In celebration of the 96; An emotional Anfield day for SSLJA

Where do I start, on a day that promised so much and delivered so much more my dream to visit Anfield for a match I was left with even more of a passion for a club I was already passionate about. Liverpool FC & the In Celebration of the 96 match was a 2-2 draw that left me wanting not just more in terms of the football, but wanting more in terms of the entire day itself, even though it nearly ended with a costly mistake financially.

SSLJA Apr 20, 10:45pm via Twitter for Android

@DaGman84 @pitchtalk @BBCMOTD2@jjmills_91 yeah, national express at 7.15 from Victoria, 5 hr journey, know I won't sleep tonight!

SSLJA Apr 21, 5:49am via HootSuite

About to make the pilgrimage to the footballing cathederal that is Anfield, In celebration of the 96 match, HERE I COME! @LFC @pitchtalk

5.30am was my wake up time on the morning of the match (but I actually woke up at 5.20am) and my coach was a 5 hour journey beginning at 7.30am, but I think i slept more on the coach up than i did at home (I woke up at least 4 times throughout the night) due to the excitement of rockin' up to Anfield for the very first time. Victoria coach station was the departure point and on my way i was, with the anticipation building with every minute that passed.

SSLJA Apr 21, 11:16am via HootSuite

Only 36 miles til my coach hits Liverpool, the excitement levels are rising @LFC @pitchtalk #incelebrationofthe96

The coach journey was supposed to drop me into norton street coach station for 1pm, but fortunately I had my first stroke of luck as the coach (which was supposed to stop in Manchester originally) went straight to Liverpool, so with that time in the bank I got some snaps of the Liverpool Empire & around St. Georges Hall.

 

SSLJA Apr 21, 11:16am via HootSuite

It's official, Straight Shootin' LJA is in the hiz-ouse, Liverpool, where should I go before I hit Anfield? @LFC @pitchtalk

So onwards to Anfield and oddly enough I was going to get the bus up from Queens Square, but I ended up jumping in a taxi with 4 other people, 1 of which was a Leeds supporter which made for some interesting chat about the Cellino situation and more!

As we turned the corner coming up Rockfield Road I caught a glimpse of Goodison Park and even though I knew the grounds were close, it really dawned on me how close they are to each other and how small Goodison looks.

Anyway, we pulled up to Anfield and I was in awe of the ground as we got out of the taxi, it was amazing being somewhere you've fantasized about going to for almost 20 years. One of the more emotional parts of the day for me was walking around the ground to the Hillsborough memorial, oddly enough we saw Jake Humphrey of BT Sport taking pictures with people and 2 things ran through my mind... 1. He's pretty tall and 2. He was wearing a lot of makeup!

 

The Hillsborough memorial was emotional, I've seen pictures of it on TV and pictures of the Shankly gates but seeing the scarves and flowers up close, seeing the amount of different club scarves hanging from the gates & the bouquets of flowers by the memorial on the corner of the Anfield road end really made the day even more real for me. The 2 clubs, 1 massive family banner really made me think, 'football unites'.

 

So, as I bid farewell to my new friends and entered the ground i've waited so long to sit in...ANFIELD and believe you me it felt tremendous. Finding my seat was pretty easy with the help of a steward but unfortunately finding a match day programme was impossible as they'd all sold out even though I got to the ground almost an hour & a half before kick off.

But still, an emotional moment was about to hit me and that moment was leading up to the match. The moment I speak of was when you'll never walk alone was sung in an opera style by a local youngster and I actually did shed a tear at that moment, hearing that song live at Anfield would have been emotional enough but knowing this was a day In celebration of those 96 who lost their lives due to a horrific tragedy just really hit home.

 

On to the match and even more emotion for me because even though they are older (and in most cases more portly, more on that later) it was tremendous to see some of the players who I grew up watching on tv in the flesh, live and in living colour!!! Seeing God aka Robbie Fowler & Steve 'Shaggy' Mcmanaman linking up gave me flashbacks of watching them back in 95/96. Seeing Fowler & Michael Owen linking up & having Dietmar Hamann & Sami Hyppia back on the Anfield turf gave me memories of 2001, which were especially fresh as I happen to be reading a hardback copy of Robbie Fowler's autobiography. 

