In the house, in their front room. Ness had finished the crossword. Ness put down her pen. Ness put the book to one side. And Ness got up from her chair. Ness said goodnight to Bill. And Bill said goodnight to Ness. Bill kissed Ness on her cheek. And then Bill sat back down in his chair. And Bill stared at the television. The dark, silent television. And Bill stared at the curtains. The closed, drawn curtains. And in the front room, in his chair. Bill listened to the rain. The rain falling on the house. The rain falling on all the houses. And Bill listened to the wind. The wind blowing around the house. The wind blowing around all the houses. And Bill thought about the young lad again. Bill could not stop thinking about the young lad. The young lad on his back in the hospital bed. The young lad Bill wanted to help.
The young lad who might never play football again. The young lad Bill wanted to help play football again. The young lad who might never play football again. The young lad Bill couldn’t help play football again. And in the front room, in his chair. In the night and in the silence. His sweater stuck to his shirt. His shirt stuck to his vest. His vest stuck to his skin. In the rain and in the wind. Bill put his hands together. Bill closed his eyes. And Bill said a prayer.
They came to the street. The street in West Derby, Liverpool. And they went up the drive. The drive to the house on Bellefield Avenue, West Derby. And they knocked on the door, they rang the doorbell. The doorbell to the house on Bellefield Avenue. And whatever Nessie Shankly was doing. Doing the housework, making the lunch. Nessie Shankly stopped what she was doing. And Nessie Shankly opened the door. The door to their home. And Nessie Shankly invited them into their home. Into their home to meet Bill Shankly. And whatever Bill Shankly was doing. Doing the gardening, answering letters. Bill Shankly stopped what he was doing. And Bill Shankly shook their hands. Bill Shankly thanked them for coming. And Bill Shankly welcomed them into their home. Bill Shankly invited them into their front room. Bill Shankly asked them to sit down. And Nessie Shankly made them a cup of tea. A nice cup of tea. And Nessie Shankly brought in some biscuits. On a plate, on a tray. With their tea. Their cups of tea. And Bill Shankly signed their autograph books. Bill Shankly signed their football programmes. Their memorabilia and their photographs. And if they did not have a photograph, Bill Shankly gave them a photograph from the pile of photographs. The pile of photographs Bill Shankly kept by the door. For the people who came to the street. The people who walked up their drive. And knocked on their door and rang their bell. All hours of the day, all days of the week. Bill Shankly smiled. And Bill Shankly answered their questions. Their questions about the season Liverpool Football Club were having, their questions about the seasons Liverpool Football Club had had –
Well, yes, said Bill Shankly. Yes. It was very disappointing to
go out of the European Cup in the very first round. And I mean, we completely outplayed Forest. At Anfield, at home. In the second leg, the home leg. We completely outplayed them from start to finish. But you see, they had Peter Shilton and Kenny Burns. And Larry Lloyd, of course. And they were very strong. Very resolute. And so again, we were unable to score. And so yes, it was very disappointing, very depressing. But I am certain Forest will win it. I am sure Nottingham Forest will win the European Cup. And in fact, I am so certain. I am so sure. I’ve backed them myself. The day after the match. The goalless draw at Anfield. I put my money on Forest. That’s how certain I am. How sure I am Forest can win the European Cup. And that would be a tremendous thing. Not only for Forest, not only for Brian. But for Britain, too. It would be a tremendous thing. A really tremendous thing for Britain. And of course, our season is not over. Oh no. Not over by a long chalk. I mean, I think we have every chance we can win the League. We can win the title. Because I think it’ll come down to ourselves and Forest. And I feel Forest will be distracted. Distracted by the European Cup, you see? And so I think that gives us every chance. Every chance to win the League again …
And in the front room of Bill Shankly’s home. On the edge of their chairs, with their tea in their hands. These people who had come to his home, these people who were sat in his home. They asked Bill Shankly about Everton Football Club, too. And Bill Shankly smiled. And Bill Shankly laughed –
