IF Kenny is binned

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

Kenny Dalglish - in his own words: The horror of Hillsborough haunts me

Published 23:00 12/09/10 By Kenny Dalglish

 

Retracing the steps and memories of April 15, 1989 is a soul-destroying task that fills me with pain and anger.

 

Twenty-one years have passed, but I can hardly bring myself to write or say its name. Hillsborough haunts me still.

 

I strongly believe that it was an accident waiting to happen. Nothing can deflect me from my *steadfast opinion that the Hillsborough disaster was rooted in bad management.

 

Nobody could have anticipated such a tragedy but when problems materialised, when Liverpool fans began arriving late through no fault of their own, those in charge should have reacted better.

 

“They’re killing us, Bruce, they’re killing us.” Just writing those words – what Bruce Grobbelaar could hear the fans shouting behind his goal – chills me. At 3.06pm, a policeman finally strode on to the pitch to tell referee Ray Lewis to stop the game.

 

Any chance of the game being played disappeared in my eyes when I briefly went back on the pitch, stepping 10 yards over the touchline and witnessing what seemed a scene from a war-zone. Although I never realised then the extent of the loss of life, the full gravity of the situation began hitting home.

 

I’d gone on to the pitch looking for my son Paul, who’d attended the game with Roy Evans’s son, Stephen, and Alan Brown, a friend.

 

When I began to realise the extent of the problems at the Leppings Lane End, I became frantic with worry. Paul, Stephen and Alan had to go through Leppings Lane to reach their places. If they’d arrived late, they could have got caught up in it.

 

Suddenly seeing Paul walking across the pitch, my heart leapt. Thank you, God. I never said anything to Paul, just greeting him with a huge hug. I was lucky and Paul was lucky – all around us, people were dying. Thank God they’d passed through Leppings Lane before the central pens began trapping fans.

 

I’ve still never talked with Paul about Hillsborough. The emotion is too raw. I just can’t imagine how I’d have coped if my son had died, so I try to block out the awful thought.

 

At 5.30pm, we climbed wearily into the coach for the journey back to Liverpool, probably passing distressed parents speeding towards Sheffield. Throughout my years at Liverpool, the bus was a place of noise and happiness, filled with banter as we headed to training or returned from a successful expedition with a trophy on the dashboard. Not now. Silence and misery were our companions.

 

Every player was lost in thought, searching for answers. I sat there numb, holding my wife Marina’s hand, thinking of my family and wondering whether I knew any of those fans now lying in that morgue at Hillsborough, or in the emergency ward of a Sheffield hospital. As a club with deep roots in the community, with a strong bond between team and terrace, everybody feared having lost a friend.

 

On Monday morning, Marina telephoned all the wives, to see how they could help and I contacted the players. They couldn’t wait to get to Anfield.

 

It became a place of solace for the families, a haven for them to come to talk and grieve. The families were so strong, often dealing with the tragic circumstances by making wry remarks about their lost loved ones’ obsession with Liverpool.

 

At that stage the parents didn’t have a body to grieve over. Many of the bodies were not immediately returned to the bereaved – an unbelievably inhumane decision that still rankles. They’d seen their loved one’s body through glass in

 

the morgue, in that gym at Hillsborough. The police even retained clothing and personal effects. Why? So many questions have still to be answered.

 

Standing in the lounge, trying to comfort the *relatives, I just couldn’t take in the sheer horror of the stories being related. Later that day the players boarded the coach for the sad return to Sheffield.

 

At 3pm we arrived at the North General Hospital for an experience that was strange, humbling and distressing. I saw one kid, Lee Nichol, only 14, hooked up to a life-support machine. I stared at him, not understanding why somebody without a mark or bruise could be clinically dead. Not a mark on him. It didn’t make sense. Lee was pulled alive from the crush on the Leppings Lane End but had slipped into a coma. He died later – the 95th to pass away. Hillsborough was Lee’s first away game. Shocking.

 

Moving between the wards, I was led to the bedside of 20-year-old Sean Luckett, who was in a coma. His mother sat anxiously by his side.

