David Peace - Red or Dead

Bill said, I only wish I could start all over again …

In the winter. Under dark and heavy skies. In the middle of the week, in the middle of the day. In his suit and in his tie. Bill Shankly stood before Anfield. Before the camera. The Italian television camera. The television crew and the interviewer. These men who had come from Rome to find out why English football was now the most successful football in Europe. These men who had come to ask Bill Shankly why. And in the winter. Under dark and heavy skies. They switched on their camera and they switched on their lights. And the interviewer looked up at the clouds and then back down at Anfield. At the houses around the ground, at the streets around the ground. The boarded-up shops and the paint-splattered walls. An abandoned old car and a smashed-up phone box. The newspapers and the crisp packets blowing across the pavements. Across the broken glass, across the dog shit. And the man from Rome said, This city is like a cemetery. This town is like a ghost town. Twenty per cent of this city’s labour force is unemployed. In the town centre, in the job centre. There were just forty-nine jobs on offer. Everywhere we have been, we have seen derelict buildings. Empty factories. Huge tracts of wasteland. And wilderness. And everyone we have spoken to, everyone talks about closures and redundancies. About British Leyland and Fisher-Bendix, Dunlop and BICC, Plessey and GEC, Lucas and Girling, Courtaulds and Meccano. People don’t seem to know what is happening here. People say there is nothing happening here in this town. Nothing here but the football.

The football is not nothing, said Bill Shankly. His eyes narrow now, his jaw set now. The football is everything! And now more than ever, in times like these. But I do not deny the things you have seen. I do not deny the things you have heard. No, no. But men hear what they want to hear, men see what they want to see. But there are some things some men cannot see, some things some men will never see. Some things some men do not want to see. Hidden things to some men, invisible things to some men. So where you only see empty factories and people on their knees. I still see a beautiful city and a great people. Proud people, passionate people …

And before Anfield. Before the camera. As Bill Shankly spoke. Men stopped to listen. Men and boys. In their coats. Their thin coats. With their scarves. Their red scarves.

And now more than ever, said Bill Shankly. His eyes wide now, his jaw forward now. Now in these times. It is the football that helps to keep them proud, it is the football that helps to keep them passionate. Because there is still an intense and powerful passion for football in this city. An intensity you will find nowhere else except in Glasgow. Because it comes from the heart here. And it flows in the blood here. In the blood of the people, in the hearts of the people. And what we do on Saturday provides a purpose and a focus for the people. For the working people, for the working man. Because football is the working man’s sport. And so he is the club! The working man is the club. You cannot make a football club without him, without the ordinary working man. Oh no! And you cannot cheat him. Or he’ll find you out. Oh yes! But if he trusts you, if the working man believes in you. Then he will follow you. And he will follow the team. Because he will recognise you are committed to him, the team is committed to him. And he will put all his pride and all his passion into the team. With fervour and with love. In his blood and in his heart.

Under the dark and heavy skies. In his broad-brimmed hat. The interviewer, this man from Rome. He smiled and he said, But perhaps it is only you who thinks like this now, Mr Shankly? Perhaps it is only you who is so passionate about this city. About Liverpool and about football. Perhaps it is only you now, Mr Shankly?

Well, you go back into the city again. With your fancy camera and with your fancy lights. And you talk to the men and women who live here again. But this time you ask them about the passion they feel for this city. The passion they feel for the football in this city. The things they want to be asked about, the things they want to talk about. And then you’ll see. Oh yes. Then you’ll see and then you’ll hear. If you have the ears to listen, if you have the eyes to see. And then you’ll go back to your city, back to Rome. And you’ll always remember the day you came to this city, the day you were in Liverpool. And you will feel lucky, you will feel privileged. Lucky to have walked on these pavements, privileged to have spoken with these people! Real people.

And before Anfield. Before the ground. Bill Shankly stared into the camera. And now Bill Shankly nodded. And then Bill Shankly turned away. Away from the camera, away towards the people. The men and the boys. In their coats. Their thin coats. With their scarves. Their red scarves. And the men and the boys walked towards Bill Shankly. The men and the boys gathered around Bill Shankly. In a group, in a huddle. They patted his back and they shook his hand. And they thrust pieces of paper, scraps of newspaper. Into his hands. For an autograph, for a signature. And one of the men said, You know you are a genius, don’t you? You know you are a genius, Bill?

Are you all going to the match tonight, asked Bill Shankly.

And one of the men said, Of course I am, Bill. I never miss a game. I’ve never missed a match yet, Bill. Never once.

But most of the men shook their heads. And one of the men said, I want to, Bill. Of course I want to go. But I can’t afford to go, Bill. Not to every game, not these days.

I know, son. I know, said Bill Shankly. And I am sorry, son.

And again, one of the men said, But you know you are a genius, don’t you? You know you are a genius, Bill?

Did any of you lads see the first leg, asked Bill Shankly.

And one of the men said, Yes, Bill. I saw it. I was there, Bill. For my sins. What a travesty, Bill! I could not believe it!

I know, son. I know, said Bill Shankly again. And you are right, son. You are absolutely right. I mean, we’ve now played Forest nine times and won only once. It’s unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable! And that was a heavy pitch at the City Ground, a very heavy pitch. But to play like we did, on a pitch like that. And then to concede a penalty, in the last bloody minute, and lose the bloody match. It was a travesty! A bloody travesty! Because I really thought we had learnt our lessons, I really thought we had the measure of them. The way Bob had set them up, the way Bob had set Case up as a watchdog. A watchdog on Robertson. I mean, that was very effective. Very shrewd. It clipped their wings, it cut off their lines of communication, you see? And so Robertson never had a touch, not a bloody touch. Not until the last bloody minute and he steps up and scores a bloody penalty. Unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable! Very unfair, very unjust.

One of the men said, But you think we can still turn it around tonight, Bill? You think we can still beat them, don’t you?

Oh yes, said Bill Shankly. Oh yes. I mean, we had some revenge in the Cup. In the FA Cup, of course. We already got the better of Forest then. And so I think that will have given the players a lot of belief. And of course, it’s always a different game here. Always a very different game at Anfield. The belief of the supporters, the belief of the Kop. You see the players, they can all feel that belief. It’s an incredible feeling. An incredible thing. The way the belief of the Kop, the way it flows from the stands onto the pitch into the players. The way it inspires the players, that belief. Their hope and their passion. It’s unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable!

In their coats. Their thin coats. With their scarves. Their red scarves. The men and the boys nodded. And one of the men unbuttoned his coat. The man opened up his coat. The man untied the scarf around his neck. The man took off his scarf. And the man touched the tie he was wearing. The Liverpool Football Club tie. Under his coat, under his scarf. And the man said, I am sure you won’t remember, Bill. Because it was ages ago now. Years ago now. So I am sure you don’t remember, Bill. But I had gone to the club shop to buy a tie. But the club shop were sold out of ties. And then I saw you, you in the car park. And I stopped you. And I asked you for your autograph. And we started to chat. And you asked about me, about how I was doing. And I said about the tie in the shop, about there being no ties in the shop. And in the car park. You took off your tie. Your Liverpool Football Club tie. And you gave me your tie. Your Liverpool Football Club tie. And so this is your tie, Bill. The tie you gave me. And I have worn it every day, Bill. Every day since. I never take it off, Bill. Never. So thank you again, Bill. Thank you.