Red Or Dead

by David Peace

  The directors of Liverpool Football Club looked down the long table, across the letters, across the petitions. And the directors of Liverpool Football Club shook their heads again –

  You know our reasons, Mr Shankly. The reasons behind our decision to ban television cameras from the ground. We are worried about attendances. We are worried about gate receipts. Very worried.

  Bill shook his head. And Bill said, But almost every game we play is sold out. The gates are often locked hours before kick-off. Had we the room, had we the space, we could have double the crowd, sell double the tickets. If we had the room, if we had the space.

  But we haven’t the room, we haven’t the space, said the directors of Liverpool Football Club. So we cannot have double the crowd. And so we cannot sell double the tickets.

  Bill said, But I have said it before. I’ve told you before. A hundred times before, a thousand times before. We could build a new stadium. A bigger stadium. A stadium for the future. For all the people. So all the people can watch Liverpool Football Club. Not just the people of Liverpool, not just the people of Merseyside. If people see Liverpool Football Club, the supporters we have, the players we have, then people will want to come to Liverpool Football Club. From all over the country, from all over the world. To support Liverpool Football Club, to be part of Liverpool Football Club. But for that to happen, for that to be reality, then people need to be able to see Liverpool Football Club. On television. Then people will see what a team we are, what a club we are. And then the people will come. From all across the country, from all corners of the world. They will come to Liverpool, they’ll come to Anfield –

  From near and from far.

  …

  Again. The aeroplane shuddered. This season, this new season, Liverpool Football Club had played eleven games. They had won five of those games and they had drawn four of those games. And they had lost two of those games. Again. The aeroplane dipped. Liverpool Football Club were seventh in the First Division. Shuddering and dipping. Again. Bill gripped the armrests of his seat. And again. Bill closed his eyes. Bill hated aeroplanes, Bill hated travelling. But Bill had to fly, Bill had to travel. If Bill wanted to win the European Cup. Bill had to fly, Bill had to travel. And Bill wanted to win the European Cup. More than anything else. Bill wanted to win the one cup that no British team had ever won before. More than anything. The one cup no British manager had ever won before. His jacket stuck to his shirt. His shirt stuck to his vest. His vest stuck to his skin. Bill felt the aeroplane begin to descend. And Bill smiled. Two weeks ago, Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti of Romania had come to Anfield, Liverpool. That night, forty-four thousand, four hundred and sixty-three folk had come, too. Under a cold harvest moon, in a thin veil of mist. Liverpool Football Club were all in red, Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti all in yellow. A field of tulips and a field of daffodils. Under a cold harvest moon and under the Anfield floodlights. Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti had never played under floodlights before. Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti had never played at Anfield before. And under the Anfield floodlights. Under the cold harvest moon, in the thin veil of mist. Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti had massed nine men on the edge of their own penalty area. And Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti had defended and defended and defended. But Liverpool Football Club had attacked and attacked and attacked. Under the cold harvest moon, in the thin veil of mist. For ten minutes, for twenty minutes. For thirty minutes, for forty minutes. For fifty minutes, for sixty minutes. And under the cold harvest moon, in the thin veil of mist. In the seventy-first minute, out on the left, Willie Stevenson had hoisted a long, diagonal cross. Ian St John had risen to the ball. St John had headed the ball. And St John had scored. Under a cold harvest moon, in a thin veil of mist. In the eightieth minute, Bobby Graham’s centre had been diverted by Dragomar to Ian Callaghan. Callaghan had struck the ball on the volley. With his right foot, in off the far post. Callaghan had scored. And under that cold harvest moon, in that thin veil of mist. Liverpool Football Club had beaten Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti of Romania two–nil in the first leg of the First Round of the European Cup. The home leg, the Anfield leg. On the plane, in his seat. Bill heard the aeroplane lowering its wheels. Bill heard the wheels touching the ground. And Bill opened his eyes. Again. Bill released his grip. A little.

