Solidarity, not mutiny will rid LFC of Gillett and Hicks

A lot has been made in the past week of a video circulating on the internet from the Liverpool Supporters' Union - Spirit of Shankly's end-of-season 'do'. The footage shows an unscheduled performer singing an alternative version of 'A Horse With No Name' by America.

Any Liverpool supporter who has been on coaches and in pubs en route to away games in the past few years will know that the phrase 'Munich' - a reference to the 1958 air disaster in which several Manchester United players lost their lives - is inevitably shouted in the chorus of this song by some Reds followers. The rendition at The Olympia on Sunday 24 May, hours after Liverpool's final game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, was no different.

The most vocal condemnation of the footage has come from Manchester United supporters who claim that legendary Anfield manager Bill Shankly - whose image adorns the Union's motif - would turn in his grave at the glorification of the tragedy that nearly cost his dear friend, United manager Matt Busby, his life.

Whilst this may be the case, what would ex-Liverpool captain Sir Matt make of supporters of his beloved United chanting 'without killing anyone' - a sick reference to the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters, the latter of which saw 96 Liverpool supporters crushed to death on the Leppings Lane terrace in 1989 - about his former club during all of United's games?

Indeed, what would Busby make of those same United supporters who chanted that same vile ditty in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium following the Red Devils' third European Cup win last year - half a decade on from the devastation of Munich - as well as t-shirts bearing the same slogan.

No doubt if they were both alive today, Shankly and Busby would be the first to lead the condemnation of both guilty parties. However United supporters are not the ones being placed on trial in this situation. It is Liverpool and their supporters' union that are in the dock following the public release of the mobile phone footage.

For their part, SOS have publicly condemned the singer and those who joined in the chanting. They have also promised to investigate as to how this unscheduled act, who performed on stage in a line-up that included local band The Maybes? and former Cast front man John Power, was given clearance to appear in front of the sell-out crowd of ticket holders.

It is also worth mentioning that, as with the previous year's function, the event was not restricted solely to Union members. Tickets were available to anyone and everyone who was prepared to purchase one at £10 per head. This begs the question, how can the Union be responsible for those acting inappropriately who are not members of SOS? By the logic of the United supporters condemning them, sole culpability is theirs by default as it was at one of their events that the chanting took place.

By that same logic, Manchester United Football Club are solely responsible for every supporter that attends games at Old Trafford or as part of their away allocation who chants 'without killing anyone' - which is a sizeable and highly vocal number.

The same can be said for the Reds' local rivals Everton whose supporters chant 'murderers' in an equally sickening jibe at the Anfield club which once extended to a banner being made that listed the names of those who died at Heysel with the phrase '39 Italians Can't Be Wrong' written above it.

In addition, Chelsea fans taunted Liverpool's travelling support by chanting 'murderers' during the Champions League encounter between the two sides at Stamford Bridge on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough in April this year.

This does not excuse nor justify those Liverpool supporters who chanted Munich in the past or will continue to do so in future, far from it in fact. All this does is highlight the hypocritical route that Everton and United followers have taken in publicly criticising SOS over this incident in light of what was an error of judgement on their part.

The leaking of the video has also led to highly vocal criticism from sections of Liverpool's support who have a strong dislike of the Union and accuse them of being militant and selective in their intake of members - two claims that are very far from the truth. The fact that these supporters are condemning the country's first ever supporters' union indicates the lack of education about both the aims of SOS as well as the strides it has made in its so far brief existence.

Not only have they provided a collective voice for Liverpool supporters in the battle to rid the club of its current owners - George Gillett and Tom Hicks - but they have also met with senior figures at Anfield including Gillett, manager Rafael Benitez, outgoing chief executive Rick Parry and commercial director Ian Ayre in a bid to obtain answers for supporters as to what direction the club is heading, both on and off the pitch. They have also held discussions with the club's travel operator Thomas Cook and the Royal Bank of Scotland, with whom Gillett and Hicks secured a substantial loan against the club as part of their refinancing in January 2008.

