TIA: Lots of fans have written books about supporting Liverpool, so what’s different about Anfield Of Dreams?

Neil: The time span and range of subjects. It’s not just “and then Rushie scored the winner”. Obviously, that’s an important element but there’s a lot more to the book. Just take the period it covers.

I was born in the shadow of the Kop – all right, 400 metres away, in Ullswater Street, off Breck Road – and when I first went in the Boys’ Pen, the Reds were in the Second Division.

In fact, the book starts in Mid-Atlantic in April 1954 when Evertonians in the crew of the Queen Elizabeth liner organised a funeral service for Liverpool who’d just been relegated. They even had a coffin paraded around the decks and dropped in the sea. Yet, after Shanks masterminded promotion, we went on to win more honours than any other British club, climaxed by that unbelievable night in Istanbul in 2005. Being there was just the best thing ever. And before the game I managed a secret climb to the top of the tallest minaret in the Suleiman mosque. How many fans did that?

So I’ve supported the lads for half a century, from the depths to the heights. No other club in the world has been through what Liverpool have been through in the past 50 years. It’s a unique story, an amazing rollercoaster ride, from triumph to tragedy, then back to triumph.

It’s clear from your wild tales that travel’s one of your passions…

Yes, especially if I can combine it with football. The book covers trips abroad for games in cities like Rome, Paris, Brussels, Munich and Barcelona, as well as various adventures in exotic parts of the world such as Mexico, Brazil and the Andes.

So I write about a match in Mexico’s awesome Azteca arena where giant laser eagles flew round and round the oval roof before kick-off. I had drunk some mezcal but I wasn’t hallucinating.

I also went on a hair-raising taxi ride to Rio’s Maracana stadium. Our drunken driver was blasting through lights on red. Mad! But we got to the ground in one piece and watched the derby between Flamengo and Vasco da Gama. Some game. There was a crowd of 110,000 and the samba drummers were deafening. The Maracana is definitely my favourite stadium after Anfield.

Then I travelled around Peru, walking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, and tried to climb a 19,000-foot volcano in Ecuador with my son, as you do. He was taken very ill with acute mountain sickness and I had to throw in the towel below the summit because of total exhaustion. That explains the chapter heading, Cotopaxi 2, Kopites 0, Match Abandoned.

The book has some graphic sections describing Liverpool’s role in military history…

I decided to research the Battle of Spion Kop in the Boer War because it gave its name to our Kop. Most fans have no idea how Scousers suffered in that battle. It was dreadful. They were sitting ducks for the Boers’ artillery, blown to bits because their commanders were callous and incompetent. Every Kopite should know the story of the sacrifices our lads made.

I’ve also described the horrors of the Blitz, because Merseyside played a massive part in defeating the Nazis, and I’ve dipped into family archives to tell how my Grandad sank a U-boat in the First World War. He was at the wheel of a troopship, the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, which rammed the U-boat off Cornwall and I reproduce a letter thanking him for that. It was the only time a British merchant vessel sank a German submarine. I must say I’m proud of him.

As you say, Anfield Of Dreams covers a lot more subjects than football…

Football’s the thread binding it all together but it’s also the story of my life and long-time love affair with all things Liverpool, the football, the city, the people, the history and of course the music. I was going to the Cavern when the Beatles were on almost every day. I used to go at night and at lunchtime too, sitting eating my sarnies while the world’s greatest band played on stage. How lucky can you get!

I’ve also set out to give an insight into the marvellous community where I was brought up and how the people lived, the parties, the pubs, jobless men singing in the street, cap in hand, the escapologist doing his Houdini act on the bomb site at the bottom of the road, the moonlit flit when the rent hadn’t been paid. The schools I went to, Anfield Road primary and Alsop High, figure prominently because they helped make me who I am.

So what happened to you after school?

After a spell in the Civil Service, I went to university in London, got a degree in French and returned to Merseyside as a trainee journalist on the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo. From there, I switched to national newspapers in Manchester, working as a sub-editor, the journalist who edits and designs pages. Then when the nationals started closing their Northern offices, I moved to London with my family and continued on papers there.

How long did it take to write the book?