Well, yes, said Bill Shankly again. Yes. It was very disappointing to lose at Goodison. And so I hope we can put that right on Saturday. Because it’s always the worst thing in the world. If you lose a derby. It’s a horrible feeling, a terrible thing. Because the city is split in half and you get so much banter. So many arguments and so many bets. And so this week before the derby, it always seems such a long time. Such a very, very long time. The longest week of the season. Because there are no games like derby games. No thrills like derby thrills. Because these games, they mean so much to so many. People have so many memories of so many derbies. And thankfully, I have a lot of happy memories. Because if you look at the results. The results since Liverpool Football Club returned to the First Division. Then you’ll understand. Then you’ll see why I have so many happy
memories. So many very happy memories. Because we have beaten Everton more times than they have beaten us. That’s a fact. A fact! And I can still see every goal that was scored in every game. In every derby game. And every time they got one. Every time they scored a goal. Well, that was like a knife in my back. But every one we got. Every one we scored. Then I was soaring, soaring with the astronauts. And so I have always wanted to win them all. Even when it was Liverpool reserves versus Everton reserves. I still wanted to win. To win every game, every derby. More than anything. And I remember the worst one. The worst one was when they came to Anfield and they beat us four–nil. At home, at Anfield. On the nineteenth of September, nineteen hundred and sixty-four. Oh yes, that’s a day I’ll never forget. A day I’ll always remember. But I remember, too, the following season. The twenty-fifth of September, nineteen sixty-five. When we beat them five–nil. Because that was our revenge. Our revenge with interest. With bloody interest! But you ask me which was the best? Well, that’s a difficult thing to say. Because I mean, there were so many great ones. So many great derbies, so many great victories. And I mean, I’ll never forget the rubbing we gave them in the Charity Shield. That was after the World Cup, in nineteen sixty-six. And the records might show we won one–nil, only one–nil. But we gave them a pasting, a real pasting. And in fact, it turned out to be the best thing we ever did for Everton Football Club. Because after that match, after that rubbing. Off they went, breaking transfer records, signing Alan Ball. And that transformed them, Alan Ball transformed them. And that got them back on the rails. Alan put them back on the rails. But that was really down to us, thanks to us, and to the pasting we gave them in the Charity Shield. But I think the hardest and the most thrilling was the one in the November of nineteen seventy. When we were two–nil down. And they were in their blue heaven, in their seventh heaven. But we came back. And we beat them three–two. And that was like a bad dream for the Everton fans. A bloody nightmare. A red nightmare for them! Because they were two–nil up, you see. And they thought they were in Easy Street. But there is no Easy Street at Anfield Road. Oh no. No Easy Street at Anfield Road. Because you see, we never give up. And I knew with the players we had. The players we had that day. That was Ray Clemence and Chris Lawler. Young Alec Lindsay.
Tommy Smith, of course. And Larry Lloyd. Emlyn and Brian Hall. Phil Boersma, who I brought on for John McLaughlin. Steve Heighway, of course. Big John Toshack and Ian Ross. I knew we had the players who could come back. The players who could hit Everton like a whirlwind. And that is what they did. That is exactly what they did. They hit Everton like a whirlwind. A bloody whirlwind. A red whirlwind! And so we came back. And we beat them three–two. Three–bloody–two after being two–bloody–nil down. And so that was fantastic. A fantastic derby. The hardest but the most thrilling. And the best one for me, the best victory. And it tasted like champagne. Like red champagne. Because defeat is a bitter pill. A very bitter pill. But thankfully, we did not have too many of them. Not in my time.
And in the front room of Bill Shankly’s home. On their feet now. These people who had come to his home, these people who had sat in his home. They thanked Bill Shankly for his time. They thanked Bill Shankly and Nessie Shankly for their hospitality. And Bill Shankly smiled. Bill Shankly shook his head. And Bill Shankly thanked them all for coming. Bill Shankly shook their hands, Bill Shankly patted their backs. Bill Shankly asked them all to take care, Bill Shankly wished them all a safe journey home. And then Bill Shankly said goodbye. At his door, on the doorstep. Bill Shankly waved goodbye to them all. And then Bill Shankly closed the door. The door to their home on Bellefield Avenue. And in their home, in their kitchen. Nessie Shankly washed up the cups and the saucers. And the plates. Bill Shankly dried up the cups and the saucers. And the plates. And then Nessie Shankly went back to what she had been doing. Doing the housework, making their lunch. And Bill Shankly went back to what he had been doing. Doing the gardening, answering letters. Until the next time there was a knock on the door. Another ring on the bell. Or the next time the telephone rang.
