I am not sure if this has already been posted, if so, I aplogize I missed it. While we lick our wounds over our recent loss, this poem may lift the spirits. All the lads should read this before playing Leicester on Sunday for inspiration. Author of Faith Of Our Fathers, Alan Edge looks back over the years of Liverpool Football Club. All five of us for two and six Watched Billy Liddell get his kicks And Albert Stubbins on the ball Awaiting Sergeant Pepper's call We never guessed where we were bound We simply knew a ball was round And snug inside our Anfield home We’d never have the need to roam We’d travel down from Dingle Vale Where Ringo once had told a tale We'd queue for hours at Melwood Drive Just to watch Dick White arrive Then jump the bus to Penny Lane Where schoolboys played in wind and rain No firemen yet with hour glass But we marked Cally down as class So scenes were set but not the side As Kevin Lewis dragged shots wide Though not as bad as Cyril Done It left us room to have a moan One day a man came in our midst He made a pact and we a list Of tunes that he would make us hum And magic times that were to come It never meant a lot back then It never does when boys aren't men Without the blood, the sweat and tears Young lads still wet behind the ears But soon a buzz was felt by all A magic making dwarfs stand tall It bound us all as one like glue Somehow we felt like we were new So even lads like we all were Could sense that special atmosphere A sound distinct above the roar A Kop in song not heard before Ee Addio, the Saint John clap So many chants they’d overlap A wall of noise made Red hearts soar Opposing sides just froze in awe An oldie crooned to call our own Meant we would never walk alone Sung by a native son of ours An anthem heard beyond the stars And so we joined the Spion Kop We’d climb the Pen past barbed wire top Ten foot singing swaying dockers Days when Wackers had no knockers The thrill we felt was like no other Strangers soon became your brother And when Shanks crossed our palms with silver The pride we felt made grown men shiver And Europe couldn't find an answer With Smithy number ten a panzer And Twinkle Thommo on the wing Mesmerising every thing He’d dribble till he made us dizzy And keep a whole defence mad busy Behind him Willie Stevo scheming Keeping all the Kopites dreaming Cally and The Saint up front Backing up Sir Roger Hunt Rowdy and The Crunch at back To terrorise each side’s attack It seemed those times would never end Eternity was now our friend But facts of life come thick and fast And Shanks’ glory did not last An empty spell that seemed like eons No longer lit with dazzling neons Time for some to leave the fold Their dues were paid, their tale was told And so we five were now but three With only Andy, Joe and me A loyalty Shanks soon repaid With Kevin Keegan we were made We welcomed in a brand new dawn With football blending skill with brawn A whole new era beckoned bright A sparkling team, a shining light They danced around the opposition Oozing class in each position Heighway skipping down the left Cormack with his touch so deft Tosh a hero to us all Tiny flitting Brian Hall It seemed our destiny was clear No need to guess which route to steer But then arrived that fateful day Our Lord and Master went away In shock Joe came round to our house With tears welled up in eyes so Scouse Can you believe that Shanks has left? An entire city stunned, bereft But wait a minute said my father There’s nowt that lasts that you would rather That man he gave his all to us He's earned the right to take that bus This life goes on so let’s not sob And sure enough we soon had Bob A genial man with hidden steel Took his place behind the wheel Pipe and slippers but a decoy Guile and wisdom were the real ploy He took us places scarcely seen Where mortal men had never been Teams of giants he created Big in heart and skill we feted And in the year of ’79 Resplendent with our Scottish spine Footballing pinnacles were reached Few other teams have ever breached Individuals laced the side With genius back and front and side Though teamwork was the sacred code Their passing game halved any load So majestic was their play Scarcely a pass would go astray Dominating every game A pattern spreading joy and fame Europe's best were blown asunder The Reds became the world's Eighth Wonder We painted Rome and Paris red We followed where Bob Paisley led We’d riches that defied belief Beyond the schemes of any thief We’d left those early days with Shanks Now from the top we gave him thanks And towering over everything The ethos of these men made king The modest word, the simple need Humility the one true creed Not for them the glitz and gloss All singing dancing glitter boss Instead they saw the things that mattered With honours like confetti scattered And looking back it’s clearly seen Just how blessed we all had been When we’d enrolled in Shanks’ band And squeezed inside the Promised Land But what of our small faithful crew The lads and me from Dingle true Had we all kept to Shanks’ pact Or chanced upon a different tract? Well Joe and me we’d both got wed Soon hungry mouths cried to be fed And Joe was forced to drift away Commitments can leave little say Then Andy had to leave this place We five all cried at his embrace So only I was left to stay Alone with dreams of yesterday You see I’d thought we’d last forever A fool with head in Never Never But life won’t let you map it out No matter how you scream or shout And so I had to start again We boys were gone now men were men And though it couldn’t be the same I found new friends to go the game A new boss came in sympathy And lo he wrote a symphony In his first year he’d clinched a treble A first time three time winning rebel Things came so easy round this time A goal conceded deemed a crime Complacency the only foe For Bob’s successor Smokin’ Joe But fate had things in store for us The sort that you could never suss Within a space of four short years We’d witness untold pain and tears Two “football” games, the term survives A gross of people lost their lives And suddenly the world sat up As death flowed from its bitter cup Authority devoid of shame Sought every means to shift its blame So fans denied their last goodbyes Were tarred with guilt from evil lies Recriminations, hurt and rage Overshadowed every page Wrongs that never could be righted Truth that never could be sighted Though life went on we’d paid the price For every Red the sacrifice The scars still brand the darkest night Those memories of heinous plight Yet even ‘midst those wretched years There’d been some good to ease the tears Our favourite son, the man Dalglish Had slackened off our troubled leash He’d carried on the winning spell As teams we’d played had failed to quell The tricks he’d gleaned along the way Meant honours flowed once more in May He built two sides to our great glee His second one a joy to see A forward line of Kopites’ yarns Beardo, Aldo, Johnny Barnes And though one day he hit that wall As stored up stresses paid their call We think of him with so much pride A man who’d stood right by our side So then there came the barren years Compounding emptiness and fears And I confess I missed my mates Joe and Andy, Will and Bates Though we had fallen out of touch Fond memories became a crutch As pale imposters wore our shirt Thoughts drifted back to mask the hurt To times when Red had meant the world To every man whose shirt unfurled That Liverbird with huge round crest Emblazoned white on scarlet chest Yet as we tottered in despair With teams that scarcely seemed to care An unknown man arrived from Gaul And promised he would overhaul And with that simple change of face A seismic shift was put in place The entire club was brought to heel French Revolutionary zeal And just as Shanks had done before This genial Frenchman gave us more Far more than we had ever dreamed Or dared to hope as we had schemed Restoring pride that we once felt Back to the shrine where we once knelt To honour heroes, gods and all True masters of the great round ball And as I sit with new friends now I marvel at the man and how He’s taken us back to the day When Shanks and Bob to them we’d pray And though I pine for days we had Of souls departed, Mam and Dad Of friends like Andy, Joe and Will A swaying Kop, a sight to thrill It’s to the present we must cling The promise of what it can bring How every fan will have a story Of joy and tears, of pain and glory