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Reds: Liverpool Football Club - The Biography
In Reds, 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 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.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 22, 2019
This was probably the perfect book for me to read to really get a full picture of the history of the club I have grown to love so much over the last 15 years. I have reached the point now where I almost have completely stopped following American sports that I grew up following in great detail. I always loved soccer the most growing up, and growing into my Liverpool fandom has been pure joy, mixed in of course with plenty of die-hard-sports-fan heartache. I just went to their summer friendly match at ND, now my third time I have seen them in the US, and finishing reading this the summer after our 6th European Championship is pretty awesome. Thank you Amy for getting this for me!
The reason that I give this 4 rather than 5 stars is mostly because I think he actually skewed his detail more toward the pre-Shankly era in the club's history (from the 1890s to the 1950s) and glossed over more in later years, especially in recent years. Yes, I may be a bit biased in that I already knew a lot about Liverpool Football Club since the 1960s, whereas I knew next to nothing about the earlier years, but I am still pretty confident about this assertion. He hardly mentions the names of any Liverpool players in the luckless 90s (except to complain a lot about Collymore) and he goes into great detail about every member of the teams from the 20s and 30s.
He probably chose to do this because many fans like myself are under-educated about the early years and decently educated about more recent years, and he probably wanted to fill in the gaps for us. Yes, that's great. But the thing is that his historical perspective on more recent times I think was needed to put it into its proper context. And he just didn't do enough of that, which is a shame because I think he would have been really good at it.
It was that sense of perspective that allowed me to learn a whole lot more than I ever knew before from this book about early football tactics and how the sport changed with the changing of rules (for example, I never knew that it used to be 3 players behind the last defender to be considered offsides). He also does an excellent job of really doing city of Liverpool history throughout this book, and for that reason, Everton also figures more in this book than other clubs do. I learned way more about the sociology and culture of the city of Liverpool in different eras than I ever knew before, and also about the post-war austerity period in British history that also knew very little about. Again, it was that sort of perspective that I would have loved to hear more about in the 80s--the Thatcher period--when I know many Scousers truly hated the government in London and nasty chants of "feed the Scousers" (a reference to the dole and poverty in Liverpool) began to propagate.
The most enlightening part of the book for me, though, was his coverage of Heysel and Hillsborough, the two most tragic nights in the history of Liverpool Football Club. I appreciate that he, and he is never shy about being a Red himself although bringing in much critical objectivity as well, doesn't shy away from the blame that LFC supporters deserve for what happened at Heysel, yet he puts it in excellent context. I didn't know that Liverpool supporters had been brutally attacked after a match in Italy the previous year, leaving a resentment that probably contributed to what happened at Heysel. And as with Hillsborough (where really all of the blame goes to poor stadium design and control as well as terrible policing), much of the blame at Heysel goes back to an inactive UEFA, poor stadium setup and design, and poor policing. The writing had been on the wall about football stadiums and big matches and other tragedies had occurred going back decades, but nothing had been done. And while Liverpool's hooligans of course were guilty for what happened at Heysel, it truly could have been any English club's hooligan supporters who committed the crimes of Heysel had they been in that position. It was common knowledge that Liverpool hooligans were not as bad as those from other English clubs, and Liverpool just played in Europe more than any other English club at the time, so the chances were higher of the disaster happening with us than others.
The fact that the book ends just as good ol' Woy Hodgson was appointed is fortunately something that we supporters can merely chuckle and shake our heads at now because of where we are under FSG and Klopp. But man, that time under Hicks and Gillett and Hodgson was dark. To think we have come back so strong in only around a decade is pretty remarkable.
The reason that I give this 4 rather than 5 stars is mostly because I think he actually skewed his detail more toward the pre-Shankly era in the club's history (from the 1890s to the 1950s) and glossed over more in later years, especially in recent years. Yes, I may be a bit biased in that I already knew a lot about Liverpool Football Club since the 1960s, whereas I knew next to nothing about the earlier years, but I am still pretty confident about this assertion. He hardly mentions the names of any Liverpool players in the luckless 90s (except to complain a lot about Collymore) and he goes into great detail about every member of the teams from the 20s and 30s.
