TRANMERE ROVERS V MANCHESTER UNITED – MATCH REPORT

Prenton Park and Birkenhead was an area of excitement on Sunday 26th January 2020 as Tranmere hosted Ole Gunar Solksjaer’s supergiants Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup, following on from a 2-1 home win against Watford that required the use of extra time to set up the fourth round tie. Micky Mellon’s side looked to carry on the performance the other night in which the effort shown by the superwhites was a massive factor in progressing into the later round of the competition, Solksjaer’s side were simply looking to refresh and reach the later rounds of a competition to show some pride in a season where they have struggled in the premier league. 

The rovers would dominate the opening ten minutes: Ferrier driving into the box and forcing a corner, Jennings’ volley being caught by United goalkeeper Romero, Morris having a shot blocked, Ferrier’s cross forcing a corner. However, United defended all opportunities well and capitalised on a lapse of Rovers concentration as centre-back Harry Maguire arrowed the ball into the top corner from 25 yards out. 

Full-back Diogo Dalot would soon double the visitors lead, firing low into the bottom corner from inside the box.

The goals kept on coming for the visitors, Jesse Lingard curling past Davies into the top corner of the net. 

For the next ten minutes, whilst the visiting fans sung anti Woodward and Glazer songs whilst letting off green and yellow pyros, Ferrier and Blackett-Taylor would cause problems for the rich Manchester United defence. Ferrier running at Jones before cutting inside and bending the shot a few yards wide of the post. Ferrier again ran at Jones before forcing Romero into a save that went out for a corner, nothing came from it. Winger Blackett-Taylor did well to beat his man inside the box but his rolled cross failed to meet the feet of any Tranmere attacker. 

Manchester United had plenty more chances to put the ball past Davies, in the next few moments. Lingard fluffing his lines from ten yards out and Martial failing to get past Manny Monthe inside the box.

However, the ‘red devils’ would soon get their fourth as Phil Jones leaped high to head past Scott Davies and David Perkins from a perfectly placed corner.

Solksjaer’s side would soon find their fifth as Martial’s shot deflected into the top corner. Martial’s ‘£50million’ song was sung loud by the United fans in the cowshed.

Half time came at a crushing 5-0 deficit for the ‘whites’, before the second half started evenly matched. United playing a one-two in the box but Clarke defended well to let the ball go into the hands of Davies. At the other end, Blackett-Taylor’s corner was claimed calmly by Romero.

Shortly after the wingers corner, Davies brought a United forward down inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. You’d believe Tranmere fans were down at this point, being beaten 5-0 and a penalty going against them. However, their three stands were loudly singing the famous ‘Tequila’ song. Greenwood converted from the penalty spot, Tequila still rang loudly.

Tranmere would be the threatening on goal side for the remaining of the game, United’s only chance coming when Chong took the ball from the wing to the crossbar. Ferrier shot from inside the box but the shot went wide of the post before David Perkins was replaced by creative midfielder Harvey Gilmour. Ferrier and Blackett-Taylor, Tranmere’s two main threatening players of the game, were soon replaced by Paul Mullin and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy. Jennings forced a free kick 20 yards away from the goal line but nothing came from the free kick and Hepburn-Murphy’s curling shot from the edge of the box would land just wide of the post.

Unfortunately, Tranmere would crash out of the competition at the fourth round stage. Manchester United’s premier league quality side being too much of an ask on a cold January day in Birkenhead. However, Tranmere fans would still remain positive as chants rang from all corner of the ground past the full time whistle. They would be of the hope and belief that the money gained from the competition would be spent on a higher quality of players to keep the club in the third division.

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TRANMERE ROVERS V MANCHESTER UNITED – FA CUP R4

TRANMERE ROVERS V MANCHESTER UNITED

Sunday 26th January 2020 – A sell out in Birkenhead!

