With one worthy exception a team constructed of players Bill Shankly either gave Football League debuts to or brought through the youth system during his tenure.
An interesting quirk is that the XI is almost exclusively made up of either local products and Scots. The latter category underpinning the manager’s belief in the junior system in his homeland.
1 Tommy Lawrence
Five years as understudy to Tommy Younger, Bert Slater and Jimmy Furnell proved an excellent learning curve for this young keeper. From making his debut in October 1962 he was the first choice for duty between the sticks until Ray Clemence's emergence in 1970. As many a good judge has said his great strength was doing the simple things well. That included shot stopping. A telling feature of his game which enabled the Reds to construct a resilient defence and a establish a solid base upon which the team as a whole could build.
Although born in Dailly, Ayrshire he was recruited as an amateur from his local non-league outfit Warrington Town after impressing manager Phil Taylor in a trial game during October 1957. Unless his heritage was known very few people would have been able to pick out the country he would eventually represent at international level as he spoke with a decidedly English accent after his family left Scotland for Cheshire when young Tommy was 11 years of age.
Taylor's successor as Reds boss Bill Shankly was born not too far away from Lawrence's hometown but there could be no question of geographical favouritism as despite good form in the reserve and 'A' teams it took Shanks just under three years to promote his junior keeper.
The consistency that had hall marked Liverpool custodians for a number of years was also present in the youngster who missed just three games over his first four seasons and, until Ray Clemence and his defence began to dominate attacks during the 1970s, Tommy and his backline set a league record for the fewest goals conceded over a 42 game campaign. At the close of the 1968-69 season Lawrence kept 21 clean sheets restricting the best top flight strikers to a mere 24 strikes.
An amazing statistic being that 14 of those came on The Reds' travels. Just three teams managed to score more than once against Liverpool and that record was only ever equalled then surpassed by Ray Clemence.
He became known as the sweeper keeper due to his willingness to back up his defenders when stretched and almost without fail would win the ball outside his area. Liverpool's flat playing style made this possible.
When in defence everyone on duty would remain committed to their roles but with the ball upfield a number pushed up to support the move. Lawrence was actually once quoted as saying that he's played some big matches as a virtual extra back. Good concentration even when virtually redundant for most of a game by the quality of his teammates was a key attribute in this ability. Tommy was also a courageous keeper more than willing to dive in at the feet of an attacker if it was the only way to thwart danger.
2 Chris Lawler
Joining the Reds from youth team football baby faced Chris Lawler advanced through the ranks making his senior debut two years after accepting professional terms. Although at home in a central role he was deployed as a right back and proved to be one of the most prolific defenders in the history of British football let alone that of Liverpool Football club. It is worth noting that his tally of 61 goals from 546 career games at Anfield was not supplemented by one penalty or a free-kick, merely his ability to come up from the back virtually unnoticed and get on the end of well crafted moves.
He became a first team regular in the mid 60's after half a dozen appearances in each of his first two seasons.
His emergence was instrumental in the eventual retirement of veteran Ronnie Moran. Lawler didn't lose his berth in the side until late November 1973 when injury cost him precious opportunities to challenge Phil Neal and others for a place. Prior to this he missed just three of the 336 league games he could have played in over the course of eight seasons. Though an irregular feature in the side Chris made the 1974 FA Cup final as a non-playing substitute.
The Silent Knight as he became known due to the quiet way in which he got on with his job and persona off the pitch made him a dream for any manager including former team-mate Ian St John at Portsmouth who enticed him to leave Merseyside in 1975.
3 Gerry Byrne
A talented youngster who despite making the Liverpool schoolboys squad was nothing more than a fringe player at Anfield for many years. He was initially rejected by the Reds so worked in a lead factory until he finally made the grade and signed for the club at 17. Ronnie Moran kept him out of the first team squad and was the club captain as well as first choice at left-back when Bill Shankly arrived at Anfield in December 1959.
By contrast Byrne was transfer listed. He had only been given the one chance and unfortunately that came in a 5-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic. To make matters worse Gerry had scored an own-goal. Shank's gave him a further opportunity towards the end of his first season at the helm. Although asked to turn out in an alien role - right back - he must have acquitted himself well as the 1960-61 saw him become not just a first team regular but establish himself as the first choice option. He played in every game in the promotion season of 1961-62.
After that time he became as firmly established a left back as he was in the hearts of the fans who decided the defender epitomised their own iron will, concrete spirit and love for Liverpool. The 1965 FA Cup Final showed his heroic qualities as he played almost the entire 120 minutes with not only a gashed shin but a broken collarbone. Many players would have been inhibited by this but not Gerry. With his arm tucked carefully beneath his jersey so as not to prove opponents Leeds with an inkling of the pain experienced he played a blinder staving off the threat of Johnny Giles and even sending in the cross which set up Liverpool's first goal.
An interesting point of debate is whether he would have been able to play this role had the incident happened just a year later. The 1964-65 season was the last before substitutes were allowed to be named. Given the importance of the match and the seriousness of the injury there seems little doubt that Shankly would have replaced Byrne. How that would have impacted on the game is another question. Gerry proved vital in the win and had he not played would the course of Liverpool's cup history also have changed?
A few days later a home game against Inter Milan in the European Cup semi-final first leg took place. Always looking for the psychological edge Shanks sent Byrne out, sling draped around his neck along with another injury victim Gordon Milne. The two paraded the FA Cup in front of The Kop. The noise level shoot through the roof and played no small part in Liverpool's infamous 3-1 win. The FA Cup final heroics proved to be no one off. A year later in a Cup Winners' Cup tie against Celtic Byrne dislocated an elbow. The club doctor twisted it back into position and he simply carried on.
Little wonder that Shanks described him as the toughest player he had ever seen.
He wasn't the fastest player in the world but was a good reader of the game which allowed him to send in well timed challenges and interceptions most players could never have dreamed of making. In the tackle he was certainly tough and exulted in the well earned nickname of ‘Gerry the Crunch‘.
At Melwood he was one of the most avid trainers most of the coaching staff had ever seen and such was his competitive nature that he was often taken out of 5 a-side games in order to ensure that his teammates didn‘t risk getting injured before forthcoming matches. Not that he was a dirty player. Far from it. He was only booked once during his Liverpool career and that was for querying a throw-in.
As the 1966-67 season kicked off Gerry had more reason than most to finally accept that the course of his football career had finally worked out all the bugs that had bedevilled it over his early years as a professional. He'd finished the previous season with a second championship medal. His third domestic honour in as many seasons and although he had not played in the final or any of the group matches during the World Cup finals he was a member of the England squad which managed to win the Jules Rimmet trophy. Despite the presence of Everton's left back Ray Cohen as first choice pick there seemed no reason to believe that he could not go on to make the berth his own very soon. But a cruciate ligament injury suffered during the first league game of the next season effectively ended those ambitions and started the countdown towards the end of his playing days. At home to Leicester City on a soft surface his studs managed to get caught in the turf badly twisting his knee.
He managed to get back into the starting XI for the return game at Filbert Street but made just eight more outings over the remaining four months of the campaign. Just five months had elapsed from Byrne suffering the injury until his next first team outing but while the problem could be easily corrected by surgery in the modern age four decades earlier medical science was nowhere near as advanced and the fact that he returned at all let alone played 26 games from the start of the 1967-68 term was another testament to the steely nature he personified.
Although just the other side of thirty he would still have had plenty to offer the team had his fitness permitted but his retirement in May 1969 was announced once the battle against constant pain got too much to wage. His final season with the Reds had been reduced to a last couple of appearances in the number three jersey plus a call up from the bench sandwiched between those two starts. Keen to make use of the assets Gerry displayed as a player Bill Shankly saw him as a perfect addition to his backroom staff but despite a briefly held coaching role he resisted the temptation to get actively involved with the game.
4 Phil Thompson
The Kirkby born defender's career at Anfield is the stuff dreams are made of. Phil lead the club he worshipped to glory both home and abroad as well as playing for then captaining his country. For Bill Shankly this story wasn't a possibility it was a reality which he confidently predicted. His Liverpool career began under Shanks in February 1971 when he made his debut as a late substitute in a 3-0 away win over Manchester United. He was in and out and the starting line up until Larry Lloyd left for Coventry City in 1974.
In his 12 seasons at the club Thommo won seven League titles, three European Cups, four League Cup winners medals plus one FA Cup and a UEFA Cup winners medal. His proudest moment was being made captain of Liverpool in 1979. A role in whish he lifted a host of major trophies. He skippered England and was a key member of Ron Greenwood’s squad for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain where he played in all five matches.
The defensive partnership cultivated between Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson began to limit his first team opportunities and he was eventually transferred to Sheffield United in March 1985. Kenny Dalglish brought him back to Anfield a year later to become his reserve team coach. He guided the Reds' second string to a Central/Pontins League title during his six seasons in charge. Graeme Souness replaced him with Sammy Lee for the start of the 1992-93 season but he was recalled to the Anfield coaching staff to act as Gerard Houllier's assistant when Roy Evans relinquished his joint managerial role with the Frenchman.
5 Tommy Smith
Although the 1976-77 campaign was supposed to mark Tommy Smith's last season for Liverpool he decided to play on for another year and extend his association with the club to 17 seasons. He made his debut in May 1963 in a 5-1 home win over Birmingham City. Although he gave a good account of himself it was his only game of the season. He remained in the reserves for the next campaign and didn't get back into the first team picture until November 1964 in the first leg of the European Cup 1st round tie with Anderlecht.