The 2008/09 season saw the Union charter coaches at a reasonable price to the majority of the club's away fixtures in the league as well as one-off European trips to Standard Liege and PSV Eindhoven respectively.

Shankly's granddaughter Karen Gill is the patron of the Union and the group also has the backing of the Shankly family. Veteran defender Jamie Carragher is a keen supporter of SOS as his presence at their first two end-of-season functions testifies. He appeared at this year's event alongside teammate Sami Hyypia who was presented with an award by members of the SOS working committee in recognition of his service to Liverpool Football Club as he prepared to embark on a new challenge with Bayer Leverkusen. This highlights the high esteem in which the Union is held by several prominent figures of the Anfield dynasty - both past and present.

Those who have called for SOS to bow out gracefully in light of the Munich debacle should look at all they have achieved since being formed in an Anfield pub on a cold Thursday night over 18 months ago. Yes, things should have been done differently and no doubt they will be in future as this is a very harsh lesson to learn from. Those Liverpool fans slating the Union are either peddling their own agendas or becoming apathetic to the plight of their beloved club.

Collective solidarity under the umbrella of Spirit of Shankly is only way Gillett and Hicks' stay at L4 will be curtailed.

In Memoria e Amicizia

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the Heysel tragedy in which 39 football supporters lost their lives.

32 Italians, four Belgians, two Frenchmen and one man from Northern Ireland lost their lives after a wall collapsed in Block Z of the stadium in Brussels before the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.

On this date every year, Liverpool Football Club and its supporters remember the fallen 39 and pay tribute to their Juve counterparts in both memory and friendship:

Rocco Acerra

Bruno Balli

Alfons Bos

Giancarlo Bruschera

Andrea Casula

Giovanni Casula

Nino Cerullo

Willy Chielens

Giuseppina Conti

Dirk Daenecky

Dionisio Fabbro

Jacques François

Eugenio Gagliano

Francesco Galli

Giancarlo Gonnelli

Alberto Guarini

Giovacchino Landini

Roberto Lorentini

Barbara Lusci

Franco Martelli

Loris Messore

Gianni Mastrolaco

Sergio Bastino Mazzino

Luciano Rocco Papaluca

Luigi Pidone

Bento Pistolato

Patrick Radcliffe

Domenico Ragazzi

Antonio Ragnanese

Claude Robert

Mario Ronchi

Domenico Russo

Tarcisio Salvi

Gianfranco Sarto

Giuseppe Spalaore

Mario Spanu

Tarcisio Venturin

Jean Michel Walla

Claudio Zavaroni

RIP - You'll Never Walk Alone.

One City, One Club, One Family

“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility.

Napoleon had that idea and he conquered the bloody world!

And that's what I wanted. For Liverpool to be untouchable.

My idea was to build Liverpool up and up and up until, eventually,

everyone would have to submit, and give in”

- Bill Shankly

The above quote may have very significance to some of you but to me, and generations of Scousers the world over, it means everything.

Had it not been for the influence of Bill Shankly, Liverpool Football Club would be nothing more than a team from the old Second Division who would remained remain there in its League One format with the occasional flirtation with the old First Division, or The Championship as it is now known.

Even to this day people still hold Shankly in high esteem, even those who never met him or saw the fruits or his labour during Liverpool’s glorious years. The Scot’s image can be seen at Anfield on match days on everything from flags and banners to t-shirts. Even in death, he continues to have a profound effect on the people of Liverpool.

My fascination with Shankly runs very deep, almost as deep as my infatuation with Liverpool FC itself. This Scotsman transformed Merseyside’s poor relations from second-tier mediocrity to the toast of both the country and the continent.

I have long been intrigued by Shankly’s persona and his burning passion for football. “The Greet Man” was how my dad, a Boys’ Pen graduate and a Shankly devotee from the sixties and seventies,  described him when I was younger – in a poor, exaggerated attempt at Shanks’ gruff accent. Great indeed was the word. Those who do not understand the legacy of Shankly find it inconceivable that this middle-aged, balding Scotsman had such a profound impact on a city, that continues to linger over Merseyside to this day, through the medium of football.

