Mid-Atlantic, 10 April 1954: The Queen Elizabeth's crew organise the committal to the deep of a coffin containing the remains of Liverpool Football Club, relegated that day to the Second Division. Istanbul, 25 May 2005: Liverpool's heroes hold aloft the Champions League trophy, after the greatest final ever. Between those pivotal dates, the Mighty Reds touched glittering heights and plumbed the darkest depths, amassing more silverware than any other British club while grappling with Hillsborough and Heysel's traumas. That much is well documented, but what about the fans who followed Liverpool FC every step along the turbulent way? Now, for the first time, a Kopite has written an absorbing chronicle of those momentous years.In "Anfield of Dreams", Neil Dunkin takes you on a guided tour of his beloved club and reveals a wealth of stories defining him, his city and Liverpool fans: Cavern club sessions with the Beatles; the Blitz's rain of death on Merseyside; his grandad ramming and sinking a U-boat; the Battle of Spion Kop that baptised Anfield's legendary terrace; the inimitable sense of humour that kept Kopites laughing.
On this journey of a lifetime, the cast of characters includes Shankly, Paisley, Dalglish, Benitez, Pele and even Ursula Andress. The fun and games on foreign expeditions involve a psychotic cook's 'delirious meat sauce' in Rome; misunderstandings over audience participation at an Amsterdam sex show; a hair-raising taxi ride with a drunken driver to Rio's Maracana stadium; high jinks in the High Andes; laser-guided eagles inside Mexico's fabulous Azteca arena; and a secretive trek up one of Istanbul's tallest minarets.Through sheer originality and diversity, this story of passionate devotion to his club will fascinate not just Liverpool supporters, but anyone with a passing interest in football. In its midst one reassuring lesson shines out from Liverpool football club's unique history: Dreams do come true.