Tommy started off as an inside right. Then moved to centre back before making the left back role his own. He went on to play 40 times in that first full season which ended with a FA Cup winners medal after the 2-1 victory over Leeds United in May 1965. All this at the tender age of 20. He never looked back and became a rock at the heart of Liverpool's defence for the next decade.
A medal haul of four league championships, two FA Cups, two UEFA Cups and two European Cups was no bad return. The most remarkable feature of his career was that he only made one international appearance - against Wales in 1971.
Tommy was Liverpool through and through. A total of 633 games for his boyhood favourites and the club he joined straight from school only tells half the story. He made a no less telling contribution in terms of his sheer presence and reputation. The Anfield Iron as he became known was a fearsome competitor and tough defender to beat. Even when not captaining the side he always led by example.
He came back into the Liverpool first team during the 1976-77 campaign as a result of Phil Thompson's injury. From there on in it was a fairy tale which included the vital second goal in the European Cup final. He may well have been selected in the side to play Bruges the following year had he not dropped an axe on his foot. Despite being offered another extension to his contract Smithy eventually left Anfield during the 1978 close season to join his former colleague John Toshack at Swansea City. Upon retiring he took up a post coaching the Welsh club's youth team and made a brief return to Anfield in a similar capacity.
6 Ian Ross
A childhood friend of Kenny Dalglish who saw his career take a different direction to his fellow Glaswegian. Possibly due to his versatility Ross was always a bit part player who despite playing just over 60 times including ten games as a substitute over six seasons could never manage to cement a place in the side. Filling in at various positions earned him respect from the management and many compliments from Bill Shankly who pitched him across the entire backline and in a number of forward positions. Judging by the roles he played on the pitch Shanks' assessment was that he could play at any level of the game in any country.
However, had he not made 20 appearances during the 1971-72 term in all competitions he could have left Anfield with a relatively paltry number of appearances. This highlighted just how haphazard his contribution was over the other campaigns.
He left to join Aston Villa at the end of that term but a season earlier had made possibly his most vital contribution to the Liverpool cause. He was seen as one of the most potent man markers in England and had been chosen by Bill Shankly to patrol some great names including the legendary Franz Beckenbauer - one of the most creative players in Europe.
Playing The Kaiser out of the game when the Reds met Bayern Munich away in the second leg of a quarter-final European Fairs Cup tie. The opener had finished goalless leaving the team with a tough task but Ross was exceptional and left Beckenbauer alone just once so he could nip in to score the only goal of the game to see Liverpool through to the last four.
7 Bobby Graham
A sensational Liverpool debut saw Motherwell born forward Bobby Graham earn the rare distinction of scoring a hat trick on his debut. He had joined the club as a youngster with no league experience in his native Scotland.
Injury to fellow Scot Gordon Wallace opened up a place in the side for the treble which was hit against Aston Villa at Anfield in September 1964 and kept him a virtual first choice for just over a month with seven appearances from the next eight games. Graham scored another in the second leg of Liverpool's first European Cup tie with KR Reykjavik of Iceland.
He featured irregularly over the remainder of the season but made just 10 more appearances including two as a substitute over the next three seasons. The 1968-69 campaign saw him come to the fore again. With Tony Hateley injured Bill Shankly was looking to find another partner for Roger Hunt but just three games into the campaign Bobby had to contend with the injury curse ensuring just a few more outings came his way. Hateley came back into the picture but was forced out by Alan Evans who by virtue of his form kept Graham out too. However, impressive displays over the last handful of games saw him return the subsequent term when despite featuring in a number of forward going roles and shirt numbers he was an ever present.
It seemed he could only go on from that position to finally establish himself but a new wave of strikers in the shape of Kevin Keegan and John Toshack came to the fore in the early part of the 1970s pushing him on to the sidelines once more. A move to Coventry City saw him attempt to relaunch his career having made over 100 appearances in a red shirt despite the ad hoc nature of his Liverpool days.
8 Roger Hunt
Before Fernando Torres. Before Owen and Fowler. Before Rush and Dalglish. Even before Keegan and Toshack there was Roger Hunt. Immediately before joining Liverpool in the late 50's he had earned rave reviews while appearing for The British Army. Even though the Reds were his first professional club his strengths and ability to crack it at the highest level were obvious. He was tremendously athletic, strong and held such a high level of stamina allowing him to cover ground with consummate ease over 90 minutes.
His goal scoring record was second to none. Even when compared to the greats of both his day and the years which have followed. The fact that it took almost 30 years for some of those achievements to be surpassed by a forward of Ian Rush’s calibre is proof of that. A debut goal in a home win over Scunthorpe United showed the shape of things to come. He netted a further 20 times during that first season and was virtually the first choice striker from then on spearheading the push for promotion and ultimately the quest to become England's best.
The opening goal of the 1965 Cup Final was one of the greatest moments of his club career and was Liverpool's first in the showpiece occasion.
The 245 league goals and 285 times he scored for Liverpool in total have only been surpassed by Rush. Away from the domestic game he earned the distinction of a World Cup Winners Medal with England in 1966. In recognition of his achievement The Kop christened him Sir Roger.
9 Alf Arrowsmith
The forward made just one appearance during the 1961-62 promotion season in one of the few games Liverpool lost and failed to score in. He had been signed from Ashton United at the beginning of the previous campaign and had to wait for a second chance which came late in the following season when Ian St John was forced out of the first Merseyside derby Anfield had hosted in nine seasons. Once more he failed to get on the scoresheet in this game along with the other two he was selected for.
However, the 1963-64 season saw him explode onto the scene when he deputised for Jimmy Melia for all but two of the final 20 games of the league season. 15 goals was some dividend and only bettered by Roger Hunt and St John who had missed just three games between them. He had been afforded an earlier opportunity due to another absence from St John early in the campaign and took just a minute to get himself off the mark as Wolves left Anfield on the end of a 6-0 thrashing.
With that sort of firepower it was no shock that Liverpool ended the season as Champions and the winners medal was just reward for many season's patient service from the Manchester born striker. However, despite further fitness setbacks for St John Bill Shankly decided to look at others only calling on Arrowsmith towards the end of the season and then for short periods of time.
He played in the final game of the 1964-65 league season as Shanks, knowing nothing more than a top seven finish could be achieved, decided to rest the majority of his Wembley side. Alf's only contribution to the FA Cup triumph was a single outing in the 5th Round of the competition. As Liverpool won a second title in three years Arrowsmith’s celebrations were somewhat muted as his contribution was limited to three starts and two introductions from the newly conceived substitutes bench.
The presence of St John and Hunt was enough to thwart the ambitions of the best strikers in the game and although clearly talented and with plenty to offer the striker decided he had to leave Anfield in order to show it. He joined Bury in 1968 for £25,000 and served a number of other North West based clubs before hanging up his boots in the early 1970s.
10 Gordon Wallace
An inside left recruited directly from junior football in Scotland but who ultimately and somewhat frustratingly given his talent failed to make the grade at Anfield. His first team debut came midway through the 1962-63 season but was only followed up by one more outing before the season's conclusion. Though Wallace did manage to notch his first of five goals for the Reds during that latter run.
His contribution to the following term when Liverpool won the league title was restricted to one game. Not long after he made the breakthrough Bill Shankly likened him to one of his former teammates at Preston North End - Tom Finney. Considering Finney was one of the most skilful wingers in English football history and a man Shank's genuinely respected it was far from faint praise and not the typical piece of Shankly psychology. However, it was a comparison Gordon found it hard to live up to.
Wallace started the 1964-65 campaign as first choice in the number 10 shirt keeping the jersey for the next seven games after scoring twice in the season's opener at home to Arsenal. The match was the first highlights package ever shown on BBC Television's Match of the Day and viewers were treated to an exciting 3-2 win for the home side after Gordon notched the winner a few minutes from time. Though he scored in the Charity Shield seven days earlier those black and white images record the only goals he scored that season. Those few outings were followed up by three sporadic games.
As Liverpool claimed the title for a second time in three years only 14 players were used throughout the entire campaign with two of that number making just four appearances between them. Gordon Wallace was not one of those called upon and remained out of favour through bad injuries and the form that usually brings until joining Crewe Alexandra in 1967.
11 Ian Callaghan
Just two months into his professional career Ian Callaghan was replacing his boyhood hero, Billy Liddell, on the right wing. The Liverpool legend was injured and his stand-in, just six days past his eighteenth birthday, would go on to replace the great man on a permanent basis and become a legend in his won right. That debut against Bristol Rovers in April 1960 was a huge personal triumph. Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners and Cally was clapped off the field by his colleagues.
The only player from Liverpool's Second Division days to survive until the 1977 European Cup winning team created many records for appearances. In April 1974 he overtook Billy Liddell's record of League outings. The record which still belongs to Cally stands at 640 and is unlikely to be broken in the near future if at all. Even Jamie Carragher has just under 130 games to play in order to draw level.
Callaghan finished his Anfield career when the 1977-78 season closed following 848 career appearances and 69 goals. Despite his length of service his honours, at least by modern Liverpool standards, may appear fairly modest. Five championships and one Second Division title were followed up by two FA Cups, a couple of European Cups and a UEFA Cup medal. This may be more than a lot of players can even hope to collect but it’s a total which could have been doubled or even trebled had Cally's career coincided with the club's most successful era.
