If you ever get chance to read "The Day Of the Hillsborough Disaster" by Rogan Taylor, Andrew Ward & Tim Newburn you should, but do it when your mind is stable and you're unlikely to let it get to you too much.
The book tells the story of that day from eye-witness accounts (fans, players, media and others) and it really is upsetting. I think any of us who stood at Hillsborough in earlier games or at other less-well equipped venues know that it could have been us. Remember Hillsborough was one of England's major grounds at the time and viewed as one of the best.
There are a lot of circumstances that led to the disaster (circumstances that could have applied at many, many games over the years) but ultimately 96 innocent people - ordinary football fans who typically were either younger fans or older fans who had got in early - died.
Initially the media tried to blame those fans and came up with some outlandish and ridiculous stories which branded us all as animals - no matter what we may say as banter there really isn't much difference between ordinary supporters of each League club, so if one set of fans who are desperate to see a football match are branded in this way, then we all are.
There was also the FA's desperation that got to me - they were determined to replay the FAC semi as soon as possible as if that was the most significant aspect.
Thankfully, the fans recognised the importance and significance of all of this. Anfield filled with scarves, flowers, tributes etc. many left by fans of all clubs not just Liverpool. Lots of City - and Utd - scarves were left and Mancs worked with Scousers to encourage a boycott of The Sun newspaper. That was very significant.
Many of the scarves left at Anfield were later sold to raise money for the families of the victims - and don't forget there were also plenty of others injured/in hospital for some time afterwards. I bought one of the City scarves left when I was at Albert Dock a few months later (I had also left one before that). I didn't need a scarf but to me it felt right that a City fan should buy a City scarf left by another Blue. I don't know whose scarf I bought, but it felt appropriate that fans should link together in this way.
No football fan should ever forget Hillsborough. None of us know what tomorrow will bring but thankfully the circumstances that led to the Hillsborough Disaster no longer exist. It is such a tragedy that 96 people died on a day that should have been a happy one.
