David Peace - Red or Dead

After the whistle, the final whistle. Back down the tunnel, behind the wire. Back in the dressing room, their away dressing room. Out of the fog, the heavy, wet fog. The fog and the laughter. Bill Shankly shook his head again. And Bill Shankly cursed –

Haphazard play, boys. Very haphazard. That’s what that was, boys. And that has cost us dear. Very, very dear, boys. But that’s not to say they are not much better than I’d heard. Much, much better than I’d heard. They are a good side, boys. A very good team. And that wee lad, Cruyff. He is some player, boys. He is a real class act. So let’s be under no illusions, boys. Let’s make no mistake. We have a job on our hands next week, boys. A very tough task. But we can turn it around, boys. And we will turn it around. When they come to Anfield, boys. Where there will be no fog. And where there’ll be no hiding place, boys. No hiding place. For them or for us, boys.

…

Three days afterwards, on Saturday 10 December, 1966, Liverpool Football Club travelled to Old Trafford, Manchester. That afternoon, sixty-five thousand, two hundred folk came, too. Manchester folk and Liverpool folk. For the first time, there were closed-circuit television cameras with zoom lenses trained on the terraces behind both goals of Old Trafford, Manchester. On Manchester folk and on Liverpool folk. For the first time, police worked from screens at a central control point and kept in contact by radio with constables on the ground. But that afternoon, there were no causes for alarm. There were no outbreaks of disturbance at Old Trafford, Manchester. When the reigning League Champions played the present League leaders, there was only virtuosity playing method. The virtuosity of Best versus the method of Milne. In the fifteenth minute, Milne saw St John drifting to the left. Milne passed to St John drifting to the left. St John shot. And St John scored. In the twentieth minute, Best had the ball. Under severe pressure, Best floated free. All balance and all control. Best shot. And Best scored. In the thirtieth minute, Yeats hooked up Ryan in the penalty area. Best put the ball on the penalty spot. Best shot. And Best scored again. In the forty-fifth minute, Milne saw Lawler. Milne passed to Lawler. Lawler passed to Strong. Strong passed to St John. St John passed to Hunt. The ball went out for a corner. Callaghan took the corner. St John took down the ball. His back to the goal. St John swivelled, St John turned. St John shot. And St John scored again. And that afternoon, the reigning League Champions and the present League leaders drew two-all at Old Trafford, Manchester. Method drew with virtuosity. Virtuosity first in the First Division, method third in the First Division.

After the whistle, the final whistle. Matt Busby walked down the touchline at Old Trafford. Matt Busby shook Bill Shankly’s hand. And Matt Busby said, That must have been quite some game in Amsterdam, Bill. They must be quite some side, must this Ajax of Amsterdam. You’ll have your work cut out for you on Wednesday night, Bill. To beat this Ajax of Amsterdam.

Bill Shankly shook his head –

No, Matt. No. We were beaten by the fog in Amsterdam, Matt. We were never beaten by Ajax in Amsterdam. They are used to playing in the fog, Matt. And so that helped them to win. But there’ll be no fog at Anfield on Wednesday night, Matt. And so this tie is by no means over. Because I know we’ll score four on Wednesday night, Matt. I know that for a fact. In fact, I think we might even score eight.

Matt Busby smiled. Matt Busby laughed. And Matt Busby said, Well, it’s no crime to believe in Father Christmas, Bill. I just hope you’ve got a chimney big enough at Anfield …

…

Before the game, the return game against Ajax of Amsterdam. Bill Shankly had told the milkman Liverpool Football Club would beat Ajax of Amsterdam five — nil. Bill Shankly had told the postman Liverpool Football Club would beat Ajax of Amsterdam six — nil. Bill Shankly had told the children in the street Liverpool Football Club would beat Ajax of Amsterdam seven — nil. Bill Shankly had told the newspaper reporters, the local reporters and the national reporters, Liverpool Football Club would beat Ajax of Amsterdam five — nil, six — nil, seven — nil or even eight — nil. Bill Shankly had told everyone he’d met, anyone who’d listen, Liverpool Football Club would beat Ajax of Amsterdam five — nil, six — nil, seven — nil or even eight — nil. And in the dressing room, their Anfield dressing room. Bill Shankly told Tommy Lawrence, Chris Lawler, Gordon Milne, Tommy Smith, Ron Yeats, Willie Stevenson, Ian Callaghan, Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Geoff Strong and Peter Thompson the same thing. The very same thing –

Eight — nil, said Bill Shankly. Because I know you can, I know we can. Because the people here tonight, the fifty-five thousand people here tonight. They know you can, they believe you can –

And they believe you will, boys!

On Wednesday 14 December, 1966, there was no fog at Anfield, Liverpool. But there was mist and there was steam. The mist from the Mersey, the steam from the stands. The stands aglow, the Spion Kop on fire. A cauldron of passions, a furnace of emotions. Exploding and roaring. LI–VER-POOL, LI–VER-POOL, LI–VER-POOL. The Spion Kop swaying, the Spion Kop surging. On fire and aglow. In the mist and in the steam. In the push and in the crush. One hundred folk were treated by the ambulance services at Anfield. Thirty folk were taken to hospital. And in the push and in the crush. In the mist and in the steam. In this cauldron, in this furnace. In the fourth minute, Thompson crashed a shot against the crossbar. In the next fifteen minutes, Ajax of Amsterdam hit the post twice. And in the first half, Liverpool Football Club had a goal disallowed. But then in the fiftieth minute, Keizer threaded the ball through to Nuninga, Nuninga threaded the ball through to Cruyff. Cruyff flying, Cruyff gliding. With a final touch, the briefest of touches. The ball in the net, the ball a goal. Ten minutes later, St John found Hunt. And Hunt found the net. And a goal. But in the seventieth minute, Keizer again threaded the ball through to Nuninga, Nuninga again threaded the ball through to Cruyff. Cruyff not flying, Cruyff not gliding. Cruyff dancing now, Cruyff waltzing now. With a final stroke, the briefest of strokes. The ball in the net again, the ball a goal again. In the eighty-eighth minute, Thompson passed to St John. St John passed to Hunt. And Hunt scored again. And on the night, Liverpool Football Club drew two-all with Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV. But in the tie, Liverpool Football Club had lost seven — three to Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV. And Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV had knocked Liverpool Football Club out of the European Cup –

Out of Europe and out of the Cup –

Out, out. Out, out –

That night, eight clubs went through to the quarter-finals of the European Cup. The Celtic Football Club of Scotland. CSKA Red Flag of Bulgaria. Dukla Prague of Czechoslovakia. Fudbalski klub Vojvodina of Yugoslavia. Internazionale of Italy. Linfield Football Club of Northern Ireland. Real Madrid of Spain. And Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV of Holland. But not Liverpool Football Club of England. No Liverpool, no England. Not tonight, not now –

After the whistle, that final, final whistle. In the corridors and the tunnels, the Anfield corridors and the Anfield tunnels. Bill Shankly raged and Bill Shankly ranted. Against defensive football, against negative football. Against European football, against foreign football. And against luck. Against the luck of the Dutch. But in the corridors and in the tunnels, the Anfield corridors and the Anfield tunnels. No one was listening to Bill Shankly. In the corridors,

in the tunnels. No one was there.