 

On the Michael Owen side note, there were 2 hilarious things happening throughout the match. One was Michael Owen as the panto villain of the day as when the teams were being read out before the match Owen's name received a fair amount of jeers & throughout the match he was subject to a lot of cheers but a few jeers too. The other hilarious side note was Jan Molby being urged to 'SHOOT' every time he received the ball which was made doubly funny as I heard a couple of kids behind me say 'who's the fat kid' in reference to the honorary Scouser Mr Molby. 

SSLJA Apr 21, 2:16pm via HootSuite

Jan Molby is massive these days, true scouse wit as the crowd urges him to shoot with every touch he has @btsport @pitchtalk@LFC

I did notice that the International legends generally were, let's say, 'leaner' than the domestic legends but on a beautiful day for football & with the International reds having a lot more of the ball (Luis Garcia looking especially lively) it was the domestic reds who made the breakthrough and fittingly it was native Scouser (Toxteth to be exact) Robbie Fowler who sold Sander Westerveld a delightful dummy & rounded him to score in front of the Kop End after being sent through by Jason McAteer. 

Fowler rolled back the years and 1-0 is how it stayed for the remainder of the first half and one thing that most won't have seen on tv is the half time entertainment which came in the form of a penalty shootout involving Clare Balding (who scored both her pens), Liverpool supporters Russell Howard (who scored 1 pen and put 1 wide) & Colin Murray (who had the same conversion rate as Howard, 1 in 1 wide) and the special guest of the day John Bishop, who being another native Scouser, ended up being very involved in the main game (more on that later). All of those penalties were taken against the club mascot Mighty Red who tried valiantly to keep the net from bulging too often! On the subject of Mighty Red, his dancing as he went back down into the changing rooms before the second half was hilarious, he was shaking them tail feathers with no shame at all, this was after John Bishop got a mexican wave going around Anfield, which he actually filmed!!! Great stuff & we still had the 2nd half to go!

SSLJA Apr 21, 3:03pm via HootSuite

Gota love John Bishop getting a Mexican wave on film, gota love half time entertainment @LFC @pitchtalk @btsport

So the 2nd half began and a good few subs were made and Luis Garcia's fancy footwork was involved in the buildup along with Hamann who set up Smicer who's shot took a huge deflection off Michael Thomas went flying past David James to level up things for the international reds.

SSLJA Apr 21, 3:18pm via HootSuite

David James unlucky on the international @LFC equaliser, scoreboard took a while to update lol @pitchtalk @btsport

When that goal went in I did feel a bit for David James, but more for Mark Wright as he'd been solid all match but never got the clean sheet his performance deserved, but part of that sympathy is me being part of the defenders union and defenders, like keepers love clean sheets, no matter what the occasion.

John Bishop came on for Luis Garcia and Bishop got involved in a match that all of us would give our left arm to be in and you could see the childlike excitement when he came on, he really got stuck in! Bishop actually nearly scored a dream goal at the Kop end, he smashed the post and Bruno Cheyrou smashed in the rebound, 2-1 international reds and the subs kept coming! 

SSLJA Apr 21, 3:42pm via HootSuite

Its just like watching Ibis play @ibis_footballwith molby and mcmanaman coming back on lol @LFC @pitchtalk @btsport

The repeat subs kept the game fresh & lively and one of the subs who came on in the 2nd half was Jamie Redknapp who was pulling out some party tricks and silky skills, he's a lot taller than he looks on TV and I guess being on TV has made sure he's stayed in good shape. 

Another side note was the running battle between John Aldridge & Sander Westerveld, there were a good few chances for Aldo but Sander was always up to the task denying Aldridge or beating him to a through ball, but it was great to see the banter between those 2.

2 penalties were given in this match, the 1st was given against David Burrows and John Bishop conspired to miss it, was a good save by David James though and it was all smiles afterwards from James & Bishop. There was a flashback to 97 and an infamous celebration when Mr Fowler looked like he was sniffing the penalty spot before Bishop went up to take the kick, which I personally got a chuckle from as did many of us inside Anfield who remember.

