Liverpool Football Club - All on red: a Liverpool fans dream job

Published by SportsBooks Ltd
October 2011

Copyright: Frank Gamble 2011

This ebook edition first published in 2011

The right of Frank Gamble to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

Cover designed by Alan Hunns

ISBN 9781907524240

With thanks to my wife and family and my real friends who have been supportive throughout this project; Liverweb the only reference I used to confirm faltering memories and finally the phenomenon that is Liverpool Football Club for playing such an important part of my life. YNWA.

For my Dad Simply the Best

Preface

So where do we begin; why am I doing this, and what do I hope to achieve?

To be honest, the answers are quite simple. You start at the very beginning, the reason is to put on record my thoughts and recollections of a truly rewarding association/love affair, call it what you like, with the phenomenon that is Liverpool Football Club. And why not? Everyone else seems to be getting in on the craze these days. From seasoned scribes to amateur writers to budding would bes, everyone seems to have a tale or ten to tell about their team; their undying allegiance to the club they worship and the highs and lows of being a supporter.

So heres my take on the subject.

The explosion of media and communication facilities in these modern times seem to have aided the trend. The internet and personal computers give the average person a voice and a means to use it that had been lacking up to then. Pre 1980s BC (before computers), football supporters read autobiographies allegedly penned by their favourite stars, but really written by ghostwriters, which adhered to the same template. Think about it, how many of these have you read and how many were any different from the rest? But there were very few books written by fans.

Now there is a plethora of them, together with fanzines, club magazines and swathes of unofficial websites, each claiming to be the true voice of the man on the terraces. Thats quite confusing considering there are no terraces left in the Premiership (OK, if we are going to split hairs there are still some at Craven Cottage at the time of writing).

This is an observation, not a criticism. Many of the above carry valid informative content although others border on the banal. Their aim is to get our attention, to stir debate and arouse the sense that is the lifeblood to all football fans, nostalgia. You cannot have a football book without nostalgia can you? I mean, theres no point is there?

Being a salesman for most of my working career, I immediately started to think of what my USP (unique selling point) was to entice people to read my scribbling. That was easy enough. I had worked for Liverpool Football Club for just shy of ten years, from 1979 to 1989.

Putting this into perspective is simple. I have followed LFC for nearly fifty years although thats far from unique in itself. Like the millions of Liverpool supporters around the world my fervent wish and burning ambition was to pull on a red shirt and play for Liverpool. It didnt happen because, unlike the chosen few, I wasnt good enough; far from it. Then, when they offered me a job, a workmate at my then employers, said simply: Well youre not gonna play for them just like the rest of us, but youve gone and done the next best thing lad, youre gonna work for them. All the lads on the shop floor are made up for you.

Considering I was one of 700 being made redundant at that time, although unlike most of the others I didnt have a family or mortgage to worry about, that was a humbling moment I will never forget. Not only did it genuinely bring a lump to my throat and a couple of moist eyes, it brought home just how much our team meant to people even in times of adversity and austerity. It is still one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, and an abiding memory. To this day, I am still at a loss how the news of my new appointment had even reached the shop floor as things had happened so quickly, but they do say Liverpool is the biggest village in the world.

I had my first interview in the afternoon, was phoned at home that evening asking if I could return the next day to meet the chairman, then a letter arrived two days later offering me the position. Thus began nearly a decade of being part of the club on a daily basis and being paid for it too. Yet that era, the most successful in the clubs history, is still just a segment of my relationship with LFC, albeit the most important one. Before that I had followed the club home and away for eighteen years; now I was a professional supporter, making my living out of my hobby and lifes passion.

So despite the fact that I still follow the fortunes of my team to this day, this book is just about my memories from 1979 until 1989 when, after leaving the club and starting a family, I stopped going to the games. I think that this is only fair and proper because I have always held the opinion that somebody who actually attends the matches has a more rounded view on events rather than armchair supporters whose ranks I have now joined.

Also, I find that my opinions on the recent administrations differ considerably from a large proportion of fans and I do not want to appear contentious just for the sake of it. Thats not the point to all this. I just wanted to share the memories I hold of a golden era for Liverpool Football Club and being part of the birth of a dynasty.

I am not a professional Liverpudlian or glory hunter like some around today who would happily carry that banner or even a card emblazoned Son of Shankly (beats me that one, I thought we all were), just someone happy, proud and privileged and lucky enough to have been around in the right place at the right time.

I hope you enjoy my tale.

Chapter 1

In the beginning...

The origins of this book go back to the beginning of the sixties and an assumption that went pear-shaped.

At that time the Gambles were a normal, happy working class Liverpool family living at 52 Landseer Road in the district of Everton, Liverpool 5. My father, Frank senior, was and still is the nicest man I have ever met and the person who has been my mentor, role model and inspiration throughout my life. All of the testing times and big decisions I have faced, I always thought first what would my dad do in this position. That always gave me the fortitude to make my choices. They may not have always been the correct ones but his influence reassured me that I was doing what I thought was best. In short, I idolised my father but there was one particular flaw in his character he was a staunch Evertonian.

Back then they probably still do young boys went through various rites of passage and made life-shaping decisions depending on surrounding influences, usually family and friends inside and outside of school. In places like Liverpool where football is as important as air and water, but there is more than one team, your choice of allegiance is the first major decision you will probably take in life. Once made, rarely does it change: your character becomes questionable if you become a turncoat. The thing is, once your heart has made that decision, it can never be a wrong one because being a true fan means following your club through thick and thin; good and bad times, defending their honour as well as singing their praises.