He used to cycle to and from the ground. Directors don't come into it. Shankly resolutely pursued his strength through the middle goal and always knew which three players he needed to achieve it.[86][91]. He found himself in charge of several promising youngsters who soon graduated to the first team after Town were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the 195556 season. [48], Shankly had enormous admiration for Tom Finney and devotes more than three pages of his autobiography to Finney's prowess as a footballer. [127] Shankly was characteristically defiant whenever Everton got the better of Liverpool and, although he liked and respected everyone connected with Everton, would always talk up Liverpool at Everton's expense. Shankly announced his surprise retirement from football a few weeks after Liverpool had won the 1974 FA Cup Final, having managed the club for 15 years, and was succeeded by his long-time assistant Bob Paisley. His four brothers were John, Bobby, Jimmy, and Alec; his five sisters were Netta, Elizabeth, Isobel, Barbara, and Jean. [127] Apart from Hall who graduated through the reserves, they were all signed from clubs in lower divisions or even, in the case of Heighway, from non-league football. When the former Spion Kop end was replaced by a new stand in 1998, it was named the Bill Shankly Kop and was designed with different coloured seats providing an image of Shankly's head and shoulders. [131] As always, Shankly kept things simple and Twentyman was told to look for a prospect's basic qualities which were the abilities to pass the ball and move into position to receive a pass. These would first cycle through athletic exercises, like skipping or squats, before moving on to football-specific functions, such as a heading the ball or chipping it. He led the side to three titles, delivered their first FA Cup and their first European trophy, the Uefa Cup. Standing on the steps of St George's Hall, Shankly overlooked a crowd of over 100,000 Liverpool fans, and delivered one of his most famous speeches. He wrote that even if the opponent is injured in the tackle, it is not a foul if you have timed everything right and you have won the ball. [108] According to Roger Hunt, the secret of Liverpool's success was that, under Shankly, they were the fittest team in the country. [35], Shankly began his Preston career in the reserves, who played in the Central League which was a higher standard than the North Eastern League. He was considered a promising key young player who was capable of taking Carlisle to greater things. [119] Shankly and Paisley had learned a great deal about European football which Liverpool would eventually turn into trophies. The Liverpool secretary Peter Robinson was initially blas in 1974 but, when he realised Shankly was serious this time, tried to make him change his mind. And if they didn't believe me, they believe me now.[168] Commenting on the mood of the crowd, a moved Peter Robinson, club secretary of Liverpool, told a reporter, Bills got such power of oratory that if he told them to march through the Mersey tunnel and pillage Birkenhead theyd do it. [101] With Sawyer's help, Shankly signed them both in the spring of 1961 and challenged the Liverpool board to sack him if they couldn't play. Shankly's own ashes were scattered at the Kop end of the Anfield pitch following his death in 1981. In 195455, the team finished a creditable eighth and saw a rise in attendances from 6,000 to 8,000. The Shankly Hotel is a fitting tribute to one of football's greatest managers. [96], One particular routine designed to develop stamina, reflexes and ball skills was the "sweat box" which Shankly described as: "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". [59], Shankly began his managerial career at Carlisle United, the club where his professional playing career had started. [177] Shankly contrasted Liverpool's attitude with what he encountered at other clubs, including Liverpool's great rivals Everton and Manchester United, where he was received warmly. They had two daughters - Barbara (born 1945) and Jeanette (born 1951) - and eventually went on to have six grandchildren, although their youngest grandchild and only grandson was born several months after Bill Shankly's death. He described Preston's attitude as the biggest let-down of his life in football. There is no hypocrisy about it. The location of the grave was not rediscovered until 1970. [59] In spotting a player, he always applied a basic formula which was that, first and foremost, the player must have both ability and courage. "[104] Liverpool had finished third in both 195960 and 196061 (only the top two clubs were promoted); but the new team gained promotion in the 196162 season by winning the Second Division championship, Hunt scoring 41 goals. [25] Although Shankly had less than one full season at Cronberry, he acknowledged his debt to Scottish Junior Football as he learned a lot, mainly by listening to older players and especially his brothers. Glenbuck . John Toshack recalled that Shankly was a great help to him when he went into management with Swansea City in 1978. [70] In 195354, Shankly became disillusioned when the board could not give him money to buy new players. A Liverpool fan holds a scarf honouring the club's legendary manager Bill Shankly. [93] Shankly commented that one of the pitches looked as if bombs had been dropped on it and he asked if the Germans had been over in the war. [60], One of Shankly's players at Carlisle was Geoff Twentyman, then a promising young centre half, who was later transferred to Liverpool. Shankly's relentless machine continued to rack up the trophies the following season as they won the