Red or Dead

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Authors: David Peace

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BOOK: Red or Dead
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RED OR DEAD

DAVID PEACE

In memory of Gordon Burn,
with love and thanks.

Here I am.

I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come in and eat with him,

and he with me.

 

Revelation
, Chapter 3, Verse 20

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. After the harvest, the failed harvest. Before the harvest, the next harvest. The man knocked on the door.

Come, said a voice from behind the door.

The man opened the door. The man stepped into the room. The man stood in the room. Before the long table, the long shadows.

Sit, said a voice from the shadows.

The man sat down in a chair at the end of the long table.

Yes, asked the voice.

The man blinked. The man tried to keep the tears from his eyes. The man swallowed. The man tried to keep his voice from breaking. And the man said, You are right. The strain has proved much too much. I am tired. And I cannot go on. I have had enough.

Close the door on your way out.

The man tried to stand. The man tried to get back on his feet. But the man could not stand. The man could not get back on his feet.

RED OR DEAD

William Shankly, in two halves

Contents
  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. The Argument III
  5. THE FIRST HALF – EVERYDAY IS SATURDAY: Shankly Among the Scousers
  6. 1. TO SEE OURSELS AS OTHERS SEE US
  7. 2. IN NIGHTS OF POSSIBILITY, IN DAYS OF OPPORTUNITY
  8. 3. WHAT IS TO BE DONE
  9. 4. AFTER THE SEASON, BEFORE THE SEASON
  10. 5. THE HAMMER AND THE NAILS
  11. 6. P.S. FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE TOUGHER
  12. 7. TO BEGIN AGAIN, AT THE BEGINNING AGAIN
  13. 8. THE SONG OF THE COUNTER-PLAN
  14. 9. THE MARCH TO APRIL
  15. 10. THOSE WHO DEPRIVE THE TABLE OF MEAT
  16. 11. IN THE BIG TIME
  17. 12. A DRESS REHEARSAL
  18. 13. A MAN OF THE MASSES
  19. 14. AFTER THE PASSION, BEFORE THE PASSION
  20. 15. ALL POWER TO THE KOP!
  21. 16. TOP OF THE WORLD
  22. 17. A RED GLOW IN THE SKY
  23. 18. THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
  24. 19. AFTER THE WAR, BEFORE THE WAR
  25. 20. DEAR PEOPLE
  26. 21. THE OLD ENEMY
  27. 22. THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR
  28. 23. TOTAL FOOTBALL
  29. 24. THE MORTAL AND THE IMMORTAL
  30. 25. WE DO NOT LIVE ON MEMORIES
  31. 26. NOW BRINGS A SMILE, NOW BRINGS A TEAR
  32. 27. A KICK IN THE BALLS
  33. 28. THE CROSSES AND THE MARKS
  34. 29. THE BIG HAMMER AND THE MAGIC WAND
  35. 30. WITH ONE FOOT IN EDEN
  36. 31. SMALL STEPS
  37. 32. WINTER: A DIRGE
  38. 33. INTO THE DUSTBIN OF HISTORY
  39. 34. LOW SPIRITS AND BLUE DEVILS
  40. 35. IN THE LEAGUE OF STRUGGLE
  41. 36. CHRIST IS WITH THE RED GUARDS
  42. 37. A PARTY OF A NEW TYPE
  43. 38. RED YOUTH UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES
  44. 39. A COUNTRY MILE
  45. 40. THE SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT
  46. 41. THIS IS YOUR LIFE
  47. 42. WE KNOW NEITHER THE DAY, NOR THE HOUR
  48. 43. AFTER THE TRIUMPHS, BEFORE THE TRIUMPHS
  49. 44. SHEER POETRY, JUST LIKE ROBBIE BURNS
  50. 45. AFTER THE WHISTLE, BEFORE THE WHISTLE
  51. THE SECOND HALF – EVERYDAY IS SUNDAY: Shankly Agonistes
  52. 46. THE BEST LAID SCHEMES
  53. 47. O’ MICE AN’ MEN, GANG AFT AGLEY
  54. 48. AN’ LEA’E US NOUGHT
  55. 49. BUT GRIEF AN’ PAIN (YOU’RE HAVING ME ON)
  56. 50. FOR PROMIS’D JOY!
  57. 51. THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING
  58. 52. ON WATERING THE GARDEN
  59. 53. THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
  60. 54. CHARITY IS A COLD, GREY, LOVELESS THING
  61. 55. IN THE HIGHLANDS, MY HEART IS NOT HERE
  62. Section Title56. IN A DARK WOOD
  63. 57. A GREAT RECKONING IN A LITTLE ROOM
  64. 58. OUTSIDE THE GATES, OUTSIDE THE PALACE
  65. 59. OH, WHISTLE, AND I’LL COME TO YOU, MY LAD
  66. 60. THE LONG GOODBYE
  67. 61. I AM A CHRISTIAN AND A SOCIALIST, DESPITE YOU
  68. 62. BECAUSE YOU’RE MINE
  69. 63. ALL FLEAS ARE FIT
  70. 64. BRUGES
  71. 65. HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN
  72. 66. THERE’S NOTHING HERE BUT HIGHLAND PRIDE
  73. 67. AND HIGHLAND SCAB AND HUNGER
  74. 68. O TELL NA ME O’ WIND AN’ RAIN
  75. 69. IF PROVIDENCE HAS SENT ME HERE
  76. 70. ’TWAS SURELY IN HIS ANGER
  77. 71. THIS WAS YOUR LIFE
  78. 72. DON’T LET ME KEEP YOU
  79. 73. AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE
  80. 74. THE MATCHES OF THE DAYS
  81. 75. THE SPIRIT OF ’78
  82. 76. COME LIKE SHADOWS, SO DEPART
  83. 77. WHAT CAN YOU SAY?
  84. 78. ON YOUR BACK, LETTERS FROM AFAR
  85. 79. ALL HOURS OF THE DAY, ALL DAYS OF THE WEEK
  86. 80. LOT 79: THE RELICS OF THE SAINTS
  87. 81. AT SEA, ALL AT SEA; A SEA CHANGE
  88. 82. WE MUST GET BACK TO SANITY
  89. 83. I ALWAYS CARRY A PICTURE OF HIM
  90. 84. IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY
  91. 85. BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
  92. 86. WHATEVER THE SEASON
  93. 87. IN THE NON-LEAGUE
  94. 88. THE RELIGION OF MY TIME
  95. 89. WHO NOW WAVES THE BRIGHT RED FLAG?
  96. 90. Y. N. W. A.
  97. The Argument III
  98. SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  99. About the Author
  100. By the Same Author
  101. Copyright

