Leppings lane end at Hillsborough

[Pete]

I watched all the events unfold as a youngster on grandstand. The match being halted...the forest fans thinking there was trouble and rushing from the kop...the man made stretchers from advertising boards...people basically struggling for survival.

That same stand has remained intact to this day...basically in the same form as it was that day...but with seats where the terracing was.

There is no way in hell I would sit in that stand...especially the area where the crush happened...yet opposing fans continue to sit there because that's the allocated seating area.

I don't understand why that whole stand hasn't been brought down. How can anyone sit in that section of that ground knowing what has happened there? There are so many ghosts!
Knowing nearly 100 people died in that stand should be enough to nudge the powers that be. If that had happened in the west in our ground I would be actively petitioning to pull it down...regardless of cost.

Whenever an away team scores at hillsborough it's like they're dancing on peoples graves. They literally are!

[TariqE]

I watched all the events unfold as a youngster on grandstand. The match being halted...the forest fans thinking there was trouble and rushing from the kop...the man made stretchers from advertising boards...people basically struggling for survival.

That same stand has remained intact to this day...basically in the same form as it was that day...but with seats where the terracing was.

There is no way in hell I would sit in that stand...especially the area where the crush happened...yet opposing fans continue to sit there because that's the allocated seating area.

I don't understand why that whole stand hasn't been brought down. How can anyone sit in that section of that ground knowing what has happened there? There are so many ghosts!
Knowing nearly 100 people died in that stand should be enough to nudge the powers that be. If that had happened in the west in our ground I would be actively petitioning to pull it down...regardless of cost.

Whenever an away team scores at hillsborough it's like they're dancing on peoples graves. They literally are!

Graves are not the locations that people have died (usually), so away fans are not 'literally' dancing on them. You could make a similar point about crossing a stretch of road where somneone has been hit by a car and killed.

But back to the stand, the big fences have been taken down and it is seated. People are counted in and out and so it is now far safer and the risk of a repeat is practically gone.

I'm sure that Shef Wed would love a shiny new stand but why would they go to such unnecessary expense when they have a perfectly usable stand at the moment?

[Pete]

Graves are not the locations that people have died (usually), so away fans are not 'literally' dancing on them. You could make a similar point about crossing a stretch of road where somneone has been hit by a car and killed.

But back to the stand, the big fences have been taken down and it is seated. People are counted in and out and so it is now far safer and the risk of a repeat is practically gone.

I'm sure that Shef Wed would love a shiny new stand but why would they go to such unnecessary expense when they have a perfectly usable stand at the moment?

It's useable but FFS did you not see what happened there?

It's not wednesday fans who are asked to sit there...but I don't get why there wasn't a movement to get rid of it by the wednesday faithfull.

Would you sit in that specific section If hibs played a friendly? I wouldn't.

[TariqE]

It's useable but FFS did you not see what happened there?

It's not wednesday fans who are asked to sit there...but I don't get why there wasn't a movement to get rid of it by the wednesday faithfull.

Would you sit in that specific section If hibs played a friendly? I wouldn't.

Yes I saw what happened and I agree with you that it was terrible.

If the Wed fans don't sit there, why would they have a particularly keen desire to see it removed?

I would have no problem with sitting there. I bought my flat from a woman whose elderly father died had died in it- I have no problems living here. It's a different place now even if it is in the same physical location.

There's no such thing as ghosts.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Not the best day out I've ever had to say the least! Can remember heading through to Hampden for the 1-3 Semi v Sellic the next day amd the game just passing me by. Surreal couple of days to say the least. Nearly 21 years ago, most of them have just passed me by too!

[lapsedhibee]

I don't understand why that whole stand hasn't been brought down. How can anyone sit in that section of that ground knowing what has happened there? There are so many ghosts!
Knowing nearly 100 people died in that stand should be enough to nudge the powers that be. If that had happened in the west in our ground I would be actively petitioning to pull it down...regardless of cost.

Whenever an away team scores at hillsborough it's like they're dancing on peoples graves. They literally are!

And the EU should stop people living in Dresden because of what happened there in WW2.

[Phil D. Rolls]

I watched all the events unfold as a youngster on grandstand. The match being halted...the forest fans thinking there was trouble and rushing from the kop...the man made stretchers from advertising boards...people basically struggling for survival.

