David Peace - Red or Dead

Hello, Bob. Hello, said Bill Shankly. Are you busy, Bob? Or do you have the time? The time for a chat, Bob?

Bob Paisley smiled. And Bob Paisley said, I’ve always the time, Boss. Come in. Have a seat, Boss.

Thank you, Bob, said Bill Shankly. And Bill Shankly walked into the boot room. Bill Shankly sat down on an upturned beer crate.

Bob Paisley smiled again. And Bob Paisley said, Now what’s on your mind, Boss? What’s on your mind?

No doubt the same as what’s on yours, said Bill Shankly.

Bob Paisley nodded. And Bob Paisley said, Aye, Boss. Aye. It’s been a bad start, Boss. A very bad start.

I keep going over things in my mind, said Bill Shankly. Over the things I’ve done, Bob. All the things I’ve done. Over and over, round and round, Bob. In my mind. Over and over, round and round, Bob. Wondering where I’ve gone wrong. Where I’m going wrong, Bob. And how to put it right. How to bloody fix it, Bob.

Bob Paisley nodded again. And Bob Paisley said, Aye, Boss. I’m the same. It’s the same with me, Boss.

But I know it’s me, Bob. It must be me. It’s my fault, Bob.

Bob Paisley shook his head. And Bob Paisley said, No, Boss. No. It’s not you, Boss. It’s not you. It’s never one man, Boss. It’s all of us. It’s every one of us, Boss.

Thank you, said Bill Shankly. Thank you, Bob. But Albert was right. You were all right, Bob. The players were not fit enough. The players are not fit enough. They were used to the road-work. They were used to the running. I should have listened to you, listened to you all.

Bob Paisley shook his head again. And Bob Paisley said, No, Boss. No. You were right, Boss. You were right. The players do their playing on the grass. So they should do their running on the grass. You were right, Boss. And you are still right. Still right, Boss.

But the players are just not fit enough, said Bill Shankly. I know that and you know that, Bob. We can see that.

Bob Paisley nodded. And Bob Paisley said, You remember you told us how you used to spend your summers? When you were a player yourself, Boss? How you used to go back to Glenbuck. Every summer. How you used to spend your days running across the fields and up the hills. Every day. Then how you spent your nights playing football with the men from the village. Every night.

Aye, said Bill Shankly. It was no holiday. No summer holiday. But my mother never believed in holidays. She used to say, Every day you wake up and you can get up and you can do your work, then that is a holiday. That is what she believed. That is how she raised us.

Bob Paisley smiled. And Bob Paisley said, Not many that believe that now, Boss. Not many that were raised that way. Not these days, Boss. Not in our team. Not this lot, Boss. They’ll have been sat in their deckchairs. On the front. Or sat on their sofas. In front of their televisions. Eating chips, drinking beer. Getting fat, getting lazy. That’s how this lot’ll have spent their sodding summers.

Aye, said Bill Shankly again. Aye. You’re right there, Bob.

Bob Paisley nodded. And Bob Paisley said, But you were right, too, Boss. Right to ease them back in. No good giving them bloody heart attacks on their first day back. No good at all.

Aye, said Bill Shankly. But we need to pick up the pace now.

Bob Paisley nodded again. And Bob Paisley said, Yes, Boss. We need to pick up the pace. We need to make them sweat.

Bill Shankly sprang forward on the upturned beer crate. Bill Shankly took out a book from his jacket pocket. A notebook. Bill Shankly flicked through the pages. The pages of notes. And then Bill Shankly stopped. Bill Shankly thrust the open book at Bob Paisley –

Look at that, said Bill Shankly. Look at that, Bob! It might just be the answer. It might just be what we need, Bob.

Bob Paisley took the book from Bill Shankly. Bob Paisley stared down at the lines on the page. The lines of a sketch, the lines of a diagram. And Bob Paisley said, What is it, Boss? What is it?

It’s a box, said Bill Shankly. It’s a box, Bob!

What kind of box, Boss?

A box to make them sweat, Bob. A box to make them sweat.

