“City Matters” fan committee

[The perfect fumble]

It’s especially disappointing that we let Liverpool appropriate the narrative around this putative Hillsborough chanting so readily. Within a very short period it became an established fact, without any meaningful supporting evidence. Once that happened, the focus (quite intentionally) moved away from acts of assault and criminal damage on our manager and transportation by their supporters, which should always be viewed by any reasonable person far more seriously than a few nasty words. When the fuck did hurt feelings become more egregious than being assaulted with a weapon?

How ridiculous that a few hurtful words (whether taken out of context or not) could supplant assault and criminal damage in and around their ground as the story - and showed the club to be amateurish and sluggish in its PR manoeuvring.

The ‘always the victims’ song has frequently been chanted at this fixture, and well before this rivalry intensified, and it’s absolutely no coincidence that on this occasion it became the story when it should have been about acts of violence, not a nasty song that isn’t even about Hillsborough to most people that sing it.

Fucking fuming the club let this happen. If they want to pursue at long term PR strategy in relation to the club itself then that’s their strategic and commercial decision, but they should never hang us supporters out to dry when there’s an unwarranted and calculated attack on us.

They’ve got a duty to protect us in such circumstances and they abjectly failed on that occasion.

I agree with all of this.

But for all Liverpool's spin and their PR firepower, they still lose.

It's as if two parallel worlds run alongside each other.

One where Liverpool gets to frame the argument and with their media friends onside emerge as victim and victor.

And then there's the real world, where every football fan who's ever been to a match with them, ever sat in a pub with them, worked with them, engaged in a conversation about football with them, knows the truth.

So they might win minor skirmishes like this, but in the grand scheme of things they're serial losers.

 

[Corky]

We fans know what’s right and wrong and we’ve been on the wrong end of dippers actions and their Clint media ever since we became superior.

We owe them nothing other than a hellish, intimidating and exposing welcome like at the 2-1 three years ago.

This is a global tv opportunity for us to put the murderous Hysel whitewash back in public awareness....it’s our responsibility on behalf of Juve fans specifically and football fans generally.

Never forget.....39 DEAD .....600 + INJURED !!

39 minutes, camera lights on & “ Stand up for the 39,Justice for the 39”

It would take a special kind of coward to do that.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

I'm afraid I blame those of our fans who reportedly sang, "The Sun was right, you're murderers!" at Anfield. Everyone knows that the issues with that newspaper on Merseyside relate to its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster and any chant referencing The Sun is going to be seen in that light. As a result, the narrative of Hillsborough chants was all over social media the moment the game ended.

Any defence of those chants would have widely appeared to non-Blues to be risibly incognizant of the sense of what was sung. Given the context, I understand why City wouldn't even try. They'd simply have opened themselves up to widespread ridicule.

Really, how fucking hard is it to think up a chant that unambiguously references Heysel and only Heysel ("Juve were right, you're murderers," perhaps?). The weapons-grade fucking morons who chanted the version referring to The Sun at Liverpool did both the club and all the rest of us a huge disservice. They really should be called out on it.

I think this is true. Despite all the disgraceful things done by LFC fans over the years for our support to sing a song referencing the Sun can only be construed one way. It was tasteless by a small section of our fanbase and it was a PR own goal.We played into the hands of those people who hate our club.
There is a difference between Heysel and Hillsborough but both these incidents happened many years ago and personally I think it is ridiculous for anyone to sing songs about either event. LFC are the worst fans in the country in my view but we don't need to stoop to their level.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

I think this is true. Despite all the disgraceful things done by LFC fans over the years for our support to sing a song referencing the Sun can only be construed one way. It was tasteless by a small section of our fanbase and it was a PR own goal.We played into the hands of those people who hate our club.
There is a difference between Heysel and Hillsborough but both these incidents happened many years ago and personally I think it is ridiculous for anyone to sing songs about either event. LFC are the worst fans in the country in my view but we don't need to stoop to their level.

Take your point@bobbyowenquiff but we will never ever stoop to their level, and nor will we ever believe ourselves to be above justified criticism.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Take your point@bobbyowenquiff but we will never ever stoop to their level, and nor will we ever believe ourselves to be above justified criticism.

