Shanks is one of the all time great football managers as far as I am concerned. Always looked forward to his interviews and his demolition of fools (or reporters as they are called) his rapier like wit is sadly lacking in todays football. Similar to Clough in some ways, there are precious few today Strachan perhaps the only one. Great manager, a man from the people, for the people. who built the foundations for the great Liverpool teams that followed.
Integrity is worth more than a few hollow league wins and one CL won by a boring ass side playing a conservative style. It could be a short, medium or long road back to the top, but when we get there it'll feel so much better than the instantaneous and soon wearing off euphoria of just buying success. And that's probably how the great man would have wanted it - talent/skill, hard work, belief and a shed load of goals.
Perhaps it's too much to expect a U.S. company with no prior links to our game to immediately buy into the heritage of the club. They're a business, and of course their primary concern is to put us on a sound financial basis- which is no bad thing imo. However, we can hope that with continued improvement, the spirit of the club and it's fans engendered by the Shankly/Paisley era will win them over and they become fans themselves. It's a two -way thing, the nasty taste left in our mouths by the Laurel and Hardy reign is something we, as fans have to let go of, and believe that not every owner is simply out for a fast buck. If we expect them to love us, we have to learn to love them back. I'd make a start with Linda.
Bill Shankly set out to make the people happy but his legacy extended a lot further than that - not just at Liverpool but throughout the game he loved. The gruff Scot with an iron will was a natural leader and naturally people followed almost without question. Fans adored him, players believed in him and opponents were intimidated by him. He may not have won trophies in the number of some of his successors, but the fact they were so successful was largely down to the work of arguably the greatest manager in the club's long history. Shankly, who was born on September 2, 1913, is famous for many soundbites and one-liners, but there was one which summed up his sheer bloody-mindedness and determination to be the best. "My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea and he conquered the bloody world," he said. "That's what I wanted; for Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in." And, once he got himself established at Anfield, they largely did for almost 40 years. His legendary reign began inauspiciously with a 4-0 hammering at home to Cardiff, but gradually he began a revolution which had a profound effect not only on the club but a large proportion of the football-mad city. He became the first of the real football managers. People like Brian Clough, Don Revie and Alf Ramsey followed. They picked the team, coached it, and handled transfers. Before that, chairman and directors were in charge of all but the fitness work. Shankly inherited a Liverpool club languishing in the old second division with their Melwood training ground a shambles, but he immediately set about changing all that. An idealistic socialist from Scottish mining stock, he understood the working class and how people in general ticked. With that in mind he insisted on teamwork, brotherly help and spirit. The man from working-class roots wanted his team to play with a socialist ethos. They played for the people, and the people understood that simple philosophy. Great players owe their careers to him. Ian Callaghan, the club's record appearance-maker, regards Shankly second only to his parents in terms of having the greatest influence in his life. Others - Ian St John, Roger Hunt, Ray Clemence, Tommy Smith, John Toshack, Kevin Keegan, Steve Heighway - all owe him a great deal. On his retirement, Shankly was asked how he would like to be remembered. He said: "That I've been basically honest in a game in which it is sometimes difficult to be honest. "Sometimes you've got to tell a little white lie to get over a little troublesome period of time. I'd like to think that I have put more into the game than I have taken out. "And that I haven't cheated anybody, that I've been working for people honestly all along the line, for the people of Liverpool who go to Anfield. "I'd like to be recognised for trying to give them entertainment. "I was interested in only one thing, success for the club. And that meant success for the people. "I wanted results for the club, for the love of the game, to make the people happy." Memorable quotes "Of course I didn't take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present. It was her birthday and would I have got married during the football season? Any way, it was Rochdale reserves." Bill Shankly Quotes of the week "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." "If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing." "The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game." "If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains." "Of course I didn't take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present. It was her birthday and would I have got married during the football season? Any way, it was Rochdale reserves." "In my time at Anfield we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside - Liverpool and Liverpool reserves." "If you're not sure what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net and we'll discuss your options afterwards." - Shankly's advice to Ian St John. "I was only in the game for the love of football - and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool." "If he isn't named Footballer of the Year, football should be stopped and the men who picked any other player should be sent to the Kremlin." - On Tommy Smith. "At a football club, there's a holy trinity: the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques." "Take that bandage off, and what do you mean YOUR knee, it's LIVERPOOL'S knee!" - To Tommy Smith after he'd turned up for training with a bandaged knee. "Just tell them I completely disagree with everything they say." - To a translator when being surrounded by gesticulating Italian journalists. "If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be." - Shankly on the offside rule. "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." - On leaving Liverpool. Honours Liverpool (1959-1974) Division One champions: 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73 Division Two champions: 1961-62 FA Cup: 1964-65, 1973-74 UEFA Cup: 1972-73 Manager of the year: 1972-73
Yes thanks, Doc. I was down in Kent visiting family. Managed to catch both the games, but it's weird watching games with 'Pool fans with Cockerney accents. Anyway, was good to get away from the board for a bit, because lots of people seemed a bit suicidal last week. It's all a bit calmer now. I have to say, watching the Villa game, I still wasn't convinced we were top four material, but we're doing ok, and nobody else seems on top of their game at the moment. If we can keep winning ugly, then we just might be in with a chance. I think the proposed defensive signings will help a lot, it's the area where I think we're a bit dodgy.
That's a great point Dave. Sometimes we take these things for granted but what a legacy that is. What I always loved about Shanks and the boys who followed wasn't just about the team or the football or the success it was how they reflected the characteristics of the city itself. Grafters with an air of confidence and a dry sense of humour to match, hard men with souls (and manners) they had not just a knowledge of the game but combined that with a sense of what it meant to the people who came to watch every weekend. Bill wasn't just great for our club. He was great for our city too. He might not have been born and bred here but he was still as scouse as they come Whatever the result today every single one of us should raise a glass to him tonight. Cheers Bill, you were a god amongst men
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