 

“Sean, here’s Kenny Dalglish to see you,” said a doctor. “It’s Kenny Dalglish.” Suddenly, Sean’s eyes opened. Amazing. I couldn’t believe it. “Hello, Sean, I know you’re going to make it through,” I said.

 

Sean was stirring, waking from his coma. His mother let out a cry and leant forward over him.

 

“Listen, this is a special moment for you, I’ll leave you to it,” I said and hurried from the room.

 

Some people credited me with having an influence on Sean’s recovery. I know the mind works in strange ways and some medics argue that, in a coma, it reacts to words, but I thought it was just coincidence that he woke up then. Whatever the cause, I was just happy Sean was back with us.

 

When Marina and I drove into Anfield on the morning of Wednesday, April 19, we found the staff and the families enraged by a piece in The Sun.

 

Its infamous front-page headline, “THE TRUTH”, caused hurt and outrage by accusing fans of pick-pocketing the dying and urinating on the bodies.

 

Unbelievable. Liverpool punters went ballistic, some of them burning the paper on news-stands, others coming to Anfield to talk about their anger.The following day, the paper’s editor Kelvin MacKenzie rang the club.

 

“Kenny, we have a bit of a problem,” he said.

 

“Aye.”

 

“How can we resolve it?”

 

“See that headline you put in, ‘THE TRUTH’? Just have another one, as big: ‘WE LIED. SORRY.’”

 

“Kenny, we can’t do that.”

 

“I can’t help you then.” I put down the phone.

 

He simply didn’t realise the offence he’d caused to a grieving city. A few minutes later, the governor of Walton Prison phoned: “Look, Kenny, the inmates are getting really restless with the stuff that’s been in the papers. Can you come and speak to them?”

 

“OK, I’ll be there at nine tomorrow.” Liverpool was a city in torment and I had to do everything to bring some calm and hope. If there was a threat of a riot in Walton Prison, I had to go there. Entering the prison was deeply unsettling. I heard the door slam shut, the clank of keys and the quiet words of prisoners working on the lawn: “How you doing, Kenny?” Badly.

 

I was led into the chapel. The inmates sat there, totally silent. Suddenly, they began clapping, which startled me. It seemed they just wanted to demonstrate their respect towards Liverpool Football Club and the way we were trying to deal with Hillsborough.

 

The governor took me to one side. “Kenny, they’ve all seen the paper so anything you can say to pacify them would be magnificent. If you can just reassure them.”

 

I tried. “Listen,” I said, “what you’ve read is not ‘The Truth’. That never happened. Please, I know it’s difficult for you in here and you want to be with your loved ones outside, but please stay calm and know that Liverpool are working night and day to help the families.”

 

Being inside emphasised the damage wrought by one paper’s lies. Their vile insinuation emanated from the word of an unidentified policeman. Well, if they or the police had proof of mass drunkenness, show us the evidence. They couldn’t because the claim was fabricated and was dismissed by Lord Chief Justice Taylor.

 

Liverpool began burying its dead. Marina and I went to four funerals in one day. The last one I attended was as difficult as the first. I didn’t understand how the relatives had the fortitude to keep going, but they did.

 

Resilience defined Liverpool, still does. A great community spirit united the city in the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy.

 

Returning to Anfield, I saw the Kop covered, flowers spreading towards the halfway line. So many people visited. Neil Kinnock arrived with no warning, no fuss, just queuing, leaving some flowers then departing. He struck me as genuine.

 

Talking to the Press, I said the Kop was “the saddest and most beautiful sight I have ever seen”. “Why beautiful?” people asked. Why? Because the tributes came from all over the world, from fans of other clubs and from people who’d never before set foot in Anfield. My view of the police changed after Hillsborough. I felt no animosity towards the police as an institution, solely towards individual officers who have still failed to admit responsibility for their calamitous decisions.