Joe Mercer was the president of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club on the Wirral. Joe Mercer asked Bill if he would like to come to speak after one of their dinners at the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. Joe Mercer said
the members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club would like to hear Bill speak. They would be happy to hear Bill speak. Bill didn’t like golf and Bill didn’t like golf clubs. But Bill liked Joe. And so Bill said, Yes then, Joe. I’ll come to speak after one of your dinners. If that’s what your people want, if that’s what will make your people happy.
George Higham was the secretary of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. George Higham was also a director of Tranmere Rovers Football Club. Bill knew George Higham and Bill liked George. George Higham wrote to Bill on behalf of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club to formally invite Bill to the club and to confirm the date that Bill would come to speak after one of their dinners. Bill checked his diary. Bill wrote the date in his diary. And Bill wrote back to George to accept the invitation to the Eastham Lodge Golf Club and to confirm the date he would come to speak after one of their dinners.
But Bill had never spoken at a golf club before, after one of their dinners. And so Bill did not know what he should say, what he should speak about. And every day. In the house, in their front room. Bill sat at his writing desk. Writing things down. Things he could say. Crossing things out. Things he couldn’t say. Every day. Writing things down, crossing things out. Every night. Typing up his notes. His pages and pages of notes. Every day. Tearing up his notes. His pages and pages of notes. Every day. Starting again, stopping again. Writing things down, crossing things out. Every day until the morning of the day. The morning of the day Bill was due to speak at the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. His sweater stuck to his shirt. His shirt stuck to his vest. His vest stuck to his skin. Bill walked into the hall. Bill picked up the telephone. Bill called George Higham. And Bill said, George, George? I’m sorry, George, I’m very sorry, George. But I cannot come. I cannot speak. I’m not feeling too good. I’m not feeling myself.
Oh no, said George Higham. Oh no, Bill. Don’t say that, please don’t say that. Our members are very much looking forward to you coming, very excited about hearing you speak, Bill. They will be so disappointed, so very, very disappointed. Is there no way you can come, Bill? Are you feeling that bad, Bill?
Bill felt bad now. Very bad now. And Bill said, But I don’t like golf, George. It’s not my game. Football is my game. And so I wouldn’t know what to say …
But no one is expecting you to talk about golf, said George Higham. People just want to hear your stories, Bill. Your stories about football, your stories about life. You are a great talker, Bill. A great speaker. And so they just want to hear you speak, Bill. About whatever you want. It’s very relaxed. People have their dinner, they have a drink. And then they just want to hear you, Bill. Listen to you speak.
Bill felt worse now. Even worse now. And Bill said, But I just don’t like golf clubs. They are not my kind of people, you see. And I’m not good at posh dos. They are not my kind of places, you understand? It’s not me, George. It’s just not for me …
But our club is not like that, said George Higham. Not like you imagine, Bill. Our members are from Liverpool, they are Liverpool people. They are looking forward to you coming, excited to be hearing you speak, Bill. They will be very disappointed if you do not come. They’ll be very sad if you do not speak, Bill …
Bill felt terrible. Bloody terrible. And so Bill said, All right then, George. All right. I’ll come, George. I’ll come and I’ll speak.