Lets be honest, when Micky Mellon’s ‘superwhites’ were 3-0 down at Vicarage Road on the opening weekend of the year, a replay in the tie was unimaginable. Never mind that Paul Mullin would score in extra time of the replay to knock Nigel Pearson’s Watford out of the FA Cup, to settle the game at a 2-1 win for the Rovers and to set up a tie against one of the greatest and most successful football clubs in the world in Manchester United. Aswell as setting this tie up, a lot of money would be given to Tranmere through the FA’s cup rewards. The FA have gave Tranmere at least £350,000 for this seasons competitions efforts, in reaching the fourth round for the first time since 2004. Although Manchester United are struggling at the moment, in the shadow of Liverpool and Manchester City for the past few seasons, Ole Gunar Solksjaer’s club still bring a massive sense of excitement to any club due to the clubs past successes: a record amount of premier leagues (20), 12 FA Cup’s which is only beaten by Arsenal and 3 Champions leagues. Aswell as the media and television investment into Manchester United, meaning Sunday’s fourth round tie will be shown on BT Sport. 

Past meetings:

Tranmere have met Manchester United’s senior team before, back in 1982 when United were the first club to visit Prenton Park when a friendly was arranged to help raise vital funds to help Tranmere reach past the financial difficulties they faced at the time. 

Before this, Tranmere travelled to Old Trafford for a league cup clash in the early September of 1976. Although this tie ended in a 5-0 defeat, fans have recently said that they attended this game and the two sides were at first evenly matched before the ‘superwhites’ came crashing down to a heavy scoreline. 

Team news: 

Ollie Banks, Mark Ellis and Evan Gumbs are all out of action as they are placed on the treatment table.

Alex Woodyard is cup-tied as he has appeared for Peterborough in this competition earlier this season, before making the loan deal to the north west.

Full back Kane Wilson is able to start after signing , on loan, from West Brom until the end of the season. 

One to watch:

Manchester United have many players that will bring a level of quality rarely seen at Prenton Park, due to the difference in money they are able to spend on players. However, it is teenage sensation and youth promoted Mason Greenwood that is this Sunday’s ‘one to watch’. Greenwood, an 18 year old forward, has appeared in 22 games for the ‘red devils’ scoring 4 goals in the midst of those appearances.

Officials:

No information has been provided.

Did you know? 

Manchester United have never played at Prenton Park competitively.

Southend United v Tranmere Rovers: Match preview

On the back of a draw mockingly described as the ‘miracle of IstanWool’ where Tranmere drew the game 3-3 after being 3-0 down. Micky Mellon’s ‘superwhites’ will again travel south for 250 miles for a game of a different measure, a relegation battle ‘six pointer’ with Sol Campbell’s Southend United.  Tranmere have failed to win in six games, their last win coming against AFC Wimbledon at Prenton Park a few days before Christmas but will be hoping to carry on the performance level shown in the second half of last Saturday’s FA Cup encounter at Vicarage Road. Southend have only managed one win in their twenty-four league games this season but have achieved two points in their past two games against MK and AFC Wimbledon. 

Team news:

Midfielder Alex Woodyard is available to make his debut after recently signing a loan deal until the end of the season from Peterborough United.

Scott Davies, Liam Ridehalgh, Mark Ellis, Evan Gumbs, Ollie Banks and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy all remain sidelined with injury and are thus unavailable for selection. 

One to watch:

Midfielder Charlie Kelman is Southend’s one to watch as the midfielder tops their goal scoring charts with four goals.  Kelman, 18, is a ‘shrimpers’ academy graduate and made his league debut in January 2019 going on to make twelve 18/19 league appearances. Kelman is also a USA international, representing his nation at U18 and U20 level.

 Match officials:

Alan Young is the man in black this weekend. This season, the Cambridgeshire born referee, has officiated 24  games and awarded 110 yellows and 2 red cards as a result of 2 yellows. Most interestingly, he officiated Australia v South Korea under 17s which ended in a 3-3 draw. 

Young will be assisted by Adrian Tranter and Matthew Lee. 

