Idiot during Saturday's minute silence

[Bristol Rich]

Reading some of these posts and being reminded of how things used to be makes me realise that Hillsborough was an accident waiting to happen as opposed to the deliberate actions of some bent officials as it's often portrayed.
It's horrifying to think that it used to be the norm for thousands of fans to be squeezed into pens with metal railings and no way out in a crush.
It was a different world back then. Young people of today would be horrified to find out that in the not too distant past we rode in train carriages you could open yourself when the train was still moving! It was widespread and the norm. The mere notion of it seems absurd by todays standards of health and safety.

It's a different world today and much of it is shaped by having learned the hard way.

No-one said it was deliberate. It was incompetent, heavy handed and mismanaged. What WAS deliberate was the cover-up which came after, though.

Spot on, a perfect summary.

 

[Pogleswoody]

Simple point really


If Hillsborough had been all-seater, those 96 people would be alive.

.... or, if it had been terraces with no fences ...

Let's face it, Maggie Thatcher hated working class men in general and football fans in particular!!

 

[ziconess]

We nearly had our own "Hillsborough" in the FA Cup game against Arsenal at Highbury in 1987. That was scary.

Hundreds and hundreds of Argyle fans kept pouring into that packed away end, it was chaos, made worse by a (I think) late train from Plymouth which brought even more fans.

Can anyone remember being in that away end?

Remember it very well, I was on that late train, delayed due a signal failure somewhere & once in the pressure of bodies lifted me off the ground and I went from the top of the clock end to the bottom, over a period of 15 minutes, without my feet touching the floor. Was having difficulty breathing and distinctly recall the desperate screams at the stewards who seemed oblivious to what was happening right in front of their eyes.

Eventually the pressure eased but it was extremely scary and I can quite imagine the terror of those caught in the Leppings Lane end in Sheffield 2 years later.

 

[demportdave]

We nearly had our own "Hillsborough" in the FA Cup game against Arsenal at Highbury in 1987. That was scary.

Hundreds and hundreds of Argyle fans kept pouring into that packed away end, it was chaos, made worse by a (I think) late train from Plymouth which brought even more fans.

Can anyone remember being in that away end?

Yes, I was in the away end and the way Arsenal handled it was shocking. They had misjudged how many away fans were coming and were not prepared for the numbers. From memory, we had about 7000 there that day.

We were only given one side of the old Clock End and to make it worse, they had fenced compounds within the away end enclosure. Some fans were getting crushed and shouting out before the stewards finally realised there was a problem and let some Argyle fans into the no-go area to relieve the crush.

It was really unprofessional - not to mention dangerous - from a so-called big club used to dealing with large crowds.

The following week, Arsenal played Tottenham in the semi-final of the League Cup. The gate was only slightly larger than it had been for the Argyle match and Tottenham had a similar following but they were given the whole of the Clock End.

I can also recall being inside Plainmoor in a 17000 crowd, squeezed in the old Mini-Kop stand behind the goal with the home fans. But that wasn't as scary as that day at Highbury.

 

[PAFC94]

We nearly had our own "Hillsborough" in the FA Cup game against Arsenal at Highbury in 1987. That was scary.

Hundreds and hundreds of Argyle fans kept pouring into that packed away end, it was chaos, made worse by a (I think) late train from Plymouth which brought even more fans.

Can anyone remember being in that away end?

Yes, I was in the away end and the way Arsenal handled it was shocking. They had misjudged how many away fans were coming and were not prepared for the numbers. From memory, we had about 7000 there that day.

We were only given one side of the old Clock End and to make it worse, they had fenced compounds within the away end enclosure. Some fans were getting crushed and shouting out before the stewards finally realised there was a problem and let some Argyle fans into the no-go area to relieve the crush.

It was really unprofessional - not to mention dangerous - from a so-called big club used to dealing with large crowds.

The following week, Arsenal played Tottenham in the semi-final of the League Cup. The gate was only slightly larger than it had been for the Argyle match and Tottenham had a similar following but they were given the whole of the Clock End.

I can also recall being inside Plainmoor in a 17000 crowd, squeezed in the old Mini-Kop stand behind the goal with the home fans. But that wasn't as scary as that day at Highbury.

17,000 at Plainmoor :wtf:

 

[PAFC Norfolk]

While reading this thread I am struck by differing quotes. Are we recognising the tragic deaths of the people involved or are we keeping this story alive for political reasons. The previous deepest tragedy was at an Old Firm match in 1971 when 66 fans died and over two hundred injured.

The enquiries into the circumstances of what happened should be set aside from the memoriums held, but it seems the whole country must feel sad for Liverpool every year. Sometimes it seems iti is just because it is Liverpool Fc involved that the press get interested.

The layout of grounds at that era of football were there for a reason, basically to stop large scale fighting between fans and were prevalent at all grounds. How many of you climbed the fences when Argyle went up against Bristol City that Tuesday Night? How packed was Home Park against Derby County? Look at the surge when Andy Rogers scored at the Baseball ground to see what could happen, and did regularly at games.

Any tragic loss of life whether at a football game or not needs to be respected in some way. If any day is selected then the first game of the season should be it.

 

[Liam Vercoe]

Any tragic loss of life whether at a football game or not needs to be respected in some way. If any day is selected then the first game of the season should be it.

That seems like a good idea to me, cover all the bases in addition to major anniversaries too.