He received his first England cap in 1966 when Alf Ramsey selected him to play against Finland and was retained for the World Cup finals but played just one game in the group stages of the competition. He was recalled to the international stage at the tender age of 35 when Don Revie selected him to line up against Switzerland and Luxembourg in the qualifying rounds on the 1978 World Cup.
Further acknowledgement of his services to the game came with an OBE in 1976. Another personal accolade was his Football Writers' Player of the year Award in 1974.
Swansea City snapped up his services when he became available on a free transfer to help their push for promotions through the divisions. From South Wales he moved to Irish League side Cork United and then to Soudifjord of Norway. He returned to England to see out his playing days with Crewe Alexandra.
A model professional who gave The Reds good value for the money paid out for him - the princely sum of £10 made to all professionals when they joined a club.
Thursday 3 December 2009
Wednesday 2 December 2009
Shankly Signings XI
A team constructed purely of men Bill Shankly brought to Liverpool Football Club from elsewhere rather than those brought through the ranks.
1 Ray Clemence
Even with Liverpool's firmament of goalkeeping talent Ray Clemence achieved legendary status not just in his playing days but far beyond them by becoming one of the most respected custodians of Liverpool's proud goalkeeping history. He kept an amazing 335 clean sheets from the 656 career games for the Reds and the fact that his name is just as fondly remembered as those of Kenny Dalglish, Steve Heighway, John Toshack, Terry McDermott or even Kevin Keegan to name but a few is testament to that.
One of the country's best ever last lines of defence is said to have become a goalkeeper by accident. Like most stoppers he fancied himself as a forward and was by his own admission a prolific scorer in training ground five-a-sides but as a youngster he was told to play in goal or not to play at all. Strange to think that but for that the £18,000 recruit from Scunthorpe United in 1967 may never have made the professional grade.
His talent between the sticks was plain for all to see. So much so that Bill Shankly signed him after just 48 appearances. Despite the high regard Clem was held in he had to push Tommy Lawrence out of the picture first. A debut came the best part of a year after his arrival on Merseyside in a 3rd round FA Cup tie with Swansea City. It was a further year and a half before he could call the number one jersey his own. Upon becoming the first choice he missed a mere handful of games in his 11 seasons at the club. During his time at Anfield he collected five league championships, three European and two UEFA Cup winners medals. He also won each of the domestic cups - the FA Cup in 1974 and League Cup in 1981.
Throughout the entire 1978-79 campaign conceded a miserly 16 goals. A record in a 42 league game season.
In the summer of 1981 he took up a new challenge with Tottenham Hotspur. The £300,000 fee was a hefty one at the time. He finished his playing career at White Hart Lane collecting a couple more FA Cup medals. He was also in the Spurs team which lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the 1982 League Cup final.
His international career began in 1972 with a cap against Wales in Cardiff. He went on to make 56 appearances for England as a Liverpool player. Adding five more with Tottenham. Since retiring in 1988 he joined the coaching staff at Spurs and the manager of Barnet. He has or some years served as England's goalkeeping coach.
2 Geoff Strong
Despite having a decent career with Arsenal and playing quite regularly Geoff Strong decided to look for fresh pastures and berth in his preferred striking position. Bill Shankly made no promises about his role when brokering a £40,000 deal in November 1964 which was a quick fix to cover for Alf Arrowsmith who would be sidelined for some time but Shanks knew his proven utility could only benefit his squad. In fact the manager often asked him to perform duties all over the field yet the qualms that had seen him leave Highbury never seemed to bother the player on Merseyside. At the end of his first season he was an FA Cup winner coming into the side at the expense of Gordon Milne who had missed out through a injury and earned Strong the distinction of winning the trophy in his first FA Cup game for the club.
A year later he had a championship medal after 21 games in six different positions and one outing from the newly introduced substitute's bench. It was in that game at West Ham United that he became the first Liverpool player outside the starting XI to register on the scoresheet. His goal 14 minutes from time earned a share of the points and also marked the first time Liverpool had introduced a player from the bench. Shanks was a believer in not unsettling the side he put on the pitch for the first minute unless absolutely necessary. His five league goals that term included one in the first game shown on BBC Television's Match of the Day highlights show.
In Europe and the Cup Winners Cup Strong managed to find the scoresheet in the opening round against Juventus. His strike in the 2-0 win over the Italian giants wrapped up the scoring and saw the Reds turn around a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Turin. His next in the semi-final battle with Celtic saw a repeat of that feat and was remarkable in that it was a headed goal which saw the Northumbrian rise high despite a knee injury that would have seen many players head off the field. Injuries and tactical decisions were the only bar to his participation in the side though these lay offs were fortunately rare until his eventual departure for Coventry City in August 1970. He had played close on to 200 games for the Reds scoring 32 goals after sterling service and great displays in virtually every outfield position - right back included. Who knows. Had Liverpool not had some of the fittest goalkeepers of the era and enjoyed luck with injuries during games he may well have donned the gloves and added that to his expanding CV.
3 Alex Lindsay
Widely regarded as one of the best left backs Liverpool have ever had Alec Lindsay was recruited from Bury in March 1969 for a sizeable £67,000 fee. However, as far as Bill Shankly was concerned it was a snip for such a naturally gifted player who played at wing half and inside forward at Gigg Lane. 126 appearances for his hometown team prouduced a ceditable 14 goals.
His debut came half a year later in a European Fairs Cup 1st round tie with Dundalk when he scored the sixth in a 10-0 win over the Irish minnows. Although he was tried out in his more accustomed positions Shanks decided that he would be best employed in a deeper role from which he could use his phenomenal pace to overlap attacks. It proved to be a master stroke and a tactical switch which hallmarked the manager's place in the pantheon of true greats.
However, Lindsay still had to wait just over a season before he could be considered a regular in the side. When he was the Lancastrian formed a solid partnership with right back Chris Lawler. A league championship, UEFA and FA Cup winners medals were all garnered before his eventual departure to Stoke City in the summer of 1977 though he did add a European Cup Winner‘s medal albeit as a non-playing substitute months before he left for The Victoria Ground.
The arrival of Joey Jones, Phil Neal and the rejuvenation of Tommy Smith's career had limited his first team chances for a couple of years prior to that.
4 Emlyn Hughes
Liverpool paid £65,000 to Blackpool for the defender's services in March 1967. Although he had played a fairly small number of games for the Seasiders Shanks had no doubt about his worth and pitched the youngster into the cut and thrust of top flight football within a month of signing.
Hughes became an instant hit with the fans due to his infectious enthusiasm. They would eventually call him Crazy Horse in tribute to his running style and surges up front plus a rugby tackle he performed on Newcastle forward Albert Bennet early in his Anfield career.
His journeys up field brought their fair share of goals. As captain for the 1976-77 campaign it was his honour to lift the club's first European Cup aloft. The win in Rome was one of his two successive European Cup winners medals. These prizes sit neatly with four league championships, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup winners medal and the 1976 PFA Player of the Year Award. He also earned 62 England caps 59 as a Liverpool player which included 40 as captain.
In the summer of 1979 he left for Wolverhampton Wanderers where he added a League Cup to his trophy cabinet. A two season spell at Molynuex ended with his decision to accept the player/manager position at Rotherham United. His record as a boss could never live up to his playing days. Even after leaving the South Yorkshire club he turned out for Hull City, Mansfield Town and Swansea City. His distinguished sporting career earned him an OBE. Apart from captaining teams on a Question of Sport and ITV's Sporting Triangles he had no further involvement with the game. He ran a promotions company but in 2003 was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Despite surgery he failed to beat the disease passing away in November 2004 at the age of 57.
5 Willie Stevenson
A left half with a cultured style brought in to replace the more fundamental Tommy Leishman. Bill Shankly's move for the former Glasgow Rangers man halted immediate plans to emigrate to Australia where he had been playing after finding himself surplus to requirements at Ibrox. £7,000 was a small price to pay for a player with flair and creativity. Shanks wanted to develop in the side following promotion to the top flight. A number of players had struggled to come to terms with the higher level they were now expected to perform. Stevenson himself found it hard to acclimatise at first but maybe that was to be expected from someone who had not played first class football for a number of months. Eventually he found his feet and looked good alongside Ron Yeats and Gordon Milne. Able to tackle well plus move forward easily with the ball Liverpool found there were new dimensions to their play.
If there was a criticism of Willie it had to be that he was often too keen to set up chances for others rather than seize initiatives for himself. An observation supported by a return of 17 goals from 237 career games at Anfield. That being so he was at the heart of league championship and FA Cup winning sides of the 1960s. He set up the move for the first Liverpool goal of the afternoon in the 1965 FA Cup final which Roger Hunt snapped up.
It was just as well the Reds enjoyed success as he proved to be a man who hated losing, especially at the last hurdle, as demonstrated by his discarding of his runners-up medal after the 1966 European Cup Winners Cup final. Angry at the manner of his side's last minute defeat and the fact that Liverpool had chances to seize the game he threw it out of the toilet window. To this day nobody has gone on record as finding it.
After five seasons as the regular choice in the number six shirt including four campaigns as a virtual ever present he fell victim to a team rebuilding exercise and the recruitment of Emlyn Hughes from Blackpool. The newcomer had arrived during the previous term but had operated mostly at left back. However, Bill Shankly's long term aim was to introduce him to the half back line as soon as possible. With Ron Yeats and Tommy Smith to contend with Stevenson decided to look elsewhere for regular first team action and joined Stoke City.
