“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea, he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in.”
William ‘Bill’ Shankly arrived at Anfield with the club in disrepair. The stadium was ‘falling to pieces’ and the training ground a ‘shambles’. There was no means of watering the pitch and Shankly insisted that they spent £3000 on rectifying this problem. He created a stunningly strong bond between himself, Joe Fagan, Bob Paisley and Reuben Bennett – a bond born out of loyalty to the club and to each other.
After a few weeks in charge of Liverpool, Shankly found his team to be very co-operative during training but poor when it came to match-day. Shankly identified,
After only one match I knew that the team as a whole was not good enough. I made up my mind that we needed strengthening through the middle, a goalkeeper and a centre half that, between them could stop goals and somebody up front to create goals and score them”
He went on to transfer list 24 players who all left the club ‘within a year’.
One of the pitches “looked as if bombs had been dropped on it” and Shankly asked if the Germans had “been over” in the war and with Shankly being very particular about the specifications of the training facilities, he introduced a program to modernise the site. In the long-term, the worked produced by Shankly, Fagan, Bennett and Paisley on all aspects of training, from the facilities to the drills, proved crucial in Liverpool’s rise to global footballing power in the years to come.
A famous drill, Shankly created, was dubbed the ‘sweat box’. He explained,
Using boards like the walls of a house with players playing the ball off one wall and on to the next; the ball was played against the boards, you controlled it, turned around and took it again”
Shankly’s admiration for Tom Finney while at Preston paid dividends once again, as he recalls basing the idea on routine that Finney utilised. The drill became the background of success for Liverpool’s pass and move philosophy. Shankly summarised,
Attention to detail; we never left anything to chance”
In his autobiography, Shankly recalls how he had numerous altercations with the club’s board over the need to recruit new talent. At times he claims he felt like walking out. Eric Sawyer’s involvement in Liverpool’s history cannot be understated. He became valuable to Shankly, as they both shared the same ambition:
To make Liverpool the greatest team in England”
During a club’s board meeting in 1961, Shankly displayed the need for splashing the cash on two promising players from Scotland. He was rebounded with the response of ‘we can’t afford them’ however, Sawyer stepped forward and exclaimed,
We can’t afford not to buy them”
Subsequently, the two purchases were soon made; centre half, Ron Yeats and forward Ian St John joined the club in the spring of 1961 and to Shankly’s delight, he proclaimed about Yeats,
With him in defence, we could play Arthur Askey in goal.”
As well as this, he invited journalists to,
Go and walk round him; he’s a colossus!”
Shankly said to new-signing Ian St John from Motherwell,
Son, you’ll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don’t over-eat and don’t lose your accent.”
In a bold showing of confidence, Shankly declared to the club’s board in an ultimatum:
Sack me if they can’t play”
Bill Shankly continued to spend the money, recruiting Gordon Milne, as well as nurturing the likes of Ronnie Moran, Jimmy Melia and Alan A’Court as well as future England regulars, Gerry Byrne and Roger Hunt. Upon seeing Hunt, Shankly said:
Christ, this one can play!”
Shankly led Liverpool to their sixth League Championship in 1964 after cultivating the likes of Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith and Chris Lawler. Roger Hunt explained that Liverpool’s key to their success was that they were ‘the fittest team in the country.’
Shankly also led the team to their first FA Cup triumph in 1965 when Ian St John scored an extra time winner over Leeds United and despite Shanks claiming he had ‘many proud moments’ he spoke of that day in May of 1965 being ‘the greatest of them all’. Just three days after winning at Wembley, Shankly piloted Liverpool in their first ever season in Europe.
They were narrowly defeated by European Champions Internazionale, 4-3. After the 3-0 defeat in Milan, Shanks retorted that,
Liverpool were denied a semi-final place due to a dishonest referee”
And,
Inter fans are going mad because they are so pleased that they have beaten Liverpool. This proves the high standard you have raised yourself up to”
Liverpool retook the League Championship in 1966 but were beaten in the European Cup Winners Cup by Borussia Dortmund, 2-0. Paisley and Shankly learned their lessons on European football and came up with a key strategy – containment away, attack at home; something that they knew would win Liverpool European honours soon.
The following season became one to forget for Liverpool. They finished a lowly fifth in the League and were well beaten in Europe. After struggling past minnows FC Petrolul Ploiesti, the Reds were soundly defeated Ajax. A 19-year-old Johann Cruyff simply ran the show as the Dutch giants ran out easy 7-3 victors on aggregate. Seemingly, the only positive from that campaign was the recruitment of Blackpool’s Emlyn Hughes, whom Shankly signed for £65,000. Hughes went on to become another legend for Liverpool with his ‘Crazy Horse’ celebration.
Liverpool trundled along for the next few seasons. However, in 1970, Liverpool once again finished in a lowly 5th position – miles off local rivals and League winners, Everton. Shankly characteristically talked up Liverpool over their Mersey rivals, quoting,
This city has two great football teams – Liverpool and Liverpool reserves”
Including the classic line:
When I’ve got nothing better to do, I look at the league table to see how Everton are getting along, starting from the bottom of course”
Despite being Scottish, when managing Liverpool, Shankly believed he had become an honorary Liverpudlian:
If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I’d pull the curtains”
Shankly reinvigorated his side in 1970 after a ‘humiliating’ defeat to lowly Watford in an FA Cup tie, signaling the conclusion to Liverpool careers of Ian St John, Ron Yeats and Roger Hunt. In recent years, Shankly had created a new scouting network for Liverpool with close friend Geoff Twentyman, who was influential in historic coups such as Ray Clemence, John Toshack and Steve Heighway. All of Liverpool’s recruits in 1970 came from lower leagues, especially Heighway, who was promoted from non-league football. The Liverpool site summarises these happenings:
Shankly’s allegiance to his older players harked back to the dying days of his own playing career – he believed he had been put on the shelf years too early”
Shankly also added iconic names in Liverpool’s history – Tommy Smith, Ian Callaghan, Chris Lawler and Emlyn Hughes – forming the very basis of Liverpool’s assault on European football which ultimately proved, to be a resounding success.
Shankly’s harmonious relationship with his players was a clear reflection of the respect he had for them and he was renowned for having a laugh and a joke while conducting training. He was also known to have joined in from time to time:
To Chris Lawler during a training session – ‘Was it a goal? Was I offside?’ Lawler replied – ‘You were boss.’ Shanks then retorted – ‘Christ, son, you’ve been here four years, hardly said a word and, when you do, it’s a bloody lie!
The legendary manager’s respect and close relationship with scout Twentyman, was not one to be undermined. The duo worked like clockwork, picking out the finest talent to represent Liverpool FC. Twentyman quoted that Shankly asked him to find a prospective recruit that was very simple in his play. If he had the ability to pass the ball then move into space to receive the pass, then he was worth a look at. Shankly’s enormous attention to specific detail also required Twentyman to investigate and analyze the potential player’s attitude and personality to make sure he was suitable for a red shirt.
Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.”
Labelled as Liverpool’s second coming; the 70’s and 80’s proved to be two of Liverpool’s greatest decades.
In the 1970-71 season, Liverpool retaining a solid 5th place in the league as well as reaching the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals where they were beaten by a very experienced Leeds outfit. Liverpool once again reached the finale of the FA Cup, only to be beaten by league champions Arsenal.
Ladies and Gentlemen, yesterday at Wembley, we might have lost the Cup but you, the Liverpool people, have won everything. You have won the admiration of the policemen in London and you have won the admiration of the public in
London”
However, in the crowd cheering the Reds on, was the one and only Kevin Keegan. Recently signed from Scunthorpe United for roughly £35,000 under Twentyman’s recommendation, Keegan was a real favourite of Kopite’s everywhere, as well as being a jewel in Shankly’s crown. In his autobiography, the Scotsman praises the ex-number seven, dedicating a whole chapter to him and labeling it ‘A Boy Named Keegan’. Shankly claimed he was an inspiration to the whole team and when he hooked up with his new squad, Shankly explained what he wanted of Kevin:
Just go out and drop a few hand grenades all over the place son!”
Keegan’s debut season saw Liverpool go excruciatingly close to regaining their English Champions crown, missing on by just a point to Brian Clough’s Derby County. Taking heart from Liverpool’s progress, Shankly felt that the 1972-73 season was to be Liverpool’s.
A game that will go down in Liverpool history was the encounter with Newcastle United in 1972. As psychology was such a huge part of Shankly’s success, he created the sign above the tunnel which reads
THIS IS ANFIELD”
A plaque which is still synonymous with Liverpool today. He said of the sign:
This is to remind our lads who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against”
Shankly used this to talk up his charges and to intimidate the opposition. He famously said, upon waiting for arch-rivals, Everton’s arrival at Anfield:
Bill Shankly gave a box of toilet rolls to the doorman and said: “Give them these when they arrive – they’ll need them!”
Shankly and his Liverpool side went on to create Footballing history the following season. They were victorious in the league for the eighth time and third under Shankly, and coupled with defeating Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Cup, they became the first English club win the league and European Cup double.
The 1973-74 proved to be the end of Shankly’s illustrious and iconic career. His final competitive game in charge of Liverpool FC was the annihilation of Newcastle United at Wembley in the FA Cup Final. Bill was now 60 and cited that he was tired and felt the time was right to move on. A sad day for all Liverpool fans was the confirmation of the resignation from his post a few weeks later, describing:
It was the most difficult thing in the world, when I went to tell the chairman. It was like walking to the electric chair. That’s the way it felt.”
For Bill Shankly and his legacy, visit http://lewisdunwoody.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/footballing-greats-william-bill-shankly_8464.html
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