That same stand has remained intact to this day...basically in the same form as it was that day...but with seats where the terracing was.

There is no way in hell I would sit in that stand...especially the area where the crush happened...yet opposing fans continue to sit there because that's the allocated seating area.

I don't understand why that whole stand hasn't been brought down. How can anyone sit in that section of that ground knowing what has happened there? There are so many ghosts!
Knowing nearly 100 people died in that stand should be enough to nudge the powers that be. If that had happened in the west in our ground I would be actively petitioning to pull it down...regardless of cost.

Whenever an away team scores at hillsborough it's like they're dancing on peoples graves. They literally are!

Life goes on I suppose Peter. We don't close motorways where there have been tragic accidents, and we don't throw away hospital beds because someone died in them.

Of course those are things that people expect, and are prepared to deal with. A tragedy at a football ground is different. I suppose though, people just have to shrug off what happened and get on with it.

If we let the dead control our lives then we won't move far from the graveyard. :dunno:

[Dashing Bob S]

No disrespect to those who died, but it certainly wouldn't bother me sitting in the Leppings Lane Stand. I'd be much less inclined to buy the Sun newspaper, which, being honest, I doubt I've ever purchased anyway.

[Jack]

There's no such thing as ghosts.

Yes there is! (http://www.hibs.net/message/showthread.php?t=147566) :greengrin

[ginger_rice]

I think the important thing Peter is that Wednesday have made the stand far safer than it was in those days.

Perhaps what makes you think the way you do is that Bradford for instance replaced their stand with something brand new, or the Heysel stadium being condemmed after the Juve Liverpool game.

The Huns it should be remembered took about 8 years to demolish stairway 13.

[Lofarl]

Well the Bradford stand was gutted by that fire so had to be torn down. It seems to be the forgotten tragedy of football.

[ginger_rice]

Well the Bradford stand was gutted by that fire so had to be torn down. It seems to be the forgotten tragedy of football.

Agreed, however there are still several clubs who haven't taken that particular warning in, one quite close to home. Those old stands are IMHO far far worse to sit in that the revamped Leppings Lane stand.

[Lofarl]

Yeah I've always had the feeling that wooden stands are a death trap. Particulary because of the speed that fire spread at. Footage of the disaster is tightly controlled but you can see it at a fire safety training session.

More here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_City_stadium_fire

[Tazio]

Well the Bradford stand was gutted by that fire so had to be torn down. It seems to be the forgotten tragedy of football.

It's a forgotten tragedy because that's how Bradford want it to be. The club were culpable for the tragedy and clearly want to forget it.

And amazingly the footage can be found on Youtube without much searching. A horrible thing to watch, in my opinion more horrible to watch than Hillsborough, especially the bit, amazingly broadcast live, with the man on fire stumbling around the pitch. In my defence the only reason I looked for it on Youtube was to show to a couple of workmates who despite being about 30 years old had never heard of it.

[--------]

I think the important thing Peter is that Wednesday have made the stand far safer than it was in those days.

Perhaps what makes you think the way you do is that Bradford for instance replaced their stand with something brand new, or the Heysel stadium being condemmed after the Juve Liverpool game.

The Huns it should be remembered took about 8 years to demolish stairway 13.



TBF, Willie Waddell made it plain very quickly after the Ibrox disaster that the stadium would be rebuilt as a safe stadium. When we played them in the Scottish Cup quarters in 1973 the main terrace had been roofed and seated in much the same style as the East Stand that we're demolishing at present. that was a temporary measure - the full redevelopment of the ground went ahead as soon as Waddell and the Ibrox board had taken advice regarding modern stadium construction in Germany - at the time the project broke ground I don't think there was a single similar project in place in the UK, so they had to go abroad for advice and help.

And much as we wax sentimental over the old East terraces at ER, it's a mystery to me how Hibs managed to avoid a major accident there over the years. Too many of the old stadiums were disasters waiting to happen.

How much wouild it have cost to replace the Leppings Lane end stand at Hillsborough with a new structure in scale with the rest of the ground?

Too much, I suspect - money Wednesday simply didn't have.

There are now plans for a major redevelopment of the stadium which will replace the present stand with a new modern structure.