Red-tinted glasses dictate that Shankly was a god amongst men. I beg to differ. In my opinion, there are two famous pictures that best sum up the kind of man Bill Shankly was.

The first is a typically football snapshot and shows Shanks doing what he loved best – training. The picture depicts Shankly, dressed in a red tracksuit with an old-fashioned case ball under one arm, standing on the pitch at Anfield during the early days of his tenure; his eyes narrowed as the sun shines down on his face with his free arm raised aloft and his index finger pointing to the sky. This image could very well be the Scouse alternative to the famous Stalin posters during the Soviet Union’s heyday – a nod to Shanks’ Socialist tendencies. The barrel roof of the Kemlyn Road stand in the background provides a traditional backdrop with the sign bearing the club’s name leaving nobody in any doubt about where this was taken. This, for me, shows Shankly the revolutionary; an innovator of the game who was way ahead of his time. He revolutionised training which, prior to his arrival in 1959, consisted of a four-mile run from Melwood to Anfield. There was no ball work whatsoever. Shanks changed all that. He made football the focal point of training sessions once again. Sweat boxes were introduced to improve players’ accuracy and reactions and the famous 5-a-side games were part and parcel of a normal day at Melwood.

Speaking about the transformation of the regime at Deysbrook Lane, Shanks once remarked: “Melwood means more to me than any other part of Liverpool. It was where Liverpool was made. The first time I saw the place, an overgrown, neglected place it was too, I said to Ness (his wife), 'I'm going to see Melwood reborn, cultivated.' I did. Every inch of it.”

Shankly was the type of man who believed that if a job was worth doing then it was worth doing properly and of your own accord. He prided himself on all his achievements at Anfield, whether it be on or off the pitch. Once famous Shankly anecdote that still is quoted today was how the famous old ground was so dilapidated that he had to help kick-start a mini-renovation. “I don't know if you ever saw Anfield when I first came but it was the biggest toilet in Liverpool,” he claimed. “We had to bring the water in from Oakfield Road and it cost £3000. There was no water to flush the toilets.” According to his family, Shankly was hopeless with basic DIY tasks but he oversaw the construction of the legendary Anfield dugout with the help of assistant manager Bob Paisley as well as tough-tackling defender and former brickie Tommy Smith.

Many biographers and former players will testify that this image shows Shankly in his comfort zone. He was more at home on the training pitches at Anfield than he ever was in the Anfield dugout. There is no denying that he enjoyed his time as manager but as anyone who has read The Real Bill Shankly – a moving an insightful portrait of his life by granddaughter Karen Gill – will testify, the former Preston North End player could never resist a good old-fashioned kickabout even if it was with the local school kids.

You only have to look at the Bill Shankly Playing Fields on Barnfield Drive in West Derby, one side of which faces the house Shankly lived in until his death in 1981, to see how much he loved the game. There are some great photographs in the book of Shanks playing on the fields in his old Liverpool drill top with fellow Sunday league enthusiasts.

The second shows Shankly side-on; both thumbs pressed against his chin and looking into the distance. A painting of this particular photograph proudly hangs on the wall in the old trophy room of the Main Stand at Anfield alongside portraits of the club’s other managerial greats including Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish. The frown lines on his forehead – a sign of true character – are the focal point in this pensive pose as they demonstrate a man of wisdom, deep in thought.

Shankly was a profound thinker and a champion of Socialism. He was born and raised in Glenbuck, a small mining town in Ayrshire, where the strong sense of community was embraced by the entire town. Today, the town has virtually disappeared. All that remains are a few houses dotted about the place. Everything else has gone; a sad indictment of a missing piece of Shankly’s legacy. Glenbuck made the Scot the man he was just like the great club he made Liverpool. The club’s supporters, however, have not forgotten this and in 1997 several groups joined together to raise funds for a lasting memorial to Shanks on the site where the old town used to stand.

