David Peace - Red or Dead

In their hotel in Turin, in the dining room. The players of Liverpool Football Club finished their meals, the players of Liverpool Football Club went up to their rooms. An early night tonight, before the game tomorrow. Tomorrow, the players of Liverpool Football Club would play Juventus Football Club at the Stadio Comunale in the preliminary round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

In their hotel in Turin, in the dining room. The waiters cleared away their plates, the waiters cleared away their glasses. The waiters leaned against the bar, the waiters looked at their watches. And then the waiters looked at Bill, Bob, Joe and Reuben. Their plates clean, their glasses empty. Bill laughed. And Bill said, Tommy Finney is always telling me about the day he played here for England at their Stadio Comunale. Tommy always says it was the finest all-round team performance of his England career. In front of fifty-eight thousand people, in ninety-degree temperatures. He says the people had to bring umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. It was that hot. And that Italian team were hot, too. You all remember them. That team. They were the best team in the world then. The world champions. The Olympic champions. And the crowd were expecting them to put on a show. All fifty-eight thousand of them. With their umbrellas. Expecting them to hammer England. Humiliate them and murder them. In revenge for the war. That’s what they wanted. That crowd. Those fifty-eight thousand folk, with their umbrellas. They wanted revenge. But Tommy says Frank Swift was brilliant that day. They all were. Don Howe, Neil Franklin, Henry Cockburn, Stan Matthews. Magnificent. All of them. Mortensen scored the first, I think. Lawton got another. And then Tommy scored two, scored them like this –

Bill jumped up from his chair, Bill ripped off his jacket. Bill stood between the tables and the chairs. Bill looked one way, Bill looked another. In their hotel, in the dining room. Bill looked for the ball, Bill saw the ball. Bill turned to hit the ball, Bill struck it. And Bill said, One on the volley from a cross from Wilf Mannion …

Bill stepped back. In their hotel, in the dining room. Bill looked for the ball again, Bill saw the ball again. Bill struck it again. And Bill said, And the other like that, in from close range …

Bill sat back down at the table. And Bill said, And Tommy was playing on the left that day. That was the first time they’d found a way to play Tommy and Matthews in the same side. Tommy says the Italians didn’t know what had hit them. That they started arguing amongst themselves. Because they weren’t used to losing, you see. Seven of them played for that Torino side that won all those consecutive titles. You all remember them. That side that were killed in the air crash a year later. Terrible, terrible. But can you imagine that forward line? Matthews, Mortensen, Lawton, Mannion and Tommy. Jesus Christ! What a team that was, what a game that must have been. Like a different game, in a different world. It’s all back to front and inside out now. Now it’s the defenders who score the goals. Not the forwards. That’s the new game, that’s the new world. It’s a game for defenders now. That’s the secret, boys. And that’s what we’ll be up against tomorrow. A team of defenders.

…

In the dressing room, the Anfield dressing room. Before the whistle, the first whistle of the return leg. Bill shook his head again. And Bill said, One goal. That’s all they got. One goal. And from their full-back. One goal. And we all know that’s all they wanted. One goal. And that’s all they got. That one goal. That’s all they wanted and that’s all they’ve got. One goal. And so they’ve come here today. With that goal, that one goal. Determined to hang onto that goal, that one goal. To keep that goal, that one goal. And to take that goal, that one goal. In their suitcases, their fancy suitcases. Back to Turin, back to Italy. With their goal, their one goal. That’s their plan, their only plan. But they’re in for a surprise, boys. They’re in for a shock. Because how many folk do you think there were? Last week, in Turin? Five thousand, ten thousand? Nobody. There was nobody there! Not like today, not like tonight. Tonight there are fifty thousand folk here! Fifty thousand folk inside Anfield tonight. Fifty thousand folk here to watch you prise open their fancy, flash suitcases, their grubby, little hands. Fifty thousand folk here to watch you take that one goal from Juventus Football Club and to send them packing back to Turin, back to Italy. With nothing in their cases, with nothing in their hands …

On the bench, the Anfild bench. Among the banners, among the songs. The red banners and the red songs. Bill watched a sea of incessant movement, Bill watched a world of strong meat. The red movement, the red meat. The free kick by Stevenson out on the left. The free kick finding Strong. Strong streaking in from the right, Strong out-leaping the whole field. Heading the ball square to Lawler. A defender to a defender. Coming in fast to dive forward, diving forward to the ball. Into the net, into a goal. In a sea of incessant movement, in a world of strong meat. Red movement, red meat. The lazy back-heel from Del Sol. Lawler robbing Del Sol, Lawler feeding Callaghan. Callaghan crossing, St John rising. The ball coming loose, the ball coming back. Back out to Strong. A defender at the edge of their penalty area, a defender with a rocket for a shot. Into the net, into a goal. In a sea of incessant movement, in a world of strong meat. The red movement and the red meat. Among the banners, among the songs. The red banners and the red songs. Juventus Football Club had nothing to hold onto, nothing to protect. Juventus Football Club had been beaten from the back, beaten by two goals from two defenders. Juventus Football Club had been beaten at their own game. Liverpool Football Club had learnt their lesson. And Liverpool Football Club had taught Juventus Football Club a lesson –

The pupil now the master.

…

Under the stands, among the boots. Bill, Bob, Reuben, Joe and Albert each had a piece of paper in their hands. On the piece of paper was a list, a list of names: Alf Arrowsmith, John Bennett, Phil Chisnall, Roy Evans, Bobby Graham, Brian Hall, Alan Hignett, Geoff Long, Thomas Lowry, Ted McDougall, Grant McCulloch, Kevin Marsh, William Molyneux, Ronnie Moran, John Ogston, Steve Peplow, Ian Ross, John Sealey, Ken Walker and Gordon Wallace. The names of players, the players in the Liverpool Football Club reserve team –

Bill saw the reserves play as often as he could. Bill had seen the reserves play seven times this season. But Bill had not seen the reserves play since Monday 20 September, when the reserves had drawn three-all with Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves –

Under the stands, among the boots. Bill, Bob, Reuben, Joe and Albert discussed each player in the reserve team. Their strong points and their weak points. Bill, Bob, Joe, Reuben and Albert discussed every game the reserve team had played. The good points and the bad points. The reserve team had played seventeen matches this season. They had won six games and they had drawn six games. And they had lost five. They had scored twenty-eight goals and they had conceded twenty-one goals. Phil Chisnall was the leading scorer in the reserve team with five goals. Bill put down the piece of paper. And Bill said, How about Ronnie Moran? How’s Ronnie doing?

He’s doing very well, said Joe. Training as hard as ever, playing as well as ever. And he’s helping the younger lads, too. With a word here and with a word there. Showing them how it’s done, showing them what it takes, Boss. Helping them, teaching them.

Bill smiled. And Bill said, That’s good to hear, Joe. That’s great to hear. It’s what I hoped you’d say, what I thought you’d say. But you never know, you can never tell. It’s a terrible thing when you have to step down, down from the first team. We all know it is. We’ve all been there. There’s nothing worse in football. Nothing worse in life. The feeling your best days are behind you, the knowledge you’re on the way down. On the way down and on the way out. To the knacker’s yard, to the glue factory. I wouldn’t wish it on any man, not on any man. That feeling, that knowledge. But it comes to us all, it comes to us all. In the end, Joe. In the end.