It’s an in-depth account of my life and times, 380 pages in all, along with colour pictures, so I didn’t exactly rattle it off in a couple of months. I spent three years researching, reading and making notes and another three to write it.

How did you find a publisher?

With some difficulty. A rather frustrating experience, I can tell you. Writing a book is the easy part, getting it published is the real challenge.

Henry Winter, the Daily Telegraph football reporter, put me in touch with a literary agent who’s represented lots of players and managers. He liked what I’d written and agreed to take it on, although he did warn me major publishers were concentrating on “celebrity” authors and fans’ memoirs could be difficult to place.

That’s how it turned out. After three months, the agent had approached 10 publishers without any success, so he advised me to try by myself. I sent off a synopsis and sample chapters to about 20 companies and that’s where the process got frustrating. Usually I rang beforehand to give some information about the book and to ask if they might be interested. If they were, I sent the chapters but some did not even have the courtesy to respond with a “No, thank you”. And I sent stamped addressed envelopes too! That’s not unprofessional, it’s ignorant. Anyway, just as I was weighing up self-publishing, Know The Score Books said it was right up their street and they brought it out.

Your book is a “Kopite’s Odyssey”, so what does the Kop mean to you?

Everything. There’s nowhere on the planet like it. I first went in there in the Fifties, in the wild and wonderful Boys’ Pen. You put any spare coppers down your sock, because big lads would frisk you, and around Bonfire Night you kept your hands in your pockets to stop bangers being stuffed in. You got a real education in there.

Once I reached mid-teens, I moved into the main part of the Kop, which in the Sixties and Seventies was just incredible with its songs and humorous chants. There were so many memorable games, like the match with Cologne in 1965. A blizzard covered the pitch with icy snow so the lines couldn’t be seen and the referee had to call the game off.

Everyone had to wait for vouchers for the rearranged tie to be handed out at the gates. While they were waiting, a ball was tossed on the pitch and a kickaround began – no sides, no rules, just a horde of blokes booting the ball anywhere, chasing it up and down the field.

Absolutely hilarious. No one could stay on their feet because it was so slippy. When the ball stuck in the snow, lads overran it and skidded to a halt in a heap of bodies. As they got to their feet, others came sliding in and knocked them over again, like skittles in a bowling alley. Meanwhile, the ball had been hacked up the other end, chased by the rest of the mob.

One bloke was so bladdered he couldn’t stand up after he was decked – he kept slipping over. In the end, he gave up and had to crawl across the snow into the paddock. Then the rabble massed in the centre circle and charged the Kop with the ball and belted it again and again into the goal. Imagine Kopites scoring at the Kop end. You’d never forget it.

That was one of the funniest nights ever at Anfield.

There are lots of stories about the Kop…

Well, it’s in a league of its own, so I decided to pay tribute to its originality and sense of comedy. I’ve listed loads of chants and songs and incidents. Most of them I knew already but people in the supporters’ club gave some new ones.

You’ve also got pages of Shankly anecdotes and quotations…

Yes. How could anyone write a book about Anfield over the last 50 years without going big on the great man? He was amazing. So I’ve collected as many tales as I could about him. I also talk about the one time I met him. That voice. It made my legs go like jelly

How’s the book been doing?

I’ve been encouraged by the feedback. It had smashing reviews in the Sunday Express and Birmingham Post and an American football podcast even rang from California to do an interview.

But what’s really chuffed me are the readers’ comments. People with no interest in football seem to have discovered the book and enjoyed it, like one woman who’s into golf and described it as “riveting”. A West Ham fan also contacted me to say the Hillsborough chapter had him in tears. When someone who doesn’t support Liverpool is moved like that, it has to count for a lot.

Are you planning to write anything else?

I’m working on a football book that’s completely different from Anfield Of Dreams. In fact Liverpool isn’t the main subject, it’s the game in general. I’ve also been approached by a photographer, Adam Rubin, a season-ticket holder who wants me to do the words for a collection of pictures of fans.

Finally, what’s your view of developments at the club?

I remember walking out of the Bobby Moore stand at Upton Park one night in January 2007, just after we’d beaten the Hammers 2-1. There were TVs under the stand and they were giving news that Liverpool’s board were stalling over the takeover by Dubai International Capital.

