Red Or Dead

by David Peace

  I understand, John. I understand how you feel. And I’m sorry, John. I’m sorry you feel that way. I really am, John. But cheer up. Cheer up, John. If you and me go out there now, onto that pitch now. If you and me collect up all those empty bottles off the pitch. And if you and me return all those empties. We’ll be rich, John. Rich!

  Jock Stein shook his head. And Jock Stein said, You’re already rich, Bill. You don’t need anything more. Not tonight, Bill. You’ve already got everything you wanted. You’ve got everything now, Bill.

  …

  Eleven days after, eleven days later. The players of Chelsea Football Club formed a guard of honour on the pitch, the Anfield pitch. And the players of Chelsea Football Club applauded the players of Liverpool Football Club onto the pitch, the Anfield pitch. And on the pitch, the Anfield pitch. In the forty-eighth minute, Roger Hunt scored. And in the sixty-ninth minute, Hunt scored again. And the players of Liverpool Football Club beat the players of Chelsea Football Club two–one. At home, at Anfield. The players of Liverpool Football Club ran a lap of honour around the pitch, the Anfield pitch. The players of Liverpool Football Club paraded the trophy around the ground, the red papier-mâché trophy around the ground, the Anfield ground. The crowd all clapping, the crowd all cheering. Around the ground, the Anfield ground. The crowd all singing, all singing. Around the ground, the Anfield ground. All singing, all in one voice. Around the ground, the Anfield ground. In one voice, the fifty-three thousand, seven hundred and fifty-four folk inside the ground, the Anfield ground today. In one voice, the one million, two hundred and thirty-three thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven folk who had come to the ground, the Anfield ground this season. In one voice, all singing, in one red voice, all singing, SHANK-LEE, SHANK-LEE, SHANK-LEE,

  SHANK-LEE, SHANK-LEE,

  SHANK-LEE …

  Across the pitch, the Anfield pitch. Before the Kop, the Spion Kop. Bill Shankly lifted his arms, Bill Shankly raised his hands. To touch her, to hold her. And Bill Shankly looked up into the faces, the thousands of faces, Bill Shankly stared back into their eyes, their thousands of eyes. To cherish and to keep her. Their happy faces, their smiling eyes. To never let her go. And then before the Kop, the Spion Kop. Bill Shankly lowered his arms, Bill Shankly joined his hands. Together, together. In prayer and in thanks –

  For paradise, a red paradise,

  on earth, red earth,

  this paradise

  on earth –

  First in the First Division, top of the top division. Liverpool Football Club had sixty-one points. Liverpool Football Club had played forty-two League games. Tommy Lawrence had played in all of those games. Gerry Byrne had played in all of those games. Ron Yeats had played in all of those games. Ian Callaghan had played in all of those games. Tommy Smith had played in all of those games. Ian St John had played in forty-one of those games and Willie Stevenson had played in forty-one of those games. Chris Lawler had played in forty of those games and Peter Thompson had played in forty of those games. Roger Hunt had played in thirty-seven of those games. Gordon Milne had played in twenty-eight of those games. Geoff Strong had played in twenty-two of those games. Alf Arrowsmith had played in five of those games. And Bobby Graham had played in one of those games. Liverpool Football Club had used only fourteen players in their forty-two League games. They had won seventeen games at home and they had won nine games away from home. They had drawn two games at home and they had drawn seven games away from home. They had lost two games at home and they had lost five games away from home. They had scored fifty-two goals at home and they had scored twenty-seven goals away from home. They had conceded fifteen goals at home and they had conceded nineteen goals away from home. And Liverpool Football Club were the Football League Champions. Again. Liverpool Football Club were the Champions of England. And Liverpool Football Club had not finished, their season not over,

  not yet.

