Liverpool FC Forum

by **JBG** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 11:18 pm

Spare a thought for the forgotten heroes

Dave Usher
Friday May 27th, 2005
The Liverpool Way

As the victorious Liverpool squad paraded around the City yesterday evening in front of an estimated crowd of around a million people, there were a couple of notable absentee's from the open top bus.

Two young men who's contribution to the club's fifth European Cup triumph was so great, that without them the club would not have advanced through the group stage let alone won the trophy.

Yet whilst their team-mates enjoyed the once in a lifetime moment of parading the greatest club trophy on the planet in front of an adoring, ecstatic public, Neil Mellor, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and several of their team-mates made their way home despondantly, after the bus left without them.

The players who didn't make the 18 man squad were on a different flight to Rafa, Gerrard & co, and the plan was for them to rendezvous with them at a meeting point where they would all board the bus and set off.

The second flight was a little behind the first one, but Merseyside Police would not let the bus driver wait for the second party to arrive, and insisted they left without them.

However, no-one even phoned the lads to say what was happening, they only found out when they got there to discover the bus had already gone.

I was told this morning that the lads arrived less than five minutes late, but the bus had already left. Some were close to tears, and nothing anyone says or does now can make up for what they missed out on.

Although it was the police who insisted that the bus leave before everyone arrived, the players feel that the club could have offered more resistance and waited until everybody arrived.

Rafa Benitez appears blameless, as it was not his responsibility to check who was on the bus, and it was only once the tour had got under way he noticed that not everyone was there. By then it was too late.

John Welsh watched the parade with his mates alongside the fans.

David Raven and Darren Potter managed to board the bus at the Jolly Miller after they had returned to Melwood to get their cars only to be told to go and meet the bus before it headed off to Anfield.

Others, including Mellor, Pongolle, Kirkland, Morientes and Pellegrino were not so lucky. Stephen Warnock missed out too, which capped a terrible week for him on a personal level.

Warnock's name was on the original 18 man squad list which was pinned on the wall at Melwood. He was told by the coaching staff on saturday to make sure he brought his boots on Monday as he was in the travelling squad.

The delighted lifelong Liverpool fan had told all his friends and family his great news, only to receive a phone call from Pako Ayesteran later that day saying the club had made a mistake, that he shouldn't have been on the list and the final place in the squad was being given to Josemi.

Naturally, Warnock was left devastated. This is a lad who has dreamed all his life of representing Liverpool in a major final. It's what kept him going as he battled back from three leg breaks.

That dream turned into a nightmare following that call from Ayesteran, and to not even get a place on the open top bus after the part he's played this season rubbed salt into the open wound.

Without Flo and Mellor we wouldn't be celebrating this amazing triumph, whilst Warnock was the best player on the pitch in Leverkusen, and has never given anything less than complete commitment to the cause.

Surely they have more right to be on that bus than many of those who were on it? Even Mad Salif somehow managed to get on there for God's sake!

I looked at Josemi at the front of the bus, a man who has not even bothered to learn English yet despite being in the country for nine months, and it just didn't seem fair that he was there whilst the two lads who turned the Olympiacos game on its head were left behind heartbroken.

Morientes and Pellegrino are experienced pro's who've seen it all and been a part of many victory parades during their illustrious careers, yet both were apparently close to tears.

I hear poor little Flo was actually in tears, and my heart goes out to the lad. He should have been there, he deserved to be there.

There was a lot of anger, disappointment and hurt amongst those who missed out, and a feeling amongst some that the club didn't care about them. I can't say I blame them for feeling that way.

So amidst all the euphoria we're feeling at the moment, spare a thought for the lads who have seen what would perhaps have been the greatest day of their lives completely ruined.

Sad that, I thought it looked a little empty on the bus when I saw the pictures. Glad that Diao got nowhere near the bus though. Did you see the cheeky tw.at on the pitch in Istanbul?

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Forgotten heroes - By dace usher (found by leonmc)

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