To mark the centenary of Liverpool’s first consecutive league titles on 17 April 1922, This is Anfield presents an exclusive excerpt from Jeff Goulding and Kieran Smith’s ‘The Untouchables: Anfield’s Band of Brothers’.
This passage from the book continues after Liverpool have secured the title for the first time in 16 years, and reveals something of the mindset and philosophy of Liverpool Football Club 100 years ago.
With fascinating insight, Scouse legend Tom Bromilow reveals his thoughts on the merits of defense versus attack, the value of teamwork, and illustrates how collectivist philosophy was as prevalent at Anfield a century ago as it was under Shankly and Paisley, and continues this day under Klopp.
‘Untouchables: Anfield’s Band of Brothers’; Chapter 13: Celebrations and Speeches
Liverpool had marched to the title, despite their forwards being outmatched by their team-mates from opposing teams, and on many occasions had fought for victory by no more than one goal. And Bromilow felt that Liverpool’s success was not simply due to having a great attack or strong defence, but because all parts of the team worked in harmony.
‘The secret to success on any football team is team spirit,’ Tom argued, ‘and by that I mean that every man in the 11 must perform the duties of his position to the best of his ability, and a little more than that. . He – he must be perfectly willing to help a colleague who needs help. It can be said of this or that football team that there are weak spots on the flank, but as long as each man does the best he can, all working in harmony with each other, then these weak spots will not reveal themselves very easily; an 11 with only moderate individual ability can be a formidable team as a collective force. “It is not in a football team to achieve success, but each individual can do his best to deserve it by trying all the time.”
This is the essence of what many modern fans recognize as the ‘Liverpool way’. It’s interesting to note that long before the days of Billy Shankly and Bob Paisley, this collective mentality was evident at Anfield. In fact, no team can be successful without it. In advocating such an approach, Shankly and even Jürgen Klopp stand on the shoulders of giants.
On Thursday June 29, at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, a grand celebratory banquet was held for the players, at which club chairman WR Williams gave a speech honoring the team. At the conclusion of his remarks, the men who had won the league were called to the front, individually, to receive a specially engraved gold watch and congratulations on behalf of the board.
The packed ballroom included the entire 1905/06 championship-winning team and Everton’s chairman and secretary. Athletic News, on July 3, 1922, reported the proceedings in detail:
‘There was a beautiful meeting of shareholders. Mr. WR Williams presided. Great honor was paid to the 1921/22 team. The players, with the inevitable exception of Scott, sat at the center table, each receiving a gold watch.
‘Equally interesting was the meeting of the 1905/06 league champion team, all of whom were present looking very well. They were Sam Hardy, Alf West, Billy Dunlop, Tom Chorlton, Maurice Parry, Alex Raisbeck, James Bradley, Arthur Goddard, Robert Robinson, Joe Hewitt, Sam Raybould, John Cox, Jack Parkinson, and John Carlin.
Members of the 1921/22 team were present, except for Elisha Scott, who appears to have had transportation problems. Joining them were Ashworth, Billy Connell, and George Patterson.
After proposing a toast to champions old and new, and wishing Everton a good season for the coming campaign, Williams would recall how difficult it had been to win the league 16 years earlier, recalling how celebrations had taken place in less healthy Carlton. Rooms and how the shareholders had been given a ticket for three drinks at the bar. The club, he said, had barely £20,000 in the bank at the time.
The newspaper report continued: ‘In making the presentation of the watches, Mr Williams named each one individually and made a happy tribute to all. Elisha Scott, she said, was absent due to travel difficulties. McNab was named after Bob Ferguson’s protégé, Bromilow became the successor to Makepeace, a happy local couple who were appreciated by all present.
Bob Ferguson, like Jock McNab, was a Cleland native who had played for the Reds for three years between 1912 and 1915. He was known for his great strength and sound judgment, and this was certainly a high compliment to Jock. In paying tribute to Tom Bromilow, Williams was drawing a comparison to Harry Makepeace, a former Everton stalwart and England international. Harry was as proficient at cricket as he was at football and played four test matches for the England cricket team. Tom was also known to be a good cricketer as well as being capped for his country in football. The report continued:
‘He spoke with feeling of the captain, Donald Mackinay [sic], and Ephraim Longworth and William Lacey, and expressed the hope that Lacey would be with them until they won the cup. Tributes were also paid to newlywed forwards Dick Forshaw and Fred Hopkin, and in the case of Harry Chambers, Mr Williams said that he was the last player signed by Tom Watson before his death in May 1915.
Then it was Donald McKinlay’s turn to talk. As Williams took his seat and the applause faded, the team captain stood up to say a few words:
‘Well, gentlemen, this is not my game, making speeches, but I want to say how grateful and grateful we are with words and watches. If you promise to have as much fun as you did tonight, when we win the cup, we’ll bring that elusive pimpernel to Liverpool.
The celebratory speeches concluded with more tributes to backroom staff, including Charlie Wilson, George Fleming, and Bert Riley. Referring to William Connell, Williams observed that the manager had “turned white in the service of the club”. A poignant moment followed, reported in the Staffordshire Sentinel on Saturday 15 July 1922, in which the board of directors voted to award 1906 championship winners Alf West, James Bradley and Sam Raybould £50 each.
All three men had fallen on hard times and fell victim to the severe economic downturn during the 1920s. It is noteworthy that the board saw fit to help them financially, and perhaps a sign of how the club in this period looked after its own.
Liverpool FC had truly become a band of brothers, each with their own stories, some of them deeply traumatic, but they had grown together and were all the stronger for it. That strength would be severely tested as they plotted to defend their crown the following season. A shocking match and the return of a champion from a bygone era would see them overcome challenges that would derail lesser teams and emerge ‘untouchables’.
The Untouchables: Anfield’s Band of Brothers by Jeff Goulding and Kieran Smith is published by Pitch Publishing and can be purchased at all good bookstores and on Amazon here.