  …

  On Thursday 5 May, 1966, Liverpool Football Club came to Hampden Park, Glasgow, to play Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 1909 e.V. Dortmund in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Liverpool Football Club had never reached the final of a European cup before. That night, forty-one thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven folk came, too. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of rain. Just forty-one thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven folk in a stadium that could hold over one hundred and thirty thousand folk. That night, Hampden Park was barely a third full. And of those forty-one thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven folk, twenty-five thousand were Liverpool folk. The rest were German folk, or Scottish folk. And the rest wanted Borussia Dortmund to win. The rest wanted Liverpool Football Club to lose –

  Before the whistle, the first whistle. In their dressing room, their dressing room at Hampden Park. Bill Shankly looked from player to player. From Lawrence to Lawler, Lawler to Byrne, Byrne to Milne, Milne to Yeats, Yeats to Stevenson, Stevenson to Callaghan, Callaghan to Hunt, Hunt to St John, St John to Smith and from Smith to Thompson. Bill Shankly smiling, Bill Shankly laughing –

  Did you hear, boys? Did you hear what happened in the night? Some of our lads, some of our supporters. They scaled the walls, the Hampden Park walls. They scaled the Hampden walls and they painted the goalposts red. They painted them red, boys. It’s taken the ground staff all day to get the red paint off. To paint them posts white again. Well, I can tell you. I can tell you, boys. They needn’t have bothered. They needn’t have wasted their energy. Because tonight you are going to paint them goals red again. Paint them red again, boys. Because I’ve seen this lot play, this German team play. And I have to say. I have to tell you, boys. This lot would be hard pushed to hold a place in our league. They would struggle. They really would struggle, boys. I mean, Northampton Town would give them a game. And Northampton Town have been relegated. But I think Northampton Town could beat this lot. I really believe that. I really do, boys. So I think you’re going to murder them. Absolutely murder them, boys. And paint them goals red again. Paint them red again! So I’ve only one word for you. One piece of advice for you tonight, boys –

  ATTACK!

  In the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Liverpool Football Club attacked and attacked and attacked. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Borussia Dortmund defended and defended and defended. But in this night. This Glasgow night. In this rain. These sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Borussia Dortmund began to soak up the night, soak up the rain. They soaked up the attacks and they soaked up the pressure. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Borussia Dortmund began to grow, they began to flower. Tilkowski. Cyliax. Redder. Kurrat. Paul. Assauer. Libuda. Schmidt. Held. Sturm. And Emmerich. In the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. Growing and flowering, faster and stronger. With economy, but with sophistication. With strength, but with finesse. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. In the sixty-third minute, Sigfried Held passed to Lothar Emmerich. Lothar Emmerich lifted a pass back to Held. Over the head of Ron Yeats, behind the back of Ron Yeats. Held met the pass. And Held volleyed the pass. Into the net, into a goal. In the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. In the sixty-eighth minute, Peter Thompson ran yard after yard down the right. Peter Thompson beat man after man on the right. Peter Thompson reached the byline. The linesman raised his flag. The referee ignored the linesman. Peter Thompson crossed. Roger Hunt met the cross. Roger Hunt shot. And Roger Hunt scored. And the linesman lowered his flag. In the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Borussia Dortmund complained, the players of Borussia Dortmund protested. But the referee just shook his head. And the referee pointed to the centre spot. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The supporter
s of Liverpool Football Club roared. And some supporters of Liverpool Football Club ran onto the pitch, the Hampden Park pitch. And the police chased some supporters of Liverpool Football Club off the pitch. The police arrested some supporters of Liverpool Football Club. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The referee blew his whistle. For full time, for extra time. But in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. In the one hundred and seventh minute, Sigfried Held passed to Lothar Emmerich. Emmerich passed back to Held. Tommy Lawrence came out to the edge of his penalty area, out towards Held. Held with the ball at his feet. Tommy Lawrence dived at the feet of Held. And Held shot. The ball rebounded off Tommy Lawrence. Thirty-five yards. The ball came to Reinhard Libuda. Thirty-five yards out. Libuda curved a slow, dropping shot over Tommy Lawrence. In the night. The Glasgow night. Over Tommy Lawrence, towards the unguarded goal. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. Ronnie Yeats ran, Ronnie Yeats lunged. The ball hit the post. Ronnie Yeats lurched, Ronnie Yeats dived. And the ball hit his chest. The ball and Ronnie Yeats over the line. Into the net, into a goal. And in the night. The Glasgow night. In the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 1909 e.V. Dortmund beat Liverpool Football Club two–one. In the night. The Glasgow night. Ballspiel-Verein Borussia 1909 e.V. Dortmund became the first German side to win a European trophy. And in the rain. The sheets and sheets of Glasgow rain. The players of Borussia Dortmund collected the European Cup Winners’ Cup. And some supporters of Liverpool Football Club booed the German side. The players of Borussia Dortmund paraded the European Cup Winners’ Cup around Hampden Park, Glasgow. And some supporters of Liverpool Football Club threw bottles at the German side. The players of Borussia Dortmund ran a lap of honour around Hampden Park, Glasgow. And some supporters of Liverpool Football Club were arrested for breaches of the peace. Some of the supporters of Liverpool Football Club didn’t like losing. Some of the supporters of Liverpool Football Club were bad losers. Very, very bad losers –