In the winter-time, in the night-time, they remembered him. And then they came to him. In the winter-time, in the night-time. Not cap in hand, not on bended knee. Not this sort. But still they came. Here to Leeds Road, Huddersfield. Here on October 17, 1959. They came –

In the winter-time, in the night-time.

Tom Williams had seen enough. Liverpool Football Club were in the Second Division. They had not won anything since the League title in 1947. And they had never won the FA Cup. Tom Williams telephoned Geoff Twentyman. Geoff Twentyman told Tom Williams the name of the man Liverpool Football Club needed. Tom Williams telephoned Matt Busby. Matt Busby told Tom Williams the name of the man Liverpool Football Club needed. Tom Williams telephoned Walter Winterbottom. Walter Winterbottom told Tom Williams the name of the man Liverpool Football Club needed. Tom Williams had heard enough. Tom Williams telephoned Harry Latham –

In the winter-time, in the night-time.

Tom Williams and Harry Latham drove across the Pennines to Leeds Road, Huddersfield. They did not tell the directors of Huddersfield Town they were coming. They did not ask the directors of Huddersfield Town for complimentary tickets. They did not sit with the directors of Huddersfield Town. At Leeds Road, Huddersfield, Tom Williams and Harry Latham sat as close to the pitch and the home dug-out as they could. Huddersfield Town were playing Cardiff City. But Tom Williams and Harry Latham did not watch Huddersfield Town. They did not watch Cardiff City. They watched the man in the dug-out. The home dug-out. His eyes narrow, his mouth open. Jaw out, neck forward. His arms moving, his fists clenched. Right foot, left foot. Tom Williams and Harry Latham watched this man make every run every player on the pitch made. They watched this man kick every ball every player on the pitch kicked. They watched this man take every free kick. Every corner. And every throw-in. They watched this man make every pass. And every tackle. And Tom Williams and Harry Latham listened to the man in the dug-out. They listened to this man cajoling his players. They listened to this man encouraging his players. And Tom Williams and Harry Latham saw the way the players of
Huddersfield Town listened to the man. The way they listened to this man and the way they obeyed this man. His every command and his every instruction. His every word, the voice of God. And after the whistle, the final whistle, Tom Williams and Harry Latham had seen enough and they had heard enough. They knew this man had fought harder and played harder than any man out there on the pitch. And Tom Williams and Harry Latham knew this was the man they needed for Liverpool Football Club. This was the man they wanted for Liverpool Football Club. The only man for Liverpool Football Club –

In the winter-time, in the night-time. The only man.

In the shadows of the hills, in the shadows of the mills. Under the stands and on the slope. Tom Williams and Harry Latham saw the man they needed, the man they wanted. Under the stands, on the slope. Tom Williams and Harry Latham walked towards the man. And Tom Williams said, Good evening, sir. I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Tom Williams and I am the chairman of Liverpool Football Club and this is Harry Latham, one of our directors. I wonder if we might have a word with you, Mr Shankly?

I remember you, said Bill Shankly. And they are not for sale.

Tom Williams smiled. Tom Williams shook his head. And Tom Williams said, We’re not here for Law or Wilson. We are here to talk to you, Mr Shankly. We are here to ask you a question.

Then ask it, said Bill Shankly.

Tom Williams said, How would you like to manage the best football club in the country, Mr Shankly?

Why, asked Bill Shankly. Matt Busby packing it in, is he?

Tom Williams smiled again. And Tom Williams said, Very funny, Mr Shankly. But you know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Liverpool Football Club. How would you like to manage Liverpool Football Club, Mr Shankly?

I thought you didn’t want me for your football club, said Bill Shankly. I thought you didn’t think I was good enough for Liverpool?

Tom Williams shook his head again. And Tom Williams said, I never said that, Mr Shankly. I never said that.

You didn’t need to.

I wasn’t the chairman then, Mr Shankly. But I am the chairman now. And so now I’m asking you if you would like to
manage Liverpool Football Club, Mr Shankly?

I thought you already had a manager? Mr Taylor? Phil Taylor?

It has not been made public yet. Nothing has been announced yet. But Mr Taylor is not a well man. He has asked me to relieve him of his duties. As I say, nothing has been announced yet, nothing made public yet. But we’d like to sort out something before it is.

Under the stands, on the slope. There was the sound of joking, laughter from the Huddersfield Town dressing room.

We might’ve lost today, said Bill Shankly. But we’re not doing too badly here, you know, Mr Williams?

Tom Williams said, We know that. We can see that. And that’s why we want you, Mr Shankly.

Well, said Bill Shankly. I’ll not be rushed. But I will consider it.

In the winter-time, in the night-time. Tom Williams held out his hand. And Tom Williams said, Thank you, Mr Shankly. That is all I ask. Goodnight, Mr Shankly. Goodnight.

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