He probably chose to do this because many fans like myself are under-educated about the early years and decently educated about more recent years, and he probably wanted to fill in the gaps for us. Yes, that's great. But the thing is that his historical perspective on more recent times I think was needed to put it into its proper context. And he just didn't do enough of that, which is a shame because I think he would have been really good at it.
It was that sense of perspective that allowed me to learn a whole lot more than I ever knew before from this book about early football tactics and how the sport changed with the changing of rules (for example, I never knew that it used to be 3 players behind the last defender to be considered offsides). He also does an excellent job of really doing city of Liverpool history throughout this book, and for that reason, Everton also figures more in this book than other clubs do. I learned way more about the sociology and culture of the city of Liverpool in different eras than I ever knew before, and also about the post-war austerity period in British history that also knew very little about. Again, it was that sort of perspective that I would have loved to hear more about in the 80s--the Thatcher period--when I know many Scousers truly hated the government in London and nasty chants of "feed the Scousers" (a reference to the dole and poverty in Liverpool) began to propagate.
The most enlightening part of the book for me, though, was his coverage of Heysel and Hillsborough, the two most tragic nights in the history of Liverpool Football Club. I appreciate that he, and he is never shy about being a Red himself although bringing in much critical objectivity as well, doesn't shy away from the blame that LFC supporters deserve for what happened at Heysel, yet he puts it in excellent context. I didn't know that Liverpool supporters had been brutally attacked after a match in Italy the previous year, leaving a resentment that probably contributed to what happened at Heysel. And as with Hillsborough (where really all of the blame goes to poor stadium design and control as well as terrible policing), much of the blame at Heysel goes back to an inactive UEFA, poor stadium setup and design, and poor policing. The writing had been on the wall about football stadiums and big matches and other tragedies had occurred going back decades, but nothing had been done. And while Liverpool's hooligans of course were guilty for what happened at Heysel, it truly could have been any English club's hooligan supporters who committed the crimes of Heysel had they been in that position. It was common knowledge that Liverpool hooligans were not as bad as those from other English clubs, and Liverpool just played in Europe more than any other English club at the time, so the chances were higher of the disaster happening with us than others.
The fact that the book ends just as good ol' Woy Hodgson was appointed is fortunately something that we supporters can merely chuckle and shake our heads at now because of where we are under FSG and Klopp. But man, that time under Hicks and Gillett and Hodgson was dark. To think we have come back so strong in only around a decade is pretty remarkable.
June 9, 2015
♥♥♥ ∞/5
“All Liverpool fans should own a copy”
Amazing book relating the history of the greatest club.
Nothing else to say.
“All Liverpool fans should own a copy”
Amazing book relating the history of the greatest club.
Nothing else to say.
November 5, 2020
Red Men is a perfect read for a fan who has recently started to follow the club (the book covers until around 2011). The early history covered is almost comprehensive and was my favorite part to read.
I loved how Williams crafted the story to combine the clubs evolution alongside the city of Liverpool. I believe he perfectly demonstrates how the club is tied to the city and what it means to the community.
I loved how Williams crafted the story to combine the clubs evolution alongside the city of Liverpool. I believe he perfectly demonstrates how the club is tied to the city and what it means to the community.
February 19, 2024
A comprehensive, engaging history of Liverpool Football Club, its icons and legends, the supporters, and the town itself. A must-read for any Liverpool fan seeking deeper context for the club we love.
February 5, 2019
Full, fantastic history of Liverpool FC, season-by-season. Every club should have one of these. Well written, incorporating other factors affecting the city at the time. Relatively impartial.
Want to read
March 5, 2022the book is very beautiful
October 4, 2025
Interesting read about Liverpool Football Club from its early origins.
January 18, 2016
5/5 stars. Thorough and engaging, this book takes you on a journey from the very birth of Liverpool Football Club up until the beginning of 2011. Must-read for anybody interested in the history of one of the world's most famous football teams.
September 26, 2011
I think that a lot of liverpool fans would like to read this book and to learn the history of this great team.
January 3, 2012
Nothing better than reading about your favorite Football club.
April 11, 2017
Christmas gift from Bobby T. Excited to read this!
March 3, 2023
One of the best sports books I have ever read. My only qualm would be that Williams suggested Lucas Leiva might not ever settle at Anfield, which, hindsight being 20/20, Lucas certainly has.
Read
May 23, 2013It was a really good book
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews