And in the hotel dining room. All the managers of all the football clubs in England laughed again. And all the managers of all the football clubs applauded Bob Paisley. And Bill Shankly smiled.
The producers of This Is Your Life planned to surprise Bob Paisley in London after Liverpool Football Club had played Queens Park Rangers. The producers of This Is Your Life asked Bill Shankly if he would like to appear on this tribute to the life of Bob Paisley –
Yes, said Bill Shankly. I will.
In the television studio. In front of the audience. Bill Shankly stepped from behind the scenes. Bill Shankly walked towards Bob Paisley. Bill Shankly shook hands with Bob Paisley –
Bob and I never had any rows, said Bill Shankly. We didn’t have any time for that. We had to plan where we were going to keep all the cups we won.
And in the television studio. Bob Paisley laughed. Eamonn Andrews laughed. And the audience laughed. And in their homes. The viewers laughed. Everybody laughed.
And Bill Shankly smiled.
72. DON’T LET ME KEEP YOU
In the house, in their kitchen. Bill helped Ness clear away the breakfast things. Bill dried up the breakfast things. In the house, in their hallway. Bill picked up the paper from the table in the hall. In the house, in their front room. In his chair. Bill read the paper. Bill finished the paper. Bill put down the paper. In the house, in their front room. Bill stared out of the window. Through the condensation on the inside of the glass, through the raindrops on the outside of the glass. Bill watched the people going to work. Bill watched the children going to school. In the house, in their front room. Bill heard Ness dusting in the hall. Bill heard Ness vacuuming in the hall. In the house, in their bedroom. Bill put on his suit. Bill put on his tie. In the house, in their hallway. Bill put on his coat. Bill picked up his umbrella. And Bill said, I’m just going to pop out for a bit, love. Have a walk to the shops for a paper.
It’s raining cats and dogs out there, said Ness. You’ll get soaked to your skin, love. You’ll get soaked through.
Bill smiled. And Bill said, No, love. No. I’ve got my coat and I’ve got my brolly. And a bit of rain never hurt anyone, love. And the exercise will do me good. And get me out from under your feet, love.
Well, if you’ve made up your mind, said Ness, then you go, love. You go. But you take care, love. And I’ll see you when you get back.
Bill kissed Ness on her cheek. And Bill said, Thanks, love.
In the cafe on the Eaton Road in West Derby, Liverpool. In his suit and in his tie. Bill sat in the window. The condensation on the inside of the glass, the raindrops on the outside of the glass. In his suit and in his tie. Bill stared out of the window of the cafe on the Eaton Road in West Derby, Liverpool. Through the condensation, through the raindrops. Bill watched the people in the street. In the rain. Bill watched the people going to work. In the rain. The people doing their shopping. In the rain. The people busy, the people occupied. In the rain. In the cafe on the Eaton Road in West Derby, Liverpool. In his suit and in his tie. Bill looked back down at his newspaper on the table. The newspaper he had already read. Twice. Bill picked up his cup of tea. Bill took another sip. The tea cold, the tea old. Bill heard the door of the cafe open. Bill looked up. And Bill saw a man he knew. A man who sometimes came into the cafe for his breakfast. A man who always had a good chat with Bill. And Bill said, Hello, son. How are you, son? You look soaked through, son. Sit yourself down, son. And get some hot food inside you, son. A nice cup of tea down you, son …
The man smiled. The man pulled up a chair. The man sat down at the table with Bill. And the man smiled again –
It’s good to see you, Bill. Great to see you again. But how are you, Bill? Are you well?
Oh, I’m very well. Thank you, son. Thank you. Mind you, I picked up a wee knock in the five-a-side on Monday. But I’ll be right for Friday. I’ll be fit to play on Friday, no danger. But what about you? How are you, son? I’ve not seen you in here for ages. You must be busy, son. Are they keeping you busy at work?
Yeah, yeah. We’re busy, Bill. We’re busy. But I mean, I can’t complain, Bill. I mustn’t grumble. At least we’re busy, Bill. At least I’ve got a job. I mean, I’m one of the lucky ones these days, Bill.