 Past meetings:

Tranmere have met Southend United on 51 occasions. Winning 21, drawing 15 and losing 15.

The most recent encounter came in mid October under the Friday night lights of Prenton Park when Paul Mullin concerted a late penalty to even the scores at 1-1. 

Did you know? 

Rovers last win at Roots Hall came in October 2007, Ben Chorley and Gareth Taylor in a 2-1 triumph. 

TRANMERE V COVENTRY CITY: MATCH REPORT

TRANMERE ROVERS V COVENTRY CITY: MATCH REPORT

It was Mark Robins’ ‘Skyblues’ that we’re the first visitors to Prenton Park of the 2020’s decade. They came into the game in good form, after a 4-1 victory at Adams Park. However, Tranmere were looking to extend their second half performance against Blackpool a few days earlier to gain a good result against Coventry. 

George Ray replaced the injured Manny Monthe, for the hosts. Also, academy graduate Kyle Hayde was named on the bench. Micky Mellon stated the reasons for this later in his post match press conference ‘Manny Monthe had a knee injury’ ‘I picked the eighteen players I had available’.

The visitors opened the scoring with their first chance of the game, in the third minute. ‘SkyBlues’ top goalscorer, Godden, slotting past the loanee goalkeeper Aaron Chapman with a header away from all supposed to marking defenders.

The next chance in the game came for the visitors soon after, Dabo cutting back to Westbrooke who missed the target from inside the box.

Shortly after, at the other end, Guyanese midfielder Neill Danns hit the ball over the cowshed stand in an attempt to slit past the keeper from a long range volley.

Coventry man Shipley slotted past Chapman to double the visitors lead from inside the box.

Connor Jennings opened the scoring for the hosts with an excellent shot to the left of the goalkeeper, lowering a two goal difference to one. This came after a period of dominance for Mellon’s side as Jennings and Perkins crossed the ball into the visitors box but failed to find an attacking head. Forward Blackett-Taylor nearly found the back of the net, twisting and turning the opposite defence before releasing a shot which was blocked.

No further goal-bound action would be seen, in a half that had visibly lacked effort from the Rovers. 

Tranmere started the second half in perfect fashion, Jennings scrambling the ball past the Coventry goalkeeper after Ferrier broke into the box but the ball was cleared away on the line. 

A penalty was awarded to Tranmere shortly after the goal-line clearance, Ray being the man bundled over in the box as a cross was sent in his direction. Ferrier would be the man to take the penalty, he blazed the opportunity over the bar. 

Godden extended the visitors lead, after an opportunity for Tranmere seeing Ferrier’s goal-bound volley being blocked.

This forced Mellon to make the first change of the game, Blackett-Taylor being replaced by Paul Mullin. Unfortunately, this change didn’t have the desired effect as no goal-bound chance was created.

After the fourth official hold the added time board up to award three minutes added time, Coventry were awarded with a penalty as O’Hare was tripped in the box. Godden converted this opportunity to seal his second consecutive hat trick.

Full time : Tranmere 1 Coventry 4

Attendance : 7,828 (1,452 travelling supporters).

TRANMERE V COVENTRY: MATCH PREVIEW.

New decade, new year .. more football. It’s Mark Robins’ ‘Sky Blues’ that are set to face Tranmere this Wednesday, 01/01/20. Robins’ outfit come into the game after a good run of form, beating promotion chasing Wycombe away 4-1 after a victory at St Andrews against Lincoln City. If Tranmere win, apart from it being a great start to year of 2020, they will climb the table to 18th with a game in hand in comparison to the nearby sides. To win, Micky Mellon’s ‘super whites’ will have to carry on the quality and effort shown in the second half of their previous fixture at Prenton Park, in a 2-2 draw with Blackpool. A draw and a win against Blackpool and Coventry in the past few days wouldn’t be a bad run of form for a side that is situated near the relegation zone. 

TEAM NEWS:

Liam Ridehalgh, Kane Wilson and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy are doubtful of a New Year’s Day start, due to recent encounters with injuries.

