Souness: I'm sorry

Well I have been waiting to post this for hours, bloody DoS thingy!

Not too sure weather it should be in the KOP, but as most people only frequent here may be this is the best place for it.

Souness: I'm sorry

Graeme Souness has spoken of his deep regret over the interview he conducted with The S*n newspaper during his time as Liverpool manager.

The former Reds midfielder was featured in the tabloid following the club's FA Cup semi-final triumph over Portsmouth, a story that was held back and published on April 15, 1992.

He admits it was a mistake that has haunted him to this day and insists he is deeply sorry for the hurt caused when the article appeared on the third anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday yesterday, Souness said: "I accept I made one almighty rick by doing The S*n newspaper.

"At the time I didn't  realise the strength of feeling against the S*n newspaper. When I was manager of Liverpool, there were players in my team dealing with the S*n newspaper. There were ex-players dealing with that newspaper.

"My problem was that I agreed to do an exclusive with them. The thing that really killed me, and makes me sad today is that the last thing I want to do is upset any Liverpool supporter - especially the people damaged by Hillsborough - in whatever shape of form.

"There were a series of circumstances. I agreed to have a picture taken after the FA Cup replay against Portsmouth. The game went to extra-time. I said you can only have a picture if we get through.

"I was in hospital with my girlfriend who is now my wife. We had our picture taken but that was after extra-time and penalties. That picture was meant to go in on the Tuesday but because it had gone to extra-time and penalties, it missed the deadline.

"So it went in on the Wednesday. The Wednesday was the anniversary of Hillsborough and that killed me.

"The local journalist for The S*n at the time was Mike Ellis, who was away on holiday and was the one person who could have said to The S*n newspaper's office, you just can't do that.

"So I hold my hands up. I'm still a Liverpool supporter. They are still my team. There is no one who hurts more than me whenever the Hillsborough thing is mentioned. It hurts me because I had a great time as a player at Liverpool and I'd like to think I had a great relationship with the supporters at the time, and it hurts me.

"I can only apologise and it's something I have to live with."

http://www.lfc.tv/news/latest-news/souness-i-m-sorry

As you can see it is from the offal.

I can not remember the article, but at the time I do remember Souness had had by-pass surgery so may be he was not thinking straight. What he did was wrong, but to looks as though he been regretting it since he got he cheque.

It seems generally that he fu**ed up to the nth degree, and did something that can not be taken back.

I am not making excuses for him, but it seems he is generally sorry for his stupidity.

So is it time to cut him some slack?

He was nearly in tears on sky saying this, deffo heartfelt I personally accept it.

Fair play to make an apology, especially live on air.

It would of been easy to just put a statement on the website, or not make an apology at all, but he's gone live on air and made his apology.

I haven't seen the coverage yet, but if I see it and I can see that he genuinely means it, then I would accept it personally. However, I was young at the time and didn't really have an interest in football or any idea that this even happened until I was older, so I can see both sides of the story for if it isn't accepted.

But personally, I would say I accept it.

He made a mistake and now he's made a heartfelt apology. Fair enough.

Video to the programme and statement.

Graeme Souness on his time as Liverpool manager

Didn't know much about until recently this to be honest but he's personally apologised and did say it has haunted him to this day so cut him some slack

I remember reading about it on Brian Reade's book, and how much it angered him.

Well, everyone makes mistakes, if he's honestly apologizing, then I don't see why not accepting it. I just don't know why it took so long.

Souness has always had strong feelings for the club, even now when he returns to the ground he'll touch the "This Is Anfield" sign and I'm certain that he is truly sorry for doing what he did. But he still did it, he still held an exclusive interview with the rag and that is never 100% forgivable.

Quite a few ex players deserve to be cut a large
amount of slack including Souness.

Always has loved the club he just fu**ed up but
what a beast of a player

Of course he's forgiven. He's a proud man so it must have been hard for him to open up like that. At least you'd have thought it would have been.

I watched it as it happened, and the truth is, he opened up very easily. It was like, when he'd started talking about it, he really opened up. Didn't want to stop. He was genuine.

For what it's worth Mr Souness, I forgive you. YNWA

I can remember alright, and like most fans who can, was f***in livid at what i saw was a betrayal of the highest order, especially with that f***in rag, for those of you too young to know ask your dads or go to your library and read what was printed, as for Souey, well we all make mistakes i guess and his apology seems genuine enough, but what took him so long, why wait t'l now, has he got another book coming out ?