6 Ron Yeats
Upon signing Ron Yeats Bill Shankly described his new centre half as a colossus. As if to prove his point he invited journalists covering the story to come and take a walk around him. Considering he stood 6'2" tall and weighed around 14 stones Shank's description was a fair one but he was a giant in much more than stature.
Yeats provided the cornerstone of a defence which would play a large part in not only Liverpool's assault on the First Division but in the Reds' battle for supremacy in Europe.
A £30,000 fee for the former slaughterhouse man was a major amount of money in July 1961 but these days Big Ronnie could fetch many millions of pounds on the transfer market. He was appointed club captain almost as soon as the ink on his contract was dry. It was a role which he kept for nine seasons during which time he lead Liverpool to the Second Division Championship, two League Championships and a first ever FA Cup win. To date he is Liverpool's longest-serving post-war captain. When Liverpool came out of Division Two Ron led a side which set about dominating the English game winning championships, made their first incursions into Europe and Yeats became the first Liverpool skipper to hold the FA Cup aloft in 1965 by virtue of the 2-1 win over Leeds United at Wembley.
First team opportunities dried up at the turn of the 1970's. A new breed of defenders were chomping at the bit and when the opportunity came their way they proved more than equal to it. After a decade at Anfield and over 450 appearances he made a short journey across the Mersey to take up a player/manager role at Prenton Park. After leaving Tranmere then making some appearances in the North American Soccer League and turning out as an amateur with various sides in the North West he remained out of the game until appointed as Anfield's Chief Scout in 1986. A post he held for over 20 years.
Somewhat bizarrely he won just two caps with Scotland. However, the Tartan Army's loss was certainly Liverpool's gain and maybe the rest he earned while international fixtures were played helped him chalk up ten seasons at Anfield.
7 Kevin Keegan
When Bill Shankly brought this unassuming youngster to Merseyside there were many who wondered whether he could recreate the promise he had shown in the 4th Division at the highest level. A host of top flight clubs had him watched but Joe Fagan and Bob Paisley decided they had seen enough after 20 minutes of their scouting trip. With a recommendation like that there was little other option than to sign him.
The initial plan was that he should take over from Ian Callaghan on the right hand side of midfield. A cartilage operation had left the veteran struggling for fitness. As it happened Cally not only made a full recovery his career enjoyed something of a boost. Consequently Keegan was placed up front where he formed a devastating partnership with John Toshack.
There is a picture of Keegan upon his arrival at Anfield sat on a dustbin while he waits to go through the formalities of joining the club. However, his performances were anything but rubbish. Despite his lack of height he could out jump most defenders and possessed deceptive strength. His boundless energy meant he could run opposition back lines ragged. He also had great skill and balance plus a spectacular ability to finish.
He scored two goals in the 1974 FA Cup final and the first leg of the 1973 UEFA Cup Final. He also notched efforts in both legs of the 1976 competition.
Precisely 100 goals from 323 games for Liverpool emphasises his attraction to other clubs. Continental teams were rumoured to be taking a keen interest in his services. Many were linked but SV Hamburg were the club who actually managed to land him. He returned to these shores a few years later when he joined Southampton. Two years after his arrival at The Dell he began a love affair with Newcastle United. Terry McDermott was tempted back to the club and in their first full season together the Magpies were promoted to Division One. He retired from the game at the end of the 1983-84 season. A 4-0 FA cup defeat by Liverpool in a 3rd round tie at Anfield convinced him that this season would be his last.
8 Ian St John
When this centre forward arrived from Motherwell in May 1961 he was the club's record buy. He had been set to sign for Newcastle and even admitted he didn't know an awful lot about Liverpool but after meeting Bill Shankly decided to pick the Reds ahead of his other suitors even though the North Eastern outfit were a well established first division club and Liverpool were mid-table and a division lower.
Many on the Liverpool board questioned whether £37,500 could be afforded despite the impression St John had made with Motherwell. Bill Shankly a long term admirer of the player preferred to ask whether the Reds could afford not to go through with the deal. It was an astute observation by the manager who secured his services prior to the 1961-62 term beginning.
He proved an instant hit scoring a hat-trick in his first game. The opposition were Everton in a Liverpool Senior Cup tie. Although a striker all his career he was moved to inside forward by Shanks. He took to his new role well and it didn't dull The Saint's scoring prowess either as he not only grabbed goals himself but made them for others. He struck up an instant and devastating union with Roger Hunt playing the perfect foil to the out and out forward who he helped notch 41 goals from as many games as the Second Division championship and that long awaited promotion back to the top flight was secured at the end of the 1961-62 campaign. 18 strikes was a good return for St John who proved he could also cut it at the highest level
It was his extra-time goal - a stooping header to turn home Ian Callaghan cross - seven minutes from the end of extra-time which won a first FA Cup in the club‘s history. As with most of Bill Shankly's signings the new decade marked the end of his Anfield career. Before playing out his last games in South Africa Ian St John joined the exodus to Tranmere Rovers. He returned to Britain and took the managerial reigns at his old club Motherwell and then Portsmouth. A brief stint at Fratton Park preceding a coaching role with Sheffield Wednesday.
9 Steve Heighway
The Dublin born winger graduated from Warwick University with a degree in Economics. He had a spell with Manchester City as an amateur but it was his performances for non-league Skelmersdale United that peaked Liverpool's interest. Bob Paisley went to watch him on the recommendation of his sons. The Geordie wasn't one to heap false praise on people so when he described Heighway as the best amateur footballer he had ever seen Bill Shankly snapped him up.
In October 1970 after one introduction as a substitute he came in for a start and a goal on his home debut. A 2-0 win over Burnley was a great beginning. He remained a virtual ever present member of the team capping his season with a superb goal in the FA Cup final which he made himself after cutting in from the wing and shooting low past Arsenal keeper Bob Wilson. It was a strike which deserved to win any game especially this one but which ultimately proved nothing more than a personal accolade to look back on as the Gunners managed to edge the game. Three years later he was on the mark again at Wembley as Liverpool swept Newcastle United to one side.
Between those two games he made in excess of 150 appearances for the club, won a league championship and played in both legs of the UEFA Cup victory against Borussia Munchengladbach even though he was substituted in each game.
An ability to play off either foot made him one of the most exciting and feared wingers in the country.
Although a relative late comer to the professional ranks he claimed almost every prize it had to offer as well as Republic of Ireland caps. His contribution in terms of providing chances and scoring goals cannot be underestimated. He laid on countless chances which more often than not his colleagues would tuck away. The 1977 European Cup final being a prime example. After nine seasons he began to find that first team opportunities were limited at the turn of the 1980's when he was mostly used as a substitute.
Heighway left the club in April 1981 to try his luck in the North American Soccer League with Minnesota Kicks. He returned to Anfield in 1989 to become the Red’s Youth Development officer remaining in post until April 2007 deciding to call it a day after his young charges won the FA Youth Cup for a second successive year. In this capacity he has nurtured the talents of players like Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard amongst others.
10 John Toshack
The Welsh forward fetched a club record £110,000 when he signed from Cardiff City in November 1970. He scored 77 goals in 159 appearances for the South Wales Club. His tall and muscular frame made him deadly in the air and the perfect foil for his striking partner during much of his time at Anfield - Kevin Keegan.
Their partnership yielded 137 league goals in six seasons. Tosh scored 95 from his 245 run outs for the Reds. His Anfield career saw him win three championship medals, two UEFA Cups, a European Champions Cup and one FA Cup winners' medal. He played 40 internationals for Wales including 26 as a Liverpool player. He was a fairly creative person off the pitch and penned many odes about his fellow professionals and the games he had played.
He left Merseyside during the 1977-78 season to take up the player/manager's position at Swansea City although he could have joined Leicester City three seasons earlier - he failed a medical after agreeing personal terms. Tosh guided the Swans all the way to Division One within just five seasons recruiting many of his former teammates along the way. He returned to Anfield in the opposition dugout when his team took on Liverpool in October 1981. His charges did him proud earning a creditable 2-2 draw. They finished sixth in that first top flight season.
Although they were relegated the following term Toshack's managerial skills were being watched and admired by many clubs further a field than these shores. That took him to the continent most prominently in Spain although he endured a brief stint in Turkey. Whilst still managing in Spain he was handed the reigns of the Welsh national side. Although a part-time appointment he was forced to resign after just one game following criticism of his ability to carry out his duties effectively though is is the principality's current national boss.
Kenny Dalglish's decision to relinquish the Anfield hotseat in February 1991 saw speculation about him taking over at his former club. Similar rumours surrounded the departure of both Graeme Souness and Roy Evans but nothing ever came of the talk.
11 Peter Thompson
There have been few better practitioners of the real art of wing play in the club's history and certainly Peter Thompson was one of the greatest of his era. Fast, skilled, excellent control and strength which made him tricky to knock off the ball he tied defenders in knots. There was also an ability to deliver a great cross.
A £35,000 buy from Bill Shankly's old club Preston North End he may have attracted a record fee but this 21 year old was no gamble. Shanks had done his research and ensured the new man arrived at Anfield in a blaze of publicity and the type of fan attention usually reserved for pop stars. According to the player it was possibly a ploy of the manager who had tipped off as many journalists as he could think of and rounded up fans to loiter in the car park in a move designed to encourage him to sign. After all how could he fail to be impressed by such a reception merely to see him discuss terms.
Whatever the truth of that claim he accepted the offer and spent nine seasons with the club more often than not tearing down either the left or right flank.
