Bob, Joe, Reuben, Arthur and Albert looked at each other. Bob, Joe, Reuben, Arthur and Albert nodded. And then Bob said, I’ll go and ring the driver then, Boss. I’ll go and give him a call…
Bill looked at his watch again. And Bill said, Thank you, Bob. But we’re wasting time. There’s no bloody time. So we’ll walk out to Melwood today. Slowly. But then we’ll get the bus tomorrow.
…
In their new house in Liverpool, in their new bedroom in the old bed. Bill waited for the dawn, Bill waited for the light. The new dawn and the new light. And then Bill jumped out of bed. Bill shaved and Bill washed. Quickly. Bill put on his suit and Bill put on his tie. Quickly. Bill went down the stairs and Bill ate breakfast with Ness and their daughters. Quickly. Bill kissed them goodbye and Bill went out of the house. Quickly. Bill got into his car and Bill drove to Anfield.
In the ground, in the office. Bill looked at his watch. And Bill paced and Bill paced. And Bill heard the people coming, coming to Anfield. Through the turnstiles, into the stands. And then Bill stopped pacing. Bill looked at his watch again. And now Bill smiled.
In the dressing room, the home dressing room. Bill looked from player to player. From Slater to Byrne. From Byrne to Moran. From Moran to Wheeler. From Wheeler to White. From White to Leishman. From Leishman to Lewis. From Lewis to Hunt. From Hunt to Hickson. From Hickson to Melia. From Melia to A’Court. And Bill clapped his hands. Bill smiled. And Bill said, This is it, boys. The start. The real start, lads. The start of it all. The first game of the new season, boys. At home to Leeds United. A great chance to lay down our marker, lads. A great opportunity to show the world what we are about.
And there will be over forty thousand people here to see us, boys. To see what we are about. And so this is our chance, lads. Our chance to show the people that we mean business. The business of promotion. Because that is the only business that matters, boys. The only thing that matters. And so you go out there today, lads. And you show these people who have come here today, who have paid their money today. You show these people that they were right to come, right to pay to see us play today, boys. Because this season we mean business. This season we will win the League, lads. And we’ll get promoted.
In the dug-out, on the bench. The Anfield bench. Bill stared out at the players of Liverpool Football Club on the pitch. The Anfield pitch. In the sun, the players of Liverpool Football Club shining. In the sun, in their kits. Their red shirts, their white shorts. And their white socks. And in the dug-out, on the bench. The Anfield bench. Bill heard the whistle blow, Bill heard the crowd roar. The Anfield crowd. And in the dug-out, on the bench. Bill sat forward on the edge of his seat. On the very edge of his seat. His eyes darting, his hands moving. And his legs twitching. With every ball, with every kick. And with every pass. With every tackle and with every shot. His eyes darting, his hands moving. His legs twitching. With every ball. Every kick and every pass, every tackle and every shot. And in the twenty-eighth minute, Kevin Lewis scored his first goal for Liverpool Football Club. Seven minutes later, Dave Hickson scored a second. And in the dugout, on the bench. Bill heard the final whistle blow. And Bill heard the crowd cheer. The Anfield crowd. And in the dug-out, on the bench. The Anfield bench. Bill smiled. Bill got to his feet. And Bill walked down the touchline. The Anfield touchline.
In the dressing room, the home dressing room. Bill danced from player to player. From Bert to Gerry. From Gerry to Ronnie. From Ronnie to Johnny. From Johnny to Dick. From Dick to Tommy. From Tommy to Kevin. From Kevin to Roger. From Roger to Dave. From Dave to Jimmy. And from Jimmy to Alan. Bill danced and Bill sang. Bill sang the praises of every player, of every man. Patting their backs and shaking their hands. Patting Bob and Reuben on their backs, shaking Bob and Reuben by their hands. And Bill said, Well done, boys. Well done. You were magnificent, lads. Magnificent. Each and every one of you, boys. I could not have asked for more. But this is only the start, lads. Only the start. You know that, boys. We all know that. But if you play like that, lads. If you play like that every game. Every match, boys. Then this will be our season. Our season, lads.
…
In the dressing room, the home dressing room. On the bench, in the silence. Bill shook his head and Bill sighed. Bill shook his head again and Bill closed his eyes. Four days after Liverpool Football Club had beaten Leeds United, Liverpool Football Club had lost four — one at Southampton. Three days after that, Liverpool Football Club had drawn one-all at Middlesbrough. And then today, Liverpool Football Club had lost one — nil to Southampton. At home, at Anfield. Today, Liverpool Football Club had just three points from their first four games. And in the dressing room, the home dressing room. On the bench, in the silence. Bill opened his eyes again, Bill shook his head again. Bill cursed. And Bill said, It’s not good enough. Not good enough for me and not good enough for Liverpool Football Club. For the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. Not bloody good enough!
…
In the boardroom, the Anfield boardroom. In the chair at the end of the long table. Bill said, Well, what?
Well, what do you have to say about the start we have made to the new season, asked the directors of Liverpool Football Club.
It’s not good enough, I know that.
And so what are you planning to do about it, Mr Shankly?
Bill smiled. And Bill said, I was going to ask you the same question. The very same question.
What do you mean by that, Mr Shankly? You are the manager. We are asking you what you are going to do about the results. We are asking you, Mr Shankly.
Bill smiled again. And Bill said, But I asked you for Brian Clough. And you would not give me Brian Clough. I asked you for Dave Mackay. But you would not give me Dave Mackay. I asked you for Jack Charlton but you would not give me Jack Charlton.
But you also asked us for Kevin Lewis, said the directors of Liverpool Football Club. And we gave you the money for Kevin Lewis. We gave you thirteen thousand pounds for Kevin Lewis. A club record. And just last week, you asked us for Gordon Milne. And we gave you the money for Gordon Milne. We gave you sixteen thousand pounds for Gordon Milne. Again, a club record. And you asked us for this lad Arrowsmith. And we gave you the money. And let’s not forget we also gave you the money for Sammy Reid. Eight thousand pounds for a man who never played for the first team. Eight thousand pounds for a man we have now sold to Falkirk. So we have given you the money, Mr Shankly. We have given you the best part of forty thousand pounds. So we have given you the money, Mr Shankly.
Bill shook his head. And Bill said, But I was promised sixty thousand pounds. When I accepted the position as manager of Liverpool Football Club, I was promised sixty thousand pounds to spend on new players. Sixty thousand pounds to rebuild the team.
That is not quite true, said Tom Williams. We told you money was available if the right players became available. And we have given you that money. We have given you forty thousand pounds, Mr Shankly. But it is not a bottomless pit. We do have our limits.
Bill looked up the long table at the chairman of Liverpool Football Club. And Bill said, So you are saying there is no more money? Is that what you are saying, Mr Williams?
No, said Tom Williams. That is not what we are saying. What we are saying is you have had money. But there are limits to that money, Mr Shankly. There have to be limits.
Bill shook his head again. And Bill said, So what would you have me do? You’d have me make do, would you? Make do with the players we have? When I have already told you some of these players are not good enough. Not good enough to win us promotion.