Agreed. I have had some horrific experiences over the years at Anfield as a City fan but I don't see the point of our fans suddenly deciding after almost 40 years that we should start campaigning for the Juve fans. Has anyone asked Juve fans if they want us to start singing: "Justice for the 39? I don't feel comfortable with City fans using Heysel as a weapon just to attack LFC fans. All this social media hate is getting me down. We should be celebrating after that fantastic World Cup Final yesterday not wallowing in misery. Some of our fans seem to be turning into scousers.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

Agreed. I have had some horrific experiences over the years at Anfield as a City fan but I don't see the point of our fans suddenly deciding after almost 40 years that we should start campaigning for the Juve fans. Has anyone asked Juve fans if they want us to start singing: "Justice for the 39? I don't feel comfortable with City fans using Heysel as a weapon just to attack LFC fans. All this social media hate is getting me down. We should be celebrating after that fantastic World Cup Final yesterday not wallowing in misery. Some of our fans seem to be turning into scousers.

Social media has an awful lot to answer for, giving a voice to certain individuals who would be totally ignored under any other circumstances.

 

[petrusha]

I accept that but I don’t accept it weakens the force of most of what I’ve written. And nor do I suggest that the club should have defended those (or the victims) chants. Not defending those chants doesn’t preclude the club stridently defending City supporters, who were widely castigated in the press for a few dickheads singing an offensive tune that has a confused and ambiguous meaning.

It’s a nonsensical, idiotic chant, but our manager was assaulted with weapons and that should have been the principal narrative, and it wasn’t.

Like I said, it’s no coincidence that Liverpool chose to deploy their offence on this occasion when they previously haven’t. It was to deflect from the truculence of their own supporters and our club were complicit in assisting them with that.

I wasn't arguing specifically against your point, and I don't think our posts are mutually exclusive. But I think it was entirely predictable that Liverpool and their supine press lackeys would seize on that aspect, yet don't recall seeing any criticism on here about that. On the other hand, and I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, I do recall angry posts in the aftermath of our trip to Anfield in which people were vehemently denying that our fans sang about Hillsborough, even though anyone with an IQ of 40 should be able to see exactly that's how the song would be interpreted.

Those chants IMO played into Liverpool's hands and, given how emotive a subject Hillsborough is on Merseyside, sawed City off at the knees in terms of being able to credibly back our support in the circumstances (that said, I acknowledge the club's deficient track-record in doing so). I just felt that point should be made.

 

[jrb]

Agreed. I have had some horrific experiences over the years at Anfield as a City fan but I don't see the point of our fans suddenly deciding after almost 40 years that we should start campaigning for the Juve fans. Has anyone asked Juve fans if they want us to start singing: "Justice for the 39? I don't feel comfortable with City fans using Heysel as a weapon just to attack LFC fans. All this social media hate is getting me down. We should be celebrating after that fantastic World Cup Final yesterday not wallowing in misery. Some of our fans seem to be turning into scousers.

The constant personal, organised and deliberate attacks by FSG, LFC, Klopp, and their (paid) media shills on ‘our club’ over the years has taken a heavy toll on the patience of our fans.

This anti-City campaign by LFC has been organised from the top down and involves everyone from FSG down to their fan groups. How many times has Klopp referenced City’s wealth, spending, being state owned, etc in his press conferences? That has been the constant narrative used by Liverpool Football Club.

If some of you think City fans are going to forgive and to forget what Liverpool Football Club have done against City, you’re all mistaken.

This bad blood was started by Liverpool fans because City have stopped Liverpool winning 3 more PL titles. If City hadn’t done that, there wouldn’t have been any bad blood. Instead it would have been Liverpool fans gloating and taking the p*ss out of City fans. Which they still do at every opportunity when it comes to winning the CL.

 

[richards30]

The constant personal, organised and deliberate attacks by FSG, LFC, Klopp, and their (paid) media shills on ‘our club’ over the years has taken a heavy toll on the patience of our fans.

This anti-City campaign by LFC has been organised from the top down and involves everyone from FSG down to their fan groups. How many times has Klopp referenced City’s wealth, spending, being state owned, etc in his press conferences? That has been the constant narrative used by Liverpool Football Club.

If some of you think City fans in general are just going to forgive and forget what Liverpool Football Club have done against City since FSG bought Liverpool, you’re all mistaken.

This bad blood was started by Liverpool fans because City have stopped Liverpool winning 3 more PL titles. If City hadn’t done that, there wouldn’t have been any bad blood. Instead it would have been Liverpool fans gloating and taking the p*ss out of City fans. Which they still do at every chance when it comes to winning the CL.

AMEN!!

 

[richards30]

If anything now, this will ramp up the vitrol from City fans this week!!