QuoteThe plain and simple fact is that the Police were placed under intolerable pressure and made wrong calls that sadly proved fatal.
THEY WERE NOT PLACED UNDER INTOLERABLE PRESSURE TONY!!!!!!!!
In one of his columns in the Daily Mirror, Brian Reade who was at the match wrote about that day.
QuoteIt was the second year running we'd been drawn to play Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough and those of us in that red procession which snaked along the M62 to Sheffield had few worries about reaching Wembley again.
But different kinds of doubts were creeping in.
Major roadworks, an accident and persistent police checks were causing delays, and fears spread that the kick-off might be missed.
On reaching Hillsborough those fears were realised.
At 2.30pm, Leppings Lane, the entry point for all Liverpool fans, was human gridlock.
No police or stewards were on hand to filter the thousands of fans into queues.
The only visible authority was half-a dozen forlorn figures in blue on horseback and a few on the ground, screaming at the swaying crowd to back away from the turnstiles.
For the second year running, and despite protests, Liverpool were given 4,000 fewer tickets and the smaller end of the ground - despite having a much bigger following than Forest.
Geographically it made the police job of getting fans in and out of Sheffield easier.
Ensuring safety is how they termed it. It meant all 24,000 Liverpool ticket-holders, whether in Leppings Lane or the West and North stands, had to pass through 23 turnstiles, most so old they constantly jammed.
At the much newer Kop end Forest had 60 modern turnstiles. As the ground erupted with expectation at the entry of the teams, outside in Leppings Lane there was pandemonium.
Fans, angry at the lack of movement and organisation, berated the police, some of whom were screaming into their radios for assistance.
Many of us moved away from the turnstiles and looked on from a distance, convinced the kick-off would be put back while they sorted out the chaos.
Instead, at 2.52pm a huge blue exit gate opened and 2,000 of us poured in. At the back of the Leppings Lane terrace, stewards who were supposed to be dispersing the supporters evenly into five pens had vanished.
Consequently the bulk of fans ignored the lesser populated pens at the sides of the terrace and headed into the two central ones behind the goal, already over-crowded.
Those at the front became packed tighter and tighter.
The game was now under way and fans at the back, ignorant of the crush, concentrated on trying to get a view of the pitch.
They weren't to know that ahead of them on this shallow-sloping concrete there was panic, fear, hyper-ventilating, fainting, hair drenched in sweat and vomit matting on the metal fencing.
Thousands of disgruntled fans were still outside as the match was about to get underway. This was not of their making.
They hadn't all come out of the nearest pubs or left it to the last minute to get parked.
Even in this column Reade acknowledges that the fans were angry and yes berated the police for their inaction. BUT THE POLICE WERE NOT PLACED UNDER INTOLERABLE PRESSURE.
Outside the ground, the fans were relatively safe. The may have missed some of the match but at least they were safe. No one was going to be crushed to death.
The police, the jury, even the Prime minister and for Christ sake even the man who gave the orders that day now admit and acknowledge that the actions were not only negligent but criminal.
Numerous quotes, articles, videos, case notes have now been produced to back up the jury's criminal verdict but you, you pugnacious person have not posted one shred of evidence to back up your warped, narrow mindset.
Post something up Tony to back up your claims or retract.
