Bill shook his head. And Bill said, Thank you, Ronnie. Thank you very much. But please don’t say you were humiliated, Ronnie. Please never say that. Yes, we were the better team today, Ronnie. But we never lost respect for you. We never tried to humiliate you, Ronnie. We simply wanted to win.
…
On the bench, the Anfield bench. Bill and forty-nine thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven folk watched Liverpool Football Club play Athletic Club Bilbao in the second leg of the First Round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Athletic Club Bilbao had won the first leg two — one. Everyone thought Athletic Club Bilbao would come to defend their two — one lead. But everyone thought wrong. Athletic Club Bilbao came to attack. And in the thirty-second minute, Uriarte made an opening for Argoitia. Argoitia dribbled. Argoitia sidestepped Tommy Smith’s sliding tackle. And Argoitia scored. And the Kop was silent. The Spion Kop stunned. But not for long. Not for long. The Kop found its voice. And the Spion Kop roared again. And in the seventy-eighth minute, Ian St John took a free kick. And Ronnie Yeats met the free kick. Yeats nodded the ball back into the middle of the penalty area. And Chris Lawler met the nod. And Lawler scored. And the Kop roared. The Spion Kop roared. And roared again. And in the eighty-seventh minute, Emlyn Hughes shot. And Hughes scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat Athletic Club Bilbao two — one in the second leg of the First Round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Both teams had won two — one at home. Both teams had scored an away goal. The tie tied at three — three. But there was no extra time. There were no replays. There were no third matches. There was only the toss of a coin. And the referee called the two captains to the centre of the field, the centre circle. The referee took a coin from his pocket. One side heads, one side tails. The referee turned to Ron Yeats. The referee asked the home captain to call it. And Yeats called it. In the centre of the field, the centre circle. The referee flicked the coin up into the air. Up into the night. And the lights of the cameras flashed. And the eyes of the crowd, the Anfield crowd, the forty-nine thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven pairs of eyes, Anfield eyes, followed the coin. Up into the night, up into the dark. Up and then down again. Down onto the ground, the Anfield ground. And the referee and the two captains stared down at the ground, the Anfield ground. And the captain of Athletic Club Bilbao leapt up into the night,
the Anfield night –
In the dressing room, the Anfield dressing room. Bill walked up to Ron Yeats. And Bill said, What did you call, son?
Heads, said Ron Yeats.
Jesus Christ! You fool, you idiot. You never call heads. Everybody knows that. You never call heads!
But you told me never to call tails, said Ron Yeats. You said I should always call heads, Boss.
Bill shook his head. And Bill said, What day of the week is it today, son? What day is today?
It’s Wednesday.
Exactly. And whose day of the week is Wednesday, son?
I don’t know whose day it is, Boss.
Jesus Christ! Don’t you know anything, son? Wednesday is the Devil’s day. The Devil’s day, son. Hence the phrase, Wednesday’s child is full of woe. I presume you have heard that phrase before, son?
Yes, Boss. I have.
Well, that phrase comes from the fact that Wednesday is the Devil’s day. And what does the Devil have? Sticking out of his arse?
A tail.
Exactly. A tail. So you always call tails on the Devil’s day. Everybody knows that, son. You always call tails on a Wednesday.
…
In the house, in their hallway. Bill closed the front door. In the dark. Bill walked down the hallway to the kitchen. In the dark. Bill switched on the light. Bill sat down at the table. And Bill put his hand in his pocket. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill took out a coin. Bill stared down at the coin. And Bill turned the coin in his fingers. The two sides of the coin. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill flicked the coin up. Up into the air, down onto the floor. And Bill stared down at the coin on the floor. The kitchen floor. Tails. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill bent down. And Bill picked up the coin from the floor. In the kitchen, at the table. Again. Bill flicked the coin up. Up into the air, down onto the floor. Again. Bill stared down at the coin on the floor. Tails. Again. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill bent down. Again. Bill picked up the coin from the floor. In the kitchen, at the table. Again. Bill flicked the coin up. Up into the air, down onto the floor. Again. Bill stared down at the coin on the floor. Tails. Again. Bill bent down. Bill picked up the coin. Again. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill stared at the coin in his fingers. Again. Bill turned the coin in his fingers. Again and again. The two sides of the coin. Again and again,
the two sides. In the kitchen, at the table. Bill knew people did not need chance. Bill knew people did not need luck. Yes, people wanted success. Yes, people wanted victory. But not by chance,
not through luck. The name of your father or the name of your school. People wanted success through their effort, people wanted victory through their work. Not the toss of a coin,
the roll of a dice. Through their effort and through their work. Their communal effort, their collective work.
