LFC Dream Scene Booklet

Liverpool Football Club
Dream Scene
Celebrating 125 years
of The Liverpool Way

Introduction
To commemorate its 125th anniversary, Liverpool Football Club commissioned renowned
international sports artist Jamie Cooper to create a truly unique artwork. He was given the
weighty task of creating a defining image that distilled the essence, spirit, past, present and
future of this great club. His magical 3 metre oil on canvas brings together 19 figures who
helped shape the Club during its 125 year history, plus 1 very special fan, into the Liverpool
Football Club Dream Scene.
This booklet reveals the creative inspiration and process behind the many stories woven into
the Liverpool Football Club Dream Scene.
In the artist’s own words:
“It is indeed a great honour to have been entrusted with this challenge
and responsibility. It is one that I take very seriously. As a professional
ex-footballer in my homeland of Australia, I have a deep understanding of
what a football club means to its community. A club like Liverpool FC has
meaning far beyond what happens on the field. It is a community, a family
that extends beyond the boundaries of the white lines.
I travelled across the world several times to meet with people in and
around the club to get a sense of what the Reds culture is about. I listened,
read and gathered information for months before any paint brushes were
picked up.
So why me… an ex-footballer from the other side of the world? Since
retiring from my playing career I have spent 20 years honing this
particular skill, creating images for professional sporting clubs in the U.S.,
Australia and now Europe, where players from several generations are
brought together into a Dream Scene. I painstakingly piece together 100s
of images from different times to create a believable scene where these
legends live and breathe together. They interact in a moment that is
surely every fan’s Dream come true.
My endeavour is to not only to bring them together, but to tell a story…
to imagine what these characters would have said to each other, what
tales they would have told and what personalities would have been
drawn together in this impossible gathering. As football fans, wouldn’t we
love to walk amongst them, to mingle with them as they celebrate playing
the greatest game of all.
Well come with me and imagine if you will…
… A very special gathering inside the dressing room in the New Main
Stand. Our founding father, John Houlding, has called together some of
the greatest personalities from across our 125 year history. We can see
the changing personal appearance of the players over time, in hairstyles,
the boots worn and even how they wear the 125th anniversary kit as they
gather in the Red’s inner sanctum. Some have also brought along objects
deep with meaning. This is now a magical room adorned with trophies
and cultural references from the club’s proud history. Imagine the
Liverpool FC legends from across the ages, plus the current manager and
captain, sharing their memories as the veil is pulled back on the greatest
scene a Kopite could hope for.”
Jamie Cooper - 2017

The Welcoming Committee – A meeting of the minds
Bob Paisley (1939-1983)
Jürgen Klopp (2015- present)
John Houlding (1892-1896)
Bill Shankly (1959-1974)
Tom Watson (1896-1915)
Bob Paisley’s astute gaze
invites us to join this magical
scene. He’s not saying a lot and
leaving the champagne alone.
Bob wants to remember this
incredible meeting of Anfield’s
finest. ‘He’s brought along one
of his record three European
Cups - that will do all the talking
for him.’
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…but wait, ‘Boom!’
All the chatter is between Jürgen Klopp and
Bill Shankly trading talk of ‘sweat boxes’ and
‘heavy metal’ football, the conversation crackling
with quotable one-liners. Jürgen is probably
admiring Shankly’s 1970s tie and shirt combination
whilst Shanks offers a handshake, recognising a
man who shares his passion for the game.

Tom Watson rests a hand on Shanks’ shoulder. The Club’s first great
manager is happy to recognise our most famous, although Watson
might be gently reminding the Scottish master of great ideas, that it
was he who first had the idea of the red shirt... Yes, Watson laid the
foundations and built them well, winning the League twice and in no
small part by signing Alex Raisbeck.
He was sent
away clutching a
contract and an
ultimatum, to...
‘sign Raisbeck -
or don’t bother
to come back!’
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John Houlding, former Mayor of Liverpool and founder of Liverpool
FC takes it all in. He awaits his fellows in the famous Boot Room
for what will truly be a meeting of the minds, perhaps reflecting
on how his support of a Sunday School football team back in 1877
resulted in the creation of two of the great names in football. His
legacy is huge, and there is much for him to discover. So many
players, so many games, so many titles and trophies, such a band of
supporters, all flowing from his original vision.

FROM ME TO YOU
Alex Raisbeck (1898-1909)
Steven Gerrard (1998-2015)
John Barnes (1987-1997)
‘Here you go, mate.
You’ll not have seen
one of them.’
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Steven Gerrard hands Alex Raisbeck his Premier League captains
armband as they swap tales of inspirationally captaining the team at
opposite ends of the club’s history. Raisbeck proudly nurses the First
Division League Championship Trophy, having won ‘The Old Lady’
in 1901 and 1906. If Stevie feels a twinge of envy, Alex counters
with admiration as he hears about the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ and the
‘Gerrard Final’.
John Barnes agrees. He knows all about winning, and both Gerrard
and Raisbeck want him to tell them once again about THAT goal.
Many think it the greatest scored by a Red at Anfield. It was on 17th
October 1987 against QPR, when Barnes was the undisputed star of
one of the greatest teams fielded in LFC’s 125 years, a team so good
it was described as like watching Brazil.

MUTUAL RESPECT
Kenny Dalglish (1977-1991, 2011-2012)
Billy Liddell (1939-1961)
‘I owe Bob Paisley more than I owe anybody else in the game.
There will never be another like him.’ Kenny Dalgish is explaining
to Billy Liddell, as these two footballing giants shake hands.
‘I feel the same way. Much of my success came about
because of Bob’s work at left-back feeding me. He was
an inconspicuous craftsman.’
I like the idea of great players from different times
introducing themselves in their prime. I imagine they
might talk about how they could have worked together
on the field, and what little secrets they could share.
Two modest men, held in the very highest esteem,
shake hands in mutual respect.
Friendly debate will continue about which of the two
men dubbed ‘King’ by the Kopites was the best of all
time. It matters not; both became exemplars of all
that is good in football on, and off, the field of play.
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‘They named a stand after me,’ Dalglish admits with a cheeky
smile. ‘They named the club after me!’ Quips the man who turned
us into ‘Liddlepool’.

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU
Jordan Henderson (2011- present, club captain)
Elisha Scott (1912-1934)
Ian Callaghan (1960-1978)
Roger Hunt (1958-1969)
I wanted the centre section
of the painting to engage the
viewer directly. These 4 men
are looking at you, the fans,
acknowledging that this belongs
to you, that each Reds fan owns
this history and is just as much
a part of it as the players. It’s
almost as if they are saying
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‘ We present this
to you, we couldn’t
do any of this
without you…
the fans.’

Elisha Scott, the tough and
uncompromising Ulsterman,
stands with arms folded and
holds you in his stern gaze.
No small talk, let alone popping
champagne corks for him.
He’s Liverpool FC’s master
gate guardian. A goalkeeper
for a record 22 years and that
doesn’t come by larking about.
Adored by the fans, yet feared
for his biting comments on the
field, ‘Lisha’ is surveying all
before him. He’s reminding us
that whilst there is so much to
celebrate, this club’s traditions
and legacy also carry with it
moments of huge significance,
far beyond the game itself.
This fact deserves a moment of
reverence. Poignant reminders
of the tragedies that have
marked the Club’s history
and recognition of those most
important of people – the
supporters.
At the feet of ‘King’ Billy (and happy there) is the man who took the
place of his boyhood hero - Ian Callaghan. Cally is a gentleman,
whose quiet charm belies the fact he played a record 850 games
over an astonishing career that stretched from an amateur in 1957
to the great ‘double’ season of 1976-77.
Beside him, and a little contemplative, is our current captain Jordan
Henderson. He’s taking everything in, learning from the immense
weight of talent gathered in this room and appreciating the
expectations that come with the coveted armband. As captain, he is
also lighting the candle that remembers the 96 who tragically lost
their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.
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But take a moment to ask Cally
and his best friend Roger Hunt,
who kneels close by, what were
their proudest moments in a
Liverpool FC shirt, and both
glance at the FA Cup and talk
about May 1965. It brought
nearly half a million joyous
supporters into the city in scenes
that over-shadowed The Beatles
being feted in the same town
hall a few weeks earlier. Roger
set up the winning goal for
fellow marksman Ian St John –
and was happy for ‘The Saint’.
Roger shuns the limelight and
is probably silently cursing that
he’s ended up front stage in this
group! But the Kop’s very own
Red Knight broke the club goalscoring
record and still retains
the record number scored in the
League. Both Cally and he are
amongst that oh-so-small group
of Englishmen who have won
the World Cup.
‘Sir’ Roger played in all the games in the ’66 World
Cup Final and scored two crucial goals. Not that you’ll
find him bragging about it.
(And yes, he saw Geoff Hurst’s shot cross the line…)

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Emlyn Hughes (1967-1979)
Jamie Carragher (1996-2013)
Joseph Thurston – mascot competition winner
Ian Rush (1980-1996)
Gordon Hodgson (1925-1936)
Ray Clemence (1967-1981)
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The young Joseph Thurston,
lucky winner of the competition
to join this great gathering, is
being carefully shepherded
into the dressing room by
Jamie Carragher. He is a very
important inclusion as he looks
on in wonder, proudly wearing
the 2017/18 season LFC kit,
clutching an autograph book,
a “Boys Pen” and a Mighty
Red mascot. He represents the
lifeblood of the Club, the next
generation, the future.
That starry-eyed
look of wonder on
his face reveals
the passion that
will drive him and
millions like him
to keep Liverpool
Football Club’s
culture strong,
whether it be as a
future player or a
loyal fan.