In the last few seasons of his stay he wasn't a regular choice due to the emergence of Steve Heighway. He was no slouch when presented with a chance himself and struck over 50 times in a Liverpool shirt. He came to the attention of the England selectors soon after joining the Reds with full England caps adding to his youth honours. It was a progression seen as a matter of course and so it proved. Only Alf Ramsey deciding the use of wingers was an unnecessary luxury curtailed his international career. He left the club in 1972 for Bolton Wanderers and stayed at Burden Park until his retirement in 1978.
1 Ray Clemence
Even with Liverpool's firmament of goalkeeping talent Ray Clemence achieved legendary status not just in his playing days but far beyond them by becoming one of the most respected custodians of Liverpool's proud goalkeeping history. He kept an amazing 335 clean sheets from the 656 career games for the Reds and the fact that his name is just as fondly remembered as those of Kenny Dalglish, Steve Heighway, John Toshack, Terry McDermott or even Kevin Keegan to name but a few is testament to that.
One of the country's best ever last lines of defence is said to have become a goalkeeper by accident. Like most stoppers he fancied himself as a forward and was by his own admission a prolific scorer in training ground five-a-sides but as a youngster he was told to play in goal or not to play at all. Strange to think that but for that the £18,000 recruit from Scunthorpe United in 1967 may never have made the professional grade.
His talent between the sticks was plain for all to see. So much so that Bill Shankly signed him after just 48 appearances. Despite the high regard Clem was held in he had to push Tommy Lawrence out of the picture first. A debut came the best part of a year after his arrival on Merseyside in a 3rd round FA Cup tie with Swansea City. It was a further year and a half before he could call the number one jersey his own. Upon becoming the first choice he missed a mere handful of games in his 11 seasons at the club. During his time at Anfield he collected five league championships, three European and two UEFA Cup winners medals. He also won each of the domestic cups - the FA Cup in 1974 and League Cup in 1981.
Throughout the entire 1978-79 campaign conceded a miserly 16 goals. A record in a 42 league game season.
In the summer of 1981 he took up a new challenge with Tottenham Hotspur. The £300,000 fee was a hefty one at the time. He finished his playing career at White Hart Lane collecting a couple more FA Cup medals. He was also in the Spurs team which lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the 1982 League Cup final.
His international career began in 1972 with a cap against Wales in Cardiff. He went on to make 56 appearances for England as a Liverpool player. Adding five more with Tottenham. Since retiring in 1988 he joined the coaching staff at Spurs and the manager of Barnet. He has or some years served as England's goalkeeping coach.
2 Geoff Strong
Despite having a decent career with Arsenal and playing quite regularly Geoff Strong decided to look for fresh pastures and berth in his preferred striking position. Bill Shankly made no promises about his role when brokering a £40,000 deal in November 1964 which was a quick fix to cover for Alf Arrowsmith who would be sidelined for some time but Shanks knew his proven utility could only benefit his squad. In fact the manager often asked him to perform duties all over the field yet the qualms that had seen him leave Highbury never seemed to bother the player on Merseyside. At the end of his first season he was an FA Cup winner coming into the side at the expense of Gordon Milne who had missed out through a injury and earned Strong the distinction of winning the trophy in his first FA Cup game for the club.
A year later he had a championship medal after 21 games in six different positions and one outing from the newly introduced substitute's bench. It was in that game at West Ham United that he became the first Liverpool player outside the starting XI to register on the scoresheet. His goal 14 minutes from time earned a share of the points and also marked the first time Liverpool had introduced a player from the bench. Shanks was a believer in not unsettling the side he put on the pitch for the first minute unless absolutely necessary. His five league goals that term included one in the first game shown on BBC Television's Match of the Day highlights show.
In Europe and the Cup Winners Cup Strong managed to find the scoresheet in the opening round against Juventus. His strike in the 2-0 win over the Italian giants wrapped up the scoring and saw the Reds turn around a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Turin. His next in the semi-final battle with Celtic saw a repeat of that feat and was remarkable in that it was a headed goal which saw the Northumbrian rise high despite a knee injury that would have seen many players head off the field. Injuries and tactical decisions were the only bar to his participation in the side though these lay offs were fortunately rare until his eventual departure for Coventry City in August 1970. He had played close on to 200 games for the Reds scoring 32 goals after sterling service and great displays in virtually every outfield position - right back included. Who knows. Had Liverpool not had some of the fittest goalkeepers of the era and enjoyed luck with injuries during games he may well have donned the gloves and added that to his expanding CV.
3 Alex Lindsay
Widely regarded as one of the best left backs Liverpool have ever had Alec Lindsay was recruited from Bury in March 1969 for a sizeable £67,000 fee. However, as far as Bill Shankly was concerned it was a snip for such a naturally gifted player who played at wing half and inside forward at Gigg Lane. 126 appearances for his hometown team prouduced a ceditable 14 goals.
His debut came half a year later in a European Fairs Cup 1st round tie with Dundalk when he scored the sixth in a 10-0 win over the Irish minnows. Although he was tried out in his more accustomed positions Shanks decided that he would be best employed in a deeper role from which he could use his phenomenal pace to overlap attacks. It proved to be a master stroke and a tactical switch which hallmarked the manager's place in the pantheon of true greats.
However, Lindsay still had to wait just over a season before he could be considered a regular in the side. When he was the Lancastrian formed a solid partnership with right back Chris Lawler. A league championship, UEFA and FA Cup winners medals were all garnered before his eventual departure to Stoke City in the summer of 1977 though he did add a European Cup Winner‘s medal albeit as a non-playing substitute months before he left for The Victoria Ground.
The arrival of Joey Jones, Phil Neal and the rejuvenation of Tommy Smith's career had limited his first team chances for a couple of years prior to that.
4 Emlyn Hughes
Liverpool paid £65,000 to Blackpool for the defender's services in March 1967. Although he had played a fairly small number of games for the Seasiders Shanks had no doubt about his worth and pitched the youngster into the cut and thrust of top flight football within a month of signing.
Hughes became an instant hit with the fans due to his infectious enthusiasm. They would eventually call him Crazy Horse in tribute to his running style and surges up front plus a rugby tackle he performed on Newcastle forward Albert Bennet early in his Anfield career.
His journeys up field brought their fair share of goals. As captain for the 1976-77 campaign it was his honour to lift the club's first European Cup aloft. The win in Rome was one of his two successive European Cup winners medals. These prizes sit neatly with four league championships, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup winners medal and the 1976 PFA Player of the Year Award. He also earned 62 England caps 59 as a Liverpool player which included 40 as captain.
In the summer of 1979 he left for Wolverhampton Wanderers where he added a League Cup to his trophy cabinet. A two season spell at Molynuex ended with his decision to accept the player/manager position at Rotherham United. His record as a boss could never live up to his playing days. Even after leaving the South Yorkshire club he turned out for Hull City, Mansfield Town and Swansea City. His distinguished sporting career earned him an OBE. Apart from captaining teams on a Question of Sport and ITV's Sporting Triangles he had no further involvement with the game. He ran a promotions company but in 2003 was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Despite surgery he failed to beat the disease passing away in November 2004 at the age of 57.
5 Willie Stevenson
A left half with a cultured style brought in to replace the more fundamental Tommy Leishman. Bill Shankly's move for the former Glasgow Rangers man halted immediate plans to emigrate to Australia where he had been playing after finding himself surplus to requirements at Ibrox. £7,000 was a small price to pay for a player with flair and creativity. Shanks wanted to develop in the side following promotion to the top flight. A number of players had struggled to come to terms with the higher level they were now expected to perform. Stevenson himself found it hard to acclimatise at first but maybe that was to be expected from someone who had not played first class football for a number of months. Eventually he found his feet and looked good alongside Ron Yeats and Gordon Milne. Able to tackle well plus move forward easily with the ball Liverpool found there were new dimensions to their play.
If there was a criticism of Willie it had to be that he was often too keen to set up chances for others rather than seize initiatives for himself. An observation supported by a return of 17 goals from 237 career games at Anfield. That being so he was at the heart of league championship and FA Cup winning sides of the 1960s. He set up the move for the first Liverpool goal of the afternoon in the 1965 FA Cup final which Roger Hunt snapped up.
It was just as well the Reds enjoyed success as he proved to be a man who hated losing, especially at the last hurdle, as demonstrated by his discarding of his runners-up medal after the 1966 European Cup Winners Cup final. Angry at the manner of his side's last minute defeat and the fact that Liverpool had chances to seize the game he threw it out of the toilet window. To this day nobody has gone on record as finding it.
After five seasons as the regular choice in the number six shirt including four campaigns as a virtual ever present he fell victim to a team rebuilding exercise and the recruitment of Emlyn Hughes from Blackpool. The newcomer had arrived during the previous term but had operated mostly at left back. However, Bill Shankly's long term aim was to introduce him to the half back line as soon as possible. With Ron Yeats and Tommy Smith to contend with Stevenson decided to look elsewhere for regular first team action and joined Stoke City.
6 Ron Yeats
Upon signing Ron Yeats Bill Shankly described his new centre half as a colossus. As if to prove his point he invited journalists covering the story to come and take a walk around him. Considering he stood 6'2" tall and weighed around 14 stones Shank's description was a fair one but he was a giant in much more than stature.
Yeats provided the cornerstone of a defence which would play a large part in not only Liverpool's assault on the First Division but in the Reds' battle for supremacy in Europe.