I was stunned. DIC’s chief, Sami Al Ansari, is a Liverpool fan. He was in Istanbul. He represented our best chance of investment, yet the directors were having second thoughts. Soon afterwards the takeover was off and Hicks and Gillett moved in.

What’s hard to understand is why the Anfield hierarchy plumped for the Americans when their business methods and limited finances were public knowledge. People say certain individuals at the club did very nicely, thank you, out of the takeover but I’m sure that didn’t influence their judgement. Eventually the inside story will come out and it’ll be interesting to hear it. After all, fans should be owed an explanation.

Meantime I’m backing Share Liverpool FC and the Spirit of Shankly union and I’d urge everyone to join one or both. By sticking together, we can make a difference. The more pressure on our esteemed owners, the better for us. And there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. These may be difficult times but a half-century supporting the Mighty Reds has taught me one lesson: dreams can come true. In our darkest moments, we should all remember that.

You can buy Neil’s book for just £6.94 by clicking here.

Two Reds were on target on Saturday night, Daniel Agger from the penalty spot for Denmark as they won 3-0 against Malta, and Yossi Benayoun, also a spot kick, in Isreal’s 3-1 win in Luxemborg.

Our Spanish contingent were in action in Estonia as the European Champions cruised to a 3-0 win. Torres and Alonso played the full 90 minutes, Albert Riera played the last 12 minutes after being called up late for the squad, and Arbeloa and Reina were unused subs.

Steven Gerrard play the full 90 in England’s flattering 5-1 win over the mighty Kazakhstan. England fans showed their worth by booing their own player for a mistake, then singing ‘Who are ya’ to their Kazakh counterparts. Classy.

Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel played in Holland’s 2-0 win in Iceland, Babel was subbed in the second half.

Andrea Dossena played the full match for Italy as they drew 0-0 in Bulgaria. Javier Mascherano also played the full 90, and was booked, for Argentina in their 2-1 win over Uruguay. While loaned out Andri Voronin was an unused sub for the Ukraine against Croatia.

Kuyt’s domestic scoring record since joining the Reds in the summer of 2005 is less than impressive, for a player bought as a striker.

But Benitez warns that it is not Kuyt’s goals that make him the player he is, it’s his workrate on the pitch.

He told the club’s official web site, “His teamwork is amazing. When you talk about a team, that’s the most important thing.

“Players like Kuyt are key. You can use the quality of people like Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard, but you always need players working really hard.

“If you have players with offensive mentality, you need players who can do the ugly jobs. You need to work hard in defence. As a striker, Kuyt is doing his defensive work very well and also scoring important goals.”

Sheikh Hamdan Al-Maktoum has recently been in London regarding the takeover of Charlton Athletic, but sources in Sunday’s Guardian says this makes no difference on their interest in Liverpool.

The newspaper quotes a source as saying:

‘Nothing has changed. The Maktoums still intend to takeover Liverpool and the possible purchase of Charlton certainly has no bearing on it.”

The report states:

Liverpool could still end up in the hands of Dubai’s ruling family regardless of their proposed takeover of Charlton. Dubai remains intent on buying Liverpool whenever the club’s current owners are prepared to sell. Tom Hicks and George Gillett rejected an offer in the region of £500m earlier this year, but remain under pressure to fund the debt with which they purchased the club and to obtain finance for a new stadium.

At the beginning of the month an odd but not entirely unfamiliar sentiment was being felt on Merseyside. Liverpool began the month unbeaten but only the most naïve fan would claim that we deserved to be in this position. Against Aston Villa at the end of August Torres had limped off, Gerrard didn’t play and we came away almost relieved with a 0-0 draw. As is per usual Rafa came under a lot of fire for our style of play and many pundits including Alan Hansen commented on our distinct ‘lack of width.’ Rafa responded by securing the purchase of Spanish winger Albert Riera from Espanyol.

On the 13th at Anfield we faced United and Riera was straight away given the opportunity to shine as he was placed in the starting line up. Everybody knew we had to win this match from the manager to the fans. It was one of our many failings last season and it is a well known fact that two wins over United would have secured the title. Wishful thinking perhaps but this year the players were determined to make it a reality. This team we didn’t field a defensive line up but Rafa named an attacking line up with Riera providing width. The absence of Torres and Gerrard through injury was enough to convince the pundits on Sky that United were favourites - which was exactly what we needed.

Nevertheless it was United that took the lead through Carlos Tevez with a beautiful curling finish. However, instead of the floodgates opening, Liverpool proceeded to take the game to United. Robbie Keane and Dirk Kuyt were both unsung heroes in this respect as both were significant in pressurising the United defence. This pressure worked and we were handed a spot of luck as Van der Sar and Wes Brown’s communication error led to a wacky own goal. It was just the confidence boost the players needed and Liverpool began to show more invention than we’d seen from them all season. Albert Riera proved a valuable asset and created some good chances while Pepe Reina quietly kept out some tough shots at the other end. It was Riera’s replacement, Ryan Babel, that got the breakthrough in a goal that was almost a carbon copy of the United opener. An uncharacteristic error from Ryan Giggs allowed Ryan Babel to slot the ball home and sent Anfield into raptures. The match ended with Rafa Benitez finally leading Liverpool to victory over United in the league, and the win was a huge confidence boost that we could really challenge for this title after all.

Steven Gerrard returned against Marseille and it was he that proved the difference with a brace. The performance was disappointing though and an indication that we still weren’t playing at the level we could have been. The new arrival Dossena was struggling at full back and we were leaking uncanny goals. Only Martin Skrtel looked close to excellent in defence with some sound performances beside Jamie Carragher.

The return of Fernando Torres was welcome against Stoke City and the fans hoped we’d finally see the Reds firing on all cylinders. Instead we were frustrated on a glorious Saturday afternoon at Anfield. Steven Gerrard’s goal was disallowed after a puzzling offside was given. Yet the second ‘opener’ didn’t come as the Stoke players parked themselves in front of the man of the match Thomas Sorensen. It was one of those days as the newly promoted side limited our shots to long range efforts and not even a bit of magic from Stevie G could win it. The glum faces at the final whistle said it all as we were left to ponder yet again why we weren’t beating a side of Stoke’s stature at home.

The League Cup provided a brief respite from the already turbulent Premier League campaign with Crewe Alexandra the opposition. Daniel Agger’s made a statement of intent with a thumping free kick in the first half. Even our reserves were looking poor though and Crewe soon equalised. Lucas secured our place in the next round with a header.

Back to the league then and another massive match. The Merseyside derby at Goodison Park approached and a much needed three points on offer. We started well with some good play in the midfield. Xabi Alonso was coming back into form and Steven Gerrard was picking out some wonderful passes. However we created little and our lack of precision in the final third cost us dear yet again. Luckily we this time managed to play well and win as a certain Fernando Torres stepped up. The Blues had been chanting abuse at him only 5 minutes prior to the goal as Joleon Lescott frustrated the young Spaniard out of yet another chance. Fernando proved his class by bouncing back though. Gerrard managed to link up well with Keane before Robbie crossed it in for Torres to smash it in. Much like London buses, Liverpool’s goals often come in twos. The second from Torres was sublime finish and despite missing out on a hat-trick because of a supposed offside, Liverpool still won comfortably.

It’s nice to look back on a month so eventful especially as Liverpool have since recorded another character boosting win over Man City. Whether Liverpool have enough to finally bid for the title is still debatable but the important thing is we are getting wins. The arrival of Riera is encouraging and gives us more options for invention. However I feel that the rest of our results in October may well come down to two players that won games for us in September: Torres and Gerrard. That’s not to say we are a two man team though; this month was a major step forward as well as a learning curve.

Press Release: Amidst calls by FIFA President Sepp Blatter for controls on the foreign ownership of football clubs, and comments by the FA Chairman, Lord Triesman, and UEFA’s general secretary David Taylor, regarding the excessive amount of debt held by Premier League clubs, the fans’ organisation ShareLiverpoolFC have raised serious questions about their Club’s financial stability as a result of being so heavily geared at a time when the “Credit Crunch” is really beginning to bite.