Oh yes. You’re right, son. You’re right. These are hard times for so many folk, son. I mean, these are desperate times for so many folk. It appals me, son. I mean, it appals me the way the country is going. It’s going backwards, son. Backwards. So you do right to count your blessings, son. You do right. You have your job, you have your work. You have your family and you have your health. These are the things that matter, son. These are the important things.
And the football, said the man. Don’t forget the football, Bill. At least we’ve always got the football …
Oh well, yes. Yes. You’re right, son. You’re right. We’ve always got the football, son. Always got the football. No matter what a mess the politicians make of things, son. No matter what a mess they make of the world. We’ve always got the football, son. We’ve always got that to be thankful for …
The waitress brought over a breakfast for the man. The man picked up the knife and the fork from the table. And Bill said, Go on, son. Go on. Get stuck in, son. Get stuck in. Get that inside you, son. A man needs to keep his strength up …
The man nodded –
And at least we’re having a good season, Bill. Thank God we’re having a good season, eh?
Oh well, yes. Yes. At Anfield, at home. We are. Yes. We are. Not bad, not bad at all. But away from home, away from Anfield. It’s a different story, son. A very different story. And to be honest with you, son. I’m worried. I’m very worried, son. I mean, I know they won away at Leicester on Saturday. But they’ve lost at City, they’ve lost at United. And they lost at Queens Park Rangers. Now you can’t be losing at Queens Park Rangers, son. You can’t be losing there, if you want to win the League. Not if you want to win the League, son. And they lost at home to Villa, too. At Anfield, son. And then there have been all the draws. I mean, five draws already, son …
The man nodded again –
But you think we can still win the League, don’t you, Bill? You think we still can …
Well, it won’t be easy. I can tell you that, son. It won’t be easy. I mean, we’ve still to play Forest, son. Home and away.
But you don’t think Forest can win the League, do you, Bill?
Bill smiled. And Bill said, Well, nothing would surprise me with Brian. Not with Brian Clough, son. I’ve always admired him. I’ve always respected him, son. And we often chat. He often calls me, son. To get my thoughts, to pick my brains. He’s a very clever man, son. And a socialist, too. A man after my own heart, son …
But Dalglish is doing well for us, isn’t he, Bill? I mean, I thought it might take him time to find his feet. Take him a while to settle, Bill. I mean, I’m very surprised how well he’s doing for us …
Oh well, yes. But I am not surprised, son. Not surprised at all. I mean, I had my eye on Kenny since he was fifteen. I mean, when he was only fifteen, I had Kenny down here for a trial. And he was brilliant. He was brilliant, son. Even then, at fifteen. I remember it well. After the trial, me and Reuben. We drove him back to the YMCA. And I would have signed him then and there. No bother at all! But the boy was homesick. He was only fifteen. And he didn’t want to leave home. And so I remember I called Jock Stein. And I said to Jock, I said, John, I cannot believe no one has signed this boy. This boy is brilliant. This boy is unbelievable. And Jock signed him. Then and there. Even though the boy was a Rangers fan! Jock signed him on. And that was good. That was great. I mean, if he wasn’t going to come to Anfield. If he wasn’t going to play for us. Then Celtic was the best place for him. With Jock to look after him, Jock to watch over him. So I’ve had my eye on him for years, son. For years. So I’m not surprised how well he is going, son. Not surprised at all. And I tell you another thing, son. This is only the beginning. Only the beginning for Kenny at Anfield, son. And he’ll not get carried away. No, Kenny’s not that type, son. I mean, the night he signed for us. Big John Toshack brought him over to my house here in West Derby. Because John knows what it’s like. No matter how old you are. No matter what you have done in the game. You are in a new city. You are stuck in a hotel. Away from your family, away from your home. So John brought him over to my house. For a cup of tea with me and Ness. And so we had a nice cup of tea and I had a wee chat with him. And I said to him, Kenny. I said, I’ve just got two pieces of advice for you, son. Don’t go overeating in that bloody hotel. And don’t lose your accent!