A £30,000 fee for the former slaughterhouse man was a major amount of money in July 1961 but these days Big Ronnie could fetch many millions of pounds on the transfer market. He was appointed club captain almost as soon as the ink on his contract was dry. It was a role which he kept for nine seasons during which time he lead Liverpool to the Second Division Championship, two League Championships and a first ever FA Cup win. To date he is Liverpool's longest-serving post-war captain. When Liverpool came out of Division Two Ron led a side which set about dominating the English game winning championships, made their first incursions into Europe and Yeats became the first Liverpool skipper to hold the FA Cup aloft in 1965 by virtue of the 2-1 win over Leeds United at Wembley.
First team opportunities dried up at the turn of the 1970's. A new breed of defenders were chomping at the bit and when the opportunity came their way they proved more than equal to it. After a decade at Anfield and over 450 appearances he made a short journey across the Mersey to take up a player/manager role at Prenton Park. After leaving Tranmere then making some appearances in the North American Soccer League and turning out as an amateur with various sides in the North West he remained out of the game until appointed as Anfield's Chief Scout in 1986. A post he held for over 20 years.
Somewhat bizarrely he won just two caps with Scotland. However, the Tartan Army's loss was certainly Liverpool's gain and maybe the rest he earned while international fixtures were played helped him chalk up ten seasons at Anfield.
7 Kevin Keegan
When Bill Shankly brought this unassuming youngster to Merseyside there were many who wondered whether he could recreate the promise he had shown in the 4th Division at the highest level. A host of top flight clubs had him watched but Joe Fagan and Bob Paisley decided they had seen enough after 20 minutes of their scouting trip. With a recommendation like that there was little other option than to sign him.
The initial plan was that he should take over from Ian Callaghan on the right hand side of midfield. A cartilage operation had left the veteran struggling for fitness. As it happened Cally not only made a full recovery his career enjoyed something of a boost. Consequently Keegan was placed up front where he formed a devastating partnership with John Toshack.
There is a picture of Keegan upon his arrival at Anfield sat on a dustbin while he waits to go through the formalities of joining the club. However, his performances were anything but rubbish. Despite his lack of height he could out jump most defenders and possessed deceptive strength. His boundless energy meant he could run opposition back lines ragged. He also had great skill and balance plus a spectacular ability to finish.
He scored two goals in the 1974 FA Cup final and the first leg of the 1973 UEFA Cup Final. He also notched efforts in both legs of the 1976 competition.
Precisely 100 goals from 323 games for Liverpool emphasises his attraction to other clubs. Continental teams were rumoured to be taking a keen interest in his services. Many were linked but SV Hamburg were the club who actually managed to land him. He returned to these shores a few years later when he joined Southampton. Two years after his arrival at The Dell he began a love affair with Newcastle United. Terry McDermott was tempted back to the club and in their first full season together the Magpies were promoted to Division One. He retired from the game at the end of the 1983-84 season. A 4-0 FA cup defeat by Liverpool in a 3rd round tie at Anfield convinced him that this season would be his last.
8 Ian St John
When this centre forward arrived from Motherwell in May 1961 he was the club's record buy. He had been set to sign for Newcastle and even admitted he didn't know an awful lot about Liverpool but after meeting Bill Shankly decided to pick the Reds ahead of his other suitors even though the North Eastern outfit were a well established first division club and Liverpool were mid-table and a division lower.
Many on the Liverpool board questioned whether £37,500 could be afforded despite the impression St John had made with Motherwell. Bill Shankly a long term admirer of the player preferred to ask whether the Reds could afford not to go through with the deal. It was an astute observation by the manager who secured his services prior to the 1961-62 term beginning.
He proved an instant hit scoring a hat-trick in his first game. The opposition were Everton in a Liverpool Senior Cup tie. Although a striker all his career he was moved to inside forward by Shanks. He took to his new role well and it didn't dull The Saint's scoring prowess either as he not only grabbed goals himself but made them for others. He struck up an instant and devastating union with Roger Hunt playing the perfect foil to the out and out forward who he helped notch 41 goals from as many games as the Second Division championship and that long awaited promotion back to the top flight was secured at the end of the 1961-62 campaign. 18 strikes was a good return for St John who proved he could also cut it at the highest level
It was his extra-time goal - a stooping header to turn home Ian Callaghan cross - seven minutes from the end of extra-time which won a first FA Cup in the club‘s history. As with most of Bill Shankly's signings the new decade marked the end of his Anfield career. Before playing out his last games in South Africa Ian St John joined the exodus to Tranmere Rovers. He returned to Britain and took the managerial reigns at his old club Motherwell and then Portsmouth. A brief stint at Fratton Park preceding a coaching role with Sheffield Wednesday.
9 Steve Heighway
The Dublin born winger graduated from Warwick University with a degree in Economics. He had a spell with Manchester City as an amateur but it was his performances for non-league Skelmersdale United that peaked Liverpool's interest. Bob Paisley went to watch him on the recommendation of his sons. The Geordie wasn't one to heap false praise on people so when he described Heighway as the best amateur footballer he had ever seen Bill Shankly snapped him up.
In October 1970 after one introduction as a substitute he came in for a start and a goal on his home debut. A 2-0 win over Burnley was a great beginning. He remained a virtual ever present member of the team capping his season with a superb goal in the FA Cup final which he made himself after cutting in from the wing and shooting low past Arsenal keeper Bob Wilson. It was a strike which deserved to win any game especially this one but which ultimately proved nothing more than a personal accolade to look back on as the Gunners managed to edge the game. Three years later he was on the mark again at Wembley as Liverpool swept Newcastle United to one side.
Between those two games he made in excess of 150 appearances for the club, won a league championship and played in both legs of the UEFA Cup victory against Borussia Munchengladbach even though he was substituted in each game.
An ability to play off either foot made him one of the most exciting and feared wingers in the country.
Although a relative late comer to the professional ranks he claimed almost every prize it had to offer as well as Republic of Ireland caps. His contribution in terms of providing chances and scoring goals cannot be underestimated. He laid on countless chances which more often than not his colleagues would tuck away. The 1977 European Cup final being a prime example. After nine seasons he began to find that first team opportunities were limited at the turn of the 1980's when he was mostly used as a substitute.
Heighway left the club in April 1981 to try his luck in the North American Soccer League with Minnesota Kicks. He returned to Anfield in 1989 to become the Red’s Youth Development officer remaining in post until April 2007 deciding to call it a day after his young charges won the FA Youth Cup for a second successive year. In this capacity he has nurtured the talents of players like Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard amongst others.
10 John Toshack
The Welsh forward fetched a club record £110,000 when he signed from Cardiff City in November 1970. He scored 77 goals in 159 appearances for the South Wales Club. His tall and muscular frame made him deadly in the air and the perfect foil for his striking partner during much of his time at Anfield - Kevin Keegan.
Their partnership yielded 137 league goals in six seasons. Tosh scored 95 from his 245 run outs for the Reds. His Anfield career saw him win three championship medals, two UEFA Cups, a European Champions Cup and one FA Cup winners' medal. He played 40 internationals for Wales including 26 as a Liverpool player. He was a fairly creative person off the pitch and penned many odes about his fellow professionals and the games he had played.
He left Merseyside during the 1977-78 season to take up the player/manager's position at Swansea City although he could have joined Leicester City three seasons earlier - he failed a medical after agreeing personal terms. Tosh guided the Swans all the way to Division One within just five seasons recruiting many of his former teammates along the way. He returned to Anfield in the opposition dugout when his team took on Liverpool in October 1981. His charges did him proud earning a creditable 2-2 draw. They finished sixth in that first top flight season.
Although they were relegated the following term Toshack's managerial skills were being watched and admired by many clubs further a field than these shores. That took him to the continent most prominently in Spain although he endured a brief stint in Turkey. Whilst still managing in Spain he was handed the reigns of the Welsh national side. Although a part-time appointment he was forced to resign after just one game following criticism of his ability to carry out his duties effectively though is is the principality's current national boss.
Kenny Dalglish's decision to relinquish the Anfield hotseat in February 1991 saw speculation about him taking over at his former club. Similar rumours surrounded the departure of both Graeme Souness and Roy Evans but nothing ever came of the talk.
11 Peter Thompson
There have been few better practitioners of the real art of wing play in the club's history and certainly Peter Thompson was one of the greatest of his era. Fast, skilled, excellent control and strength which made him tricky to knock off the ball he tied defenders in knots. There was also an ability to deliver a great cross.
A £35,000 buy from Bill Shankly's old club Preston North End he may have attracted a record fee but this 21 year old was no gamble. Shanks had done his research and ensured the new man arrived at Anfield in a blaze of publicity and the type of fan attention usually reserved for pop stars. According to the player it was possibly a ploy of the manager who had tipped off as many journalists as he could think of and rounded up fans to loiter in the car park in a move designed to encourage him to sign. After all how could he fail to be impressed by such a reception merely to see him discuss terms.
Whatever the truth of that claim he accepted the offer and spent nine seasons with the club more often than not tearing down either the left or right flank.
In the last few seasons of his stay he wasn't a regular choice due to the emergence of Steve Heighway. He was no slouch when presented with a chance himself and struck over 50 times in a Liverpool shirt. He came to the attention of the England selectors soon after joining the Reds with full England caps adding to his youth honours. It was a progression seen as a matter of course and so it proved. Only Alf Ramsey deciding the use of wingers was an unnecessary luxury curtailed his international career. He left the club in 1972 for Bolton Wanderers and stayed at Burden Park until his retirement in 1978.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
A new Liverpool Football Fancast - Now available
The new Liverpool Football Fancast is now available for download at the link below or via itunes.
