Right then, lads. Enough bloody exercises. Now we’re going to play some football! Some five-a-sides, lads …
And that was the second week of their pre-season training. And the third week. And the fourth. And the fifth. The players of Liverpool Football Club did not practise set pieces. They did not practise corners and they did not practise free kicks. The players of Liverpool Football Club practised passing. Always forward, always faster. Faster and faster, always forward. Always forward –
And always to a red shirt,
always to a red shirt,
a red shirt.
…
On Saturday 19 August, 1961, on the first Saturday of the new season, Liverpool Football Club travelled to the Eastville Stadium, Bristol. And before the whistle, the first whistle of the new season. In the dressing room, the away dressing room. The players of Liverpool Football Club looked up at Bill Shankly. Bill Shankly in the centre of the dressing room, the away dressing room. Bill Shankly looking around the dressing room, the away dressing room. From player to player, Liverpool player to Liverpool player. From Slater to White, White to Byrne, Byrne to Milne, Milne to Yeats, Yeats to Leishman, Leishman to Lewis, Lewis to Hunt, Hunt to St John, St John to Melia, Melia to A’Court. And Bill Shankly rubbed his hands together –
This is it, said Bill Shankly. This is it, boys! Everything we’ve been doing. Everything we’ve been working for, boys. It was all for this moment, all for this game. This first game of the season, boys. This season that will be our season. Our season, boys …
In the seventh minute of this first game of this new season, Kevin Lewis scored. And in the fifty-fifth minute, Hills scored an own goal. And Liverpool Football Club beat Bristol Rovers two — nil. Away from home, away from Anfield. In the first game of the new season.
On Wednesday 23 August, 1961, Sunderland Football Club came to Anfield, Liverpool. That night, forty-eight thousand, nine hundred folk came, too. On a Wednesday night, for the first home game of the season. In the forty-eighth minute of the first home game of the season, Roger Hunt scored. In the seventy-eighth minute, Kevin Lewis scored. And in the eighty-third minute, Hunt scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Sunderland Football Club three — nil. At home, at Anfield. In the first home game of the season.
After the whistle, the final whistle. In the dressing room, the home dressing room. Bill Shankly sat down beside Ron Yeats. And Bill Shankly smiled. Bill Shankly laughed –
That lad Clough is some player, said Bill Shankly. And I tried to sign him. But tonight he never had a sniff, son. He never had a touch. Because you marked him out of the game, son. You made him look ordinary. And that is why I signed you, son. And that is why I made you the captain of Liverpool Football Club. Well done, son.
Three days later, Leeds United came to Anfield, Liverpool. That afternoon, forty-two thousand, nine hundred and fifty folk came, too. In the sixth minute, Roger Hunt scored. In the forty-eighth minute, Hunt scored again. In the fifty-third minute, Kevin Lewis scored a penalty. In the sixty-eighth minute, Jimmy Melia scored. And in the seventy-fourth minute, Hunt scored his third. And Liverpool Football Club beat Leeds United five — nil. At home, at Anfield.
And after the whistle, the final whistle. In the dressing room, the home dressing room. Bill Shankly sat down beside Roger Hunt. And Bill Shankly smiled. Bill Shankly laughed –
That lad Charlton is some player, said Bill Shankly. And I tried to sign him. But today he could not get near you, son. Today you made him look very ordinary. Well played, son.
On Wednesday 30 August, 1961, Liverpool Football Club travelled to Roker Park, Sunderland. In the twenty-sixth minute, Roger Hunt scored. In the thirty-ninth minute, Ian St John scored. In the sixty-ninth minute, Hunt scored again. And in the ninetieth minute, the very last minute, St John scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Sunderland Football Club four — one. Away from home, away from Anfield. That night, that season, Liverpool Football Club had played four games and they had won four games. They had scored fourteen goals and they had conceded only one. It was a good start. A very good start. But it was only a start,
only the start.
…
In September, 1961, Liverpool Football Club beat Norwich City and they beat Scunthorpe United. And they drew with Brighton and Hove Albion. But then Liverpool Football Club beat Newcastle United. They beat Bury Football Club. And they beat Charlton Athletic.
On Wednesday 4 October, 1961, Newcastle United came to Anfield, Liverpool. Last season, the average gate at Anfield had been just twenty-nine thousand, six hundred and three. This season, the average gate was over forty-six thousand. Tonight, fifty-two thousand, four hundred and nineteen folk had come to Anfield. On a Wednesday night. In the thirty-eighth minute, Kevin Lewis scored. And in the seventy-fifth minute, Roger Hunt scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat Newcastle United two — nil. At home, at Anfield. That night, that season, Liverpool Football Club had played eleven games. They had scored thirty-one goals and they had conceded only four. They had won ten of those games and they had drawn only one. Liverpool Football Club were unbeaten. Liverpool Football Club had twenty-one points. Liverpool Football Club were top of the Second Division.
After the whistle, the final whistle. In the dressing room, the home dressing room. The players of Liverpool Football Club looked up at Bill Shankly. Bill Shankly dancing from player to player. From Bert Slater to Dick White, from Dick to Gerry Byrne, from Gerry to Gordon Milne, from Gordon to Ron Yeats, from Ron to Tommy Leishman, from Tommy to Kevin Lewis, from Kevin to Roger Hunt, from Roger to Ian St John, from Ian to Jimmy Melia and from Jimmy to Alan A’Court. Bill Shankly patting their backs, Bill Shankly shaking their hands. Singing their praises, all of their praises. And then Bill Shankly stood in the centre of the dressing room. In the home dressing room. Bill Shankly put his finger to his ear –
Could you hear that, boys, asked Bill Shankly. Did you hear that sound, lads? That was the sound of over sixty thousand folk. The sixty thousand folk who came here tonight to see you, boys. To see you play, lads. After working all day, after working all week. They came here to see you play, boys. And they saw you play, lads. And they liked what they saw, they loved what they saw. And so they were not only applauding you, boys. They were not only cheering you, lads. Those sixty thousand folk, they were singing, boys. They were singing, lads. Singing your names, all of your names. And singing our name, the name of Liverpool Football Club. Liverpool Football Club …
And can you hear that, boys? Do you still hear that, lads? Because they are still singing, still singing the name of Liverpool Football Club. Because of you, boys. Because of you. They don’t want to go home, lads. They never want to leave …
Because of you, because of you …
The Kop are still singing …
8. THE SONG OF THE COUNTER-PLAN
Upstairs in the house, in their bedroom. Bill was standing in the window. Bill was staring out through the glass at the trees. Downstairs in the house, in their kitchen. Ness and the girls were clearing away the tea things. Washing up the pots, putting away the plates. They were chatting and they were laughing. But upstairs in their bedroom, at the window. Bill could only hear the Kop. In his ears, in his mind. Bill still heard the Kop applauding, Bill still heard the Kop cheering. And singing, still singing. In his ears, in his mind. The Kop was still singing. But now standing in the window, staring through the glass. Now Bill saw the branches of the trees. The branches of the trees moving, the leaves on the branches falling. The first spits of rain on the window pane. And in their bedroom, at the window. Bill looked up through the trees to the sky. And Bill saw the clouds in the sky. The dark clouds moving in the dark sky. Night drawing in. Bill reached up. Bill closed the little window. And Bill drew the curtains.