Reclaim The Kop

[5aq1b]

I got into a scuffle in the Kop once when i heard the guy behind me say that "there's too many P*kis here".

Asked him for a "Square Go". Steward done SFA like usual when i told him.

[Red_Polo]

From RAWK
we have organised a mosaic for Saturday, a mosaic that will state, in red lettering with a white background, “THE TRUTH?”

One thing however, this is a mosaic with a twist!

Instead of holding up the cards for the mosaic when the players come out, or during YNWA, this time we’re asking for the mosaic to take place when the game kicks off! As soon as the game kicks off, the cards go up and mosaic stays up for the first 6 minutes of the game to accompany the chanting and the banners down the front. Let’s see the BBC cameras ignore this little statement!

Ah so this is the special extra thing they have got sorted for 'Truth Day'. I take it this mosaic will be on the Kop - 6 minutes of J4T96/One lying ******* chants and a mosaic, you'd think that would raise some awareness. Hope so anyway.

[darkknight]

I take it you refer to the evoling of culture?
Change can be hard to accept, but the youth matures as well.
That helps.
But, oh boy, modernity has it's downsides.

This isn t in direct response to your reply there Tomas, but seeing we re havin' a chat I ll expand on my thoughts regarding this matter - if it doesn t bore anyone too much .

I rarely talk about this stuff, but maybe its time to do so again.

My old man got me up for the '77 Cup Final. My gran, his Ma was from Manchester and I chose to go for the other team that night and from that time on I quickly felt this affinity with LFC, with the mighty reds. I devoured everything about our past till that point.

The importance of that past hit me at every turn, it was like blinding light, watching old footage at every opportunity, images of Keegan and Tosh, learning about Shankly, what he stood for, what he engrained in our club. The sories of the Scots from north of the border - St John and Yeats, later Hansen, Nicol and Souey. The tales of old Uncle Bob, not afraid to make the tough calls in his slippers. I have a note in my office draw of where he rests so that on my next visit I will pay my respects if allowed.

The pain of Keegan leaving, the joy of Dalglish arriving - the importance of the local lads, Fairclough, Case, McDermott (upon return). Wondering how we let Coppell escape to the Mancs. Knowing who Howard Gayle is and his finest moment in the LFC shirt.

These are snippets of a rich history - you could write all night, how good was Alec Lindsay, seeng the Kop sing '...... and she loves you, and you know that cant be bad ..... whooooooooo , and she loves you'. Watching the sway of the Kop, reading the tales of pissing in the trenches along the road to learning the rituals of humour, irony and wit which shroulds the Kop legend. What other fans are renowned for clapping the opposition keeper ffs - it speaks for itself .

These are some of the values and they need to be passed on at every turn - not one turn should be missed for it is this essence, this heart and soul which will always set us apart. Knowing where you were (if old enough) on 15/04/89 - reliving those gut wrenching emotions, looking for answers from people who cared less than you !

I felt it from 11 years old living in New Zealand, I carry it with me every day no matter what that day brings - anyone who knows me knows it is part and parcel of who I am and it should never be allowed to die. That feeling of being part of LFC.

This is why I believe in the concept of Reclaim The Kop.

BM

[redblood]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/media/ch07_0607_rtk_charter_medium.asx

Check that link out.

[paulc]

Take season tickets off businesses/groups and give them back to individuals.

Also, Id consider doing away with seat numbers. Get people in and fill the ground as they come in. This allows people to sit with their mates. I think its that more than anything which has killed off siniging. No one is gonna start a chant on thier own but they will if they are sat with their 10 mates.

sorry but a bad idea
howthe hell do u fill the stadium? people walking for ages to look for a seat?

[The Glove]

sorry but a bad idea
howthe hell do u fill the stadium? people walking for ages to look for a seat?

When people come in, they sit in the next seat. Not just sit anywhere.

[G]

Another perspective and a good one IMO

http://liverpool.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=890&p=2&stid=8434340

[Shaggy]

Another perspective and a good one IMO

http://liverpool.rivals.net/default....2&stid=8434340

Have to say I agree with that. A bit of balance and perspective. Some of these RTK loons, admirable though their stance is, would have you believe Anfield used to be full of welcoming, hospitable saints. Model human beings crammed onto a terrace.
I don’t think so.

[Neil Young]

Another perspective and a good one IMO

http://liverpool.rivals.net/default....2&stid=8434340

Have to say I agree with that. A bit of balance and perspective. Some of these RTK loons, admirable though their stance is, would have you believe Anfield used to be full of welcoming, hospitable saints. Model human beings crammed onto a terrace.
I don’t think so.

I agree with the whole balance of the article and in particular this:

I can't help finding the notion of a group of self appointed Kop elders instructing younger members how to behave as both pompous and sanctimonious.

[anfieldanfield]

Personally, I think the main reason for the ****e atmosphere for the league games is the fact that we haven't won the ****ing thing for 16 years!

It's hard to get too excited about the 'race for fourth place'.

It's all very well for the 60's and 70's lot. They were slaughtering sides week in, week out. Scoring goals, playing superb football.

We're forced to watch long diagonal balls up to a hit and miss striker and constant, CONSTANT underachievement.

[Red_Polo]

Even if certain things in our past are romanticised or even imagined to an extent, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Essentially a community becomes what it imagines itself to be. Keep talking about how we're the best, most intelligent fans, famed for sponatneous with and humour etc etc and more of our fans will take pride in behaving that way, regardless of how true it was in the first place.