29. THE BIG HAMMER AND THE MAGIC WAND
Three days after losing to Athletic Club Bilbao on the toss of a coin, Liverpool Football Club travelled to Turf Moor, Burnley. In the twentieth minute, Roger Hunt scored. And in the thirty-fifth minute, Hunt scored again. In the sixty-second minute, Peter Thompson scored. And in the eighty-seventh minute, Geoff Strong scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat Burnley Football Club four — nil. Away from home, away from Anfield. In their last five League matches, Liverpool Football Club had scored eighteen goals and they had conceded none. That evening, Leeds United had eighteen points, Arsenal Football Club had eighteen points and Liverpool Football Club had eighteen points, too. But that evening, Liverpool Football Club were first in the First Division. On goal average.
On Tuesday 8 October, 1968, Everton Football Club came to Anfield, Liverpool. That evening, fifty-four thousand, four hundred and ninety-six folk came, too. Fifty-four thousand, four hundred and ninety-six folk to watch the one hundredth League meeting of Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club. The one hundredth League derby. But for the first half-hour of the one hundredth League derby, Liverpool Football Club were completely eclipsed, completely outplayed by Everton Football Club. By Kendall. By Harvey. And by Ball. By move after move, by pass after pass, by shot after shot. One shot crossed the line, into the goal. But the goal was disallowed for offside. Another shot hit the bar. Another shot rebounded off Lawrence but stuck on the line. The ball refusing to cross the line. But in the sixty-sixth minute, Morrissey swung in a high ball. And Royle nodded the high ball back into the jaws of the goal. And Ball met the high ball in the jaws of the goal. And Ball nodded the high ball down the throat of the goal. But the supporters of Liverpool Football Club refused to accept defeat. And so the players of Liverpool Football Club refused to accept failure. And in the seventy-fifth minute, Ian St John was fouled on the edge of the Everton penalty area. And Tommy Smith stepped up to take the free kick. Smith struck the free kick. And West did not move in his goal. And the ball flew past West into the goal. And the one hundredth League derby was drawn –
One-all.
Four days afterwards, Manchester United came to Anfield, Liverpool. That afternoon, fifty-three thousand, three hundred and ninety-two folk came, too. Fifty-three thousand, three hundred and ninety-two folk to watch Liverpool Football Club play the European Champions. Two weeks before, the European Champions had travelled to the Estadio Alberto J. Armando, in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, to play Estudiantes de La Plata in the first leg of the 1968 Intercontinental Cup. Nobby Stiles had been sent off. And Marcos Conigliaro had scored. And Estudiantes de La Plata had beaten the European Champions one — nil. In four days, Estudiantes de La Plata would come to Old Trafford, Manchester, to play the European Champions in the second leg of the 1968 Intercontinental Cup. But the European Champions were struggling. Struggling to find any form in the League, struggling to cope with injuries to the team. Burns was out injured. Dunne was out injured. Sadler was out injured. Kidd was out injured. Best was out injured. And Law was out injured. The European Champions were struggling to name a team to play Liverpool Football Club. The European Champions had asked the Football League to postpone the game against Liverpool Football Club. The Football League had refused to postpone the game. And in the fourteenth minute, Ian St John scored. And in the eighty-second minute, Alun Evans scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat the European Champions two — nil. At home, at Anfield. Bill Shankly walked down the touchline. The Anfield touchline. Bill Shankly shook Sir Matt Busby’s hand. Bill Shankly looked into Sir Matt Busby’s face. And Bill Shankly saw a drained man. Bill Shankly saw an old man. A man whose dreams of winning the European Cup had sustained him. Day in, day out. A man whose hopes of winning the European Cup had propelled him. Day in, day out. A man whose dreams had rescued him from grief, a man whose hopes had saved him from tragedy. Day in, day out. A man whose dreams had been realised, a man whose hopes had been attained. That night, last May. A man whose dreams had now deserted him, a man whose hopes had now left him. Drained and old –