment on her own, Usamov is not selling Arsenal to buy you!

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They currently have a empty pit they don't own on the banks of the muddy/sandy brown Mersey.

 

What about all the Cruise Liner passengers itching to see the Lock-up badge from the Mersey ?

Consider the pensioners Moshi, consider the American pensioners.

 

You know, the ones who have never heard of Everton.

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http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/heysel-hit-everton-harder-thought-13714861

 

Another two days passed and UEFA, having been given free rein by the British government and The FA, confirmed their own ban for “an indefinite period”, with Liverpool set to serve a further three years on top.

It would be five years before English clubs returned and, by then, Everton had lost their way, and I was heading towards the end of my career.

The ban was a hammer blow and I can’t pretend I wasn’t gutted because I had waited so long for a chance to play in the European Cup.

 

It had been taken away from me through no fault of my own but I also had a sense of perspective about it all.

Whatever my own disappointment, and however strong Everton’s justified sense of grievance, it was as nothing compared to the grief that the families of the 39 victims were experiencing.

From a football point of view, and I accept that this isn’t particularly significant in the grand scheme of things, Everton weren’t going into the European Cup just to make up the numbers. As English champions and Cup Winners’ Cup holders we were going to be one of the stronger teams in the competition.

 

We knew that the way we were set up – with a tight defence and a side that was well-organised and disciplined in general – made us a genuine contender.

But the punishment applied to us, even though we had been guilty of nothing. It was like banning the entire Canadian athletics team because Ben Johnson had been caught cheating but we had no choice but to accept our fate, even though it was clearly unfair.

What I still can’t fathom, even after all these years, is why the final was held at the Heysel Stadium in the first place. Why was a decaying ground, that was basically an athletics venue with inadequate segregation, selected to host such a prestigious game, particularly one that had the potential for crowd trouble?

 

The stadium was unfit for purpose, especially considering the size and nationality of the two clubs involved. It was that simple.

UEFA have got to be held responsible for that decision. I am not shifting the blame in that respect but they had a duty to select a stadium that was fit for a European Cup final, and they failed in that basic requirement.

 

They were even warned beforehand by Peter Robinson, Liverpool’s chief executive, that the presence of a neutral area in the middle of the Liverpool end could be a recipe for disaster if Juventus supporters managed to get tickets in that section.

He also asked for the sale of alcohol to be stopped early on the day of the game because of his concern that something could go wrong but, despite being given assurances by the Belgian FA that this would happen, it didn’t.

None of which exonerates those fans who charged across the terrace in pursuit of their Juventus counterparts and, in doing so, contributed to a malevolent chain of events that led to people losing their lives.

The so-called English disease was running rampant again, literally in this case, and the consequences were catastrophic. But Liverpool Football Club itself cannot be held responsible for what happened. As tragic as these events were, they were out of their control.

 

It was a huge, huge disappointment, though, there is no way of getting away from that.

At one point, I spoke to Howard about it and also to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, asking them if the ban was against the Treaty of Rome because it infringed our human rights, but I was told that UEFA competitions are invitation-only – and that invitation had been withdrawn.

It was a big blow for everyone and, looking back, it was a bigger blow than I realised at the time.

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http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/heysel-hit-everton-harder-thought-13714861

 

Another two days passed and UEFA, having been given free rein by the British government and The FA, confirmed their own ban for “an indefinite period”, with Liverpool set to serve a further three years on top.

It would be five years before English clubs returned and, by then, Everton had lost their way, and I was heading towards the end of my career.

The ban was a hammer blow and I can’t pretend I wasn’t gutted because I had waited so long for a chance to play in the European Cup.

 

It had been taken away from me through no fault of my own but I also had a sense of perspective about it all.

Whatever my own disappointment, and however strong Everton’s justified sense of grievance, it was as nothing compared to the grief that the families of the 39 victims were experiencing.

From a football point of view, and I accept that this isn’t particularly significant in the grand scheme of things, Everton weren’t going into the European Cup just to make up the numbers. As English champions and Cup Winners’ Cup holders we were going to be one of the stronger teams in the competition.

 

We knew that the way we were set up – with a tight defence and a side that was well-organised and disciplined in general – made us a genuine contender.

But the punishment applied to us, even though we had been guilty of nothing. It was like banning the entire Canadian athletics team because Ben Johnson had been caught cheating but we had no choice but to accept our fate, even though it was clearly unfair.

What I still can’t fathom, even after all these years, is why the final was held at the Heysel Stadium in the first place. Why was a decaying ground, that was basically an athletics venue with inadequate segregation, selected to host such a prestigious game, particularly one that had the potential for crowd trouble?

 

The stadium was unfit for purpose, especially considering the size and nationality of the two clubs involved. It was that simple.

UEFA have got to be held responsible for that decision. I am not shifting the blame in that respect but they had a duty to select a stadium that was fit for a European Cup final, and they failed in that basic requirement.

 

They were even warned beforehand by Peter Robinson, Liverpool’s chief executive, that the presence of a neutral area in the middle of the Liverpool end could be a recipe for disaster if Juventus supporters managed to get tickets in that section.

He also asked for the sale of alcohol to be stopped early on the day of the game because of his concern that something could go wrong but, despite being given assurances by the Belgian FA that this would happen, it didn’t.

None of which exonerates those fans who charged across the terrace in pursuit of their Juventus counterparts and, in doing so, contributed to a malevolent chain of events that led to people losing their lives.

The so-called English disease was running rampant again, literally in this case, and the consequences were catastrophic. But Liverpool Football Club itself cannot be held responsible for what happened. As tragic as these events were, they were out of their control.

 

It was a huge, huge disappointment, though, there is no way of getting away from that.

At one point, I spoke to Howard about it and also to PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, asking them if the ban was against the Treaty of Rome because it infringed our human rights, but I was told that UEFA competitions are invitation-only – and that invitation had been withdrawn.

It was a big blow for everyone and, looking back, it was a bigger blow than I realised at the time.

Don't think that will be well received by most of their supporters.

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