Derby delight for Michael Owen and the Red panel in this episode as they reflect on the win over Everton. Darren Phillips, Gareth Roberts and Richard Buxton debate Champions League elimination, the prospect of Europa League football and the modern football supporter.
Also in this episode is a sneak preview of The Shankly Show ahead of 50th anniversary of the great man's arrival at Anfield.
http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/liverpool_fancast/296845/liverpool-football-fancast-033
Derby delight for Michael Owen and the Red panel in this episode as they reflect on the win over Everton. Darren Phillips, Gareth Roberts and Richard Buxton debate Champions League elimination, the prospect of Europa League football and the modern football supporter.
Also in this episode is a sneak preview of The Shankly Show ahead of 50th anniversary of the great man's arrival at Anfield.
http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/liverpool_fancast/296845/liverpool-football-fancast-033
... and if you know your history
Though he accepted the task of managing Liverpool Football Club on 1 December 1959 Bill Shankly didn't take charge of the club until almost a fortnight had passed. His mission was to take Liverpool from a club mired by second division mediocrity to one that would quite literally become the country's finest.
Something emphasised by the quote below.
This article was first published two years ago but in the present circumstances and given the weekend's opposition it perhaps seems appropiate that it should be reprinted now.
It is the first in a series over the next two weeks.
“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer 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.” Bill Shankly
A few years ago anyone approaching Anfield from the other side of Stanley Park or if a person had a mind to cast an eye in the direction of Goodison Park would have seen a huge banner draped from the top of the Bullens Road Stand. It could hardly fail to be noticed and simply read - “and if you know your history”.
The Blues put it up there to commemorate their 125th year and no doubt to make a few points about their senior status within the City. It’s not the only missive they have addressed in such a pithy manner but history is important to football fans. As those who follow Chelsea are reminded whenever they encounter Liverpool it’s something that cannot be bought. It has to be earned.
There is no debate about Everton’s credentials but there should be an appreciation that the statement can be read or interpreted many ways and that each is as pertinent as the other.
It literally all depends on your history.
On coming to Liverpool Rafael Benitez was considered to use - at least by comparison to English standards - revolutionary, almost visionary methods of thought and practice which extended to training, preparation and many other matters relating to not just the game itself but the club. However, maybe it is more accurate to say that Rafa is as much of a football historian as he is a revolutionary. He is a man with genuine fascination about the past and pours over its relevance with as much fascination as he does the future.
He is fortunate enough to work in an age where technology ensures detailed analysis is at his fingertips. During the bootroom era the staff kept a huge handwritten book or rather set of huge books in which they noted and recorded every detail of the day’s events. Points about upcoming opponents would rarely be included. Scouts carried out that work and made meticulous reports. Other means were also employed - a seemingly friendly drink for visiting managers who would have their brains picked over while they thought they were enjoying nothing more than some hospitality rather than an interrogation. They were off their guard and all too often let information about their own club or any other slip.
Facts and figures filled the pages but not from match days. It was events at Melwood such as the five-a-sides and physical training. Any injuries being carried would be jotted down along with the treatment. There was nothing left to chance and everything no matter how slight or even trivial it may have seemed was entered into the tome. Even the weather and conditions underfoot were noted.
Over the years those dusty volumes became little short of a bible or technical manual used to diagnose problems and more importantly remedy them. It reduced lay-offs, stopped niggles before they become major injury worries, shaped training and methods far beyond the year Joe Fagan started to put pen to paper and long after Joe himself retired from management almost three decades after Bill Shankly was appointed.
If Shanks and his staff had been born in the latter half of the last century rather than first and been coaching now they would have used a computer to do exactly the same thing though it may not make finding the matter they wished to pour over any quicker than leafing through the dusty volumes. Knowledge of the entries was almost encyclopaedic.
Gathering data in the current day is little different as an exercise. Prozone, OPTA indexes and even the most basic match statistic such as shots on goal would be put into some catalogue or other with the information gleaned put to just as good a purpose.
The facts are you can learn a lot from history. More than you often expect and just as crucially not just your own.
During Bill Shankly’s first years of Anfield management he had little choice but to consolidate. His appointment was mid-season and he needed to ensure The Reds didn’t drop. Simultaneously he started putting things right off the field such as training and facilities. It was only then that he turned towards his personnel bringing in key signings and shaping a team which was kept intact. Additions were usually only made when somebody better than the player who already held the role became available or time had simply caught up with a player. There was one key requirement - each player had to fit into the team ethic. They didn’t need to be best friends off the pitch as long as they were a band of brothers on the field.
It still took two and a half seasons to escape Division Two though only another couple of years to lift the title. A first - coincidentally - in seventeen seasons. Had the great man been managing in the present day he may not have been given the chance to take charge at Liverpool. Even if he had there’s every chance he would have been hold to have been relatively mediocre at first.
Success of course can be bought. Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea are examples and although Chelsea cannot yet be said to have had their flash in the pan rising in this manner is usually a short term stay at the summit.
Keeping on top means a manager must build a team and ensuring a more prolonged period of time there he
must assemble more than one great side. There doesn’t have to be a total break up. Often there are at least one or two constant members.
These were the foundations which kept Liverpool at the top for almost twenty years and Bob Paisley
developed on what he in turn had learned and experienced to make The Reds even stronger. Anfield became far more than that bastion of invincibility Shanks stated as his aim and the rest virtually did give in.
The set-up and system was perfect from top to bottom. It’s something of an hackneyed phrase but from the
laundry room to the board room everyone had a job and knew exactly what they were aiming to achieve. Each cog was as vital in the wheel. The result was that Liverpool dominated the English game and used the lessons to do just the same in Europe. First winning a couple of UEFA Cups and then becoming the entire continent’s premier side.
Of course certain things ran in Liverpool’s favour. The game not to mention the world around it fundamentally failed to change. Consequently only the odd tinker was required. However, towards the end of the 1980s and very much during the early part of the next decade changes were not just occurring they were little more than seismic and included political factors such as the break up of the Soviet block plus expansion of the European Economic Community and vitally its legal influence.
UEFA took steps to exert their authority with a number of dictats such as limiting the number of foreign players able to be fielded. This in particular hit a club like Liverpool, which had drawn an extensive amount of talent from each home nation, particularly hard and although there was some notice it proved insufficient as a youth policy which most clubs subscribed to as the best way to cope with the demands had to be built from the ground up.
Like a number of their peers Liverpool bought many youngsters who held potential and when necessary managers were allowed to widen the purse strings considerably.
Arsene Wenger has succinctly been described as having a sense of failure if he has to dip into the transfer market to land experience rather than bring one of his youngster stars through. In his decade in charge at Arsenal he has kept true to those principles building and rebuilding sides. Sometimes his hand has been forced by circumstance rather than his own will but at no time has he ever wavered. He simply develops more prospects from a seemingly endless conveyer belt of youngsters. He may not have won a title since 2004 but has kept his side in the hunt maintaining a base on which he would hope to create a side able to dominate.
At the same time as Liverpool were forced to field reserves in the UEFA and European Cup Winners Cup Manchester United were blooding a clutch of home grown players which they interspersed with some more experienced names - foreign and domestic. As the immediate seasons rolled by the policy reaped more dividends. It was held that Alex Ferguson had been as shrewd in his methods as the man who built the last great United side to win titles Sir Matt Busby but in truth both managers were compelled to undertake the policy through austerity as much as foresight.
At the end of World War Two Manchester United like the country as a whole had very little money and a poorly maintained ground. The population was rationed for all manner of consumer items and supplies. Old Trafford was little more than a bombed out shell and although things were certainly better than that in the 1980s. Cities like Manchester and Liverpool both hubs of commerce during the early part of the century suffered from government policies which led to a decline in their traditional industries.
Alex Ferguson was forced to bring youngsters through. The Old Trafford board tightened its belt after a flash period during the early 1980s. The club rode a boom until it threatened to bust and by happy coincidence for his club those outside factors along with some luck and planning brought a very promising group of apprentices through which not only stayed together for a number of seasons but were hungry enough to fuel each other.
Manchester United recognised the need to induce capital and investment so became a public limited company adopting continental methods of financial organisation. In an increasingly cosmopolitan world it paid
off.
Just like Liverpool in the 1960s those at Manchester United had learned to adapt then imposed their own
order building a tradition which though some way short of a dynasty certainly kept them on top for a generation.
It was hard for anyone born during the heyday of Liverpool Football Club that almost two decades could pass without winning the championship. It rarely eluded the trophy cabinet for 12 months. Any longer away
than that and the situation would have been considered a crisis.
It could be said that the Reds had a corner shop approach compared to the supermarket that the Red Devils eventually adopted. Anfield was rarely a hub-bub except on match days unlike Old Trafford. It worked for a long long time as the expertise and quality of service offered exceeded the philosophy but in a world when supermarkets removed themselves from the High Streets and urban life in favour of purpose built out of town sites Liverpool became unable to compete or make the most of conditions.
Roy Evans showed that old values were still good ones but fell short. The teams he assembled should have achieved far more than a single League Cup triumph. Not only could more silverware been lifted they should have been perennial challengers for the Premiership rather than consistent European qualifiers.
That inability to go further did prompt The Reds to follow not only Arsenal but so many clubs across Europe
for guidance and appointing a foreign manager.
