Give me that gun, I’m going to shoot him

I have been reading King Kenny’s great book and I can’t stop laughing after reading the following, I had to share it.

1981 : David Johnson AKA known as Doc was complaining about a thigh injury during the European Cup Semi-final against Bayern Munich. Bob Paisley wasn’t too pleased about it, here is Kenny’s account of what happened.

“My thigh’s gone,” he shouted. Furious, Bob jumped off the bench. Looking at our irate manager, I knew there was no change the Boss would hand Bayern any advantage on the threshold of Paris. The Boss turned to the security people guarding the dug-out, pointing at their pistols.

“Give me that gun,” Bob shouted at one of them. “I’m going to shoot him.”

Fortunately, the security man didn’t understand. The Doc got the message and immediately forgot his thigh problem.

Kenny’s book is available from Amazon and I do recommend it to any Red fan out there, it is simply awesome.

Y.N.W.A.

-Antoine

on Twitter @empireofthekop

Our Liverpool: A book by Chris Shaw

BOOK : Our Liverpool by Chris Shaw

LIVERPOOL FC fan, lecturer and former sports journalist Chris Shaw spent 12 months speaking to fellow Reds during a time of turmoil on and off the pitch. The result is a new book, Our Liverpool, which provides an insight into the support for a club with a proud tradition and record of success.

Our Liverpool is written from a fan’s perspective and includes interviews with the club’s followers on Merseyside, around the UK and worldwide from Sydney to Cape Town, Shanghai to Dubai. Journalists, bloggers, fanzine editors and supporters’ club secretaries talk about their hopes and fears for the club and explain just why Liverpool is one of the world’s most loved sporting institutions.

Shaw, 44, who was born and bred in Liverpool and went to his first match at Anfield in 1973, joined a group of Liverpudlians on an annual friendship trip to Mönchengladbach, met supporters in Boston, USA; heard the Spirit of Shankly Supporters’ Union make its case for greater fan representation at Anfield and spoke to the season ticket holder who gave it all up to follow non-League club AFC Liverpool.

Shaw said: “During the time I researched this book, Liverpool supporters lived through seismic events on and off the field. What struck me most was the fierce pride our fans have in their team, even when it is not fully deserved. Many fans are spending 20-30 hours or more a week following their team in various ways and the most loyal supporters spend up to £4,000 per season.”

Inspiration for the book came following the death of Shaw’s friend and fellow Liverpool fan Steve Rooney in 2009 and Our Liverpool is dedicated to his memory.

The book is now on sale on Amazon.com* and Shaw will be selling copies directly to fans for a discounted rate of £5.

VLOG : BOOK REVIEW : We had dreams and songs to sing

Great book by Keith Salmon.

Book available from Amazon.

“Red Men: Liverpool Football Club – The Biography”

I’m reading this excellent book by the moment, and I find that it’s a must read for every KOPite.

 In “Red Men”, a unique and exhaustively researched history of Liverpool Football Club, John Williams explores the origins and divisive politics of football in the city of Liverpool and profiles the key men behind the emergence of the club and its early successes. The first great Liverpool manager, Tom Watson, piloted the club to its first league championships in 1901 and 1906 before taking his team to the FA Cup final in 1914. Watson and the key members of those early Liverpool teams are analysed in depth, as is the role of the club and its fans in the city at a time when Merseyside balanced self-improvement and cosmopolitanism with almost unimaginable problems of poverty. Liverpool secured consecutive League titles in 1922 and 1923 with the incomparable goalkeeper Elisha Scott as its totemic star and the darling of the Kop. In the ’20s, Liverpool became the first British club to internationalise its playing staff. The club’s next league title came in 1947, but in the bleak ’50s the Liverpool board ruled with an iron fist and controlled the purse strings – until Bill Shankly arrived and won that elusive first FA Cup in 1965. The recent tragedies that have shaped the club’s contemporary identity are also covered here, as are the new Continental influences at Liverpool and, of course, the glory of Istanbul in 2005. Reds is the definitive history of a remarkable football club from its formation in 1892 to the present day, told in the wider context of the social and cultural development of the city of Liverpool and its people.

The Independent wrote the following words:

“The proposed purchase of a football club does not normally dominate the front pages, but then Liverpool are different. The “second team” of many fans, they have inspired more affection among the uncommitted than any other English club.

Their fractious formation in a breakaway from Everton in 1892 and the many glorious seasons from the mid-Sixties onwards are well known, but John Williams has unfashionably chosen to concentrate on the years in between.

Tellingly he calls it a biography rather than a history as he draws the early years from the shadows through largely forgotten heroes such as Elisha Scott, Billy Liddell and their first great manager, Tom Watson. This could be dry fare but Williams brings the social and sporting heritage of the club, and the city, to vivid life.

We cannot know what the future holds for Liverpool but thanks to this admirably impartial, impressively researched account we know much more about their past.”

You can order this book via amazon.

-Amanda

amanda@empireofthekop.

BOOK : We had dreams and songs to sing

I came across this great book which I am currently reading, couldn’t wait to share it with you all so here is some information on it. I will do a video review once I finish it but I really like what I read so far, got me hooked.

Book Description

About the Author

Keith Salmon lives in the Isle of Man with his wife Nikki
and his son Charlie.

Born in Liverpool in 1965, just after Liverpool’s first
FA Cup win, the smell of silver polish has never been far
away whilst following his football team – Liverpool FC.
His passion is as strong as ever and the love he has for his team and his city shines through. Football has defined
his path in life and afforded him many wonderful opportunities to travel and meet people from all walks of life.

Official site

Order from Amazon