Alot of water has passed under the bridge, and i personally don't hold onto grudges to long, (must be getting soft in my old age) i to accept his apology and would gladly and respectfully shake the mans hand if we ever met.

Does anybody out there truly, in their heart of hearts believe that Souness (an LFC legend, fan and Manager at the time) DELIBERATELY set out to be malicious to everybody affected by the Hillsbourough tragedy.

So obvious the man was just naive in a F***ing big, big way.

Of course he could've apologised before yesterday but the man got absolutely lambasted at the time of the F**k up and we can only guess has to why he didn't, but I believe that he (even though he has got the 'slag the ex team off punditary syndrome' when on Sky TV) is sorry and meant no malice so therefore a line needs to be drawn under the matter.

Let's put our effort in to the most important matters.

JUSTICE FOR THE 96!

(Sorry for the capitals Mods).

Why the apology now? He was a great player but does he fancy a second go at being manager? He will have to do more to oust King Kenny.

Fair play Graham,takes a lot of balls to make a apology live on t.v.You made a mistake time to move on.I think u will be forgiven.

 I saw that one too, he just  kept saying he was at fault and apologising
 
 I know he made it public on Sky, It would be great if he personally met with the families themselves  to express his feelings

  He was a great player for us, and a great captain too, , 

 YNWA

Why the apology now? He was a great player but does he fancy a second go at being manager? He will have to do more to oust King Kenny.

I don't think he meant anything by the apology other than he was sorry, I think he just felt he had a natural environment to express his regret instead of a situation that might have looked and seemed forced. I felt it was very nice. YNWA Graeme.

Having just watched the video posted, he does seem to be desperate to get his point across, and he does look at times as if he is chocking up talking about it.

But like DLS said, it's going to be difficult for everyone to 100% forgive him, but all he can do is say he is sorry, and let people know he is, it's up to the supporters and all those affected by Hillsbourough if they forgive him, and I would never dream of saying that they should go one way or the other, but he's put it out there, and that would of taken a lot of bottle.

The S***rag NO.Souness Yep.

I really don't know it has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Throwing some cash to the families of the affected and the JFT96 campaign would personally give it more vindication in my eyes.

It's a very good starting point. . . That said. . . It would take a lot more to heal the wounds. Good to see the apology, but let that be the start of the bridge building

I can remember alright, and like most fans who can, was f***in livid at what i saw was a betrayal of the highest order, especially with that f***in rag, for those of you too young to know ask your dads or go to your library and read what was printed, as for Souey, well we all make mistakes i guess and his apology seems genuine enough, but what took him so long, why wait t'l now, has he got another book coming out ?

Alot of water has passed under the bridge, and i personally don't hold onto grudges to long, (must be getting soft in my old age) i to accept his apology and would gladly and respectfully shake the mans hand if we ever met.

Have to agree with this post, well said billythered.

Life's to short to hold grudges, just seems very very odd to come out with the apology now 

As he didn't understand the hatred we had for the sun at the time, and the remainder it seems with hind sight, was down to a coincidence of events which culminised in bad timing as well. I don't think in his position at the time he would have done anything deliberately to upset anyone associated with the club or Hillsborough. I t seems he's waited a long time to clear the air but probably because he was hurting so much, and was probably worried about the response he might have got so just kept his head down. Brave man to come out and say his piece live on t.v. Respect.

He says the team he inherited only had one player that deserved to be a liverpool player at the time. Who do you think he means? Rushie? Barnes? Nicol? McManaman? Redknapp?

apology accepted.  The guy has obviously been really cut up about it

Agree with most comments above, as he apologized and we all know he love this club, so just let him know that from now he and us can move on from the past, let support the club and back the king, Souie.

Bit odd it took him almost two decades to come clean?

It's water under the bridge but has he given the money he received back? Donated it to the Justice campaign? Anything?

It looks like it has hurt him and he's been a man about it to confront it live on tv but i just feel like it's all bit to convenient for him. Odd feeling, but i can't help but feel that way.

Anyway, an apology is better than nothing and credit to you.

When one fucks up very often the best one can do is apologise. I'm baffled by the timing but i'm prepared to accept, what appears to be, a heartfelt apology from Souness.

I will hold the grudge, 'til the day I die, with The S** however.

DON'T BUY THE S** - JFT96.

Bit odd it took him almost two decades to come clean?

It's water under the bridge but has he given the money he received back? Donated it to the Justice campaign? Anything?

It looks like it has hurt him and he's been a man about it to confront it live on tv but I just feel like it's all bit to convenient for him. Odd feeling, but I can't help but feel that way.

Anyway, an apology is better than nothing and credit to you.

To be fair he has apologised in the past, however he still in my opion needs to apologise to the families face to face. The reason being is anyone can use the media to publisze themselves and keep themselves in the news. Souness is shameless self promoter as many of us can be. But he needs to make more than one apology in my opion, he should also be apologising to the rest of the fanbase also for nearly destroying the club with his suicidal decisions.
He was a great player and great Captain for us but he was sh*te manager and by seeking out publicity with this apology now just seems a little bit too well planned for me. Why did he not seek it out when we were on the slide with Hogsqueel in charge why now when the whole world is looking as we have just beaten the chavs.
Perhaps it just me being cynical but it does seem a bit odd to say the least wouldnt you say?

Fairly sure he has apologised before.

In any case, it's all very well people here suggesting we accept his apology or whatever.  It's the family and friends of those who lost loved ones who will decide whether they have accepted his apology in the past or not.

Fairly sure he has apologised before.

In any case, it's all very well people here suggesting we accept his apology or whatever.  It's the family and friends of those who lost loved ones who will decide whether they have accepted his apology in the past or not.

Exactly, who are we to accept any sort of apology? It is not our decision to make.

Exactly, who are we to accept any sort of apology? It is not our decision to make.

Well, as a Liverpool fan, I felt that I needed an apology (I felt betrayed); I'm part of the trinity and we never walk alone. I had read words from Souness before but now i've seen that apology I can accept it and move on.

The friends and family of the 96 will each make their own decision, no doubt but when push comes to shove some, all or none may accept Souness' apology. They'll do what they feel comfortable with just as I am happy to now draw a line (under Souness' role) and move on.

I will never accept an apology from The S**.

He still shouldn't have agreed to do an exclusive with the rag, doing it the day before the anniversary is not much better is it?

everyone makes mistakes. while i understand that he should never have agreed to have anythign to do with the pile of scum that is the s*n, i'm sure he regrets it and he is genuinely upset by it.

maybe he should visit all the families of the victims to apologise in person, not out of the question imo.

I wasn't going to leave a comment on this as i'm not really in a place to judge. I'm in my 20's and from Ireland, so the whole issue with the sun was never really put across that much. I supported the club for as long as i can remember but it wasn't until i was 14/15 that i really got into it and started going over to games. I obviously knew about the Hillsbrough stories and it wasn't until a few years back that i really looked into it. Read a lot of books on the topic etc. Anyway my point is, when i finally came to realise the horror and hurt it caused it personally made me feel ill. I can never claim to understand what any of them families went through because quite literally it must be hell. It may not mean a lot to the people on Merseyside what some people in Ireland think but i never buy the rag and make sure all my family don't either ( my dads a spurs fan and he doesn't buy it because of my hatred) So i can never say i can never take his apology because as a few on here said, it's not down to us to accept it. Being a great player for the club and obviously still loving the club, i don't think he purposely intended to cause as much pain as he did. It may have been more naievity than anything but it is understandable if some of the people directly involved do not accept his apology. It strikes a little odd to bring it all back up now. And i think it is a shame that Souness will never be looked on as a true Legend because after looking at old games and teams, he was a great player, one who never took a backwards step and always gave 100% for the jersey. As i said i don't think its down to the majority of fans to say we accept it, when we're not in a position to.

I saw that one too, he just  kept saying he was at fault and apologising
 
 I know he made it public on Sky, It would be great if he personally met with the families themselves  to express his feelings

  He was a great player for us, and a great captain too, , 

 YNWA

How many families were involved? Dozens and dozens. So you want him to meet with all of them and to express his feelings. Get real. Yes, hundreds of people have suffered terrible losses.

Graeme Souness couldn't deal with meeting all of the families. That would be hard for any person to do. Imagine the emotion, imagine the stress.

He has apologised live on air. He couldn't do much more.

Your post is ridiculous.

I really don't know it has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Throwing some cash to the families of the affected and the JFT96 campaign would personally give it more vindication in my eyes.

Souness has pledged money to the cause. Vindicated then?

It takes a big man to accept he was wrong. It takes a bigger man to apologise on live tv

Respect

How many families were involved? Dozens and dozens. So you want him to meet with all of them and to express his feelings. Get real. Yes, hundreds of people have suffered terrible losses.

Graeme Souness couldn't deal with meeting all of the families. That would be hard for any person to do. Imagine the emotion, imagine the stress.

He has apologised live on air. He couldn't do much more.

Your post is ridiculous.

kenny did it, yes it was hard for him but as a man of responsibility, sometimes that's what it takes. i don't think it's a ridicilous post at all.

Fair play to him - it's obvious that this was straight from the heart.

Time to forgive and forget - a true legend who had held his hands up like a man, and a gent and admitted he made a massive mistake, and that he has had to live with it.

I can't speak for anyone else, but he has gone a long way to re-earning my respect.

I remember the fury at the time when he gave the interview to the shitrag but the initial reaction from a personal perspective was one of bewilderment and disbelief that a respected servant of LFC could make such comments, of course the comic running the story was highly suspect as well.
Even as the story unfolded I was still reluctant to give it any credit and waited for a denial in the strongest terms from Souness which of course was never forthcoming. Eventually I was forced to accept that he said what was reported and still more incredibly a picture of him and his girlfriend appeared in the paper on the anniversary of the tragedy with the offending article.
It was always a mystery to me that a man of no small intellect could act like a complete imbecile on two occasions in quick succession both in the context of the gutter rag.
Of course it was a massive error of judgement on his part but the slant that was put on the story is now more comfortably dismissed with these apologetic statements from the man himself, whether it is enough for those directly affected by the horror is debatable.
 

 Time to fogive and forget definately. He was never quite as bad a manager as people make out these days (though he wasn't that good either), but younger fans who never had the privilage of seeing him play missed out. He was an absolutely wonderful footballer, and I'd have him in my top three all-time Liverpool players alongside Dalglish and Gerrard. When he went to Italy I would say he was just about the best midfielder around at the time, he could score, pass, boss games and tackled like a lion. Like a combination of Roy Keane and Alberto Aquilani if you can picture that.

 An absolutely marvellous player and a bloke who has been maligned enough as far as I'm concerned.   

kenny did it, yes it was hard for him but as a man of responsibility, sometimes that's what it takes. I don't think it's a ridicilous post at all.

Yes it was hard for Kenny. I have no doubt that he had sincere feelings and for the families who suffered and as a result suffered himself with the stress it caused, but he had an obligation as the Manager. But that doesn't lessen what he did. He was amazing.

For Souness, a man who also attended funerals and pledged lots of money to the Hillsborough Families, he has made a mistake which, if you listen to what he said, he had no control over stopping the picture being printed. A mistake which he regrets deeply.

To say he should go and visit all the families and apologise personally is off the wall.

Souness has apologised many many times.

http://www.newstalk.ie/2011/programmes/all-programmes/offtheball/graeme-souness/

Nice podcast by Souness...... tells a few good tales of his time as a player at Liverpool, such as when he arrived from Middlesbro, Kenny told all the players he was gay    

My personal view is

I have huge respect for what he done as a player and it saddens me that his greatness is ruined. However the only people who can truly forgive him are those who are/were effected by the tragedy.

Granted we all are entitled to say we forgive him or we dont but for me he will only ever be truly forgiven by those effected.

I really do hope one day he will be and he can return to Anfield as a visitor, his tenure as manager was a disaster but far outweighed by what he acheived as a player

Any doubters should think again and give him a break, that must have taken guts to do that. Yes, you could say its taken a long time, but hes done it now and lifes too short. I was at Hillsborough that year and the previous one in what was a near carbon copy of what was to follow,apart from the tragedy, and i can find it in my heart to forgive him,to me he looks sincere.

Didn't Souness already come out and say this years ago?? I recall watching a documentary called "This is Anfield" which was made a few years back when Houllier was manager and he said those exact words!

If he really wants to show he is sorry, why doesn't he throw his weight behind the Justice for the 96 campain?

Video to the programme and statement.

Graeme Souness on his time as Liverpool manager

Well I don't think it's really my place to accept the apology, however I'm willing to forgive him as his apology seems pretty heartfelt, what he did was very wrong and he seems to realise how wrong it was.