Utilising a powerful business modelling tool widely used in the football industry, ShareLiverpoolFC have reviewed LFC’s finances from the last audited accounts and projected these figures forward over the next five years. The results raise some very serious questions about the financial stability of the Club in the near future:

Rogan Taylor, founder of ShareLiverpoolFC, said:

“The turmoil we are witnessing in financial markets is largely down to excessive lending to those that have difficulty in servicing the cost of the debt and who, as a result of the borrowing, effectively have negative equity in the assets they have borrowed on. Without a new owner in prospect, Liverpool FC now appears to fit this description based on the results of our review. We call on the owners to capitalize the loan from Kop Football to the Club. In other words, put some ‘real’ money into the business.”

By July next year, ShareLiverpoolFC estimate that losses at LFC will have eroded the club’s Capital and Reserves to a negligible amount compared with it’s liability to its bankers; i.e. it will be very heavily geared and won’t have sufficient income to cover this total interest cost.

Over the next five years ShareLiverpoolFC anticipate losses to range between £30m to £70m a year. These projected losses are largely due to the Club not having a big enough stadium or commercial income to support its current player and debt costs.

It is also likely that the Club and its parent company, Kop Football, will be going through a re-financing exercise come the Club’s year end.

Rogan Taylor commented: “Not a comfortable position to be in at a time when the game’s regulators are calling for a reduction in debt and foreign ownership - not to mention the effects of the global ‘Credit Crunch’ – which will make a Stevie Gerrard tackle look like a vicar’s limp handshake.”

SLFC Board member, Barrie Baxter, said:

“ShareLiverpoolFC already represents thousands of fans prepared to invest real money into the Club. Raising the required funds won’t be the issue once we have a deal in prospect. We’re confident we’ll be able to succeed.

“We are prepared to consider a partnership with any incoming buyer with the right attitude to the development of LFC going forward. After the experience with the current owners, it will be important for any new owner to ensure that they have the confidence of Liverpool fans.

“We call on the current owners to inject cash as capital to reduce the Club’s debt. If they are unwilling or unable to do this, then they should move over and let others that can better serve the Club take control.”

ShareLiverpoolFC’s long term objective is to gain control of the Club. However, in the medium term their strategy is to work with suitable new investors to help achieve a change of ownership, stabilise the Club’s finances and represent the fans interests by acquiring a stake in the Club. ShareLiverpoolFC believes their participation in the future will assist with this.

Their message to potential new owners of “their” Club is “come and talk to us; you need the fans behind you and this is no ordinary Club. We understand it and have the experience to help”.

ShareLiverpoolFC

Commentary to accompany this is available here.

During more than 40 years supporting Liverpool I have been fortunate to have collected many special memories and I look forward to reading about some of them in this interesting new Kop Treasures series on This Is Anfield. However as I’ve been invited to get this series underway, I thought I’d get things kicked off with a less obvious one but it is special to me because it was my first really big moment as a Liverpool fan.

Before I get to my big moment, I better give you a bit of background. I’m from Dublin but my Father’s side of the family are from Liverpool and so I got to spend a lot of time over there as a kid. My first trip to Anfield was in 1973 and it was a fantastic experience with goals from Kevin Keegan and Steve Heighway giving us a 2-1 win over Ipswich. Other games followed whenever time off from school allowed it and I loved those trips over to games so much that they became my Birthday and Christmas presents throughout the whole of my childhood and beyond.

In 1977 we were well on the way to winning The Treble. The league had already been secured and to my young mind all that remained was the “simple” task of us picking up the FA and European Cups. I remember the excitement as the whole family, uncles, Aunts, cousins etc gathered around the TV to watch the FA Cup Final that year but alas it all ended in tears as the Mancs beat us 2-1.

I was devastated by that result and couldn’t stop myself from sobbing like an idiot afterwards. But of course my sorrow was only temporary as a short while later we went on to lift the European Cup for the first time and all was right with the world again, although I still felt a little embarrassed about my previous tearful display in front of the family.

Twelve months later Liverpool had managed to get through to the European Cup final once again and had the chance to make history by being the first British club to retain the trophy. I got home from school one day to find my Uncle excitedly waiting for me. Somehow he had managed to score some tickets for the final and I could hardly believe my ears when he told me we were going to Wembley!

After spending the next couple of weeks walking around with a big stupid grin on my face the big day finally arrived and as we walked up Wembley Way and into the stadium, I just don’t have the writing skills to adequately describe the experience. The stadium was about 90% full of Liverpool fans and the noise, the colours, the banners and the singing, created an atmosphere that was simply mind-blowing, almost dreamlike and a privilege to behold.

