“Yes, said Bill Shankly again. But how old were you then, when you
stopped playing, Bob?
Bob Paisley smiled. And Bob Paisley said, I was thirty-five. March 13,
1954, was my last game. Here at Anfield. Against Charlton Athletic. We lost as
well. Three-two. And you, Bill?
The same, said Bill Shankly. Thirty-five- But I felt I could have gone
on, Bob. I felt I could have gone on forever.
Bob Paisley nodded. And Bob Paisley said, We all did, Bill.
Aye, Bob. But we were young then. And we were wrong, Bob. We were all
wrong. No one goes on forever, Bob. No one is immortal, said Bill Shankly.”
(Peace, 2013, p.527).
The other
really interesting topic is how socialism and football merge into one at Liverpool
Football Club under Bill Shankly.
On the one
hand Shankly in this book is of course about being extremely competitive:
“Bill knew
failure could become habitual, defeat become routine. Routine and familiar.
Familiar and accepted. Accepted and permanent. Permanent and imprisoning.
Imprisoning and suffocating. Bill knew failure carried chains. Chains to bind
you. You and your dreams.” (Peace, 2013, p.264).
But he sees
the only way to win, is in absolute loyalty to each other: “The man who brings
the story to me will be the man who gets the sack. I don’t care if he’s been
here fifty years. He’ll be the one who goes. Because I want everyone to be
loyal to each other. To the team. And to the club. So everything we do will be
for Liverpool Football Club. Not for ourselves. (…) Because that loyalty makes
strength. And that strength will bring success.” (Peace, 2013, p.14).
Loyalty not
only within his team, but loyalty to the people, the people of the Kop: “And
that is all we are interested in, winning for you. And the reason we have won
is because we believe in you and you believe in us. And it’S your faith and
your interest that have won us something.” (Peace, 2013, p.450).
And the will to give: “I’ll help anyone, said Bill Shankly. That is my
only aim in life. To help people. Anybody I can help, I will.” (Peace, 2013,
p.563). “That was all Bill Shankly wanted. To give the people what they wanted,
to make the people happy.” (Peace, 2013, p.568).
“After the operation, after my cartilage. I thought, Well, I better
thank Patrick Thistle. For all they have done for me. It is the least I can do.
After all they have done for me. And so I helped them win the Summer cup. We
beat the Hibs two-nil. At Hampden park.” (Peace, 2013, p.6).
Thus the love
of work comes from the gifts of other people and is for other people:
“And giving people their money’s worth. I mean, you go there and you pay
your money and so you expect effort. And so all the players have got an
obligation to do that.” (Peace, 2013, p.707). “Pressure was trying to live on
fifty shillings a week. (…) Pressure was not trying to win the Cup. (…) That
was not pressure. (…) That was work. Your work. (…) That was your reward.”
(Peace, 2013, p.130).
And this creates a circle of gifts: in society and in the team:
“So I mean, this is the secret. Get it. Give it, give an early pass.
Switch the ball around. You might not seem getting very far. (…) And so all the
players must understand that when they delivered a pass, you’ve only just
begun. You have only just started. You just have to back uo. And you have to
look to help someone. You have to make yourself available. Available for the
next pass. And then you get it again.” (Peace, 2013, p.694).
“So who would you say was Liverpool’s best player today, Bill`
Bill breathed in. bill tightened his grip on the telephone. And Bill
said, Liverpool! Liverpool was the best player. (…) Liverpool Football Club depend on no single
man. No individual player. Liverpool Football Club depend on each other. And
when you’ve people doing that properly, when they are the right men. Well
trained, well prepared. Then they cannot be beaten. And so Arsenal couldn’t
beat them. Not if they played for the next ten bloody years. Because Liverpool
depend on each pther. It’s collective. Everyone working for each other. It’s a
kind of socialsm. Pure socialism. Everyone doing what they can for the rest.”
(Peace, 2013, p.676).
“Somebody said, Football is a matter of life and death to you. I said,
Listen! IT’s more important than that. And that’s true.
It’s a religion, said Sir Harold.
Bill nodded. And Bill said, It’s a religion.” (Peace, 2013, p.705).
“Yes, well, conning is not really the word. I mean, I think that
psychology is a form of exaggeration. And exaggeration is a form of
psychology.” (Peace, 2013, p.609).
