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Farewell song from the Kop comedians

It was bawdy. It was bellicose. It was bedlam. But being among the 16,480 folk who formed the Kop's last stand was an experience that will remain burnished in my memory.

And when the famous terrace eventually emptied one hour ten minutes after the final whistle, the greatest tribute to the Koppites came from one of their own heroes.

"Our performance didn't match theirs. They were absolutely unbelievable," said Liverpool captain Ian Rush, who went to the Kop at the end to give a farewell salute. Koppites, many of whom will be back to fill the 12,300-seater stand which will rise on the site of their spiritual home, are aware of the massive reconstruction task thrust upon manager Roy Evans.

That was exactly what Liverpool faced when I last stood on the Kop during the club's Second Division days 34 years ago. The 1960s had just dawned and Billy Liddell, the thundering winger whose style is reborn in Manchester United's Andrei Kanchelskis, was still playing.

So a lump came to my throat when the great Scot walked out in a pre-match parade of Anfield greats which included his former team-mate Albert Stubbins.

But the loudest roar, one which shook the Kop roof in advance of it's demolition, was reserved for Kenny Dalglish.
His appearance prompted the Kop to re-word Al Jolson's song. "We'd walk a million miles for one of your goals, oh Ken-ny," they sang in blank refusal to allow Liverpool's abject display to diminish the last day of the Kop proms.
"Get your boots on Kenny," was the cry from one frustrated fan.

The man who quit under the pressures of Anfield three years ago and has transformed Blackburn into title challengers was moved to tears. It was a towering re-affirmation that the Kop has full respect and sympathy for his departure and cherish the memory of his contribution as player and boss. But on a day when emotions pitched somewhere between carnival and wake, there was one notable exclusion from the Kop's final repertoire. Ex-manager Graeme Souness never got a mention.

In fairness, there was plenty to occupy the Kop patrons, the anxiety over their team's limp display blended with powerful reminders of past glories. "Shankly, Shankly" was the first concerted chant long before kick-off, in salute to the late folk hero who sparked the club's greatness. They shouted for his successor Bob Paisley, English football's greatest ever manager on trophies won, who was absent through illness.

The most touching moment came when Joe Fagan, the only English manager ever to land a treble, walked on to the pitch with Paisley's wife Jessie and Shankly's widow Nessie. "I know what the Kop's capable of but the reception surpassed anything we could have expected," said Fagan. Standing on that renowned terrace, where the accents, the classes, creeds and colours were multifarious as the flags and banners, was so evocative.

The swiftly changing reactions were just as I recalled them, like: "Get stuck in Redknapp. What the bloody hell are you doin'? Oh, great ball lad!" Most, as always, are unprintable. But it is all part of the rich terrace heritage disappearing from our national game.

Goss' goal was received in stunned, stony silence until the Kop wit rose to the fore. "You're supposed to let us win," they chanted self-mockingly, followed by: "Sing when we're losing, we only sing when we're losing." Even Liverpool's defeat failed to reduce the volume of the Kop's goodbye and their vocal chords were employed with renewed gusto at the news of Everton's fate at Leeds.

Then, underlining their hostility to the Kop plan, they sang: "We only sing when we're standing." Norman Nelson, a retired bank manager standing next to me, quipped: "Everton have a new theme song: 'We're all going to Endsleigh'!" He added: "One of the first songs I heard from the Kop was in 1950 when I was here watching a sixth round FA Cup tie against Blackpool." When their mascot, a live duck dyed tangerine, waddled round the running track around the Kop and for some reason sang: 'Yes, we have no bananas'. It made me laugh then and it still does."

Now it is consigned to history and even match-winner Goss, who struck a sizzling 20-yarder, said: "I've got mixed emotions. I think of all the great goals players like Rush and Barnes have scored here and it would've been nice for them to score. There's a lot of history on those terraces and it was very emotional lining up beforehand. My spine was tingling."

His goal condemned Liverpool to their worst season since 1965 when they last finished out of the top six.
But the Kop applauded Norwich off the pitch and richly deserved the tribute paid when Roy Evans and the team carried a pitch-wide banner declaring: "From all the players, thank you. We'll never walk alone."

Copyright - The Daily Express

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