league title and almost completed a unique double by reaching the Cup Winners' Cup final, only . [160], In April 1973, when Shankly and the team were showing off the League Championship trophy to the fans on the Kop, he saw a policeman fling aside a Liverpool scarf which had been thrown in Shankly's direction. James Corbett, The Guardian. [173] It bears the legend: "He made the people happy". Bill's father was a tailor and also a strong trade unionist, which inculcated socialist beliefs in young . [130] It was through Twentyman that Liverpool found the new players and, after Shankly retired, Twentyman gave sterling service to Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan by finding players including Phil Neal, Alan Hansen and Ian Rush. [97] Shankly got the idea from a routine he had seen Tom Finney use at Preston to hone his skills. [54] He took a speculative shot towards goal from 50 yards and the ball bounced over the England goalkeeper's head and into the net. [38] With his wholehearted attitude and commitment to the team, he quickly established himself as a first-team regular and became a crowd favourite. He recalled how Liverpool chairman Tom (T.V.) He was football's Muhammad Ali: a charismatic maverick whose utterances had an unexpected, undeniable poetry. One of this season's discoveries, Bill Shankly, played with rare tenacity and uncommonly good ideas for a lad of 20. Bill Shankly (1913 - 1981). Garry . So people not only support Liverpool when theyre alive. He later recalled that Evans was scarred by a glass in a nightclub incident which, in Shankly's opinion, had a detrimental impact on his career. We wore the all-red strip for the first time. Offering spacious luxury rooms, a . Bill Shankly was always more than a great football manager. He laid foundations on which his successors Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan were able to build by winning seven league titles and four European Cups in the ten seasons after Shankly retired in 1974. The revolutionary training methods implemented by Shankly at the clubs training ground, Melwood. It was a poor upbringing. "[103] Goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence came through the club's junior teams, so Shankly now had his "strength through the middle" and the team building continued with the acquisition of wing half Gordon Milne from Preston. Fri 29 Sep 2017 00.00 EDT Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 11.32 EDT. At Carlisle he used to speak to them over the public address system before matches. He later managed Grimsby Town, Workington[4][5] and Huddersfield Town before moving to become Liverpool manager in December 1959. [172] In 1974, he decided that he could leave Liverpool with pride in a job well done and only one regret, which was that he did not win the European Cup. [10], All five Shankly brothers played professional football and Shankly claimed they could have beaten any five brothers in the world when they were all at their peaks. [196] Shankly also features in the popular Liverpool chant "Allez, Allez, Allez", which is frequently sung by Liverpool supporters, especially during European matches. [86], In spite of the difficulties, Shankly quickly felt at home in his new club and believed he shared an immediate bond with the supporters, whom he saw as his kind of people. [4][5] In addition, he had the risky job of going to the bank each week to collect the payroll. Failed to delete photo request. Det hber jeg at der er bred enighed om i England. [111], One of Shankly's greatest ambitions when he joined Liverpool was to win the FA Cup and, after he signed Yeats and St John, he told the club directors that they would win it with these two players in the team. [54] He was Scotland's captain in the wartime match against England at Hampden Park, attended by 78,000 people on 3 May 1941, but Scotland lost that game 13. Evans started well and produced some outstanding performances during his four years at the club but Shankly eventually had to sell him to Aston Villa. His wife Nessie told Kelly that Shankly would spend time in the garden, mowing and weeding. Shankly recognised the potential of Blackpool teenager Emlyn Hughes, a future England captain, and signed him for 65,000 in February 1967. Shankly maintained that Liverpool were denied a definite penalty in their crucial away match against Derby and then had a good goal disallowed towards the end of their final match against Arsenal. [147] On 30 December 1972 the team beat Crystal Palace at Anfield to make it 21 consecutive home wins in the league. [150] In the two-legged final they faced Borussia Mnchengladbach, whom Shankly rated the best team in Europe. [173] There was a perception that Shankly was an overbearing figure, who could use a position on the board to be a "back-seat driver", and the board were well aware that Matt Busby's time as a Manchester United director had been disastrous. "[182], Shankly was awarded the OBE in November 1974, four months after he retired as Liverpool manager. He realised after taking the advice of his brothers that it is a waste of time. His wage was increased to eight pounds a week with six pounds in the summer. Williams asked him if he would like to manage the best club in the country, to which Shankly replied: "Why, is Matt Busby packing up? He was especially annoyed that Liverpool did not invite him to attend away matches as the club's guest. [187] Tributes poured in from the world of football, especially from the former players of all Shankly's clubs. [176] He soon stopped going to Melwood because he felt there was some resentment and people were asking what he was doing there. And we played like giants. [51] Shankly