Shankly’s strong belief in socialism has remained with the Anfield faithful, over a quarter a century on from his passing. Liverpool is considered to be very much a family club. Whilst most teams will claim that they are family-orientated, they will never be able to match the sense of community and solidarity that Liverpool supporters boast. This is not a view of the red-tinted variety. To this day they continue to epitomise the spirit of Bill Shankly. They epitomise it so greatly that the country’s first ever supporters’ union was founded under the guise of the Spirit of Shankly and is backed by the Shankly family for providing a voice for traditional supporters in a sport now driven by gross commercialisation and financial one-upmanship. That sense of community is not limited solely to those supporters who are registered with the Union. Those who are not still retain the same level of cohesion and will help out their fellow Kopite, within reason, for the good of the heritage and traditions of Liverpool Football Club; whether it be sorting someone out last-minute for a match ticket or helping raise funds for charity, no ask is too big. I have been just one of many beneficiaries of the community spirit that surrounds the club and I hope that I can start to repay the favour someday.

For a good number of years now I have considered myself to belong to two families; the one I was born into and the one into which I was accepted. The saying ‘you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family’ rings very true for me as I can’t choose who is in my family, whether it be my immediate one or Liverpool FC.

I wouldn’t say that Liverpool is one big happy family as there will be factions who don’t see eye-to-eye. Some of us fall out from time to time and patch things up. Others fall out and don’t kiss and make up. It’s just the same as any other family.

Shankly himself made the family comparison when paying tribute to the devoted supporters who packed into Anfield during his time in the managerial hot-seat. "The word 'fantastic' has been used many times, so I would have to invent another word to fully describe the Anfield spectators,” he said. “It is more than fanaticism, it's a religion. To the many thousands who come here to worship, Anfield isn't a football ground, i's a sort of shrine. These people are not simply fans, they're more like members of one extended family."

We might not get along but we are all part of one very big family who are all pulling in the same direction. This season alone has proved that. For all the in-fighting and disagreements, we have pulled together in the important times such as the push for the title and – more importantly – the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough when we told the Government what we wanted as well as the likes of Duckenfield, Mackenzie and the other perpetrators of the horrible myths that surround the deaths of our 96 brothers and sisters that we are not going to go quietly into the night.

As Trevor Hicks remarked at the memorial service on April 15 this year, “Twenty years on. Still together. Still determined. Still resolved as ever that the truth will defeat the lies and propaganda.”

Just like a proper family should be.

Is the bubble about to burst?

Last night, Liverpool slumped to yet another humilation at the hands of Chelsea at home in Europe on a night that had promised so much.

The mood on the Kop ahead of the first leg of the Champions League quarter final between the two sides was vociferous and vibrant - evident from the highly emotional rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone amidst a sea of flags, scarves and inspirational banners heralding the club's illustrious past.

Fernando Torres' sixth minute opener was greeted by the sight of 12,000 Kopites jumping up and down as they chanted the Spaniard's name. Those who were not participating in the bouncing will no doubt have felt the vibrations beneath their feet as the famous structure - an all-seater reincarnation of its former glory - was rocked to its 15-year-old foundations.

Unfortunately the bouncing ceased and after 20 minutes Chelsea put their foot into gear, proving that the league double the Reds had completed over them this season during Luiz Felipe Scolari's tenure was not a true mark of the West Londoners' potential. Liverpool's zonal marking was punished not once but twice and with identical headed goals by Branislav Ivanovic. Didier Drogba appeared to play like a man possessed and deserved his goal as the visitors ran riot. The blow was as painful as John Arne Riise's 92nd minute goal in last season's semi final between the two sides.

From a Red perspective, Guus Hiddink well and truly outsmarted his opposite number. Steven Gerrard was marked out of the game to the point where he appeared to be a valiant bystander at times. The absence of Javier Mascherano through suspension was felt greatly as Lucas Leiva struggled to fill the gap usually occupied by the Argentina captain. Albert Riera's inconsistency was once again a factor as was his repeated loss of possession. This was not the Liverpool that had surged back into the title race in recent weeks. This was not the team that put 13 goals past Real Madrid, Manchester United and Aston Villa in consecutive games. The performance was akin to one of those shown by the club in the 2007/08 season - slightly motivated yet sheepish.

