And again, one of the men said, But you know you are a genius, don’t you? You know you are a genius, Bill?
Did any of you lads see the first leg, asked Bill Shankly.
And one of the men said, Yes, Bill. I saw it. I was there, Bill. For my sins. What a travesty, Bill! I could not believe it!
I know, son. I know, said Bill Shankly again. And you are right, son. You are absolutely right. I mean, we’ve now played Forest nine times and won only once. It’s unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable! And that was a heavy pitch at the City Ground, a very heavy pitch. But to play like we did, on a pitch like that. And then to concede a penalty, in the last bloody minute, and lose the bloody match. It was a travesty! A bloody travesty! Because I really thought we had learnt our lessons, I really thought we had the measure of them. The way Bob had set them up, the way Bob had set Case up as a watchdog. A watchdog on Robertson. I mean, that was very effective. Very shrewd. It clipped their wings, it cut off their lines of communication, you see? And so Robertson never had a touch, not a bloody touch. Not until the last bloody minute and he steps up and scores a bloody penalty. Unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable! Very unfair, very unjust.
One of the men said, But you think we can still turn it around tonight, Bill? You think we can still beat them, don’t you?
Oh yes, said Bill Shankly. Oh yes. I mean, we had some revenge in the Cup. In the FA Cup, of course. We already got the better of Forest then. And so I think that will have given the players a lot of belief. And of course, it’s always a different game here. Always a very different game at Anfield. The belief of the supporters, the belief of the Kop. You see the players, they can all feel that belief. It’s an incredible feeling. An incredible thing. The way the belief of the Kop, the way it flows from the stands onto the pitch into the players. The way it inspires the players, that belief. Their hope and their passion. It’s unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable!
In their coats. Their thin coats. With their scarves. Their red scarves. The men and the boys nodded. And one of the men unbuttoned his coat. The man opened up his coat. The man untied the scarf around his neck. The man took off his scarf. And the man touched the tie he was wearing. The Liverpool Football Club tie. Under his coat, under his scarf. And the man said, I am sure you won’t remember, Bill. Because it was ages ago now. Years ago now. So I am sure you don’t remember, Bill. But I had gone to the club shop to buy a tie. But the club shop were sold out of ties. And then I saw you, you in the car park. And I stopped you. And I asked you for your autograph. And we started to chat. And you asked about me, about how I was doing. And I said about the tie in the shop, about there being no ties in the shop. And in the car park. You took off your tie. Your Liverpool Football Club tie. And you gave me your tie. Your Liverpool Football Club tie. And so this is your tie, Bill. The tie you gave me. And I have worn it every day, Bill. Every day since. I never take it off, Bill. Never. So thank you again, Bill. Thank you.
I do remember, said Bill Shankly. And I remember you, son. I remember you very well. But it was the least I could do, son. The very least I could do. To thank you, son. To thank you for supporting Liverpool Football Club. So thank you again, son …
And again, one of the men said, But you know you are a genius, don’t you? You are a genius, Bill?
And now Bill Shankly shook his head. And Bill Shankly put his hand upon the shoulder of this man. And Bill Shankly said, Thank you, son. Thank you. But I am not a genius. I have only ever tried to be an honest man. And to make you proud. And make you happy.
86. WHATEVER THE SEASON
Not only in the summer. Not these days. But in the autumn. And in the winter and in the spring. These days. Bill and Ness would drive up to Blackpool. In all seasons, in all weathers. Or if Ness did not fancy the drive up to Blackpool. If Ness was busy. Bill would call a friend. And Bill and his friend would drive up to Blackpool. In all seasons, in all weathers. Or if his friends did not fancy the drive up to Blackpool. If his friends were busy. Bill would still go. Bill would still drive up to Blackpool. In all seasons, in all weathers. Bill parked the car by the Norbreck Castle Hotel. Bill crossed the tram tracks to the front. Bill walked along the Queen’s Promenade. And Bill sat on the front, on the promenade. In a deckchair or in a shelter. Bill sucked a lozenge, a Fisherman’s Friend. And Bill stared out at the sea, the Irish Sea. In all seasons, in all weathers. In a shelter or in a deckchair. Bill thought about the seasons that had been, Bill thought about the seasons to come. The things he had done and the things he would do. In all seasons, in all weathers. In his deckchair or in the shelter. Bill sucked a lozenge, a Fisherman’s Friend. Bill stared out at the sea, the Irish Sea. And Bill said, I only wish I could start all over again. Oh yes …
I mean, I see some of these managers. I hear some of these modern managers. And they talk like gods. But they haven’t won a thing. Not a bloody thing! And so I know, some of these top jobs. I could sit and do them with my eyes shut. With my bloody eyes shut!
Basic things, you know? Basic discipline, basic routines. The initial training period should take a long time. Oh yes. About five and a half weeks, I reckon. But you need to be cautious in these initial stages. You can’t be going out and tearing people to bloody pieces in the first three or four days. Oh no. You don’t put them in the sand or in the hills or on the road. You train them on the grass where they play. And you take it easy. I mean, if you saw Liverpool training in the early stages of my day, you might think they were being lazy. But the build-up was gradual, you see? Relying on experience, relying on knowledge. Our experience and our knowledge. Oh yes …
I mean, I would never ask players to stretch their legs until they were ready. Oh no. Injuries can be caused if the initial period is wrong. If a man breaks down two or three months into the season, it might well be because of his initial training. His initial training might well have been wrong, you see? It has to be a patient approach. Yes. It should be a very patient approach. I mean, Ray Clemence once pulled a muscle kicking balls too early into his training. It affected him for a long time. And he eventually missed a few games. And it cost us the League that season. I really believe that. I really do.
So I mean, you don’t want to let them sprint too early. Or kick the ball too early. Oh no. Caution is the key. Patience is the thing. You train hard, yes. But only when you are ready. Cautiously, patiently. You build up the training, you build up the players. Always with an eye on the details, on the little things. Oh yes. The details and the little things. I mean, during serious training. When the season is in full swing, when the players are seriously training. Then the players will sweat. Oh yes, of course they will. And they must, they must. But they must still wear a sweater or a top to train in. Particularly if it is a cold day. Because they need that sweater or that top to cover their kidneys. And if you haven’t worn one, you must put one on as soon as training is finished. To keep you warm, you must. Oh yes …
I mean, instead of stripping, training and showering at Melwood. And eating there and then going home. We stripped off at Anfield and then we went down to Melwood by bus. When it’s still summer and pre-season and when you are still hot and perspiring, you don’t want to be leaping into the bath five minutes after you have finished. Oh no. If you do, then you’ll sweat all bloody day. So after training, I encouraged the boys to have a little walk around and then have a nice cup of tea. And then we’d all get on the bus back to Anfield. It takes about fifteen minutes or so to get from Melwood in West Derby back to Anfield. And so you see, about forty minutes would have passed from training until they actually got into the bath. And I am certain, bloody certain, this is one of the reasons why we were always fitter than the rest. Because most of the other clubs, they report directly to their training grounds. And they strip off there. And so then they come straight off the training pitch and into a hot bath. Now I always disagreed with that. Strongly disagreed.