SSLJA Apr 21, 3:53pm via HootSuite

Great save david james from john bishop's pen, Robbie fowler gave us a flashback of 97 in the buildup @LFC @pitchtalk @btsport

About a minute later another pen was given and Robbie Fowler ended up taking it, but there was a huge holdup after Hyppia brought down Fowler just inside the box. The holdup was because we saw that Kenny was going to come on and we all started chanting 'KENNY KENNY, KENNY'. Fowler was going to step aside as everyone including Owen & Redknapp and even Jan Molby of the international reds urged the King to take it but Kenny ended up letting Robbie Fowler take it and 'God' beat Sander Westerveld in what ended up as the final goal of the match, was a brilliant penalty and the game ended up staying as a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 draw.

2 Fowler goals (1 penalty), Cheyrou & Smicer (Michael Thomas o.g) were the goals scored but the memories i'll have of this day were many more than I could ever count, rarely are there moments that leave me speechless but my arrival at Anfield was one of those moments.

Margaret Aspinall's post-match speech after the trophy presentation was the final emotional moment of my day as she is a true survivor & a great campaigner not just for justice for her loss on April 15th 1989, but for the loss of 95 other lives on that day too.

On my way home I was on cloud 9 but now an new challenge presented itself...how to get home!!! (Well back to the Norton Street coach station) After taking the scenic route around the ground taking some snaps of the Paisley gates and the posters of King Kenny, John Barnes & more outside the centenary stand I made my way back the way I cam and following my instincts (as google maps was no real help) I made my way to the bus stop and ended up just making it to my coach (which fortunately left 10 minutes late) after i'd sweated buckets running from Queens Gate up to Norton street.

SSLJA Apr 21, 5:14pm via HootSuite

Just had a major touch that my coach left a couple of minutes late, trusting my instincts helped too, whew what a day! @pitchtalk@LFC

To quote/paraphrase WWE hall of famer the Ultimate Warrior (who recently passed away) from WCW back in 1998 - 'History tells us, that a mans legacy is built from the premise, that within his life, the moments lived, once lived, become a piece of his history'.

My first ever visit to Anfield on April 21st 2014 for the 'In celebration of the 96' match is a moment, a big moment for me as a football supporter, a Liverpool supporter and a big moment in my life thus far and will definitely stay with me as a piece of my history. To be in that great stadium makes me want to achieve greatness in my life even more, so in closing I say thank you to Liverpool Football club, thank you to the Hillsborough Family Support group (HFSG), thank you to the international & domestic legends teams & managers, because you've given me a moment which I will never forget.

Liam 'Lja' Angell via Facebook - 22 April at 00.17

AKA Straight Shootin' LJA says 'In Celebration of the 96' was an amazing match to be at, THANK YOU Liverpool FC, you've given me a life long memory that shall be passed down to my kids, and my kids kids, loved every second of my first time up at Anfield, April 21st 2014 will never be forgotten

Justice for the 96 #jft96 R.I.P You will never be forgotten, today was in celebration of all of you!!!

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that is not just my opinion, but my first ever Anfield experience in words!!!

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Celebrity Influence, Good or Bad??

I would like to consider myself a fair bloke; a respectful person; at times maybe a little out spoken but not one to ever begrudge anyone for their achievements, the things they own or the lifestyle they live. Two of my favourite sayings are "Each to their own!" & "It is what it is!" Which to me means everyone is free to do what they like; well to a certain extent. However another strong belief of mine is, "you are your own best example!”. To me this means you should follow no one’s example but your own or in other word if you feel what you’re doing is correct then continue doing what you are doing! My father always used to say “In life each man or woman has a responsibility to set the best example for those with in their community especially the younger generations”. He would always remark “As soon as you step outside you’re front doors, you are representing this family name” This is especially the case if you’re the focal part of a community, business or household you have a role as the role model and you basically have to set the right example and deliver the right sort of messages for those outside your circles.

So it’s a long standing belief of mine that footballers should be expected to uphold such responsibilities; its their responsibility to show themselves in the best light, considering they are made to look like pillars of our community with some actually milking this fact through all the public exposure they get, those right at the top of the game; David Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robiniho etc reap the the finest of rewards from such exposure; mega sponsorship deals, television appearances, image rights these men are treated like kings, they are literally selling lifestyles.