However, he says at the start of that video 'we hadn't won anything for two years when I arrived'. I'm sorry? Hadn't we won the league title in 1990 and the fa cup the year before?

Glad he apologised, but i'm still waiting for him to say sorry maknig our team a laughing stock!

Despite what he says, he was responsible for destroying the famous boot room. Mr Shankly and Uncle Bob wanted the team to bond by travelling to Melwood by coach from Anfield and then back  after training to all eat lunch together. This, they thought, was imperative for team spirit. It obviously worked but Souness thought he knew better than his predecessors and wanted to change the training regime. He had big ideas after coming down from Rangers and thought he could change the whole ethos of the club. Instead he destroyed it.

However, he has accepted that he made a bad mistake with the S*n interview, (I believe he was blackmailed into giving the interview to the bl**dy rag) so now is time for the Reds fans to forgive.

Despite what he says, he was responsible for destroying the famous boot room.

Double check on that.

Nothing to do with him the club wanted to enlargen the tv room were interviews were done etc so the boot room got removed he didnt say he wanted it gone

Disagree. Souie is a mate of a friend of mine, and he had big ideas when he came down from Rangers. He had many arguments with Peter Robinson over what the club should be doing, and one was to change the training routine from travelling from Anfield to Melwood every day, to all meeting at Melwood as it was easier to organise. That was why the boot room disappeared.

Grahame souness is not a paticulary good tv pundit, neither was he a very good manager,but he was a monster of a player who has shed bucket loads of sweat for this club that he loves,as he says, many players at that time were doing interviews for the sh*t rag,he got it wrong and has said sorry.

In view of the new era we are now in with Kenny and the fact that we need to unburden ourselves of any negativity surrounding the club I think if the Families are happy to accept his apology then so am i.
We need positivity around the club and having Souness back in the fold would be great.He served this club fantastically well and he was a big hero of mine.He seems genuinely sorry even today for the hurt he caused.

Grahame souness is not a paticulary good tv pundit, neither was he a very good manager,but he was a monster of a player who has shed bucket loads of sweat for this club that he loves,as he says, many players at that time were doing interviews for the sh*t rag,he got it wrong and has said sorry.

He won 11 trophies in 3 countries as a manager that seems pretty good to me.

Why so long?

I learnt a long time ago.......if you are wrong promptly admit it.

Great player. Sh*te manager.


Move on.

At least he got round to it.

I thought he apologised during Houllier's reign though did he not? Anyway as people have said...its up to the families whether or not to forgive..

He won 11 trophies in 3 countries as a manager that seems pretty good to me.

You what? Souness won most of his trophys with Rangers, even i would win cups in charge of them! Great player, a legend infact, but he was the man who undid all the good work of Kenny.
The worst manager we ever had!

I had the opportunity of meeting him a few times when he was manager at Southampton but in a context away from football. I found him intelligent, charming and very humble as a man.

He has a reputation fueled in part by the media as a man of steel and after he wound up his direct football career it would have been a selling point to maintain that persona. Play to the gallery if you would.

I too hope that reconcilliation can be found with the families but I don't want to know about it because it will be turned into a media circus. If he can do it then let it be the Liverpool way. In secret, low key, and personal.

Give him a chance at least without searching for alterier motives

Blackburn Liverpool and I think it was Galatassary he won trophies with and they dont give tham away with cereal.
Like him or loathe him but dont pretend he didnt have success. It wasnt his fault that Kenny's team also aged somewhat and he did what he thought right for the club he will admit in hindsight he would have done things differently now. He was a massive part of our most succesful period in the clubs History and I remember how we never managed to replace him anyone remember Macdonald ffs.Also the Scottish league of the late 80's early 90's was decent enough.

You what? Souness won most of his trophys with Rangers, even I would win cups in charge of them! Great player, a legend infact, but he was the man who undid all the good work of Kenny.
The worst manager we ever had!

Having just endured a period of absolute terror under Roy that statement is just outrageous.

Having just endured a period of absolute terror under Roy that statement is just outrageous.

Also he won an FA cup, managed a side that deprived man utd a league title on the last (or was it 2nd last) day of the season. Blooded Fowler, Rob Jones, McManaman and Redknapp

Hodgson does not come close!!