 

The Establishment tried to protect itself. Any other club might have let it go, but never Liverpool. The people want somebody to acknowledge their guilt. If the police accepted responsibility, the floodgates would open for compensation and that’s the big issue. So the Establishment is going to block them. Trying to discover whether there was a cover-up has seemed impossible, until Andy Burnham came along. This spring, thanks to him, a panel was formed to examine these reports, a huge step forward in the fight for justice for the 96 who died.

 

Recalling the events has proved a painful experience. Hillsborough changed me, changed the sport I love, and changed my Anfield home.

 

And the raffalution say he loves the club.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Martinez! Ya Wha'?

 

I hope you're right, and it's just a few daft Journos mizing up Jackson Martinez and coming out with Roberto Martinez. Getting rid of Kenny for Martinez would be Rafahodgsonesque.

[Brownie]

Repetitive, sure. Boring, definitely. Bullshit, unfortunately not.

 

 

 

I didn't judge the player, I made a prediction. I gave an opinion on what I thought would happen. Just like you did when you predicted that Joe Cole would be good business, Robbie Keane would be excellent, or when you said that getting Pennant over Dani Alves would be better for the team. Those are predictions just the same.

 

I don't care if it's right or wrong, not unless you want to start having a pop at me for it. Then I'll happily defend myself.

 

 

 

When talking to somebody who says you talk bullshit, there is only right and wrong. Talking on a forum is no indication of desire for the team to do well. Me saying Downing was a dickie signing hasn't made him a worse player.

 

Off the cuff chatter on a forum isn't the same thing as making your team play badly. It's not even the same as wanting them to play badly. I want every player we sign, regardless of what I say about them, to be the best player ever. Unfortunately, back here in reality, players have played badly. Spotting it before it happens is something that shouldn't be shouted down, in my opinion.

 

So basically what you're saying is that you're never wrong? What have Pennant, Cole, Keane etc got to do with anything?!

 

You only mention them because again you want to make out that you're some kind of genius who is never wrong. We're football fans, and we get things right and wrong, it really doesn't matter.

[Anubis]

So, Martinez then. As his teams traditionally only turn up for the last ten games of the season, who would we get in alongside him to ensure we turn up for the first 28?

[Jairzinho]

So, Martinez then. As his teams traditionally only turn up for the last ten games of the season, who would we get in alongside him to ensure we turn up for the first 28?

 

Could try and get Wenger.

[Il Fenomeno]

Why are people making shite like this up?

 

We are linked with a striker from South America named Martinez and now some shite rags think we are linked with the Wigan manager Martinez, how the fuck do these people get their jobs?

 

Let take a look at this sterling job Martinez has done at Wigan, I'd say he is their worst manager in PL history.

 

His teams have conceded more than 60 goals every season he has been there for a starters, thats just abysmal.

 

Wigan:

05/06: 10. Wigan 38 15 6 17 45-52 51p , Paul Jewell.

06/07: 17. Wigan 38 10 8 20 37-59 38p , Paul Jewell.

07/08: 14. Wigan 38 10 10 18 34-51 40p , Steve Bruce

08/09: 11. Wigan 38 12 9 17 34-45 45p , Steve Bruce

-------------------------------------------------------------------

09/10: 16. Wigan 38 9 9 20 37-79 36p , Roberto Martinez

10/11: 16. Wigan 38 9 15 14 40-61 42p , Roberto Martinez

11/12: 15. Wigan 37 10 10 17 39-60 40p , Roberto Martinez

 

I dont think our owners know much about football, but not much is a bit more than knowing fuck all which is what I suspect the level is from those who make these things up and those who actually believe in them.

 

I'd be interested to know what money Martinez has spent in comparison with Jewell and Bruce though.

 

I believe they've lost quite a lot of big players since he joined or just before he joined (Cattermole, NZogbia, Valencia, Palacios, Ryan Taylor, Bramble etc.) and haven't spent much to replace them so its really not a surprise that they haven't been finishing that high up the table since then.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

So basically what you're saying is that you're never wrong? What have Pennant, Cole, Keane etc got to do with anything?!