Millions of unsuspecting children are sucked into the rampant media onslaught of football marketing and merchandising and how can they not be, when everywhere you turn, news papers, magazines, footballing television shows, advertisements, computer games, even down to non sporting clothing, have allowed footballers to weed themselves into nearly every knook and cranny of our lives. The Paddy Powers advert can be seen as a chilling indication of this. Carlton Palmer startles an unsuspecting supporter as he takes a bath, by popping his head from under the water. Now I know this was not the overall message paddy Powers was trying to portray as they are a bookies and want people to buy bets, however it’s not far from the truth. Literally everything we do in life can be associated with a footballing personality.

As a child I remember the influence of which such stars like Eric Cantona had over me; with the rolling up of his shirt collar and the famous phrase from the Nike advert "auvoir"; Faustino Asprilia, and my countless attempts of copy his half a cartwheel; Ian Wright and the numerous exuberant celebrations basically running around the pitch with a fat smile screaming and shouting. These Influences helped me decide on my next set of boots, shin pads even down to the studs. These players were played out like Gods before me, doing the wildest of stunts and tricks that any child would have been amazed by.

However the very same medium that help build their stardom, also causes their downfall. Players and newspapers share a close connection, and unlike kids magazines like ‘The Matchmag or Shoot. Newspapers are not there to blanket players, the newspaper publisher just want to sell the news and will print any feasible story to do so. And with us living in a world where bad news makes good reading, footballers are not safe. So naturally you would have thought players, whom are seen as role models would not want to have their names dragged through the papers. Yet this doesn’t seem to be the case even though some would say, the exposure is not exactly down to their own doing and not exactly what the players wanted when their careers started. Some would say they just wanted to play football and had no intentions of being marketed as role models. For those who say that you make me chuckle!! That is such a ridiculous statement... Every player knows the pros and cons of being a footballer, before signing those contracts. Infact the pro's actually over shadow the cons so I doubt at the time of having to sign a £4 million contract over four years is going to be affected by the thought of press intrusion by most players, girls throwing themselves at their feet or the duty of being a role model.

I guess what I’m getting at is players need to understand they have more than a duty entertain on the pitch, they also have role as role models. Being a celebratory and a high profile one at that almost guarantees their exposure to the world, so whatever is written or unveiled about a player is not just a reflection on themselves but also their employers (club), colleagues and family. I’m not saying players cannot make mistakes or go through hard times, as they are human and as humans we all make mistakes. We all have emotions and think differently about things. Yet players need to understand/over stand that Young impressionable children and even highly passionate adults are watching their every move. Through the out let of the media these days there is little that they can hide and what they do hide usually comes to light anyhow

These views have been brought to you by

Gavin C Henry aka Da G-Man

Pitch Talk @ COC final 2014 - Gezzie Fizzle & Da Gmans post match thoughts

Pitch Talk invaded Wembley Way again last week for the Capital One Cup Final. Here's Gezzie Fizzle and Da Gman's post match views of Manchester City v Sunderland in vlog form -



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Mourinho, Cundy & the non-existent Anti-Chelsea conspiracy

On a blog on the La Footyettes website I got some inspiration for this blog which will probably sound like more of a rant than a measured piece of thoughtful writing but still, blogging with feeling is what the Straight Shootin' One is all about!

Personally, i'd like to open by saying that I don't think Jose Mourinho or 'Jose moany ho' as I like to call him was being light-hearted with his quips & bitching about the lack of Chelsea pundits on TV. He p*ssed me off to the point where I ended up having quite a rant on the last Pitch Talk show of 2013 (30-12-2013) which also ended up as a Rant of the Week about the fact that he seemed to miss the fact that Ray Wilkins (ex-Chelsea player) has been doing punditry with Sky Sports for a long time & that Glenn Hoddle (also ex-Chelsea) was doing punditry on Sky Sports for that very game between Liverpool & Chelsea. Mourinho's arrogant ways generally drive me up the wall on a general basis and it especially annoys me that the guy is basically a media darling, he is never gracious in victory or defeat but because some people like him he get's away with it.

Bear in mind I don't defend the media, I think our media (English media) is a disgrace with the way they brownnose, hype and do nothing but forward agendas, which is the reason why I call them the 'parisitic media' on Pitch Talk shows, so don't think i'm trying to help/defend the 'legit' news media outlets.