  In the hotel in Ploieşti, Prahova County, Romania. In the room, on the threadbare carpet. Bill put down his suitcase. Bill walked over to the bed. Bill pulled back the covers on the bed. Bill picked up the pillow. Bill looked under the pillow. Bill knelt down on the carpet. Bill looked under the bed. Bill went over to the desk and the chair. Bill picked up the chair. Bill carried the chair to the centre of the room. Bill took off his shoes. Bill stood on the chair. Bill stared up at the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. And on the chair, in his socks. Bill whispered to the ceiling, I know you are listening. I know you are watching. Don’t think I don’t know, don’t think I don’t know …

  In the hotel, in the dining room. Bill looked around the room. From Lawrence to Lawler, Lawler to Milne, Milne to Smith, Smith to Yeats, Yeats to Stevenson, Stevenson to Callaghan, Callaghan to Hunt, Hunt to St John, St John to Strong and from Strong to Thompson. Bill looked at the plates of food on the table in front of them. Bill looked at the glasses of water in front of them. The forks in their hands, the glasses at their lips. And Bill shouted, Stop, boys. Stop! Put down your forks, put down your glasses. Do not eat a morsel! Do not drink a mouthful! That stuff is contaminated –

  That stuff is poisoned!

  Bill turned to the waiter. Bill asked for the hotel manager. The manager appeared. Bill walked up to the manager. Bill stared into his eyes. And Bill said, Where are the cans of baked beans I gave you? Where are the bottles of Coca-Cola I ordered from you?

  We have cooked the baked beans, said the manager. And your players have eaten them. But I’m sorry, sir. We have no Coca-Cola. This is Romania, sir. This is not America. We have no Coca-Cola.

  Bill’s eyes were locked on the manager’s eyes. And Bill said, I do not believe you. Not a word you are saying, sir!

  The manager shifted his weight from foot to foot. Right to left. The manager shifted his eyes. Left to right –

  I’m sorry, said the manager again. But we have no Coca-Cola.

  Bill turned. Bill walked out of the dining room. Down a corridor, into the kitchen. Bill opened cupboards, Bill opened doors. And Bill found a tray of Coca-Cola. A tray of Coca-Cola all wrapped in plastic. Bill picked up the tray. Bill marched out of the kitchen. Down the corridor, into the dining room. Bill put down the tray of Coca-Cola on the dining-room table. Bill ripped off the plastic. Bill went from table to table. Bill went from player to player. A bottle of Coca-Cola for every Liverpool player. And Bill said, There you are, boys. There you go. Go on, boys. Go on. Drink up, boys. Drink up!

  Bill turned again. Bill spied the manager. The hotel manager walking backwards out of the dining room. Bill caught the manager. And Bill said, And where do you think you are going? You are a cheat and you are a liar. Telling my boys, telling me, there was no Coca-Cola. When we had ordered Coca-Cola and we had paid for Coca-Cola. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are a disgrace to International Socialism. You are a disgrace to your party. An absolute disgrace. And I am going to report you. Report you to the Kremlin, sir!

  Bill turned back to the players. And Bill said, This is abroad, boys. This is Europe. Never forget that, always remember that. So it is always a conspiracy, boys. Always a war of nerves …

  In the car park of the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium in Ploieşti, in Prahova County, in Romania. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club got off their bus. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club went inside the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club walked into the dressing room at the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium, the away dressing room. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club looked around the dressing room at the Ploieş
ti Municipal Stadium, the away dressing room. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club saw the mud and the puddles on the floor of the dressing room. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club saw the bloody bandages and the soiled towels on the benches of the dressing room. The old strips of Elastoplast, the cold cups of tea. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club opened the door to the toilets in the dressing room at the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club smelt the piss and the shit. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club saw the piss on the floor and the shit in the toilets. And Bill told the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club to go back out to their bus in the car park of the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium. And then Bill found the officials of Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti. And Bill said, The toilets have not been cleaned. The dressing room has not been cleaned. It is a disgrace. And it is degrading. And if the dressing room is not cleaned, if the toilets are not disinfected, then we will go back to Liverpool. We will go back home. And we will report you, report Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti, report you to UEFA and to FIFA and to the world …

  Fifteen minutes later, Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club got back off their bus again. Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club went back into the dressing room, the away dressing room again. The clean dressing room, the disinfected toilets. And now the players of Liverpool Football Club changed into their kits and into their boots. And then the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club sat down on the benches in the dressing room, the away dressing room.