Scott Davies, Mark Ellis, Ollie Banks, Ishmael Miller, Evan Gumbs, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson all remain on the treatment table.

Jordan Ponticelli, a striker on loan from Coventry, is unavailable due to an agreement in the loanee’s ‘superwhite’ contract.

TEAM PREDICTION:

(4-3-3).

Chapman, Woods, Nelson, Ray, Caprice, Perkins, Danns, Jennings, Blackett-Taylor, Ferrier, Morris.

 ONE TO WATCH:

The Canterbury-born Matt Godden is the visitors ‘one to watch’, as he is back in the team after a recent injury. 

28-year-old Godden turned professional at Scunthorpe and has since represented: Brigg Town, Ilkeston Town, Gainsborough Trinity, Dartford and Tamworth. 

After a loan at Ebbsfleet, he moved to the club permanently in 2014, prior to going onto feature for Stevenage, Peterborough and Coventry. 

MATCH OFFICIALS:

Will Finnie is the man in the middle this Wednesday and will be assisted by Joe Simpson and Peter Gooch.

PAST MEETINGS:

Tranmere have met Coventry on many occasions, the most recent being earlier this season when Blackett-Taylor striked late into the game to salvage three points for the visitors.

Tranmere’s record against the New Year’s Day visitors to Prenton park fares better than the opponents, Won 11, drawn 3, lost 7.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tranmere have beat Coventry on the last three encounters with the ‘sky blues’. 

Tranmere Rovers v Blackpool : Match preview.

SETTING THE SCENE:

Simon Grayson’s play off chasing Seasiders are the final ‘superwhites’ opposition for 2019, as Blackpool face Tranmere this Sunday (29/12/19).

Micky Mellon will be looking to show his former employees what they’re missing as his Merseyside outfit aim to get back to winning ways after a Boxing Day defeat at Burton. Blackpool also lost on Boxing Day,  Accrington Stanley picking up all three points at Bloomfield Road. 

SETTING THE TEAM:

This weekends fixture sees a return to action for Corey Blackett-Taylor, as the forward comes back from suspension.

Scott Davies, Ellis Gumbs, Mark Ellis, Ishmael Miller, Harvey Gilmour and Ollie Banks all remain out and on the treatment table.

Kane Wilson and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson are also doubtful.

TEAM PREDICTION:

4-3-3 (left side to right)

Aaron Chapman, Liam Ridehalgh, Manny Monthe, Sid Nelson, Jake Caprice, David Perkins, Neill Danns, Connor Jennings, Corey-Blackett-Taylor, Morgan Ferrier, Kieron Morris.

ONE TO WATCH, WE’VE SAW HIM BEFORE: 

Former Tranmere forward Armand Gnanduillet is the visitors leading goalscorer after a prolific start to the campaign.

Clubs he has played for: Le Havre, Poissy, Chesterfield, Tranmere (2 goals in 4 games according to Wikipedia in the 2014 campaign), Oxford United, Stevenage, Leyton Orient, Baroka and Blackpool.

The 27-year-old Frenchman helped Blackpool clinch promotion from Sky Bet League 2 in May 2017, through the play offs. So far this season, he has scored 13 times for Blackpool. 

MATCH OFFICIALS:

Tom Nield is the man in black this Sunday afternoon. This season, he has officiated 17 matches awarding 51 yellow cards and 2 red. Tom Nield officiated the home goalscoring encounter with Peterborough United, earlier this season.

 Nield will be assisted by Steven Rushton and Anthony Moore. 

PAST MEETINGS:

Tranmere have a successful record against Blackpool : winning 20, drawing 6 and losing 10. Both clubs first met on Boxing Day 1978 but haven’t played each other since the 2006/07 campaign.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tranmere’s veteran midfielder, Neill Danns, won promotion with Blackpool in 2017 in a loan spell away from Bury with former Rovers striker Gnanduillet. 