How long do we let him walk alone? he has had to suffer behind closed doors ever since that interview and im sure deep down there does not go a day when he does not contemplate and realise he let us all down.

We all make mistakes thats part of being human and also forgiving is part of being human too.

YNWA JFT96.

Cant speak for those directly involved ,but i thought that was a man in front of camera not staged who has regretted an awful lot for a long time ,he has to go down as one of the best captains this club has had and would run through brick walls for us , he fcked up badly so does everyone at some point , that he has kept that with him all this time and can remember every little detail of it speaks of the hurt he felt himself, the damage was done but must we keep punishing a man who deep down from his soul apologised , and loves this club to bits ,a poor manager yes but i dont think he is a bad person .

Its wrong to kick a man when he is down and he is contrite after all these years if the families are happy to forgive him then who are we to judge him.
We need to get back to being positive about everyone involved in this club we had enough negative sh*t with H&G and then Roy I am enjoying Liverpool again for the first time in years lets keep it that way.

"The background to how I ended up exposing Souness as a liar when, post “Loverpool” he claimed he knew nothing of what the Scum said about Liverpool supporters immediately after Hillsborough is bizarre to say the least, in that only passing reference was made to the doings of the Scum, and my contact with Souness only concerned the Star. And Steven Kelly, of TTW&R was with me every step of the way. Plus, the whole thing was started by a cartoon on the back page of his fanzine.

So this story will involve Steven, and also draw on articles we both wrote in the Spring 2000 edition of TTW&R.

In the Summer edition 1991 Steven lashed out at the Liverpool players who has sold the photographs of their Christmas Party to the Star, and illustrated this with a cartoon on the back page of that edition. For those who don’t know, the Star was not as vicious as the Scum post-Hillsborough, but they came close. However, they apologised fully within days.

Later that year, Souness was appointed as our manager. I decided to raise the issue with him at the AGM in the September. Unusually for those days, the press were also at the AGM, and because I didn’t want to fill their mouths, I spoke to Souness privately afterwards. I told Souness what the Liverpool players had done, and why I thought it was wrong. He told me that he was well aware of what the Scum had done, but that he wasn’t aware of the Star’s excesses. I thought that fair enough, and we agreed I would write to him, which I did on the 10th September 1991. I sent copies of the TTW&R cartoon and a piece which Steven had written, setting out the Star’s role and why he felt the players should not have contact with them.

It is fair to say that, at the time, Steven had doubts about Souness’ sincerity. I never did, not for one moment.

On 28th September, Souness wrote back to me saying that he would speak to the players and “instruct them to have no contact with the Star or Sun newspapers”. I still have the correspondence, and Steven has copies.

I was absolutely delighted, because I thought I had secured a Star ban, and a completely unexpected and unasked for confirmation of one against the Scum.

I ask you to consider this. I never at any time asked Souness to ban players having contact with the Scum. I only made a fleeting reference to it in my letter. If, when we’d spoken, he’d said he knew nothing of the Scum’s role post-Hillsborough, I’d have given him chapter and verse. If he was completely ignorant of it, why make specific and uncalled-for reference in his letter?

Eight months later, on the third anniversary of Hillsborough, Souness was on its front page with his tongue down Karen Levy’s throat.

He was recovering from heart surgery in hospital. The Scum photographer and a reporter with him, in his hospital room, to record his reaction to our victory against Portsmouth. Our game was on the 13th. The Scum held off for two days to ensure publication on the 15th, spot on the date of the Hillsborough Disaster.

To quote from Steven’s piece: “What was Souness playing at anyway. It was always difficult to determine just how bad he was at the time; ill enough to go under the knife, not so ill that he couldn’t discuss an exclusive deal with the Scum. Recuperating after surgery, but not feeling so bad that he couldn’t ring John Major up to say “well done” for winning the 1992 election (another propaganda coup for Scousers). Well enough to discuss tactics with Ronnie Moran for the replay with Portsmouth, well enough to watch it and snog his girl after the victory”.

Well, I rang Steven immediately I saw the papers. I already had some interest from the Mirror, but Steven asked me to speak to the local press, which I did. The Daily Post ran with the story - front page with me holding up a copy of the letter. The Mirror backed out after Souness had a relapse - but not before they’d faxed a copy of his letter to the hospital saying they were going to print it - which I only found out about much later and well after the event.

Souness tried to claim he was ignorant of the slurs of the Scum, being in Glasgow at the time of Hillsborough. His letter proved that he was a liar. There is an old saying “Do right and fear no man. Don’t write and fear no woman”. Unfortunately for Souness, he wrote to the wrong woman.

In the aftermath, Souness claimed that he donated “the lion’s share” of the Scum’s money to Alder Hey Hospital. Other reports, such as the Observer’s on 19th April 1992, claim that he gave them 50 grand and kept another 50 grand for himself. That is a matter between him and them, and I make no comment about it other than to say that the reputedly highly litigious Souness has never sued them, nor have they ever withdrawn the article.

In 1992 Mr and Mrs Souness were married in name only, having been separated for three years. Mrs Souness was entirely ignorant of the existence of Karen Levy and oblivious of “Loverpool”, and found out only when a reporter from the Scum turned up on her doorstep (uninvited naturally) to ask her for her opinion. No preparation by Souness for his wife and his children at all.

Since then. Well, the Scum had exclusive pictures of his second wedding day, and provided a ghost writer for his book “The Management Years”. He was of course gone from us by then, but the contact held firm - despite him knowing what that awful rag had said about people who used to chant his name.

I’ll finish by quoting from Steven’s article again:

““The biggest mistake I ever made was going back to Liverpool”. No Graeme, the biggest mistake you ever made was allowing the Scum into your hospital room, your life, even. It was a betrayal of a kind you still cannot fathom and no amount of soul-cleansing biographies and obedient hacks can ever wash that stain away.”

So was he or wasn't he aware?

He maybe sorry, but hes a liar.

Call him a greedy b***ard if you want but you cant write this mans achievements out of our history he was a colosuss twice the player Mascherano was.
He has said he was wrong he has apologised kicking him to death everytime people get a chance to does nothing.The final point I make again is if the Families are willing to forgive him then it should be the end of the matter.
I dont have any Murdoch media in my house no Sky no papers but I dont consider that others who do have Sky or buy other Murdoch press are in any way traitors if we are going to be so extreme in our views let him without sin.....

Call him a greedy b***ard if you want but you cant write this mans achievements out of our history he was a colosuss twice the player Mascherano was.
He has said he was wrong he has apologised kicking him to death everytime people get a chance to does nothing.The final point I make again is if the Families are willing to forgive him then it should be the end of the matter.
I dont have any Murdoch media in my house no Sky no papers but I dont consider that others who do have Sky or buy other Murdoch press are in any way traitors if we are going to be so extreme in our views let him without sin.....

But why is everybody so taken in by someone who said he was so unaware of what the s*n had said even though he was only in F***ing Scotland.

Great Player
sh*t manager
Not too arsed about his punditry.

What I am saying is the first on your list Great Player should count for a lot. He left Liverpool for money so we know he is greedy if he lied then  he is apologising now. Far too many people just want to shout him down when really they should let him be. I want our club to be totally positive about everything dragging this up dosent help that process .Has anyone heard from the Families to get their reaction because it is their opinion that counts.

We need closure on a few issues and souness is one to start with.

We need closure on a few issues and souness is one to start with.

Agreed Shabs we need to move forward now not forgetting what happend in the past but leaving a lot of it where it belongs.

Souness was a great player but as a manager he was a big time Charlie, I'm bigger than the club, hence the interview. He can have closure but he can f**k off.

As Margaret said - We might forgive, but some things we'll never forget. The rag will never be forgiven though

I think he realises now that his judgement and lack of thought at the time has brought him nothing but regret which is something that we have all gone through at one time or another its just we don't cause mass upset because we are not in the public eye. He should have known better and nobody realises that more than souness himself.
Others owe much more in the way of apologies.

Apology accepted for me, he's one of us the paper was to blame imo. Still can't get my head round not knowing what the feeling for the Sun though, dropped a real bollock there. He needs to not come across so rightous as a pundit as well.

If you lost a loved one would you fogive Souness, whoes pig headedness lead him to do his story with the scum newspaper

So was he or wasn't he aware?

He maybe sorry, but hes a liar.

Wow. Sorry I'm commenting on this a little 'out of date' but after reading this piece by Maggie May I would like to retract my post from the time and say F**k you Souness you're a liar.

Besides, as if I had any say on whether he should be forgiven anyway.