The Liverpool Community Spotlight: Barney Corkhill (Part One)

The Interview

Spotlight: It is a great pleasure for the team to sit down with the Liverpool community leader for our next instalment of Spotlight. Welcome Barney and thanks for taking time out from your busy schedule to answer a few questions for us.

Barney Corkhill: It is certainly a pleasure as I really enjoyed the last installment of Spotlight.

SL: It is great that the Liverpool community has a Liverpool supporter as its leader, how did you start out supporting the team and how old was you?

BC: It must have been when I was about three or four, basically as soon as I knew anything about the game. The whole of my Dad's side of the family are from Liverpool, and they all support the Reds—apart from my Dad and my brother, who support Everton.

Even my brother used to support Liverpool but changed—for reasons I still don't fully understand—I'm sure my Dad would have tried to sway me but Liverpool has always, and will always be my team.

SL: There does always seem to be that family split in Liverpool supporting households, luckily none of my family like football so I am left to my own devices. Unfortunately for my son, it will be very hard not to try and influence him when it comes to him choosing a team.

Coming from a family of Liverpool supporters, it is hard to imagine there were any other teams you could have supported. Was there any other clubs in the picture?

BC: As everyone did, I used to have a "second team", who I liked, but didn't support. That was Newcastle for me, but I stopped liking them when Graeme Souness ruined them. But no-one ever came close to Liverpool for me.

SL: In a parallel universe, who would you support and why?

BC: Hmmm, tough one. I don't think there is any other team I could support, but if I had to say anyone it would probably be Real Madrid.

SL: What has been your three favourite moments as a Liverpool supporter?

BC: Number one for me would have to be winning the 2005 Champions League. I doubt much will ever compare to that as long as I live in terms of football.

SL: Without a doubt, that is my favourite Liverpool moment and to be honest, one of the best moments of my entire life so far.

BC: Second would have to be winning the 2006 FA Cup. This was not so much the magnitude of the win, but the manner in which it happened.

I had a group of mates round at the time, none of whom were Liverpool fans, and they were all mocking me about how we had lost and then BAM! Steven Gerrard scores that goal!

Only once before has a FA Cup final been named after a player, and that was the great Stanley Matthews, but now 2006 will always be known as the Gerrard final.

SL: I had the same experience, at my cousin’s house; everyone was laughing until that Gerrard goal. What is number three on your list of favourite Liverpool moments?

BH: Number three is the treble in 2001. The entire treble was a great moment, but the stand-out moment, outstripping even the FA Cup final, was the UEFA Cup final.

This was great, not just because we won, but because it was such a great game. It had everything; nine goals, own goals, golden goals, dramatic last-gasp equalisers, red-cards. One of the best games I have ever seen.

(Please go to Page Three)

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