Perspective

"Rafa Out", "Yanks Out"...'Torres & Gerrard future in doubt as Benitez flunks on Top 4 guarantee'...'Babel dropped after venting Tweet frustration'...'Riera: Rafa hates me'...depressing sub-plots and headlines in what has been an unforeseen season of woe for everyone attached to Liverpool Football Club. But sometimes our obsession and passion for football makes us lose sight of the bigger picture.

Tomorrow is April 15. Missing out on 4th place and unpicking the latest Anfield boardroom developments seem rather less important. It is on this day that everybody with any conscience spares a thought for the 96 who lost their lives on that unassuming day at Hillsborough in 1989, and for their families who have been denied a frank admittance of what happened and have endured years of unacceptable legal frustration.

My family may be from Liverpool but I'm not. I was five-years-old at the time of the tragedy. I only really learned about what happened years later, when I joined my dad watching a documentary about it. Haunting images even for a detached fan years later. Other than that I saw highlights on season videos of the annual service held at the ground. But Brian Reade's superb book, 43 Years With The Same Bird, has given me a context I'd been missing, from the lies in a particular national newspaper to the altered statements used as evidence which only served to undermine the families' pursuit of some kind of closure. Brian is very frank about how the tragedy effected him. His account laid it on the line for me, the stark reality of it all. The frustration and anguish.

Today I've read some accounts of the day by fans who were there. I can never really understand what happened but I'm grateful to the likes of Brian and @Ian_LFC for his post on Twitter (see http://passionatelylfc.blogspot.com) for presenting their stories to new generations of Reds like me. They keep the flame burning.

So I'll be pausing tomorrow afternoon to remember 96 like-minded people who held dear the same club that is so instringically entwined as a part of me, and I'll summon up that perspective the next time I hear that famous Bill Shankly quote: "Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that..."

Walk On.