Anyway, with that last point said, Jose Mourinho is successful, no doubt about that but he's a short-term manager who likes to splash the cash, just look at how much he's spent at Inter Milan, Real Madrid & especially Chelsea and look at how long he stays at each team and you'll hopefully see my point. Jason Cundy, well, this nothing happening no name no account jabrone can say all he wants and he seems like another moron with a nonsensical opinion, he won't issue an apology and even if he does it'll probably only be at the behest of his employers as people like him & Mourinho tend to believe their own hype & b.s otherwise they wouldn't say it in the first place.

As a Liverpool supporter myself I found Cundy (replace that d with a t and you'll get close to my view on the comments he made) and his comments to be narrow minded & moronic, questionable decisions are rife within the game these days no matter what the ground, it's a sad fact but there's another issue there anyway, no-one deserves the kind of abuse or vitriol that Cundy aimed at Liverpool supporters, tarring everyone with the same brush is unfair and ignorant, there are a lot of keyboard warriors on twitter but there are more good folk on there than bad and in my view, as i've said on Pitch Talk shows, every club has a moronic minority of fans, Liverpool are no different, but neither are Chelsea. Mourinho also seems to have a conveniently short memory accusing Suarez of diving considering he signed Arjen Robben & Didier Drogba for Chelsea FC, by the way, 2 players diving in 2 games says you have divers in your team Jose, just thought i'd mention that.. 

But still, even leaving that aside, for me, Jose Mourinho isn't the special one, he's the arrogant one and to paraphrase former WWE superstar Shawn Michaels back in November 1998 as I did on last Monday's Pitch Talk show (in regards to Cundy and Jose this time), 'if I wanted crap out of you, i'd pick it out of your teeth'. 

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my opinion

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Players as mercenaries & A jaded SSLJA

It's been somewhat of an odd weekend in some ways but it's been enjoyable in every way. The reason why i'd say its been odd is because from Friday night (August 2nd 2013) to the small hours of Sunday morning on the 4th of August one thing has come into my mind, well 2. The first one is, am I jaded these days & by jaded I mean, has football lost it's magic in terms of the premier league where nothing is really a surprise for me any more? This train of thought was started by catching a bit of the Premier League years in a pub (1996/97 for those interested in the year) with my co-host Da Gman & I asked him the question 'is it me or is football just not the same anymore? In 96/97 & 95/96 (both of which are tied for 1st place in my favourite season's I've watched) I felt an enchantment with football, specifically the premier league and part of that I think was down to the fact that I didn't have sky sports as a youngster (my family didn't get that until April 2001) so I had to rely on Match of the Day as my main source of football and I relied on it religiously and when I got to watch sky sports I took advantage of it, but as me and Gav watched the Premier League years it was like going back in time, remembering the matches and what happened next took me back to a time where all I knew of football was what I saw on TV and what I heard from pundits & read in the Mirror football pullouts & Match magazine.

But now we have the internet, we can watch any games we want whenever we want and any 2 bit jabroni with an opinion on the social networks can add his/her 2 cents to an issue and make wild accusations with no rationale or factual basis and others are moronic enough to believe it or take it seriously which infuriates me. But I digress, my thought is that I have become jaded to the point of being cynical due to the previously mentioned points and I actually can't help it, my mindset is definitely to question everything and try & know anything but to paraphrase the words of Jim Cornette on a 2005 shoot interview with Paul Bearer, 'the more you know about something, the less fun you get out of it because nothing's a surprise any more' and I think those sentiments, are true for me.
The 2nd point I wanted to address relates in part to player loyalty & especially Steven Gerrard's testimonial. After watching that as I went to bed I thought to myself, at my club when Gerrard retires, (Carragher has already hung his boots up) Stevie G will basically be one of very few players in the Premier League, let alone my beloved Liverpool FC who came up/grew up in the 90s and has stayed at 1 club for his whole career and it kind of scares me that it's almost a changing of the guard from loyal soldiers in an army, to basically 'hired guns' who will follow the money instead of their hearts and pledge allegiance to those who pay the most at any given time.

