And in their dressing room, their Wembley dressing room. The buzzer sounded, the Wembley buzzer. And Bill led the players of Liverpool Football Club down the tunnel, the Wembley tunnel, onto the pitch, the Wembley pitch, and out into a sea of red, a world of red. LI–VER-POOL. The sea so deafening, the world so loud that the whole of London, the whole of England, heard that sea again, saw that world again. LI–VER-POOL. On their radios and on their televisions. Their colour televisions. LI–VER-POOL. People heard the supporters of Liverpool Football Club and people saw the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. LI–VER-POOL. Their scarves and their flags, their banners and their songs. LI–VER-POOL. Their red scarves and their red flags, their red banners and their red songs. LI–VER-POOL. Their sea of red, their world of red. LI–VER-POOL. And Bill knew people would always remember the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. LI–VER-POOL. Their sea of red, their world of red. LI–VER-POOL. Always remember. LI–VER-POOL, LI–VER-POOL, LI–VER-POOL.
On the bench, the Wembley bench. Bill looked out at the pitch, the Wembley pitch. The players of Liverpool Football Club wearing all red, the players of Arsenal Football Club wearing yellow and blue. But on the bench, the Wembley bench. His jacket already stuck to his shirt. His shirt already stuck to his vest. His vest already stuck to his skin. Bill felt the heat. The punishing Wembley heat. And Bill knew that pitch, that Wembley pitch, would be a sapping pitch, a sapping Wembley pitch. But in the first half, Bill watched Liverpool Football Club attack. And Wilson save. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Bill watched Arsenal Football Club counter-attack. And Ray Clemence save. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Attack and counter-attack, counter-attack and attack. Back and forth, forth and back. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the second half, Arsenal Football Club attacked again. And Clemence saved from Kennedy. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Liverpool Football Club counter-attacked. And Wilson saved from John Toshack. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the sixty-fourth minute, Kelly replaced Storey for Arsenal Football Club. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the sixty-seventh minute, Bill replaced Alun Evans with Peter Thompson. And in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Liverpool Football Club attacked again. And McLintock cleared the ball. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Arsenal Football Club counter-attacked. And Clemence saved from Kennedy. And George Graham hit the bar. And Alec Lindsay cleared off the goal line. The Liverpool goal line. But in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Liverpool Football Club attacked. And Wilson saved from Steve Heighway. And Wilson saved from Thompson. And Wilson saved from Brian Hall. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. After ninety minutes, the referee blew his whistle for extra time. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the first period of extra time, Emlyn Hughes passed to Thompson. Thompson passed to Heighway. Heighway accelerated down the left, Heighway raced down the left. Heighway came in from the left, Heighway came to the edge of the penalty area. And Heighway shot and Heighway scored. And in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Liverpool Football Club were beating Arsenal Football Club one — nil in the first period of extra time in the final of the FA Cup. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Two minutes later, Wilson saved from Toshack. But in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the one hundred and first minute of extra time, Radford kicked the ball over his own head. Back into the penalty area, the Liverpool penalty area. The ball loose, loose among the bodies. The bodies and the feet. And the feet of Kelly found the ball. The loose ball over the line. Into the net and into a goal. And in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Liverpool Football Club were drawing one-all with Arsenal Football Club. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Two minutes later, Clemence saved from Kelly. And Clemence saved from Radford. In the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the seventh minute of the second period of extra time, in the one hundred and eleventh minute of the final of the FA Cup, Radford passed to Charlie George. George on the edge of the penalty area, the Liverpool penalty area. And George shot and George scored. And George fell to the ground, the Wembley ground. On his back, his arms outstretched. And in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. Arsenal Football Club were beating Liverpool Football Club two — one in the second period of extra time. And in the heat, the punishing Wembley heat, on the pitch, the sapping Wembley pitch. In the one hundred and twentieth minute of the final of the FA Cup, the referee blew his whistle. And Arsenal Football Club had won the FA Cup. Arsenal Football Club had done the Double. They had won the League and they had won the Cup.
On the bench, the Wembley bench. His jacket melted into his shirt. His shirt melted into his vest. His vest melted into his skin. His eyes drained of colour and his face carved with lines. Bill got up from the bench. The Liverpool bench. Bill walked down the touchline. The Wembley touchline. And Bill shook the hand of Bertie Mee. And then Bill walked across the pitch. The Wembley pitch. Bill went from player to player. From Wilson to Rice. From Rice to McNab. From McNab to Storey. From Storey to McLintock. From McLintock to Simpson. From Simpson to Armstrong. From Armstrong to Graham. From Graham to Radford. From Radford to Kennedy. From Kennedy to George. And from George to Kelly. And Bill shook their hands. Bill congratulated them all. And then Bill turned. Bill turned and Bill walked across the turf. The Wembley turf. Towards the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. Towards their scarves and their flags, towards their banners and their songs. And Bill stopped on the pitch. The Wembley pitch. Bill stood on the turf. The Wembley turf. Before the sea of red, before the world of red. His jacket stuck to his shirt. His shirt stuck to his vest. His vest stuck to his skin. His eyes filling with colour again. The lines leaving his face again. And Bill raised his arms. Bill put his hands together. And Bill applauded the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. For their sea of red, their world of red. And the supporters of Liverpool Football Club applauded the players of Arsenal Football Club, they saluted the players of Arsenal Football Club. And the supporters of Liverpool Football Club applauded the players of Liverpool Football Club, they saluted the players of Liverpool Football Club. And then the supporters of Liverpool Football Club cheered. The supporters of Liverpool Football Club sang. And the supporters of Liverpool Football Club roared, one word, the same word. Over and over, again and again,