  We were beaten by a team of frightened men, said Bill Shankly. Frightened men who scored two flukes. It was their plan from the start, simply to keep us in subjection. They had no real attacking plan. No plan of attack. Only of subjection. Only of theft. And so yes, they won. They might have won. But they stole it.

  They stole it through luck –

  Because if Roger Hunt and Tommy Smith had been fully fit tonight, we would have won easily. We would have murdered them. Because I am quite sincere when I say to you, they are the worst team we have met in this competition this season. The very worst team we have ever met. In any competition, in any season –

  So they were just lucky.

  22. THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR

  At the airport, Speke airport. The morning after the night before, lost morning after lost night before. Bill and the players and the staff and the officials of Liverpool Football Club got off the plane. The Liverpool plane, the losers’ plane. In silence. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool was there to greet them. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and four supporters. In silence. Bill and the players and the staff and the officials of Liverpool Football Club got on the bus. The Liverpool bus, the losers’ bus. In silence. Bill and the players and the staff and the officials of Liverpool Football Club got off the bus. In the car park, the deserted car park at Anfield Road. In silence. Bill and the players and the staff and the officials of Liverpool Football Club got into their cars. In silence. Bill and the players and the staff and the officials of Liverpool Football Club drove back to their homes. Down empty roads, along silent streets. In their losers’ cars, to their losers’ homes.

  In the drive, in the car. Bill turned off the engine. Bill got out of the car. Bill walked up the drive. Bill opened the front door of the house. Bill stepped into the house. Bill closed the door. Bill put down his suitcase in the hall. Bill walked into the kitchen. Bill said hello to Ness. Bill kissed her on her cheek. And Bill said, I’ll just take my case up, love. And sort out my stuff. I’ll be back down in a bit …

  OK, love, said Ness. I’ll put the kettle on.

  Bill walked back out into the hall. Bill picked up his suitcase. Bill walked up the stairs. Bill went into the bedroom. Bill put down his case on the carpet. Bill walked over to the window. And Bill stared through the glass, through the trees. Into the morning, into Bellefield. Their season not finished, their season not over. Through the glass and through the trees. Bill could see the players of Everton Football Club practising, Bill could hear the players of Everton Football Club preparing. Through the glass and through the trees. Practising for success, preparing for victory. Excited and optimistic. In just over a week, Everton Football Club would travel to Wembley Stadium. And Everton Football Club would play Sheffield Wednesday in the final of the FA Cup. In the bedroom, at the window. Bill believed Everton would be successful. And Bill hoped Everton would be victorious. For the people, the people of Liverpool. But now Bill closed the window. Now Bill drew the curtains. And then Bill walked over to the bed. Bill sat down on the bed. Bill closed his eyes. And Bill put his fingers in his ears. It was going to be a long summer,

  a very, very long summer,

  this summer of 1966.

  …

  In the bedroom, on their bed. Bill took his fingers out of his ears. And Bill opened his eyes. Bill had had enough of listening to national anthems. Bill had had enough of watching negative football. Now Bill got up from the bed. Now Bill walked over to the window. And Bill pulled back the curtains. Bill opened the windows. And Bill felt the warm summer breeze. Bill smelt the warm summer air. The Liverpool breeze, the Liverpool air. And Bill looked out through the glass, out through the trees. Into the morning, into the day. Into the summer, into the autumn. The winter and the spring. Into the new season, the Liverpool season. And Bill smiled, Bill smiled.

