Tomkins: A week to remember

To my mind, last Wednesday was one of the best days in the history of Liverpool Football Club. Winning trophies, playing great football and qualifying for the Champions League - all of which Liverpool have done during the past 23 years - all pale into insignificance when compared with removing such a disgraceful, unfounded stain on its fans' character.

Normally we rejoice when the starting XI plays a blinder. But the Independent Panel - lined up as a formidable IX - delivered a faultless display. Crucially, their status as neutrals gave the report the gravitas required to change the minds of the masses.

I've never felt entirely comfortable discussing the affects of Hillsborough, as I wasn't there - I first attended a game a year after the disaster. I'm not a native of the city of Liverpool, so I didn't experience first-hand the trauma of that day in April 1989, or its lingering aftermath.

I do remember being deeply moved by the floral tributes on the pitch and cried during the coverage of the services. And, of course, I'll never forget where I was at the time: hearing the events unfold on my car radio, and rushing home to get to the television.

I'd passed my driving test just five days earlier, and turned 18 two days after that. I had a crazy notion that I could make the semi-final my first game, now that I was able to drive myself. Of course, I had no idea back then how to go about getting tickets, and the game was obviously already sold out. Although it therefore couldn't have been me, part of me thought 'there, but for the grace of God, go I'.

All the same, I'm not really qualified to speak with any great authority. Thankfully, many of those who are - those who lost loved ones, those who were there, and those advocacy groups who speak for us all - have done so with great eloquence these past few days, while the panel themselves gave those most deeply affected a long overdue voice (given that their own voice, no matter how they used it, was largely ignored by almost everyone bar other Liverpool supporters.)

The advice of the fire service was ignored. Records were falsified by both police and ambulance services. The stadium had no safety certificate. Blood alcohol levels were tested on the deceased, including a 10-year-old boy, in an attempt to frame fans as a drunken mob, with, quite scandalously, a couple of pints enough to fit the criteria of inebriation (how much wine do people at the opera consume before a performance? Would their bodies be tested if a balcony collapsed?).

The saddest fact is that as many as 41 lives could have been saved beyond the 3.15pm cut-off point that the coroner laid out; saying that, just 15 minutes after the semi-final kicked off, everyone was either dead or so badly injured that life could not be preserved, when the opposite was true of almost half those who perished. While no-one should have died, the very worst we should have been singing about all these years is 'justice for the 55'.

Even though I don't feel particularly qualified, there's no way that I can write a column this week and not talk about the most important issue. By now, the media at large (and fans of other clubs) may be thinking of moving on from the findings of the Independent Panel - which provoked such a heart-warming reaction across the world - but it will remain at the forefront of all our minds until all lines of activity (including prosecutions) are exhausted.

I can already foresee Liverpool fans being told to 'move on', as people disconnected from an injustice can easily forget what it means to those affected. "Are you still going on about this?" will surely become a familiar refrain in the weeks, months and years to come, as will: "Get over it!" But the struggle won't end until every bit of justice is received. This is just the beginning of a long process.

Others may grow bored of it, but we won't.

As for the game against Sunderland, after what has been an emotional week for the club and its supporters, I thought Liverpool played well, particularly in the second half.

It's been a very difficult opening four fixtures, with two away games at what were mid-table sides last season (where you'd normally accept a point), especially in what turned out, as something of a quirk, to be each side's opening home fixture; either side of two home games against top three sides from 2011-12, including the champions.

I'd say that Liverpool have played well in two and a half of these games (with one of the poor halves coming with 10 men), and 'deserve' more points. Individual mistakes have proved costly, but the overall pattern of play has been fairly encouraging. Hopefully the mistakes are part of a teething process, as players get used to not just opting for an out-ball when under pressure. In the last couple of games the Reds have passed around at the back without the slips that marred the first two games, although that doesn't mean errors won't be made.

Perhaps what I admire most about Brendan Rodgers is that he takes responsibility for those mistakes; he's not a manager to berate players for trying to be constructive, and that's essential - because otherwise they'll stop taking any kind of risk and just lump the ball into an area where it's someone else's responsibility.

Glen Johnson was slated for not making the tackle which resulted in the home side's goal, and it led to the usual tiresome criticism of his defending. Yet he ranks seventh in the Premier League for regaining possession (Joe Allen is top). It's a case of confirmation bias in that any time Johnson doesn't win a tackle, even if it's once in 90 minutes, or even 90 games, his critics say, "Aha!"

It's obvious that fine tuning will take place in the coming months, particularly in terms of the timing of the passing in the final third and when shots are taken on - to my mind there have been too many speculative efforts from distance and not enough incisive through-balls - but that should come.

It doesn't get any easier, with Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, a few days after a European game. That will make it last year's top three faced in the opening five games. The sequence of games after that provides a bit more hope.

In the Europa League, I'd be tempted to start all seven subs from this weekend's game, with Sahin and Assaidi, in particular, in need of football to gain some sharpness. 18-year-old Suso, who was in the 20 for Sunderland but who didn't make the cut, could also be used, along with one or two others, and that way the major names can be kept fresh for the big clash.

But overall, it's been a week to celebrate the long-overdue revelation of a great truth, and also a time to reflect on the tragedy and remember those who lost their lives. Football will always be incredibly meaningful, given the time and passion that goes into it; but some weeks it takes a back seat.