Burton Albion v Tranmere Rovers : Match preview

BURTON ALBION V TRANMERE ROVERS 26/12/19

SETTING THE SCENE:

Christmas time is about love and festivities, all this is forgotten when boxing day comes and football fixtures are played. This year, Micky Mellon’s ‘superwhites’ travel to the Pirelli Stadium to face Nigel Clough’s Burton. The ‘Brewers’ are six places and seven points above their visitors. However, a win for Tranmere could take them three places higher with a game in hand over currently 17th placed Accrington Stanley. Thus, a Boxing Day cracker is set to unfold in Staffordshire.

SETTING THE TEAM:

Micky Mellon is without the services of the suspended former Aston Villa forward Corey Blackett-Taylor whilst Scott Davies, Mark Ellis, Evan Gumbs, Ishmael Miller, Harvey Gilmour, Ollie Banks all remain unavailable. Kane Wilson and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson are all doubts due to recently picked up injuries. 

ONE TO WATCH:

The ‘Brewers’ one to watch is their leading goal scorer, Liam Boyce. 

28-year-Old forward Boyce has previously been on the books of: Cliftonville (69 goals In 137 games – he has had two 2-year spells at the Northern Irish side) , Werder Bremen (second outfit) and Ross county where he scored 48 goals in 99 games. 

During his time at the ‘Staggies’, Boyce was named the Scottish premiership top scorer in the 2016/17 season as he scored 23 goals. 

Belfast-Born Boyce signed for Burton in the June of 2017, for Burton’s club record signing fee. He has so far scored ten goals this season.

OFFICIALS:

Ollie Yates is the man in the middle for the Boxing Day encounter. So far this season, the Staffordshire-residing referee, has awarded 56 yellow cards and 4 red cards in 18 games. 

The man in black will be assisted by Matthew Smith and Richard Bartlett.

PAST MEETINGS:

According to ‘11v11.com’ Tranmere have met Burton on three occasions, twice losing against their opponents and beating their opponent once.

The victory against the ‘Brewers’ came earlier in the season, when Ollie Banks and Stefan Payne netted in injury time to turn a 1-0 defeat into a 2-1 win. Former Tranmere forward Lucas Akins netted for the visitors. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Tranmere have won their past four Boxing Day fixtures, the game before that being a defeat at the Pirreli Stadium in the season the ‘superwhites’ was relegated to the national league for the first time.

If Tranmere win, it will be the club’s first league double (beating the same club twice in the league) of the 19/20 campaign. 

Lincoln City v Tranmere Rovers: Match preview

LINCOLN CITY V TRANMERE ROVERS : MATCH PREVIEW

This Saturday (14/12/19), Micky Mellon’s ‘superwhites’ travel to Lincolnshire. They do this with the hope of ‘picking up’ 3 points, for the first time since the 2nd of November when Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s hat trick sealed the win in Milton Keynes. Standing in their way are Micheal Appleton’s ‘Imps’ who are four points and four places above Tranmere in the third-tier. 

Team news:

Tranmere travel to the east without the services of Scott Davies, after the goalkeeping captain picked up a calf injury in the recent Prenton Park encounter with Accrington Stanley. Also: Mark Ellis, Evan Gumbs, Ishmael Miller, Harvey Gilmour and Ollie Banks all remain on the treatment table. Tranmere striker Morgan Ferrier is a doubt due to, what seems to be, personal troubles. Loanee full-back, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson is Back at his parent club as he receives treatment for a hip injury. 

One to watch:

‘Imps’ forward Tyler Walker is the hosts current top scorer, as he has bagged seven league one goals so far. The 23 year old forward is currently on loan, from championship outfit Nottingham Forest after coming through ‘The reds’’ youth system. Walker has previously been loaned out to: Burton Albion, Stevenage, Port Vale, Bolton Wanderers and Mansfield Town. 