Carra is pointing out Ray
Clemence, already eager to
open the champagne – the
bottle’s certainly in safe hands.
‘Clem’ is many people’s vote as
our finest ‘keeper, and one of
the more lively members of the
dressing room.
‘1977 Footballer of the
Year,’ Emlyn ‘Crazy Horse’
Hughes is cheering too,
with one hand on the
European Cup he first held
aloft as captain in
Rome 1977.
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Prolific goalscorer Ian Rush pokes fun at Gordon Hodgson for
turning up with three footballs.
‘Never mind those three, I scored 346 goals
– that’s better than ‘Sir’ Roger’!’ ‘That’s true,
Ian, but I still got 241 from 377 games –
you’ve got to admit that’s not bad, and don’t
forget, nobody ever bagged more hat-tricks
than me.’

Gemma Bonner’s 2017-18 season shirt
hangs on a peg above the Women’s Super
League trophy. Gemma successfully
captained Liverpool Ladies FC throughout
both League-winning seasons of 2013 and
2014 and, in doing so, truly earned her place
in club history.
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Blue & White shirt. When the
Board of Directors of Everton
Football Club fell out with John
Houlding in 1892, they moved to
Goodison Park and elected to play
in ‘red shirts with blue trim’. The
resourceful Houlding retrieved a
set of blue and white shirts and
dark shorts left over from earlier
seasons and re-used these until
September 1896, when the now
famous red jersey paired with
white shorts was introduced.
Good move, John!

The tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough are remembered by a black armband with ‘Memoria
e Amicizia 29 May 85’ embroidered upon it, and a lighted candle in one of the special candle
holders used in the Hillsborough memorial services held at Anfield for 25 years. 11
A ‘Supporters All Over The
World’ scarf hangs in a locker.
Liverpool FC had quite probably
the first international supporters
club, started during the 1972-73
season.
‘The Kop Choir’ record also
celebrates the incredible
Liverpool home supporters, who
had made Anfield and the Spion
Kop world famous. Recorded
in 1969, this was the result of
a competition sponsored by
brewers Watneys, who held a
‘Battle of the Kop Choirs’ – the
title suggests they already knew
who would win! The record went
‘gold’ then ‘platinum’ and has
never been out of production.
The ‘Carousel’ 12” vinyl record
offers a coded message back
to Rogers & Hammerstein’s
original, which inspired
Gerry Marsden to record his
now-famous version in 1963.
Many others have recorded this
classic, other football clubs have
joined in the singing, but when
this group of Anfield legends
finally join together at the end
of this fantastical meeting and
sing our anthem, who won’t
have a tear in their eye?

Scouting books owned by Geoff Twentyman.
A Liverpool left-half in the 1950s, and a
Shankly favourite, he returned to Anfield to
become a much-loved member of the Boot
Room. His impact as scout for managers
Shankly, Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish is beyond
measure as he found such remarkable players
as Neal, Hansen and Rush - to name but three!
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This humble zinc bucket and
sponge represents the ethos
and spirit of the fabled Boot
Room, filled as it was with
tough, pragmatic men working
to instil a winning mentality yet
shunning the limelight. Nobody
better represents this group than
Ronnie Moran. He dominated
the touchline in his trackie with
trusty bucket and sponge everready,
bawling commands like
a sergeant major, demanding
ever-more from the players.
He’s at this dream gathering
but, typically, is busy elsewhere
sorting stuff and keeping out
of the way. After 13 seasons
as left-back, during which time
he impressed Shankly, Moran
moved to the back room for 33
seasons, including two periods
as caretaker manager, and in
doing so became the perfect role
model of ‘The Liverpool Way’.
Moran will forever remain one of
Liverpool FC’s all-time greats.
A Boston Red Sox cap hangs
from a peg to represent the
Club’s current owners, Bostonbased
Fenway Sports Group.

Peter B. Robinson was LFC’s
greatest administrator,
personifying ‘The Liverpool Way’
by conducting himself with
the highest levels of integrity
and good manners and a
fiercely held belief that private
negotiations were exactly that
– private – until it was time to
make a public announcement.
Peeping into his monogrammed
briefcase might reveal
contracts agreeing the
signing of Kevin Keegan,
Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush
or Bob Paisley as manager!
The Man with The Golden Rake. Arthur Riley
was Anfield groundsman from 1928-1982,
having taken over from his father. At the
end of this incredible service to the Club,
during which time Bill Shankly described
the Anfield playing surface as ‘professional
grass’, Riley was awarded a golden rake as
his retirement present.
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