KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Big Nev on Heysel

At the time,we had two of the best teams in Europe right here on Merseyside-remember a double page of The Echo with a photo of both teams mixed together (Liverpool player then Everton player)No doubt we'd have more than 5 European cups esp with team of 1987.

I don't think most everton fans would see it that way from my experience. However wise words from big nev a nice guy and a good man.

as a someone who was at heysel i will never defend the actions of those liverpool supporters on that evening , i do know of one of the lad jailed in 85 for the fighting at that game and he was a lad who went fighting at the match (he doesnt go the game no more and hasnt since then really) and yes there were loads of factors around heysel poor stadia slackness in a big way from UEFA/the belgian f.a./government/police who all were to blame as well , but if liverpool supporters hadnt have caused trouble those poor people would not have died , but heysel was the tipping point that season english football was in a poor state for a very long time off the pitch IE millwall at luton , leeds rioting at bournemouth and birminghan city when a lad got killed crushed by a wall being pushed over in the fighting then ok not hooliganism but the tragedy of the bradford fire all built up this season in to the tipping point heysel .

Yep good man was Big Nev, always had plenty of banter with the Liverpool fans behind the goal, always good humour when he went to take his position up and the fans always threw bin bags at him because he used to be a bin man, always took it in good spirit tho, pity players have'nt got the same sense of humour now.

Think you are spot on there

Footballers live on a different planet from those that follow them now.

You see very little interaction between players and fans now and the game is poorer for it.

Big Respect for Nev there!

We were made the scapegoat for what was happening all around the world at that time.......

Do feel a bit sorry for Everton though, they were hit hardest of the lot through the ban through no fault of there own, I can imagine what we would be like if it was us who got hit and it had nothing to do with us, Everton have never really recovered from that to this day, football was in a very bad place at the time and as people said there was a build up.

I dont think Everton were harder hit than anyone else.

Our name was mud in Europe for a very long time and one of our greatest ever teams never got to play in Europe as a result.

I would say we were as hard hit any club.