 

You only mention them because again you want to make out that you're some kind of genius who is never wrong. We're football fans, and we get things right and wrong, it really doesn't matter.

Of course I'm not saying I'm never wrong.

[Lee909]

So, Martinez then. As his teams traditionally only turn up for the last ten games of the season, who would we get in alongside him to ensure we turn up for the first 28?

 

Curbishley,his Charlton team started like a house on fire.

[zigackly]

So, Martinez then. As his teams traditionally only turn up for the last ten games of the season, who would we get in alongside him to ensure we turn up for the first 28?

 

Raf ... no, scratch that.

[Code]

I'd be interested to know what money Martinez has spent in comparison with Jewell and Bruce though.

 

I believe they've lost quite a lot of big players since he joined or just before he joined (Cattermole, NZogbia, Valencia, Palacios, Ryan Taylor, Bramble etc.) and haven't spent much to replace them so its really not a surprise that they haven't been finishing that high up the table since then.

 

How much money did they spend on that lot above?

[Code]

11/12:

Ali Al Habsi Bolton £4,000,000 04 Jul, 2011

David Jones Wolves Free 03 Aug, 2011

Nouha Dicko Strasbourg Free 12 Aug, 2011

Albert Crusat Almeria Signed 30 Aug, 2011

Shaun Maloney Celtic £1,000,000 31 Aug, 2011

Jean Beausejour Birmingham Signed 25 Jan, 2012

 

10/11:

James McArthur Hamilton £500,000 21 Jul, 2010

Antolin Alcaraz FC Bruges Signed 22 Jul, 2010

Daniel De Ridder H Tel Aviv Signed 01 Aug, 2010

Franco Di Santo Chelsea £2,000,000 31 Aug, 2010

Piscu Deportivo Free 30 Dec, 2010

Conor Sammon Kilmarnock £600,000 31 Jan, 2011

 

09/10:

Jordi Gomez Espanyol £1,700,000 01 Jul, 2009

Hendry Thomas Deportivo Olim Free 02 Jul, 2009

Jason Scotland Swansea £2,000,000 20 Jul, 2009

James McCarthy Hamilton £1,100,000 21 Jul, 2009

Antonio Amaya R. Vallecano Signed 14 Aug, 2009

Mohamed Diame R. Vallecano £3,360,000 21 Aug, 2009

Vladimir Stojkovic Sporting Lisbon Free 07 Jan, 2010

Gary Caldwell Celtic Signed 13 Jan, 2010

Victor Moses C Palace £2,500,000 01 Feb, 2010

Ronnie Stam FC Twente £2,000,000 01 Jul, 2010

[Jairzinho]

Made some excellent signings on a tight budget.

[The Dude Abides]

Think Kenny should go. The case against him is too great.

 

But even to just look toward next season, does anyone really fancy another season of this utterly clueless football, another season of Downing and Henderson strutting their stuff, added to the all too regular cameos from Carra?

[TheDrowningMan]

More dull, one dimensional football played out by Kenny's cornucopia of gargantuan money flops.

 

To justify keeping a manage he must have shown enough to suggest he's capable of getting you to where you need to be. Kenny hasn't, he's looked every inch the 12 years retired ex-football manage he is, from the lumpen tactics to an eye for a player so poor that cataracts have to be suspected.

 

Always a leged but not the future. I hope he's asked to stand down by the owners, though if that request is refused, there has to be a P45 in the offing, or we're finished as a club with aspirations of genuine success and an attraction for top quality players.

[Charles Penrose]

I want him gone now, it just isn't happening for him. I don't want him to end up being a figure of derision and, dare I say it, fun. I won't be happy of people turn on him in the way they did Houllier or Benitez.

 

His signings have been poor at best, the performances pathetic and his explanations of them even even worse. I just don't trust him in the job. We can't ignore our worst ever Premiership points total.