  Ten minutes before kick-off, the lights went out in the dressing room, the away dressing room. For ten minutes, Bill and the players and the staff of Liverpool Football Club sat in the dark and waited for the kick-off. And waited –

  After thirty-six minutes, in a vicious game, Moldoveanu scored. After fifty minutes, in a vicious game, Roger Hunt equalised. After fifty-nine minutes, in a vicious game, Boc scored. And then Dridea scored. And after eighty-nine minutes, in a vicious game, Dridea was through again, certain to score again. But in the eighty-ninth minute, in this vicious game, Yeats tackled Dridea. And Dridea did not score again. But on Wednesday 12 October, 1966, at the Ploieşti Municipal Stadium, in a vicious game, Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti beat Liverpool Football Club three–one. In the First Round of the European Cup, Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti and Liverpool Football Club had drawn the tie three-all. In the European Cup, away goals did not count double. In the First Round of the European Cup, Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti and Liverpool Football Club would have to play another match, another game. At a neutral ground,

  on foreign soil. On the bench, their bench at the Heysel Stadium, in Brussels, in Belgium. Bill watched and Bill waited. And after thirteen minutes, Roger Hunt put Ian St John through. And St John scored. And after forty-three minutes, Peter Thompson beat three men. Thompson passed to St John. St John passed to Geoff Strong. Strong shot. And the ball rebounded off a defender. But Thompson got to the ball first. Thompson shot. And Thompson scored. And at a neutral ground, on foreign soil, Liverpool Football Club beat Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploieşti two–nil in the First Round play-off of the European Cup. And Liverpool Football Club were through to the Second Round of the European Cup.

  …

  Before the house, on their doorstep. In the night and in the silence. Bill unlocked the front door. In the night and in the silence. Bill opened the door. In the night and in the silence. Bill stepped into the house. In the dark and in the silence. Bill closed the door. In the dark and in the silence. Bill put down his suitcase in the hallway. In the dark and in the silence. Bill walked down the hallway to the kitchen. In the dark and in the silence. Bill switched on the light. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill sat down. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill looked around the room. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill saw the cooker and the fridge. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill saw the kettle and the pans. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill saw the cups and the plates. In the kitchen, at their table. Bill smelt the air, Bill felt the warmth. The air of their house, the warmth of their home. And Bill smiled. Bill smiled.

  23. TOTAL FOOTBALL

  On Saturday 29 October, 1966, Liverpool Football Club travelled to the Victoria Ground, Stoke. And Liverpool Football Club lost two–nil to Stoke City Football Club. That evening, the Champions of the Football League were ninth in the First Division.

  On Saturday 5 November, 1966, Nottingham Forest came to Anfield, Liverpool. That afternoon, forty thousand, six hundred and twenty-four folk came, too. In the sixteenth minute, Geoff Strong scored. In the sixty-second minute, Roger Hunt scored. In the seventy-third minute, Peter Thompson scored. And two minutes later, Hunt scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Nottingham Forest four–nil. At home, at Anfield. Four days afterwards, Burnley Football Club came to Anfield, Liverpool. That evening, fifty thousand, one hundred and twenty-four folk came, too. In the fourth minute, Chris Lawler scored. In the eighty-ninth minute, Peter Thompson scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat Burnley Football Club two–nil. At home, at Anfield. Three days later, Liverpool Football Club travelled to St James’ Park, Newcastle. In the twenty-second minute, Ian St John scored. In the sixty-fifth minute, Roger Hunt scored. And Liverpool Football Club beat Newcastle United two–nil. That evening, Chelsea Football Club had twenty-three points. And Chelsea Football Club were first in the First Division. That evening, the Champions of the Football League had twenty-one points. The Champions second in the First Division.