Once the game got underway the noise level increased to deafening proportions, but it turned out to be a hard old slog on the pitch. We were clearly the better side but their keeper was playing a blinder and we couldn’t find a way through. As the game moved into the second half still scoreless, my mind drifted back to our defeat by the mancs the previous year at the same venue and I began to nervously wonder if maybe Wembley was just an unlucky place for us.
But I needn’t have worried because in the 64th minute Souness played a lovely pass into Dalglish, and Kenny made no mistake with his finish. What followed was that fraction of a second of silence that you often get in such moments and then the place went absolutely ballistic! As Kenny ran towards us with his arms in the air, the noise level became ear-drum shattering . It was a magnificent tsunami of noise that built in intensity and swept over us all and I’ll never forget those scenes of celebration, even now I consider them the best ever.

We had to survive a couple of hairy moments in the remainder of the game but we knew once we’d got our noses in front there was no way we were going to lose. As young as I was back then I was still aware at the end of the game that I had just witnessed history. The moment that Dalglish scored and ran towards us with his arms in the air was the moment that he became King and it was also the moment that, that team became Legends and I was there to see it!

As the team picked up the trophy and went on their lap of honour, there were great scenes of celebration on the terraces and we all sang ourselves hoarse. To my surprise I found that once again I had tears rolling down my face but this time there was no embarrassment because as I discovered on that day, sometimes tears feel great, sometimes they feel fantastic!

Click here to visit Gerry’s Kopblog
Click here to find out more and get involved with Kop Treasures

Coming back from 1-0 down to beat Man United at Anfield without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres; Gerrard double to beat Marseille 1-2 at the Velodrome; dominating neighbours Everton with Fernando Torres getting a double at Goodison Park.

The Reds also beat Crewe 2-1 at Anfield in the League Cup, with goals from Daniel Agger and Lucas Leiva.

The disappointement in September was the frustrating goaless draw against Stoke City at Anfield. The Reds had 30 shots with 6 on target and astonishingly had 19 corner kicks, dominating the game with 76% of the possesion, but just didn’t take their chances.

New signing Albert Riera has impressed with good performances against Man United and Everton.

Xabi Alonso has dictated play brilliantly throughout September and has impressed the manager and fans with his performances,

It seems Alonso has a point to prove that he is a step above Gareth Barry. Alonso said “I was really pleased that I was able to continue my Liverpool career.”

Liverpool have made an impressive unbeaten start to the season and Alonso believes they have the potential to challenge for honours at home and abroad. He said “With the team we have got and the spirit of the fans, it could be the right time to win things. But I prefer not to say it very loudly. We have to be cautious about making any predictions at this stage of the season.

“We know there is pressure because we haven’t won anything for two years - but we impose that pressure on ourselves. We are responsible for the successes and failures of this club and we are more than happy to take that responsibility.”

Steven Gerrard won the TIA Player of the Month award though with 30% of the votes. Rafael Benitez has tamed Steven Gerrard so to not leave a void in the midfield when he bombs forward.

Rafa said “As a midfielder going forward, he is maybe the best in the world, and if you ask me how many players there are in the world at his level, I’d say four or five.”

Steven Gerrard is becoming more mature and this is becoming more evident by the fact that he is not recieving as many cautions as he would have a few years ago. I feel a special mention to Skrtel is justified as he has been rock solid for the reds in September.

Gerrard took 30% of the votes in the forums in the TIA Player of the Month poll, with Alonso second (20%) and Skrtel third (12%).

Bodje

Oliver Kay writes in The Times:

For the first time in what feels like an age, Liverpool appear to be quietly going about their business, but the silence from the boardroom is not necessarily golden. Rafael Benítez has been given no indication that he will be offered an extension to his contract, which runs out at the end of next season, and for as long as the club remain in the hands of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Spaniard appears unlikely to be offered any long-term security.

Yes, the two clowns are still ‘in charge’ of our club. No, the new stadium is not being built at the moment and no, our loyal manager is not being shown any loyalty or security. The question most fans want the answer to is if and when they will finally sell up?

Kay writes: