96 Angels Should Tell You Why Standing MUST NEVER be Brought Back

I'm more in line with the Premier League stance that the benefits of all-seater stadiums far outweigh the advantages of having supporters standing in big crowds.

From where I'm looking, the introduction of all-seater stadiums has worked. To change it, even now, is an unnecessary risk, a view only strengthened when I remember what happened at Hillsborough and what the families of the bereaved have had to endure in the months and years since then.

For younger readers nationally who don't know the story, I was the Liverpool manager when many of our supporters were crushed to death after an area of terracing at Hillsborough became overcrowded before our FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in 1989.

Football has become a far safer sport for supporters since both terracing and fencing around the pitch were banished. There are fewer injuries and there is less hooliganism, too. It can't be wrong.

I've heard it argued that people are denied the right to make a choice between sitting and standing but if you asked people what the safer option would be, they would say sitting.

And safety is not something you should take for granted. If we are safer now, it is because the recommendations of the Taylor Report were acted upon.

The Taylor report as we all know was published after a lengthy investigation into why the Hillsborough tragedy happened and for it to be thrown aside now would be absolute sacriledge.  I have read it several times and for those of you who have never read it or would like a recap, it can found here.

http://www.fsf.org.uk/uploaded/publications/pdfs/hillsborough%20stadium%20disaster%20final%20report.pdf

A friend of mine actually asked me earlier today if I would attend games if stupidity took over and it was brought back.  My answer was no, for the simple reason I would not like to spend 3 hours of my life wondering if I was going to get into a stadium, watch a game and get out again alive.

Those thoughts of course did not occur to the 96 Liverpool Supporters, who left home on that sunny April morning to begin their journey to Sheffield for the FA Cup semi- final against Nottingham Forest. As they approached Sheffield they were met with severe traffic problems. Several measures had been put in place by the police, who wrongly believed that by doing this it would ensure people arrived at the stadium in plenty of time.

Of course it did not and although the police had been made aware of the ensuing traffic snarl ups, the kick off time of three O Clock remained the same. There were also problems as we know developing at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium which had been allocated to Liverpool Supporters. The Clubs Chairman, Peter Thompson had in fact written to the Football Association asking if we could possibly have the other end of the stadium, having witnessed problems in the Leppings Lane end the previous season.  They declined although they did acknowledge that Liverpool were more likely to sell their ticket allocation than Nottingham Forest were.

So the clock began to tick away and with an inexperienced police chief in charge of the game, panic set in and with supporters all arriving at the same time, rather than guide them correctly into all the pens in the Leppings Lane end, they were all herded into one and so the crush began.

As any of the survivors will tell you, those that had arrived early realised that there was very little room and were shocked to find that supporters were still being herded in as though they were cattle.  This of course pushed those at the front into each other and due to the horrific fences that were up at the time, they had no immediate escape.

It also took several minutes, before the police realised that something was dreadfully wrong. Thinking it was just a case of hooligans causing mischief they allowed the match to start, hence ensuring that there would be more casualties.  It was only after Liverpool supporters had managed to attract Bruce Grobelars attention as well as the sound of screams becoming louder that they began to act.  The match was halted at six minutes past three and from that moment, the death toll began to rise until finally on the following Friday the police confirmed that ninety five people were confirmed dead and several hundred were treated for crush injuries.  The ninety Sixth victim was Tony Bland, who fought like a trooper for several years before his parents decided to turn his life support off.

Hillsborough has of course left ninety six families grieving for their loved ones and with a full enquiry finally now in process after twenty two years, they do not need the worry and the fear of standing on terraces to become part of life in this country again.

In fact, we owe it to our 96 brothers and sisters who now reside in heaven, to ensure it does not.