[The Glove]

RTK: THANKS TO YOU ALL
RTK 08 January 2007
Saturday’s protest at the lies made by Sun editor Kelvin McKenzie served not only to galvanize support for the Justice campaign, but it also brought the issue, once again, slap bang into the public eye.
In the 18 years since the disaster the national profile of The Sun’s lies has diminished. Rumour, prejudice and misinformation still reign in many eyes. Many opposition supporters still casually throw away comments about Liverpool fans killing their own, and being solely to blame for events. They cite our campaign against The Sun as an example of extreme self-pity; our fight for ‘Justice For The 96’ as mawkish and selfish.

All these accusations are founded in the ignorance of the events of 1989. Awareness of the FACTS surrounding the Hillsborough Disaster is low, even – unbelievably - amongst some of Liverpool’s own support. Following McKenzie’s recent public reiteration of his lies, and his rebuttal of his newspaper’s apology, the RTK and HJC campaigns decided that a public protest was necessary.

It was an opportunity for us to publicly expose the Sun’s Lies and make a mockery of their claim to have apologised for their attack on Liverpool supporters and the Hillsborough victims. It was also a chance to expose McKenzie as the self-seeking liar he is, and to protest at his recent recruitment by the BBC. Anfield’s response to the call for a protest was astonishing, the message could not have been any clearer and the press reaction reflects this:

The opening six minutes were dominated by an incredible display on The Kop where, to a man, supporters held up cards which spelt out 'The Truth' in letters 20 feet high (Sunday People )

Stirred by recent sickening comments made by the former editor of (The Sun), fans on the Kop held up cards to produce a mosaic which read: "The Truth" as they sang "Justice for the 96." . The main protest lasted until six minutes after kick-off - a reference to the time it took for the authorities at Hillsborough to realise that people were being crushed to death in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium. (Sunday Mirror )

To say Anfield was noisy at the start of this Cup tie would be the understatement of 2007. The Kop welcomed the television cameras as promised, with a superbly orchestrated protest over slurs on fans' behaviour at Hillsborough, recently re-aired by Kelvin MacKenzie. He was editor of the Sun at the time of the original accusations. The display lasted exactly six minutes into the game … then switched off with military precision, to coincide with the time when the 1989 FA Cup semi-final was abandoned. The protest was replaced by the type of sustained din usually reserved for big European nights. (The Guardian)

Saturday will go down in the annals as one of The Spion Kop’s greatest days. We did more in 10 minutes to reignite the campaign agsinst McKenzie and The Sun than we had in years. And we not only got the message out to our own fans, we got it out to the world, and we did it in Anfield’s own inimitable style.

There are many to thanks for making Saturday such a fabulous success:

Thanks to the volunteers who turned up early on Saturday morning to help put out the 12,000 mosaic cards. Thanks also to those who stayed on to distribute 15,000 leaflets and thousands of stickers in the cold and wet. You are all heroes!

Thanks to everyone who took a leaflet, who stopped and listened to what we had to say; to the Supporters Club coaches who greeted us enthusiastically and helped distribute fliers and stickers.

Thanks To Andy Knott at Expressions, for getting the mosaic printed in such a short space of time and under trying conditions.

Thanks to all the small business around Anfield: the pubs, snack bars, chippies, cafes and shops who lets us distribute leaflets there and talk to their customers.

Thanks to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign for their magnificent support (both moral and financial), and for the use of the shop for sheltering from the rain and for making tea. Big Thanks to Jerry and Kenny for their good humour and hard work on the day.

A very special thank you to Liverpool FC, without whose approval this would not have happened. Rick Parry was wholly supportive of our motives and extended every assistance to us. He listened and then backed up his words with actions – with the full support of our Chairman David Moores. Thanks also to Ged Poynton, the stadium manager, for organising our access to Anfield on the morning of the game and for ensuring that things went off safely and without a hitch. Thank You also to all of his stewards, particularly those on The Kop for their patient support and understanding.

Thanks to our friends in the press for covering both the RTK campaign and Saturdays protest so honestly:

Mike Chapple at The Daily Post was one of our first supporters and remains staunchly behind the campaign. Radio City and the Liverpool Echo – notably Chris Bascombe – are always supportive and a big thank you to them. A special thanks to The Daily Mirror’s Brian Reade for taking the message to a wider audience. His article on Saturday morning can only have stoked the flames and ensured the protest went so well. Cheers Brian!

A special thank you to Mark Platt and everyone at liverpoolfc.tv who have supported the RTK from its inception and continue to do so. They also threw their support behind Saturday’s protest and helped us to publicise events to a world-wide audience.

Thanks also to the Arsenal supporters inside Anfield who could – had they wished – have disrupted proceedings, but chose to be understanding and respectful, and who then applauded us. It is much appreciated. Thanks also to Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger for their generous words praising the fans inside Anfield on Saturday.

Finally – a huge thank you to everyone inside Anfield. You were all amazing; particularly those on all sides of the ground who made special banners in support of the protest. You were seen all over the world. A special word of thanks goes to all you Kopites for holding those cards aloft for 10 minutes and singing yourself hoarse. The words of the press above show just what effect you had and the esteem in which you are held in the football world.

Saturday was one of the greatest occasions ever inside in Anfield, it will be remembered for years. Thank you all for making it all possible.

[The Glove]

'Thank You also to all of his stewards, particularly those on The Kop for their patient support and understanding.'


Thats me that.

[G]

I agree with the whole balance of the article and in particular this

I can't help finding the notion of a group of self appointed Kop elders instructing younger members how to behave as both pompous and sanctimonious.:

Yeah that struck a chord with me too.Just finished reading "The real Bill Shankly" and at the end there is a picture of a fans bedroom wall with newspaper cuttings of the day on it.In one of them it say's "Toshack to Heighway and the crowd chanted Easy!" so it seems that particular chant is not a poor reflection of present day kopites!

[darkknight]

'Thank You also to all of his stewards, particularly those on The Kop for their patient support and understanding.'


Thats me that.

...... still sending a chill down my spine days later benny, to everyone involved.