[woodythehibee]

just seen this vid regarding the bradford fire disaster.

shocking!

YouTube - The Bradford City Football Club Fire - May 11, 1985 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EpPgsR2U7s)

[MSK]

just seen this vid regarding the bradford fire disaster.

shocking!

YouTube - The Bradford City Football Club Fire - May 11, 1985 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EpPgsR2U7s)I couldnt bring myself to watch that again, i saw it as it happened & ive seen it a few times since at fire training ...terrible tragedy ..

[Godsahibby]

I've been to Hillsoborough many times over the years since that semi, albeit not for a few years now but the last few times I was there I sat in that end and I'm sure it's not an "away" end, I can remember there being a mix of fans in there.

[Lofarl]

I can't click the link on my phone but if it's the footage of what I think it
is I have no intention of watching that again. In fact it might be a good idea to remove it. I know people have a morbid curiosity about stuff like that and that's understandable. But I bet you'd regret watching it.

[--------]

"Police are checking into a theory that rowdy fans lighting a smoke bomb to throw at suppoorters of the rival team may have started it all..."

First thought - it's always the fault of the supporters, right?

Just as Hillsborough was all the fault of the drunken, abusive, violent Liverpool fans.

Cuz every plod knows that deep down we're all hooligans just itching to commit mass murder.

And the plods are always blameless. Like the clubs. And the governing bodies. And the regulatory bodies.

All down to the fans.

IIRC David Duff went to prison over financial irregularities committed during his time as Hibs chairman. No one went to prison over that obscenity.

Not the chairman, not the directors, no one on Health and Safety, no one on the Council's licencing Committee, no one.

[Scouse Hibee]

I watched all the events unfold as a youngster on grandstand. The match being halted...the forest fans thinking there was trouble and rushing from the kop...the man made stretchers from advertising boards...people basically struggling for survival.

That same stand has remained intact to this day...basically in the same form as it was that day...but with seats where the terracing was.

There is no way in hell I would sit in that stand...especially the area where the crush happened...yet opposing fans continue to sit there because that's the allocated seating area.

I don't understand why that whole stand hasn't been brought down. How can anyone sit in that section of that ground knowing what has happened there? There are so many ghosts!
Knowing nearly 100 people died in that stand should be enough to nudge the powers that be. If that had happened in the west in our ground I would be actively petitioning to pull it down...regardless of cost.

Whenever an away team scores at hillsborough it's like they're dancing on peoples graves. They literally are!

I watched it all unfold from the upper tier of the Leppings Lane Stand and believe you me it will live with me for ever. The thing is I would have no problem returning to the stand in it's present form, and I certainly wouldn't feel as if I was walking on someone's grave.

[Pete]

I watched it all unfold from the upper tier of the Leppings Lane Stand and believe you me it will live with me for ever. The thing is I would have no problem returning to the stand in it's present form, and I certainly wouldn't feel as if I was walking on someone's grave.

Good grief I bet it will. It touched so many people that weren't there but if you actually were then I can't even imagine.

I think I'm speaking for the majority of people when I say whenever I see that area of the ground the disaster is all I think about. The memories come flooding back. I can probably exlude Wednesday fans from this because they have other memories of the ground they can relate to.

I personally couldn't sit in that area and know of others who wouldn't either but can also understand the other point of view. The "dancing on the graves" comment" isn't meant to suggest that the celebrating fans were disrespecting the fans who died...It's more to do with their physical location and the memories associated with it. In reality, the ground has nothing to do with me but I just think that section is somehow sacred and has emotional value on a national level.

[hibbybob]

Not the best day out I've ever had to say the least! Can remember heading through to Hampden for the 1-3 Semi v Sellic the next day amd the game just passing me by. Surreal couple of days to say the least. Nearly 21 years ago, most of them have just passed me by too!

I remember some Hibs fans sticking flowers on to the perimiter fence at Hampden that day yet I don't recall anything about the game! Despite it being a semi final I remember not being that bothered about losing as the events 24 hours previously really put things into perspective!

[Nakedmanoncrack]

Despite it being a semi final I remember not being that bothered about losing as the events 24 hours previously really put things into perspective!

:agree:Yes, of all the painful semi final defeats I've endured this was the one where the defeat was relatively painless.