by David Peace
In the boardroom, the Anfield boardroom. The directors of Liverpool Football Club looked down the long table at Bill –
But how much do Leicester City want for Banks, Mr Shankly? How much must we pay for Gordon Banks?
Just sixty thousand pounds.
Sixty thousand pounds, repeated the directors of Liverpool Football Club. Just sixty thousand pounds? For a goalkeeper?
Bill nodded. And Bill said, Yes. Just sixty thousand pounds. But not just sixty thousand pounds for just any old goalkeeper. No. For the best goalkeeper in the country. The best goalkeeper in the world …
But you are always saying we already have the best goalkeeper in the country, Mr Shankly. You are always saying Tommy Lawrence is the best goalkeeper in the world …
Bill nodded again. And Bill said, Yes. Tommy Lawrence was the best goalkeeper in the country. But Tommy Lawrence is not the best goalkeeper in the country any more. Gordon Banks is the best goalkeeper in the country now. And not only in the country. In the world. You all know Gordon Banks has a World Cup winner’s medal. A World Cup winner’s medal!
Yes, we all know Gordon Banks has a World Cup winner’s medal, Mr Shankly. But sixty thousand pounds is still a lot of money for a goalkeeper. No football club has ever paid sixty thousand pounds for a goalkeeper …
Bill shook his head. And Bill said, But this is not just any goalkeeper. This is the best goalkeeper in the country we are talking about. This is the best goalkeeper in the world. With Gordon Banks in our side, with Gordon Banks in this Liverpool team, we will save twenty goals a season, at least twenty goals a season. And if we can save twenty goals a season, if Gordon Banks saves us twenty goals a season, then there will no stopping us, no stopping Liverpool Football Club. Sixty grand is a bargain. An absolute bargain!
Sixty thousand pounds is not a bargain, said the directors of Liverpool Football Club. Not for a goalkeeper. We think sixty thousand pounds is robbery, Mr Shankly. For a goalkeeper. It’s absolute robbery, Mr Shankly …
Bill stammered, Bill stuttered. And Bill said, You what? Are you all mental? Are you all insane? Sheffield Wednesday paid Stoke City seventy-five thousand pounds for John Ritchie. Tottenham Hotspur paid Blackburn Rovers ninety-five thousand pounds for Mike England. Chelsea paid Aston Villa one hundred thousand pounds for Tony Hateley. And need I remind you, that mob across the park, they paid one hundred and twelve thousand pounds for Alan Ball. One hundred and twelve thousand pounds! And so how on earth, how in God’s name, is sixty thousand pounds robbery for Gordon Banks? For the best goalkeeper in the world? How is that robbery?
John Ritchie is not a goalkeeper, said the directors of Liverpool Football Club. John Ritchie is a striker. Mike England is not a goalkeeper, Mike England is a defender. Tony Hateley is not a goalkeeper, Tony Hateley is a striker. And Alan Ball is not a goalkeeper, Alan Ball is a midfielder. But Gordon Banks is a goalkeeper. Just a goalkeeper. And we will not pay sixty thousand pounds for a goalkeeper, Mr Shankly. We simply will not pay.
Bill looked down the long table at the directors of Liverpool Football Club. Bill shook his head. And Bill said, Well, I will tell you this. Without a better goalkeeper, without Gordon Banks, Liverpool Football Club will not win the League again. And so Liverpool Football Club will not play in the European Cup again. And so Liverpool Football Club will not win the European Cup. Not ever. Not without a better keeper. Not without Gordon Banks.
…
On the bench, their bench at Goodison Park. Bill was watching, watching with the sixty-four thousand, eight hundred and fifty-one folk inside Goodison Park, watching with the forty thousand, one hundred and forty-nine folk inside Anfield, the forty thousand, one hundred and forty-nine folk watching on closed-circuit television, on eight giant screens, inside Anfield –
Watching, watching –
On the bench, their bench at Goodison Park. In a gale of paper, in a tunnel of noise. Bill watched Everton Football Club harry Liverpool Football Club, Bill watched Everton Football Cub hound Liverpool Football Club. And in the last minute of the first half, Bill watched Yeats fail to clear. Bill watched Milne pass back to Lawrence, Husband harrying Lawrence. Bill watched Lawrence fail to collect the ball, Husband hounding Lawrence. Bill watched Lawrence fail to gather the ball, Alan Ball collecting the ball on the byline, Alan Ball gathering the ball on the byline. And from the byline, from the most difficult of angles, Bill watched Alan Ball hook the ball over Tommy Lawrence and into the net, into a goal. The only goal, the only difference. In a gale of paper, in a tunnel of noise. Bill knew Alan Ball was the difference between Everton Football Club and Liverpool Football Club. The only difference and the only reason. In a gale of paper, in a tunnel of noise. Bill knew Alan Ball was the reason Everton Football Club beat Liverpool Football Club one–nil in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup. In a gale of paper, in a tunnel of noise. The only reason Liverpool Football Club were out of the FA Cup. Out of another cup. Out, out –
Again.
…
In the boardroom, the Anfield boardroom. Bill looked down the long table at the directors of Liverpool Football Club. And Bill said, You would not give me the money to buy Alan Ball from Blackpool. Everton bought Alan Ball from Blackpool. You would not give me the money to buy Howard Kendall from Preston North End. Everton bought Howard Kendall from Preston. You would not give me the money to buy Gordon Banks from Leicester City. Stoke City bought Gordon Banks from Leicester. But today I hope you will give me the money to buy Emlyn Hughes from Blackpool Football Club.
And how much do the directors of Blackpool Football Club want for Hughes, asked the directors of Liverpool Football Club.
Bill said, Sixty-five thousand pounds. But Emlyn Hughes is not a goalkeeper. Emlyn Hughes is a defender. But Emlyn Hughes could also be a midfielder. He is versatile and he is talented. Very, very versatile and very, very talented. And I tell you this. I believe he will play for England. I believe he will be the captain of England. I believe he can be the captain of Liverpool Football Club. I believe he can be a rock for Liverpool Football Club. A great, great captain and a great, great rock. A rock on which we can build. For a great future and for great success. With this boy in our side, with this boy in our team.
The directors of Liverpool Football Club nodded. And the directors of Liverpool Football Club smiled –
You have sold this boy to us, Mr Shankly. And so we agree to your request. We will pay Blackpool Football Club sixty-five thousand pounds for Hughes, Mr Shankly.
Bill raised his eyebrows. Bill sighed. And Bill said, Thank you.
The directors of Liverpool Football Club smiled again. And the directors of Liverpool Football Club picked up a piece of paper from the long table. And the directors of Liverpool Football Club passed the piece of paper all the way down the long table to Bill –
There was one other thing, Mr Shankly. Just one other thing. We’d like to offer you this, Mr Shankly. This is a new contract. A new five-year contract for you, Mr Shankly.
Bill looked down at the piece of paper. And Bill said, But I have a contract. And I still have one year left on my contract.
The directors of Liverpool Football Club nodded again. The directors of Liverpool Football Club smiled again –
We know, Mr Shankly. We know you do. But we also know how very important you are to Liverpool Football Club. How very, very important you are, Mr Shankly. So we do not want you to feel any doubt, Mr Shankly. We do not want you to feel any uncertainty. Any doubt at all, any uncertainty at all. So we would like to offer you a new contract, a new five-year contract now. For your peace of mind, Mr Shankly. Your own peace of mind …
Bill looked back up from the piece of paper. Bill looked back down the long table at the directors of Liverpool Football Club. And Bill said, Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you very much. I appreciate your concern for my peace of mind. And I appreciate your commitment to me. And so I will take this contract home with me today. And I will consider this contract. I’ll consider it very carefully.
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At the ground or at their house. In the office or in their kitchen. At his desk or at their table. With the papers and with his books. His books of names, his books of notes. With the glue and with the scissors. Bill kept turning the pages, Bill kept turning the pages. The pages of the papers, the pages of his books. His books of names and his books of notes. Backwards and forwards, forwards and backwards. Liverpool Football Club were third in the First Division, Liverpool Football Club were second in the First Division, Liverpool Football Club were third in the First Division. Backwards and forwards, forwards and backwards. Third and then fourth, fourth and then fifth. Backwards and backwards, backwards and backwards, backwards and backwards.
…
In the house, in their hallway. Bill put down the telephone. Bill stood in the hallway. Bill looked at the front door, Bill looked at the cupboard door. Inside the cupboard was his coat, inside the cupboard was his hat. But Bill walked back into the front room. Bill sat back down in his armchair. Bill looked over at Ness. And Bill smiled.
Who was that, asked Ness. On the phone, love?
Bill said, It was the chairman of Aston Villa.
Oh, said Ness. And what did he want, love?
He wanted me to pop down for a chat.
Where is Aston Villa, asked Ness.
They are in Birmingham.
Oh, said Ness again. I’ve never been to Birmingham. What kind of place is Birmingham? Is it a big place?
Bill said, Yes. It’s a very big city.
Well, are you going, asked Ness. To Birmingham?
No, love. I don’t think I am. Not today.
Ness stood up. And Ness smiled –
That’s good, love. Well, I’ll go and put the kettle on then. I’ll make us both a nice cup of tea. How about that, love?
Bill smiled again. And Bill said, That sounds great, love. Thank you. Thank you very much, love.
Ness got up from her chair. Ness went out into the kitchen. Bill could hear her filling the kettle. Bill could hear her lighting the cooker. And Bill could hear one of their girls upstairs. Playing her records. And Bill could hear the kids outside. Playing their games. And in their home, in his chair. Bill closed his eyes. And in his mind, in his ears. Bill could hear the crowd. The Anfield crowd, the Spion Kop. Now all Bill could hear was LI-VER-POOL, LI-VER-POOL, LI-VER-POOL.
…
In the boardroom, the Anfield boardroom. Before the press, the local press. At the table, the long table. The directors of Liverpool Football Club sat down. And Bill sat down. The directors of Liverpool Football Club smiled. And Bill said, I am not playing with words when I say Liverpool Football Club have the most loyal supporters in the world. The greatest supporters in the world. And that is my challenge, to care for them. That is my challenge, to look after them. Because if the supporters of Liverpool Football Club are happy, then the players of Liverpool Football Club are happy, and if the players are happy, then the club is successful. That is the only sort of dividend I seek for my labours. That is the only reward I want. To make the supporters happy, to make the people happy. And I have never cheated the supporters, I have never cheated the people. And I never will, I never will. They deserve the best. Because they are the best. And no man, no man alive, can give more, can strive harder to give them the best, to make them happy. That is all I seek to do. That is all I try to do …
And so come what may, whether or not I am still associated with Liverpool Football Club after that time, that time this contract ends, my wife and I will spend the rest of our days in Liverpool. We have been made to feel at home here. We like the place and we like the people. And so we can see no reason for going elsewhere …
This is our home. Our home.
…
At home, at Anfield. Later that afternoon, that last afternoon of the 1966–67 season, Blackpool Football Club came to Anfield, Liverpool. And that afternoon, that last afternoon, twenty-eight thousand, seven hundred and seventy-three folk came, too. Just twenty-eight thousand, seven hundred and seventy-three folk. Blackpool Football Club had already been relegated from the First Division. And in the twenty-first minute, Peter Thompson scored. But that afternoon, that last afternoon, Liverpool Football Club lost three–one to Blackpool Football Club. At home, at Anfield. That afternoon, that last afternoon of the season, Liverpool Football Club were fifth in the First Division. And Liverpool Football Club were Champions no more.
…
In Portugal, in Lisbon. In the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill watched Craig tackle Cappellini inside the Celtic penalty area. Bill watched Cappellini fall to the ground inside the Celtic penalty area. Bill watched the German referee point to the penalty spot inside the Celtic penalty area. Bill watched Mazzola send Simpson the wrong way in the Celtic goal. Bill watched the ball hit the back of the Celtic goal. In the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill watched Auld hit the bar. Bill watched Gemmell shoot. Bill watched Sarti save. Bill watched Johnstone head the ball towards the goal. Bill watched Sarti tip the ball over the bar. Bill watched Gemmell shoot again. Bill watched Sarti save again. In the sun, the scalding sun. At the end of the first half, Bill watched Jock Stein harangue the referee, the German referee. Bill watched Jock Stein harangue Helenio Herrera, the manager of Internazionale of Milan. In the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. At the start of the second half, Bill watched the players of the Celtic Football Club wait for the players of Internazionale of Milan. In the sun, the scalding sun. In the heat, the eighty-five-degree heat. In the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill watched Sarti save. Bill watched Sarti save and save again. In the sun, the scalding sun. In the sixty-second minute, Bill watched Gemmell scream for the ball. Bill watched Craig square the ball to Gemmell. Bill watched Gemmell shoot. And Bill watched Gemmell score. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill watched justice prevail. Bill watched Murdoch shoot. Bill watched Chalmers turn the shot into the net. In the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill watched the supporters of the Celtic Football Club pour down the marble terraces. Ready. Bill watched the supporters of the Celtic Football Club mass around the perimeter moat. Ready. And in the Estádio Nacional, in his seat. In the sun, the scalding sun. Bill heard the whistle, the final whistle. The Celtic Football Club had beaten Internazionale of Milan two–one. The Celtic Football Club had won the European Cup. The Celtic Football Club were the first British team to win the European Cup. Jock Stein the first British manager to win the European Cup. Not Matt Busby. And not Bill Shankly –
His jacket stuck to his shirt. His shirt stuck to his vest. His vest stuck to his skin. Bill had tears in his eyes. Tears on his cheeks now. The collar of his shirt, the silk of his tie –
His Liverpool tie. His red,
red Liverpool tie. In the dressing room, the Celtic dressing room. Bill patted Jock Stein’s back, Bill shook Jock Stein’s hand. And Bill said, Congratulations, John. Congratulations. I could not be happier for you, John. I could not be happier. You have won the League. You have won the Scottish Cup. You have won the Scottish League Cup. You have won the Glasgow Cup. And now you have won the European Cup. All in one season, John. All in the same season!
And so now you are immortal, John.
Now you are immortal.
Immortal, John.
25. WE DO NOT LIVE ON MEMORIES
After the season. The season of loss. Before the season. The season of hope. In the summer. The summer of love. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett were not on their holidays. In the boardroom. The boardroom at Anfield. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett were about their work. The books were spread out over the long table. The books of names, the books of notes. The sheets of paper piled up on the long table. The sheets of names, the sheets of dates. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett going through every page of every book, every sheet of every paper. Every playe
r and every game. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett discussing every page, studying every sheet. They analysed every player, they evaluated every game. The games that had been, the season that had been. The season of loss –
In the 1966–67 season, Liverpool Football Club had played forty-two League games. They had won twelve games at home, at Anfield, and they had won seven games away, away from Anfield. They had drawn seven games at home and they had drawn six games away. They had lost two games at home, at Anfield, and they had lost eight games away, away from Anfield. They had scored thirty-six goals at home, at Anfield, and they had scored twenty-eight goals away, away from Anfield. They had conceded seventeen goals at home, at Anfield, and they had conceded thirty goals away from home, away from Anfield. In the 1966–67 season, Liverpool Football Club had finished with fifty-one points. And Liverpool Football Club had finished fifth in the First Division. Leeds United had fifty-five points. Tottenham Hotspur had fifty-six points. And Nottingham Forest had fifty-six points, too. Manchester United Football Club had sixty points. Manchester United had finished first in the First Division. Manchester United were the Champions of England. The new Champions.
The season before, Liverpool Football Club had finished first in the First Division. Liverpool Football Club had been the Champions of England. The season before, Liverpool Football Club had scored seventy-nine goals and they had conceded thirty-four. Home and away. In the 1966–67 season, Liverpool Football Club had scored sixty-four goals and they had conceded forty-seven. Home and away. Manchester United Football Club had scored eighty-four goals and they had conceded forty-six. Home and away.
In the new season, the season to come, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett knew Liverpool Football Club would need to score more goals. A lot more goals.