Red Men Reborn!

A Social History of Liverpool Football Club from John Houlding to Jurgen Klopp

John Williams

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801503068
• Year: 2022

Red Men Reborn takes a unique look at the entire history and socio-cultural significance of Liverpool FC, from the club's foundation in 1892 to the present day. John Williams skilfully weaves his narrative around the great managers - from Tom Watson to Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish, Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez, then finally the current epic era of Jü rgen Klopp. The book shines a spotlight on the post-2010 period when the club was faced with an ownership crisis and possible extinction. Since then, new American owners, FSG, and Klopp have together presided over a period of extraordinary success at home, in Europe and globally. Red Men Reborn examines how this remarkable turnaround happened by analysing Klopp, his wider influences and his key recruitment and coaching strategies. Williams has been present at most of the major Liverpool finals and key matches since the late 1970s, and his treatment includes an analysis of the lasting impact of the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters on the club and its supporters.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Introduction and Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1: The Impossible Quadruple: The extraordinary 2021/22 season
• Chapter 2: Before Bill Shankly: Some deep history of Liverpool Football Club
• Chapter 3: ‘Among Folks of My Own Kind’: Bill Shankly and the new Liverpool
• Chapter 4: A Brave New World: The FA Cup, Europe and Bill Shankly’s gap years
• Chapter 5: The Blessed Boot Room: From Shankly to Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan – in one difficult step
• Chapter 6: Into the Darkness: Heysel, Hillsborough and into recovery
• Chapter 7: The Return of the Boot Room: Negotiating the Premier League future through the past
• Chapter 8: Allez les Rouges: The new Continental technocrats
• Chapter 9: American Pie: The Liverpool ownership crisis, 2007–2010
• Chapter 10: King Kenny to the Rescue (Once Again): Or what FSG learned about running a top-flight English club
• Chapter 11: ‘Lucho’ and the Man with the Silver Shovel: How Luis Suárez and Brendan Rodgers almost wowed the Kop
• Chapter 12: The Age of the Gegenpress: The time of Jürgen Klopp
• Chapter 13: Oh, Happy Days: Madrid 2019 and the Premier League title, at last
• Chapter 14: The Season that Never Was: Stumbling into a pandemic and a crisis
• Chapter 15: On the Shoulders of Giants: Jürgen Klopp and his Liverpool legacy
• Sources
• Photos