His sweater still stuck to his shirt. His shirt still stuck to his vest. His vest still stuck to his skin. Bill put down the telephone. Bill walked up the stairs. In the bathroom. Bill took off his sweater. Bill took off his shirt. Bill took off his vest. And Bill had a wash. A good wash. And then Bill went into the bedroom. Bill changed his trousers. Bill put on his shirt. His best white shirt. Bill put on his bow tie. His black bow tie. Bill put on his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. In the house, in their bedroom. Bill stood before the mirror on the back of the wardrobe door. Bill looked at the man in the mirror. In his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. His bow tie. His black bow tie. And Bill said, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. For inviting me to your club tonight. I, I, I …
In the bedroom. Before the mirror on the back of the wardrobe door. Bill stared at the man in the mirror. His shirt stuck to his vest. Again. His vest stuck to his skin. His bow tie. His black bow tie tight around his neck. Choking him, strangling him. And again Bill said, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. For inviting me to your club tonight. I, I …
Bill turned away from the mirror on the back of the wardrobe door. The man in the mirror. Bill closed the wardrobe door. Bill
walked out of the bedroom. Bill walked back down the stairs. Bill went back into the front room. Bill went back to the writing desk. Bill bent down. Down under the writing desk. Bill pulled out the wastepaper basket from under the writing desk. And Bill took out all his screwed-up pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. Bill straightened out all his screwed-up pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. Bill picked out all his torn-up pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. Bill stuck back together all his pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. And then Bill took his pages and pages of straightened-out and stuck-back notes over to the chair. Bill sat down in his chair. And Bill began to read through all his pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. And then Bill began to read out his speech from his pages of notes. His pages and pages of notes. And Bill swallowed. And Bill coughed. And then Bill said, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. For inviting me to your club tonight. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I …
In the dining room of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. On the little stage at the front of the dining room. Behind the lectern, on the little stage. Before the members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club, behind the lectern. In his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. His bow tie. His black bow tie. Bill looked down at his notes. His pages and pages of notes. Bill swallowed again. Bill coughed again. And then Bill said, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. For inviting me to your club tonight. I, I, I …
But in his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. His bow tie. His black bow tie. Bill stared down at his notes. His pages and pages of notes. And Bill could not read his notes. His pages and pages of notes. Bill could not read his own writing. His pages and pages of writing. And Bill swallowed again. Bill coughed again. And Bill looked up. Up and out. Up at the dining room of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club, out at the members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. And Bill put down his notes. His pages and pages of notes –
And Bill said, I have to confess a few things. A few things about golf and a few things about me. Because you see, golf is not my game. Golf is not for me. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever been anywhere near a golf club. But I’ve spoken to golf clubs. On the telephone. Many times. In fact, I think I must have called every golf
club on Merseyside at one time or another. Because you see, I used to call them and tell them, You better not have any of my players. My Liverpool players. Up at your club, out on your course. Because you see, I never approved of my players playing anything but the game through which they earned their living. Because in my opinion, for a professional footballer, golf is a menace. Nothing but a bloody menace. Oh yes. You see, in my opinion, golf can put unnatural stress on the body of a footballer. Stress in places where they wouldn’t normally have stress. If they didn’t play golf. And when a player has these kinds of stresses. When they play golf. Then that is when a player gets injured. That’s why they get injured. Oh yes. So that is why I never approved of them playing golf. And so I banned the players from playing golf. I banned them all. But they were a crafty lot. Very cunning, my players. Because that’s the kind of men I like. Crafty and cunning men. But on the pitch, you understand? The football pitch. Not on the golf course. But I knew then, you see. I knew then they would be sneaking about, sneaking into golf clubs, sneaking in a quick game of golf when they thought I wouldn’t be looking. When they thought I wouldn’t know. But I was always looking. I always had my eyes on them. Oh yes. And so I always knew. And I remember one time, I had my suspicions about Tommy Lawrence and about Roger Hunt. Something about the way they were walking, the way they were whispering to each other. The kind of clothes they were wearing, the kind of shoes they were buying. These were not the clothes of a footballer, the shoes a footballer would wear. Oh no. I knew what they were about, what they were up to. They were sneaking about, sneaking off to golf clubs, sneaking off for a quick game. And so I remember, I called one golf club. The club I thought they were going to. And I called this club, and I said to their secretary, Have you got my boys there? And he said, No, no, Mr Shankly. But I could tell from the answer, the way the secretary answered. I could tell that Tommy Lawrence and Roger Hunt had warned the club, had warned the secretary that I might be calling, that I might be asking after them. Can you imagine? That is how crafty they were, how cunning they were. But you see, I could tell from the voice, the voice of the secretary. I could tell they were there. And I could tell they had warned him I would call. And so I knew they had told him to lie. Because I could
tell by his voice that he was lying. He was lying to me. And so I told him, I said, I know you are lying to me. I know they are there. And so I’m coming over now. In my car. With my boys. With Bob, and with Joe, and with Reuben. In the car. And when we have finished with them. Then it’ll be your turn. And now the man was shaking, his voice was shaking. And he said, Please don’t, Mr Shankly. Please don’t come, Mr Shankly. They are here, they are here. And so I told him, I said, Then you tell them from me to go home. To get themselves home. Or I’ll be coming to your club with my club. My bloody club!
In the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. In the dining room. At their tables, after their dinner. With their cigars and with their drinks. The members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club laughed. And the members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club clapped. And in his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. His bow tie. His black bow tie. Bill smiled. And Bill said, But I have to confess. In one case. With one footballer. One footballer who took to the golf. I have only myself to blame. It was my own bloody fault. Because before one game, an away game. We were staying at this hotel. And we’d got there a wee bit too early. Even for me. Because I always like to be early. But we were too early. And the players were moping about, moaning. Moping about because they had nothing to do, moaning they were bored. And I tell you, there is nothing worse than a bunch of moping, moaning footballers. And this hotel, this hotel we were staying in. This hotel had a little course, a wee golf course. Nothing dramatic, you understand? Nothing spectacular. But to stop all their moping about, to stop all their moaning. I said they could go out for a game. A quick game, just this once. But I said, I’m coming, too. Not to play, just to watch. To make sure you don’t do anything daft. Make sure you don’t go and do anything silly and go and injure yourselves. Before the game, the match tomorrow. And so there I was, watching them, keeping my eye on them. And Tommy Smith, he was there. And he must have still been only a boy. Only just in the team. And Tommy had never played golf before, he’d never even seen a bloody golf course before. And so all the older lads. Your Ian St Johns and your Roger Hunts. They were teasing the boy, taking the mick out of Tommy. But Tommy being Tommy. Even then, even when he still just a young boy. He picked up a golf club. The very first time he’d ever picked up a club. And he
took his first swing, his first shot. His very first shot with a golf club. And he got a hole-in-one. A bloody hole-in-one! With his first-ever shot. Unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable! And that shut up all them older lads. Your Ian St Johns and your Roger Hunts. And I said, Jesus Christ, Tommy. You’re a natural. A bloody natural! And Tommy was so made up. He was so pleased with himself that he decided this was the game for him. That golf was the game for him. And so you see, that was my fault. My own bloody fault. Because I encouraged him. I couldn’t help myself. But in fairness, it didn’t last long. I don’t think golf is the game for Tommy, either. In fact, I think football is the only game for Tommy. I mean, I tried to get him interested in the boxing. Because as you all know, Tommy is a hard man. A very hard man. And so I used to try to get him interested in the boxing. In fact, I tried so hard, I even bought him a pair of gloves. A pair of boxing gloves. But actually, I bought a pair for every player. A pair of boxing gloves for every player. Because I used to tell my players. Every Friday night, the night before the match. I used to tell them all to wear their boxing gloves. To wear their boxing gloves in bed!
In the Eastham Lodge Golf Club. In the dining room. At their tables, after their dinner. With their cigars and with their drinks. The members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club laughed. The members of the Eastham Lodge Golf Club clapped. And now they got to their feet for Bill. And they applauded Bill. And they thanked Bill. And in his dinner jacket. His black dinner jacket. His bow tie. His black bow tie. Bill nodded. And Bill smiled.
Now George Higham stepped forward. George Higham thanked Bill. And George Higham handed Bill a red leather binder –
Bill looked down at the red leather binder. And Bill said, What’s this, George? It’s not
This Is Your Life
again, is it?
Yes, said George Higham. It is, Bill.
And Bill opened the red leather binder. And Bill could not believe his eyes. Inside the red leather binder was the programme for the 1938 FA Cup Final. The programme for the 1938 FA Cup Final between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End. The 1938 FA Cup Final in which Bill had played for Preston North End. The 1938 FA Cup Final which Preston North End had won. And Bill stared down at the programme. And Bill could not speak –