  On Saturday 19 November, 1966, Leeds United came to Anfield, Liverpool. That afternoon, fifty-one thousand and fourteen folk came, too. In the forty-third minute, Chris Lawler scored. In the fifty-seventh minute, Peter Thompson scored. In the seventy-fifth minute, Geoff Strong scored. In the eighty-third minute, Ian St John scored. And in the eighty-ninth minute, Strong scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Leeds United five–nil. At home, at Anfield. Don Revie tried to walk down the touchline. The Anfield touchline. Don Revie tried to shake the hand of Bill Shankly. And Don Revie said, That first goal, just before the interval, that was a lucky goal, Bill. And then after your second goal, we were too brazen, we were too cavalier. Too intent on chasing the game, too intent on winning the match. So your last three goals, Bill. The last three Liverpool goals. They give an unrealistic look to the actual game, an untrue picture of the actual match. Five–nil is no real reflection of the game. Five–nil is no true reflection of either Leeds United or Liverpool. And so I have to say, Bill. I have to say we were unlucky, very unlucky today. And you were lucky, very lucky today …

  Lucky, said Bill Shankly. You think we were lucky? Well, I think you need your eyes testing, Don. That was not luck you saw today, that was the finest side in England since the war you saw. The very finest! You were not beaten by bad luck, Don. You were beaten by the best team in England. The best-ever team in England. And in Europe, Don. In Europe.

  …

  On Wednesday 7 December, 1966, Liverpool Football Club arrived at the Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam. In the fog, the heavy, wet blanket of fog. From out across the North Sea, in across the city. Clinging to their clothes, sticking to their skin. Bill Shankly and Rinus Michels, the manager of Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV, the referee, his linesmen and the UEFA observer walked down one tunnel. And then down another tunnel. A one-hundred-foot tunnel of unbreakable glass. To stop bottles hitting the players as they walked out onto the pitch. Bill Shankly, Rinus Michels, the referee, the linesmen and the UEFA observer walked out onto the pitch. There were coils of barbed wire around the pitch. To stop Dutch ‘Provos’ from invading the pitch. Bill Shankly, Rinus Michels, the referee, the linesmen and the UEFA observer stood in the centre circle of the pitch. No one could see the coils of barbed wire around the pitch. No one could see anything. The heavy, wet blanket of fog had smothered the Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam. Now it smothere
d Bill Shankly, Rinus Michels, the referee, the linesmen and the UEFA observer. It wrapped them in its heavy, wet blanket. Smothering them and blinding them –

  I cannot see a thing, said Bill Shankly. Not a single thing! This game cannot be played. The match should be postponed. I am worried we’ll not get home. The airport is already closed. I don’t know how we’ll get home. We have to play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. It is a crucial game for us, a vital match for us. I do not want us to be delayed. I do not want us to be unprepared. So this game should be called off. The match postponed. Until next week …

  The referee stared into the fog, the heavy, wet blanket of fog. The referee nodded. And the referee said, If we can see from goal to goal, then the game can go ahead. But I cannot see from goal to goal, so the game cannot go ahead. The match must be postponed. But the forecast is for the fog to clear, the fog to lift. And so we can play the match tomorrow. Back here, tomorrow night …

  You what, said Bill Shankly. I told you, we cannot hang around. We cannot wait another day in Amsterdam. We have to play United, Manchester United, on Saturday. It is a crucial game, it is a vital match. We have to get back home tonight, back home to Liverpool tonight …

  But the UEFA observer shook his head. And the UEFA observer said, There is a different rule in Holland. In Holland, if you can see from the halfway line to the goal, then the game can still be played. That is the rule in Holland. And I can see from here in the centre circle to each goal. So the match need not be postponed. The game can still be played. And played tonight –