was succeeded in the Preston team by Tommy Docherty and Shankly told Docherty that he should just put the number four shirt on and let it run round by itself because it knows where to go. Shankly made a point of emphasising the importance of fans. [146], In 197273, Liverpool won the club's eighth league title and their third under Shankly. My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. [128], Kelly wrote that, although it was said half-jokingly, so far as Shankly was concerned there was a degree of truth in what he had said. [191], Shankly was made an inaugural inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager. One of 10 children, Bill Shankly was born in the Ayrshire coalmining village of Glenbuck in 1913. They had met earlier during World War II, when Bill was serving as a Corporal with the RAF and "Nessie", who was six years younger, was serving with the WRAF. [173], It is believed that Shankly wanted a seat on the Liverpool board, as Matt Busby had been given by Manchester United after he retired as their manager in 1969. [100], The two Scottish players were centre half Ron Yeats and centre forward Ian St John from Dundee United and Motherwell respectively. Shankly took charge of Liverpool when they were in the Second Division and rebuilt the team into a major force in English and European football. Bill Shankly will forever be known as a phenomenally influential manager at Liverpool. [57] In his view, the art of tackling is in the timing and the sole object is to win the ball. [36] He made his first team debut on 9 December 1933, three months after his 20th birthday, against Hull City. [138] Shankly summarised Keegan as "the inspiration of the new team". [174], Shankly's retirement was officially and surprisingly announced at a press conference called by Liverpool on 12 July 1974. He said that he and his friends learned from their mistakes and became better people in later years. Shankly is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the club's history, having taken them from a Second Division outfit to three-time title-winners in the top flight, as well as. The system was geared to Shankly's simple philosophy of "pass and move", which formed the basis of Liverpool's strategy. [181], Soon after Shankly's retirement, Brian Clough who himself had recently been sacked by Leeds United was asked during a David Frost interview whom in football management he respected, to which Clough replied: "Well, the guy who had my total respect finished a few months ago at Liverpool. He created the idea of Liverpool, something that did not exist before his arrival on Merseyside. [120] Shankly said after the defeat in Milan that the Inter fans were going mad because they were so pleased to have beaten Liverpool and he insisted it proved the high standard to which the Liverpool team had raised itself. [57], Shankly's public persona was that of a "tough guy" with the swagger of his favourite film star James Cagney but privately he was very different. The grandson of the legendary Bill Shankly says the former Liverpool manager would be "spinning in his grave" at the club being involved in European Super League plans and declared he would "happily see the statue" of his grandfather removed from outside Anfield. A Bill Shankly memorial was renewed on Monday in the former Liverpool manager's birthplace as part of the official opening of the Glenbuck Heritage Village. Bob Paisley said it was Shankly's one failing and it was because he was "a softie at heart". One of the best ways to understand Bill Shankly's relationship with the fans is through Davie's study of analogy and Liverpool FC. Because of this, the six trophyless seasons that followed the league title winning campaign of 1965/66 is often overlooked, writes Peter Jones. [39] Shankly developed into a tough half back, as good as any in the Football League. [87] Paisley's influence at Liverpool was crucial for, as Kelly puts it, Shankly was "the great motivating force behind Liverpool, but it was Paisley who was the tactician". [37] Preston fulfilled their potential and gained promotion to the First Division as runners-up to Grimsby Town. [54] According to the Liverpool website, Shankly's goal was "probably the strangest national goal ever". Pressure is having no work at all. I made up my mind that we needed strengthening through the middle, a goalkeeper and a centre half who between them could stop goals, and somebody up front to create goals and score them. [24] Cronberry were in the Cumnock & District League. [69] The games would last an hour each time. Liverpool chairman John Smith summed them up with a simple but fitting: "In my opinion, he was the most outstanding and dynamic manager of the century". Its the greatest thing in the world, natural enthusiasm. [157] In what proved to be Shankly's last competitive game in charge, Liverpool produced a superb second half performance to defeat Newcastle 30 at Wembley. Om det s bliver om en mned, 2 eller om 4 mneder. [37] Shankly was keen on boxing and fought as a middleweight in the RAF, winning a trophy when he was stationed in Manchester. [63], Season ticket sales in 195051 reached an all-time high and Carlisle challenged strongly for promotion as well as achieving a draw with Arsenal at Highbury in the FA Cup. He became a manager after he retired from playing in 1949, returning to Carlisle United. Liverpool made their European debut in 196465, competing in the European Cup and reaching the semi-finals. [133], The new team began promisingly in 197071 by retaining fifth place in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup where they lost 01 to Leeds United side.
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