Bob Paisley looked back down at the lines on the page. The lines of a sketch, the lines of a diagram. The lines of a box. Bob Paisley nodded. And Bob Paisley said, Then what are we waiting for?

We’ll need some wood, said Bill Shankly. Plenty of wood, Bob.

Bob Paisley said, I can get us the wood, Boss. Plenty of wood.

And we’ll need some hammers, Bob. And some nails.

I’ve got the hammers, Boss. And I’ve got the nails.

And in the night, back out at Melwood. Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley built the box. Out of wood, with hammers. And with nails. Four large boards, eight feet high. Ten yards apart. That was the box, the box for the players. The box to make the players sweat, the box to make the players work. Two players in the box. And a ball over the top into the box. The first player shoots against one board. First time. The other player hits the same ball on the rebound. First time. Ball after ball. Every second, another ball. Into the box. Every second for one minute. Ball after ball. Into the box. Then for two minutes. Ball after ball. Into the box. Then for three minutes. Ball after ball. Into the box. Again and again. Ball after ball. Into the box. Every second. Shot after shot. Every second. Inside the box. Every player. Player after player. Into the box, inside the box. The players working in the box, the box working on the players. Because the box worked –

The box bloody worked.

…

In September, 1960, Liverpool Football Club beat Scunthorpe United and they beat Leyton Orient. In October, 1960, Liverpool Football Club beat Derby County and they beat Lincoln City. And they drew with Portsmouth Football Club. They beat Huddersfield Town and they drew with Sunderland Football Club. But in November, 1960, Liverpool Football Club beat Plymouth Argyle. They beat Norwich City and they beat Charlton Athletic.

On Saturday 26 November, 1960, Sheffield United came to Anfield, Liverpool. That afternoon, thirty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine folk came, too. Sheffield United were top of the Second Division. In the thirtieth minute, Jimmy Harrower scored. In the fifty-fifth minute, Dave Hickson scored. In the sixty-third minute, Harrower scored again. And in the seventy-seventh minute, Harrower scored his third. And Liverpool Football Club beat Sheffield United four — two. That evening, Liverpool Football Club had twenty-six points. And Liverpool Football Club were second in the Second Division.

In December, 1960, Liverpool Football Club beat Swansea Town and they drew at Leeds United. On Boxing Day, 1960, Liverpool Football Club beat Rotherham United. That evening, Liverpool Football Club were unbeaten in fourteen games. And Liverpool Football Club were still second in the Second Division.

On Tuesday 27 December, 1960, the day after Boxing Day, Liverpool Football Club travelled to Millmoor to play Rotherham United again. And Liverpool Football Club lost one — nil. Four days later, on New Year’s Eve 1960, Middlesbrough Football Club came to Anfield, Liverpool. That New Year’s Eve, thirty-four thousand, six hundred and fifty-four folk came, too. In the twenty-first minute, Alan A’Court scored. In the thirty-fifth minute, Kevin Lewis scored. In the fifty-sixth minute, Lewis scored again. But Liverpool Football Club lost four — three to Middlesbrough Football Club. At home, at Anfield –

After the whistle, the final whistle. In the dressing room, the home dressing room. The players of Liverpool Football Club looked at Bill Shankly. Bill Shankly standing in the dressing room, Bill Shankly staring at the players. From player to player. From Slater to Molyneux. From Molyneux to Byrne. From Byrne to Campbell. From Campbell to White. From White to Leishman. From Leishman to Lewis. From Lewis to Hunt. From Hunt to Hickson. From Hickson to Harrower. From Harrower to A’Court. And Bill Shankly said, You tried your best, boys. You tried your very best. Each and every one of you, lads. Every single one of you. And so I could not have asked for more, boys. Nothing more. But I know we have lost twice in a row now, lads. And no one likes it. None of us, boys. Not one single one of us. But we went fourteen games without losing, lads. And so I know we can go another fourteen games without losing. Another forty, boys! I know we can, I know we can. So this is not the end, lads. Not the end. This can still be our season, boys. I know it can be. Our season for promotion, lads!