“Mes que un club”. The motto of Barcelona. Symbolic of the historic struggles of the Catalan people. People represented by FC Barcelona.
On the giant screen at the Boleyn Ground the graphic read “Moore than a club”. West Ham United’s attempt to embody the values they hold, mashing the name of their legendary captain with the motto of FCB.
For the last 25 years, one club in English football has meant more than just a club to it’s fans.
Liverpool FC.
The fans had always been passionate, knowledgeable and committed. An era of great success bread great loyalty in the fan base.
Then their world changed. On April 15th 1989 Liverpool faced Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi final at Hillsborough. Ninety Six fans lost their lives. Several hundred injured. Far more left to carry the emotional scars.
Anfield become a memorial garden. The indelible image of every blade of grass covered by flowers will never leave the memory. Football stopped. The players and management attended the funerals. A show of support to the people.
In the days, years and now decades that have followed, Liverpool have been more than just a football team to the fans. They have been a large scale community support group. Winning was no longer the most important thing. How could it be? Ninety six had died. It is hard to believe that anything could make the tragedy worse, but it did get worse. Certain newspapers blamed the Liverpool fans. The coroner report concluded that 3.15 was the cut off point. That all those who died, did so before 3.15, when the ambulances arrived on the pitch. The families of the dead disputed this. For 25 years the families have had to fight for justice.
A year after Hillsborough Liverpool won their last league championship. The squad, while shattered by the tragedy, possessed enough quality for one final push. The manager, Kenny Dalglish, was able to lead the team, but less than a year after winning the title, he was gone. Emotionally drained, Dalglish had nothing left to give. The majority of the squad would be gone within a few seasons too.
Liverpool have waited over two decades for another league title. There have been significant pushes in that time, but all fell short. Was the spectre Hillsborough the reason? Winning the title would not bring justice to the 96. Famously, during a FA cup tie with Arsenal at Anfield the stadium chanted for justice for six minutes. Liverpool lost the game. On the day, it did not matter. Victory would not equal justice.
In September 2012 South Yorkshire Police announced it would reopen investigations into the conduct of it’s officers. New evidence emerged that the 3.15 cut off was wrong. That 41 of the 96 were not killed immediately in the crush and might have been saved.
As disturbing as the new evidence was, finally the first hints of justice had emerged. The families had been vindicated. Emotion poured forth. The next home game came on the 23rd of September against Manchester United. The ferocity of the rivalry was not at the front of the fans minds. Manchester United won 2-1. Swept up in the emotion, Jonjo Shelvey was sent off.
On March 31st 2014 the new inquest began. Statements read out in the court room revealed how raw the emotion still is. Families delivering ‘pen portraits’ of the ones they lost. The inquest continues as we head towards the day of the 25th anniversary.
Simultaneous to these events the team is in the midst of a title push. It is almost as if the promise of justice has freed the club and the fans from their grief. Allowing the cause of winning to once more rise to the top. Liverpool sit top of the league with five games remaining , knowing that victory in all of their remaining games guarantees the title. Two of the games are at Anfield against their two closest rivals. The game with Manchester City, that many believe will decide the destination of the Premier League trophy, is two days before the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough.
The chase for a league title after 24 years would be tense and emotional for any club. Imagine it in these circumstances. Imagine the emotions of the fans on the 25th anniversary compounded upon the tension of the biggest league game of the season. Imagine the emotions of the players, of the captain Steven Gerrard, whose cousin died at Hillsborough.
Emotion can propel you. It can also distract you.
Liverpool’s record in matches that have had Hillsborough resonance is mixed. The games with Arsenal and Manchester United saw the players unable to cope with the emotion, although it should be noted that Liverpool would not necessarily have produced better results in other circumstances against such strong opponents. There are examples of matches against teams Liverpool would expect to beat that did not go Liverpool’s way.
7/4/13 West Ham 0-0
14/4/12 Everton 2-1
11/4/11 Manchester City 3-0
11/4/10 Fulham 0-0
11/4/09 Blackburn 4-0
13/4/08 Blackburn 3-1
21/4/07 Wigan 2-0
9/4/06 Bolton 1-0
16/4/05 Tottenham 2-2
Worth considering is the relative strength and momentum of the Liverpool teams at the time. In 2009 Liverpool were chasing a league title. It was also the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. Liverpool eased past Blackburn 4-0. In 2010 against Fulham, Liverpool were in a slump. In 2005 against Tottenham, Liverpool’s focus was on the Champions League. On no occasion was the opposition as strong as the current Manchester City team.
However, the circumstances were not quite as they will be on Sunday 13th April against Manchester City. Liverpool have won nine games in row. Beating City would make it ten. City know that if they beat Liverpool then the roles will reverse. Instead of Liverpool being able to be champions if they win all their remaining matches, City will take up that position.
Even with clear heads, the task is a daunting on. Or an exciting one.
With the added emotion it could be a game of inhibition. Or one of inspiration.
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/board-members/detail/card/more-than-a-club
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120501/moore-than-a-football-club_2236884_2795127
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/history/hillsborough
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19596002
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9539293/Hillsborough-report-41-of-96-victims-could-have-lived.html