  …

  On the bench, their bench at Goodison Park. Bill watched Ron Yeats, the captain of Liverpool Football Club, parade the Football League trophy around the ground, the Goodison ground. Bill watched Brian Labone, the captain of Everton Football Club, parade the FA Cup around the ground, the Goodison ground. Together. And then Bill watched Roger Hunt of Liverpool Football Club and Ray Wilson of Everton Football Club parade the Jules Rimet trophy around the ground, the Merseyside ground. Together. And then nine minutes later, Bill watched Roger Hunt pass to Ian Callaghan. Callaghan pass to Peter Thompson. Thompson pass back to Hunt. And Hunt score for Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool. And then for the next eighty-one minutes, Bill watched Liverpool Football Club harry and hound Everton Football Club for every ball. Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool. Bill watched Liverpool Football Club run Everton Football Club ragged. Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool. And Bill listened to the supporters of Liverpool Football Club shout, How did they win the Cup? How did they win the Cup? Bill listened to the supporters of Liverpool Football Club sing, Show them the way to go home, they are tired and they want to go to bed. And Bill watched Liverpool Football Club beat Everton Football Club one–nil. And Bill watched the players of Liverpool Football Club parade the Charity Shield around the ground, the Goodison ground. And Bill smiled.

  In the tunnel, the Goodison tunnel. After the game, after the parade. Joe Mercer shook Bill’s hand. Joe Mercer had played for Everton Football Club. Joe Mercer had played for Arsenal Football Club. Joe Mercer had managed Sheffield United. Joe Mercer had managed Aston Villa. Now Joe Mercer was the manager of Manchester City Football Club –

  For the first time in years, said Joe Mercer, I have seen a team, I have seen a side which I wasn’t good enough to play in, Bill …

  Bill smiled again. And Bill said, Don’t say that, Joe. Please never say that. But thank you, Joe. Thank you. And you know I’m not a man for fortune-telling, Joe. Not a man for predictions. But I cannot believe there is a side that can come close to this Liverpool side, Joe. I cannot see another team who can touch this Liverpool team. Not in England an
d not in Europe. Not this season, Joe. Not this season.

  …

  In his office, at his desk. Bill read the letters. The hundreds of letters, the hundreds of signatures. Bill studied the petitions. The hundreds of petitions, the thousands of signatures. Bill picked up the bags of letters. Bill gathered up the piles of petitions. Bill walked up the stairs, the Anfield stairs. Bill knocked on the door of the boardroom, the Anfield boardroom. And Bill waited.

  Come, said the voice.

  Bill opened the door. Bill stepped inside the room.

  Have a seat, Mr Shankly, said the directors of Liverpool Football Club. Please have a seat.

  Bill walked to the end of the long table. With his bags of letters, with his piles of petitions. Bill did not sit down in a chair at the end of the long table. Bill looked up the long table at the directors of Liverpool Football Club. And Bill waited.

  Now what can we do for you today, Mr Shankly?

  Bill picked up the bags of letters. Bill emptied the bags of letters onto the long table. The hundreds of letters. Bill picked up the petitions. Bill threw the petitions down onto the long table. The thousands of signatures. And Bill said, You can read these letters. You can count these signatures. That’s what you can do for me today.

  The directors of Liverpool Football Club stared down at the letters. The hundreds of letters. The directors of Liverpool Football Club stared down at the petitions. The thousands of signatures. And the directors of Liverpool Football Club shook their heads –

  We have made our decision, Mr Shankly.

  Bill picked up one of the petitions from the long table. And Bill said, This is a petition from the workers at the Ford car factory in Halewood. This is a petition signed by over ten thousand workers at the Ford car factory. This is a petition that demands you reconsider the ban on television cameras inside Anfield. A petition that says if you do not reconsider the ban on television coverage, then these ten thousand workers will boycott all Liverpool matches. A petition that shows how strongly folk feel about this ban.