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.
…
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 –