For me, yes the mercenaries issue with players is nothing new but with a lot of players they'll be a 'fly by night/flash in the pan' kind of player who'll pledge allegiance one day, but turn tail and run when times get tough and for me as a fan/supporter I've just found this wholesale shift disturbing. For me, football is about playing where you're happiest, and I'm talking about where you've made friends, where you feel comfortable. Playing for Ibis FC in the Southern Amateur leagues has been a pleasure and maybe getting the captaincy of the 4's side after playing for them for 5/6 years has made me think a bit differently, but I see it as I'll stay at a club for a long time if I feel happy & comfortable. We don't get paid to play at our level, we pay to play & help run the club but I feel that the more I've learnt about the game as a whole, the more jaded I've become & I can't switch that off and just watch a game & not be analyzing it, same with transfer situations/stories, always looking at it cynically & for me the modern game & the modern breeds this cynicism in me.

It'll be a sad day when the last of the loyal soldiers retires from their respective teams, guys such as Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ryan Giggs etc, these men who have been 1 club players because for me it'll be the last of the loyal footballers, who will be passing torches to people who'll be here today & gone tomorrow.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my opinion

England's disappointing football summer

I feel it's always best to blog when the feelings are raw and fresh but watching all 3 England games in the Women's Euro 2013 made me sit back & think. But hasn't make me rethink my support for Women's football (as i've enjoyed the group stage of the Euros), because in my view, the women's game is still very much in a developmental phase and when you're in that stage you need support rather than chastisement. There will be other tournaments for our Lionesses to thrive at but this tournament showed me that England's lack of quality (especially in depth) knows no gender or age bounds.

Changes are needed at all levels but especially at Under 21's level with Glenn Hoddle's recent comments it seems like all some people want to do is talk rather than commit to actions, and yes that comment is aimed at Glenn Hoddle himself. The more we talk, the more we fall behind and for me actions do speak louder than words and we need to eradicate the greed & short termism that plagues our game and start focusing on the future of our game, forget copying other nations, we need to stamp our own authority onto the game we love and the game we arguably brought to the world. Women's football is getting more exposure and I for one am and will continue to be an advocate of that but development, rather than the pursuit of money needs to be our focus. Women's football needs our support instead of the FA making borderline moronic decisions & hampering the game and on the mens side, from youth all the way up we need to be looking long term, not at the money that can be made, new television deals and clubs raising ticket prices, but how our youngsters are developing. Something is missing from our youngsters and in general from English footballers and most would say it's technique, which in my view it is, but mental prowess is another glaringly obvious attribute our players seem to be missing and the chasm is getting bigger as each year goes by.

St. Georges park is a great idea & concept but as the powerful 'Football's Suicide Secret' documentary hosted by PFA Chairman Clarke Carlisle showed, the mental side is horribly under recognised & under utilised. To me it looks like players are badly advised and used by unscrupulous agents and clubs as money making machines that are to be discarded after they've outlived their usefulness which for me is borderline disgraceful. As a wrestling fan and as I have done on a recent Pitch Talk Live show i'd like to paraphrase Gordon Solie and say 'Football is half physical & half mental' and England are lagging behind the top countries in the world in both areas. Support, development, technique should be the key words & key aims to improve, not money and revenue as every area of the game needs help, Youth, Women and; especially the full Men's squad or the future won't be bright, it will be bleak & teams getting dumped out early is what we'll continue to see.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my opinion

A Hillsborough Monday

For some the pain may never subside, but we the football family are on your side,

Hold you heads up with much pride, we the football family put all rivalry aside,

Justice must forever be sought, so that the 96 deaths aren't for naught,

Those who perished will always be cherished,

And their memories will never be diminished,

Every April, the glass is half full, justice is coming so keep being hopeful,

Tears and prayers are shared by family & friends,

This ensures the journey for justice will never end,

Liverpool FC are forever in my heart, Hillsborough will forever be a part of the collective LFC heart,

Honour & dignity is what the families have displayed, masking broken hearts that are still dismayed,

No matter how many games our played, the memories of the 96 will forever remain,

In our minds, our spirit & our souls, as we try to reach the goal,

Of justice for the 96, JUSTICE FOR THE 96!!!

By Liam Angell aka Straight Shootin' LJA