[Il Fenomeno]

11/12:

Ali Al Habsi Bolton £4,000,000 04 Jul, 2011

David Jones Wolves Free 03 Aug, 2011

Nouha Dicko Strasbourg Free 12 Aug, 2011

Albert Crusat Almeria Signed 30 Aug, 2011

Shaun Maloney Celtic £1,000,000 31 Aug, 2011

Jean Beausejour Birmingham Signed 25 Jan, 2012

 

10/11:

James McArthur Hamilton £500,000 21 Jul, 2010

Antolin Alcaraz FC Bruges Signed 22 Jul, 2010

Daniel De Ridder H Tel Aviv Signed 01 Aug, 2010

Franco Di Santo Chelsea £2,000,000 31 Aug, 2010

Piscu Deportivo Free 30 Dec, 2010

Conor Sammon Kilmarnock £600,000 31 Jan, 2011

 

09/10:

Jordi Gomez Espanyol £1,700,000 01 Jul, 2009

Hendry Thomas Deportivo Olim Free 02 Jul, 2009

Jason Scotland Swansea £2,000,000 20 Jul, 2009

James McCarthy Hamilton £1,100,000 21 Jul, 2009

Antonio Amaya R. Vallecano Signed 14 Aug, 2009

Mohamed Diame R. Vallecano £3,360,000 21 Aug, 2009

Vladimir Stojkovic Sporting Lisbon Free 07 Jan, 2010

Gary Caldwell Celtic Signed 13 Jan, 2010

Victor Moses C Palace £2,500,000 01 Feb, 2010

Ronnie Stam FC Twente £2,000,000 01 Jul, 2010

 

Interesting there. Lots of poor signings. It doesn't seem signings is his strong point, which makes him the wrong manager for us because we need to ship out and ship in a lot of new players in the summer. He doesn't seem like the man for the job.

[kimmern]

we will never ever finish top four with kenny in charge.

[Anubis]

we will never ever finish top four with kenny in charge.

 

You will never be anything other than a sad little wanker. Such is life.

[TheDrowningMan]

 

You will never be anything other than a sad little wanker. Such is life.

 

He's right though. There's absolutely nothing to suggest that he's capable of that feat in 2012. Not surprising, given that he was retired and out of touch for an extended period.

[Il Fenomeno]

I want him gone now, it just isn't happening for him. I don't want him to end up being a figure of derision and, dare I say it, fun. I won't be happy of people turn on him in the way they did Houllier or Benitez.

 

His signings have been poor at best, the performances pathetic and his explanations of them even even worse. I just don't trust him in the job. We can't ignore our worst ever Premiership points total.

 

It would be sad if such a club legend was known to anyone under 30 as the poor manager who wasted the club a lot of money, rather than what he should be remembered for which is being the clubs greatest player in our golden period and also being an excellent manager who brought some of the most exciting football to Anfield (apparently).

[Anubis]

He's right though. There's absolutely nothing to suggest that he's capable of that feat in 2012. Not surprising, given that he was retired and out of touch for an extended period.

 

He comes on here when we lose. He supports another team. He's a WUM.

[Nathanzx]

Kenny should stand aside now, that league record is indefensible, 13 points below Newcastle, four below everton, same as Fulham - all having spent a fair whack

we can't keep him on just because he is a legend - it's damging the club.

 

The "back the boys, ynwa, kenny is infallible, support the team no matter what, liverpool way" types are good people and their loyalty is admirable but i'd rather be a ruthless fecker and going for league titles than a superfan in midtable with the carling cup the pinnacle of achievement

[TheDrowningMan]

 

He comes on here when we lose. He supports another team. He's a WUM.

 

Ah, okay. My apologies, I didn't know that.

[Mr T]

Kenny out, Rafa in.

[Guest davelfc]

I want him gone now, it just isn't happening for him. I don't want him to end up being a figure of derision and, dare I say it, fun. I won't be happy of people turn on him in the way they did Houllier or Benitez.

 

His signings have been poor at best, the performances pathetic and his explanations of them even even worse. I just don't trust him in the job. We can't ignore our worst ever Premiership points total.

 

Who the fuck is 'him' ? You fucking joker.