 Match officials:

Carl Boyeson is the ‘man in black’ this Saturday. The official from East Yorkshire, has officiated 13 games this season in matches ranging from league one and two and the three different football league competitions. He has, so far, awarded 34 yellow cards and 2 red cards (no straight red cards).

Carl will be assisted by David Avent and Andrew Dallison.

The fourth official for this Saturday’s visit to Lincolnshire will be Hristo Karaivanov.

Past meetings:

Tranmere’s first meeting with Lincoln City came in 1922. In total the two clubs have met 71 times: Tranmere winning 26, Lincoln winning 25 and 20 encounters ending with a draw. 

Did you know?

The ‘superwhites’ most recent football league victory, when Lincoln City hosted the game, came in the late November of 1964. 

Tranmere Rovers v Chichester City : FA Cup Round 2

Tranmere Rovers, will face Chichester City this Sunday (01/12/19) in the second round of this seasons FA Cup.

Who are Chichester City?

Chichester City Football Club, the ‘Lillywhites’ of the Isthmian League South East Division, travel to Merseyside this Sunday. This is the furthest round of the FA Cup that the West Sussex club have ever competed in. Thus, it’s set to be a great tie showcased on BT Sports. 

The second round cup draw was made before Tranmere Rovers travelled to Adams Park, of Wycombe Wanderers, for the first round replay. Thus, Miles Rutherford and his side were unsure of where their FA Cup journey would take them next. However, when Tranmere forward Kieron Morris broke the hearts of the Adams Park faithful it became clear that Chichester would travel further than they have before for a league fixture.

To make the difference of Tranmere Rovers and Chichester City a slight more evident : Prenton Park has a capacity of more than 7 times Oakland’s Park, Four leagues separate the two sides (Five last season) and Tranmere’s history stretches more than 100 years past the opposition. 

Due to Bury’s demise bringing their expulsion out of the football league, they were withdrawn from the FA Cup. This meant that one football club had the opportunity of a bye to the second round, this club was this Sunday’s visitors to Micky Mellon’s Tranmere. Seeing the funny side of their bye and the difference between the ‘super whites’ and themselves, as soon as the replay at Adams Park finished they tweeted ‘Tranmere, good luck in the third round’. This shows that no-one, even themselves, believe that they can produce a cup upset this Sunday. However, this is the basis for a perfect cup upset that the famous cup competition has brought to football fans many times before. Who expected John Aldridge’s Tranmere side to beat Walter Smith’s ‘blues’ at Goodison Park in 2001?

It is only fair to credit the effort the coaches and squad have displayed in order to ‘go’ this far. Their FA Cup run started many months before Tranmere’s, with a 7-2 away win in the Preliminary round against Bridon Ropes. Aswell as past league successes, winning the Southern Combination Premier division last season. This shows that Chichester won’t come to Prenton Park and treat it as a ‘day out’, they will travel up north in the hope of presenting themselves in a great light against a football league opposition. Maybe their efforts in the Wirral Peninsula will be rewarded with a place in the third round, this will mean that premier league opposition may be found at Oakland’s park! An added pressure for the Southern ‘Lillywhites’, a team of semi professional footballers .. imagine Harry Kane against a team of plumbers?

Micky Mellon, Tranmere manager, knows all about his lower league opposition and in a recent press conference told the Tranmere Website ‘We know it’s going to be tough. We want to do well in the FA Cup so the value of the tie is huge to us, being on TV and all that goes with that, and being at Tranmere, you have to win games. We are looking forward to the game and we know what a big challenge it will be. They don’t come from the level that we play at, but we have still done our due diligence and professionalism on them. We know what we need to know, and we know that we’ll have to play well to beat them”. The prize is massive for both clubs and we respect that. We have to go out there and perform well and we are desperate to get to the next round.

“There is a massive incentive for both. We will need to take care of the business but I’m sure Chichester are going to come up here and give it everything that they have got so we’re going to have to perform. 

