Saturday, September 19, 2009 @ 2:23 AM
THIS IS ANFIELD !!!
Remembering the day 96 lifes were lost at anfield due to the collapse of wall
It was really heartbreaking story which have change the way football is today
The HeartBreaking True Story Goes On ::
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30,000 gather at Anfield to remember fans who died in
Hillsborough disaster
NEARLY 30,000 people gathered at Anfield stadium yesterday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
Families, survivors, fans and players stood together to remember the 96 crushed to death at Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.
The official memorial service fell silent at 3.06pm - the exact time the referee blew his whistle to stop the match at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium on April 15, 1989.
Many broke down in tears during a two-minute silence that was also observed across the city and in Sheffield and Nottingham.
As it ended, bells tolled 96 times as priests read out the names of each of the men, women and children who died in the Leppings Lane end of the ground.
Earlier, families of the victims were given a huge round of applause as they took their places on the Kop.
They were joined by the Liverpool first team, lead out by goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Manager Rafa Benitez and his wife Montse, coach Sammy Lee, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard - who lost a cousin in the disaster - followed.
There were also cheers for Everton's manager, David Moyes, and Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool's player-manager on the day of the tragedy.
A group of Celtic fans who laid two banners on the Anfield turf emblazoned with "Justice for the 96" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" were also applauded.
Spirit
Hillsborough changed football forever, ending standing terraces at major grounds and bringing improved safety arrangements and stewarding everywhere.
But at Anfield, the focus was on remembering those who lost their lives and giving thanks for those who survived. The service began when the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, said the Queen had sent a message and her thoughts and prayers were with them.
He said the tragedy "broke the heart but not the spirit" of the community.
As part of the commemorations, the victims' families were presented with Freedom Scrolls, the group equivalent of the freedom of the city.
The scroll was presented to Trevor Hicks, a former chair of the Families Group by Liverpool footballers Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
Trevor, who lost teenage daughters Victoria and Sarah in the disaster, said: "We are all here today to remember the 96 men, women and children who did not come home from a game of football on a beautiful, spring day in Sheffield.
"They were 96 real people, our kin, our flesh and blood." Ninety-four died on the day, with 766 injured and around 300 taken to hospital. Four days later, the death toll reached 95 when 14-year-old Lee Nicol died of his injuries.
The toll reached 96 in 1993 when Tony Bland died after remaining in a coma for nearly four years.
Dalglish, the Liverpool manager who did so much to comfort relatives and survivors in 1989, was clapped after reading a prayer.
One church leader asked God for patience in the long wait for justice, and praying for the bereaved families to feel no bitterness.
Liverpool fans have long been angry that they were initially blamed for causing the tragedy, which was triggered when police allowed hundreds of fans down a tunnel into already overcrowded fenced-in pens.
Sport Secretary Andy Burnham, who came to yesterday's memorial service on Gordon Brown's behalf, was heckled by those angry that no-one has been prosecuted for their role in the disaster.
As Burnham spoke, he was forced to pause as the crowd sang "Justice for the 96".
Born in Liverpool himself, he said afterwards: "The conflicting stories and some of the misinformation put around about the supporters and their actions has really frustrated and upset people deeply down the years.
"Today the country is finally seeing that the supporters and their families have been wronged very much."
Eternal
The Anfield service concluded with Gerry Marsden leading the crowd in a rendition of his Liverpool anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, as 96 balloons were released into the sky.
The club had intended to open just the Kop stand but so many people turned up that the Main and Centenary Stands were also used. Swathes of flowers, scarves and shirts were laid along the touchline. Outside, more tributes were laid beside the Hillsborough memorial, where an eternal flame burns.
People stood, hugged and some wept as they looked at the names of those who died in Britain's worst sporting disaster. Others tied their momentos to the Shankly Gates.
Sue Joyce, 43, from West Derby, Liverpool, said: "We've come here today to show victims and the families of those who died that we have not forgotten what they have suffered.
"It may be 20 years but those that were there will always be in the thoughts of every Liverpool fan around the world."
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Liverpool Fans out there..
Always remember this tragedy and let it change the way of english football
LIVERPOOL FC - YOU"LL NEVER WALK ALONE