You can spend all day praising Chelsea's performance but the main issue is how Liverpool will recover from this. Prior to the defeat they had not lost at Anfield all season. Confidence was very high at the club. So high in fact that Rafael Benitez felt that it was safe to enter into mind games with Sir Alex Ferguson for the second time this year, safe in the knowledge that his team would not falter as they did following his last war of words with the Manchester United manager in January. He was wrong.

At time of writing his team are still pressing United for the title and overtook the current league leaders for less than 24 hours last weekend. With Blackburn preparing to visit L4 this weekend the Spaniard will be keen to banish the humiliation of Wednesday night which has all but ended his team's hopes of European success this term. United almost faltered last Sunday against Villa, they were held at home by Porto in Europe earlier this week. Tiredness appears to have taken its toll on the defending champions and a betting man would put money on that fatigue catching up with them before the end of the season, especially with the return leg in Portugal next week to add to their game in hand as well as an FA Cup sem final against Everton a week on Sunday.

Come 3pm on Saturday afternoon, there will be no doubt about how much Wednesday night's defeat has knocked Liverpool's confidence. If the in-form team of the past few weeks turn up and grind out a credible scoreline then the question will be answered but if anything other than a home win is the end result then the momentum will surely have slipped away from the Reds.

The maddest of Spaniards

Colourful characters have not been few and far between at Anfield in recent times. These have ranged from the flamboyant in the likes of Djibril Cisse to the downright controversial in Robbie Fowler and El-Hadji Diouf, and it is in Liverpool's goal that another interesting character has emerge to take the mantle of 'the mad goalie' from the eternal joker Bruce Grobbelaar. That man is Pepe Reina.

In the four years since his arrival on Merseyside, the former Barcelona understudy has not only made a name for himself with memorable performances and record-breaking clean sheets, he has also written himself into club folklore. Reds supporters who previously thought that the heart-on-sleeve gestures shown by Jamie Carragher were the true embodiment of the passion that comes with being a Liverpool player could have not predicted the similar displays by Reina throughout his Anfield career. He is, in essence, the club's Spanish equivalent of Carragher. His commitment to the cause has been nothing short of outstanding and he has won a place in the hearts of the supporters with his crazy antics.

Last summer he led the celebrations of his country's homecoming as Luis Aragones' troops returned to Madrid as Euro 2008 winners. The national side's second choice stopper was the ultimate master of ceremonies; alternating between paying tribute to each and every one of his international team mates who had helped make the dream a reality and leading the nation in a meddley of traditional Spanish songs. Footage later emerged from that triumphant flight home from Vienna of Reina leading the charges again. This time he appeared to be acting like a man possessed at times to the point where his passionate ramblings were incomprehensible and that did not end when he reported back to Melwood for the new season.

His celebrations of Liverpool goals have become as legendary as his goalkeeping prowess. When television cameras show replays of said goals, they always show the reaction of Reina, such is the notoriety of his gestures. His celebrations have overshadowed the thumb-sucking antics of Luis Garcia, the Reds' good luck charm en route to the successful Champions League win in 2005. The passion Reina shows is evocative of that shown on the terraces by supporters. During the 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa last month, Reina was in fine form as he had been at Old Trafford eight days previous. In the first half, he turned to face the Kop goal he was defending after every goal scored and celebrated in his trademark manner. No amount of hand stands from Grobbelaar in his prime could match the passion and enthusiasm shown by Reina. He is probably one of the few goalkeepers who would run the length of the pitch to celebrate with his team mates as he did following Fernando Torres' last minute strike against Chelsea at Anfield in February. The determination of Liverpool's title charge this season can best be summed up by the reactions of the Spaniard in the Reds goalmouth.

There is an age-old theory that you have to be mad to be a goalkeeper and Pepe Reina appears to be as mad as they come which is probably why he is considered to be one of the best keepers in the modern game at this moment in time.