The ‘superwhites’ head into this cup tie after a run of mixed results, losing and beating Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe side and losing against Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town. Thus, Mellon will be hoping that this side will bring a slight progression in respect of quality shown and the start of a more positive run of results. 

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Mark Ellis, Evan Gumbs, Ishmael Miller, Ollie Banks and Jordan Ponticelli will miss the tie as they remained sidelined with injury. Kane Wilson will also miss the tie, through suspension, as he picked up a red card in the first round replay for a challenged that was deemed to be late. However, on a more positive note, Liam Ridehalgh and Neill Danns could both make a return following on from recent injuries. 

Chicester City, who Tranmere will play for the first time in their 135 year history, are the lowest ranked team that remain in this seasons FA Cup.

30 YEARS, NO JUSTICE

STILL NO JUSTICE:

David Duckenfield has been found ‘not guilty’ of manslaughter, in a court case at Preston crown court, claiming the lives of 96 football loving souls. The jury’s verdict was labelled a ‘disgrace’ by Margaret Aspinall who lost her 18 year old son James, in the family’s press conference with the media, this mirrored the thoughts of millions worldwide.

Mr Duckenfield was the chosen match commander of the 1989 FA Cup semi final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. His failure on the day of the match caused the death of 96 people, with his inability to control over-crowding outside of the terraces due to the little amount of available entrance turnstiles. The crush, which resulted in 96 fatalities and 766 injuries, remains the worst disaster in British sporting history (the biggest number of fatalities and injuries). The crush occurred in the Leppings Lane Stand, which was allocated for Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease over-crowding outside of the Hillsborough stadium, David Duckenfield ordered exit Gate C to be opened. This lead to an influx of even more supporters to the ‘pens’. Although Mr Duckenfield admitted to the jury, in a previous Hillsborough related court case, that he was probably not the best man for the match commander role. His actions on the day and what followed, are completely inexcusable as he ‘fed’ lies to the media to place the blame onto the Liverpool supporters instead of himself. Mr Duckenfield: was unaware of the crowd capacity at Hillsborough set out in a safety certificate, failed to order his police to monitor the ‘pens’ in which held the supporters and was unseen, by his police, before the match commenced. Thus, it’s clear that David Duckenfield’s failure to prepare for the FA cup semi final of 1989 claimed many lives. Isn’t this manslaughter?. What happened after the tragic day is still to the disturbance of many, Mr Duckenfield ‘fed’ lies to the media in an attempt to place blame onto the bereaved families instead of himself. ‘The Sun’, a few days after the tragic events unfolded, reported the ‘truth’ to David Duckenfield’s pleasure. The sun’s newspaper front-page headline stated : ‘THE TRUTH, some fans picked pockets of victims, some fans urinated on the brave cops, some fans beat up PC who was giving kiss of life’. In the 2016 BBC Hillsborough documentary, policemen explain their displeasure and embarrassment about the force fed lies and state their happiness of the newly found truth. It has also recently became factually evident that Mr Duckenfield told his policemen to not write anything about the day into their log books, immediately after the event. Why would the match commander tell his body of police to do this if he wasn’t being honest about the event?. Sheffield’s head of police completely disagreed with this commanded order and told them to do the opposite ‘note down everything you have done today, even the time you went to the toilet!’. Liverpool fans were deemed ‘not guilty’ for the lives of 96 people, after an extremely long wait, this disproved the sun’s front-page headlines and Mr Duckenfield’s source of comfort. However, if Liverpool fans aren’t guilty then surely David Duckenfield is. 

MY OPINION: 

My honest opinion is that the Judge shown sympathy to Mr Duckenfield throughout the court case, to finally be pleased with the verdict of ‘not guilty’. I believe this as the Judge has stated David Duckenfield to be a ‘poor man’, thus showing a sympathetic attitude. I also believe that if Liverpool supporters had shown the same actions towards 96 policemen that the verdict would be ‘guilty’, this proves my belief of the country’s establishment defending the upper class instead of the working class, which is still evident today in a Conservative government run society.