It may be common place now but those who had experimented with the practice such as Aston Villa hadn’t met with any success. Appointing Gerard Houllier was a huge departure from tradition. More so than Rafael Benitez as it marked the first step along that route. The sale of the club to Tom Hicks and George Gillett was a clear indication that the club will tread any path that yields success and competitiveness.
The 2001-02 season excepted when only Arsenal’s form and results matched that of Liverpool’s stride for stride little impression has been made in the league.
Though Manchester United have changed hands and are also owned by an American concern starkly it’s now they who are the exception to each of the other ‘Big 4’members. Had Alex Ferguson retired a few seasons ago there seems little doubt that his job would have gone to someone outside these shores and there is no doubting that some of their recent forays in to the transfer market domestic and worldwide have been follies - sometimes expensive ones. There has not been an aversion at Old Trafford to paying high prices and though the youth policy us still active it hasn’t brought through the same block of players since that of the 1990s and there simply isn’t time or the financial flexibility for Manchester United to have the luxury of treading water while a team is nurtured.
Rafa is aloof with his charges but so was Shanks. Players out of the first team could be virtually ignored until they were ready to return but could always be sure that Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Ronnie Moran or Roy Evans would be warmer characters though able to provide a kick up the backside if need be until some of that number took over. Ian St John a man who possibly felt as close to Bill Shankly as any other player was dropped from the side in his early 30s which at the time meant he was never likely to return. There would seem no colder shoulder offered than that.
Postscript - written 1 December 2009
These are not the only similarities to current day events.
There were huge fights not to mention horse trading with those holding the purse strings at Anfield in the 1960s. These only eased when one man director Sidney Reakes took up battle on the manager's behalf.
Criticism came in the shape of letter's to the local paper and one or two Annual General Meetings when shareholders openly questioned decisions, signings or performances.
Rafael Benitez may not be a man able to interact so freely with the fans as Shanks did. He may never address a packed crowd outside the Town Hall and command silence merely by lifting his arms to signal that hush is in order but the Spaniard has an shares ability to communicate in equally simple if less eye-catching ways.
There is little opportunity to answer thousands of emails which would cram any inbox and prepare a football team.
Nor could Rafa wheel out the trusty old typewriter of the kind Bill used to bang out letters to fans who took the time to make direct contact and while those precious items of correspondenced are still treasure by those lucky enough to have received them they would no doubt appear in newspapers, websites or round the clock TV channels.
In the internet age when anyone on the globe can pass an opinion or create blogs which are written by numbers and media screachings rather than considered if critical debate. Not to mention days of post-match radio phone-ins deliberately staged when emotions are high it is intruiging to consider how the pressure would have built on a weekly rather than daily basis.
The man who has to be considered the architect of Liverpool's domination of European football may have either resigned or been forced out by directors keen to beat the malcontents off their backs. It was something considered by those at the top but so too was a voluntary departure when it seemed backing would not be forthcoming.
Liverpool would be a very different club to the one it is now and may have hosted a very moderate standard of football. The trappings of success absent and with it a city which though passionate about the game is considered one of very ordinary acheivement.
How events pan out in years to come and what history tells us in 2059 remains just as fascinating.
Something emphasised by the quote below.
This article was first published two years ago but in the present circumstances and given the weekend's opposition it perhaps seems appropiate that it should be reprinted now.
It is the first in a series over the next two weeks.
“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer 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.” Bill Shankly
A few years ago anyone approaching Anfield from the other side of Stanley Park or if a person had a mind to cast an eye in the direction of Goodison Park would have seen a huge banner draped from the top of the Bullens Road Stand. It could hardly fail to be noticed and simply read - “and if you know your history”.
The Blues put it up there to commemorate their 125th year and no doubt to make a few points about their senior status within the City. It’s not the only missive they have addressed in such a pithy manner but history is important to football fans. As those who follow Chelsea are reminded whenever they encounter Liverpool it’s something that cannot be bought. It has to be earned.
There is no debate about Everton’s credentials but there should be an appreciation that the statement can be read or interpreted many ways and that each is as pertinent as the other.
It literally all depends on your history.
On coming to Liverpool Rafael Benitez was considered to use - at least by comparison to English standards - revolutionary, almost visionary methods of thought and practice which extended to training, preparation and many other matters relating to not just the game itself but the club. However, maybe it is more accurate to say that Rafa is as much of a football historian as he is a revolutionary. He is a man with genuine fascination about the past and pours over its relevance with as much fascination as he does the future.
He is fortunate enough to work in an age where technology ensures detailed analysis is at his fingertips. During the bootroom era the staff kept a huge handwritten book or rather set of huge books in which they noted and recorded every detail of the day’s events. Points about upcoming opponents would rarely be included. Scouts carried out that work and made meticulous reports. Other means were also employed - a seemingly friendly drink for visiting managers who would have their brains picked over while they thought they were enjoying nothing more than some hospitality rather than an interrogation. They were off their guard and all too often let information about their own club or any other slip.
Facts and figures filled the pages but not from match days. It was events at Melwood such as the five-a-sides and physical training. Any injuries being carried would be jotted down along with the treatment. There was nothing left to chance and everything no matter how slight or even trivial it may have seemed was entered into the tome. Even the weather and conditions underfoot were noted.
Over the years those dusty volumes became little short of a bible or technical manual used to diagnose problems and more importantly remedy them. It reduced lay-offs, stopped niggles before they become major injury worries, shaped training and methods far beyond the year Joe Fagan started to put pen to paper and long after Joe himself retired from management almost three decades after Bill Shankly was appointed.
If Shanks and his staff had been born in the latter half of the last century rather than first and been coaching now they would have used a computer to do exactly the same thing though it may not make finding the matter they wished to pour over any quicker than leafing through the dusty volumes. Knowledge of the entries was almost encyclopaedic.
Gathering data in the current day is little different as an exercise. Prozone, OPTA indexes and even the most basic match statistic such as shots on goal would be put into some catalogue or other with the information gleaned put to just as good a purpose.
The facts are you can learn a lot from history. More than you often expect and just as crucially not just your own.
During Bill Shankly’s first years of Anfield management he had little choice but to consolidate. His appointment was mid-season and he needed to ensure The Reds didn’t drop. Simultaneously he started putting things right off the field such as training and facilities. It was only then that he turned towards his personnel bringing in key signings and shaping a team which was kept intact. Additions were usually only made when somebody better than the player who already held the role became available or time had simply caught up with a player. There was one key requirement - each player had to fit into the team ethic. They didn’t need to be best friends off the pitch as long as they were a band of brothers on the field.
It still took two and a half seasons to escape Division Two though only another couple of years to lift the title. A first - coincidentally - in seventeen seasons. Had the great man been managing in the present day he may not have been given the chance to take charge at Liverpool. Even if he had there’s every chance he would have been hold to have been relatively mediocre at first.
Success of course can be bought. Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea are examples and although Chelsea cannot yet be said to have had their flash in the pan rising in this manner is usually a short term stay at the summit.
Keeping on top means a manager must build a team and ensuring a more prolonged period of time there he
must assemble more than one great side. There doesn’t have to be a total break up. Often there are at least one or two constant members.
These were the foundations which kept Liverpool at the top for almost twenty years and Bob Paisley
developed on what he in turn had learned and experienced to make The Reds even stronger. Anfield became far more than that bastion of invincibility Shanks stated as his aim and the rest virtually did give in.
The set-up and system was perfect from top to bottom. It’s something of an hackneyed phrase but from the
laundry room to the board room everyone had a job and knew exactly what they were aiming to achieve. Each cog was as vital in the wheel. The result was that Liverpool dominated the English game and used the lessons to do just the same in Europe. First winning a couple of UEFA Cups and then becoming the entire continent’s premier side.
Of course certain things ran in Liverpool’s favour. The game not to mention the world around it fundamentally failed to change. Consequently only the odd tinker was required. However, towards the end of the 1980s and very much during the early part of the next decade changes were not just occurring they were little more than seismic and included political factors such as the break up of the Soviet block plus expansion of the European Economic Community and vitally its legal influence.
UEFA took steps to exert their authority with a number of dictats such as limiting the number of foreign players able to be fielded. This in particular hit a club like Liverpool, which had drawn an extensive amount of talent from each home nation, particularly hard and although there was some notice it proved insufficient as a youth policy which most clubs subscribed to as the best way to cope with the demands had to be built from the ground up.
Like a number of their peers Liverpool bought many youngsters who held potential and when necessary managers were allowed to widen the purse strings considerably.
Arsene Wenger has succinctly been described as having a sense of failure if he has to dip into the transfer market to land experience rather than bring one of his youngster stars through. In his decade in charge at Arsenal he has kept true to those principles building and rebuilding sides. Sometimes his hand has been forced by circumstance rather than his own will but at no time has he ever wavered. He simply develops more prospects from a seemingly endless conveyer belt of youngsters. He may not have won a title since 2004 but has kept his side in the hunt maintaining a base on which he would hope to create a side able to dominate.
At the same time as Liverpool were forced to field reserves in the UEFA and European Cup Winners Cup Manchester United were blooding a clutch of home grown players which they interspersed with some more experienced names - foreign and domestic. As the immediate seasons rolled by the policy reaped more dividends. It was held that Alex Ferguson had been as shrewd in his methods as the man who built the last great United side to win titles Sir Matt Busby but in truth both managers were compelled to undertake the policy through austerity as much as foresight.
At the end of World War Two Manchester United like the country as a whole had very little money and a poorly maintained ground. The population was rationed for all manner of consumer items and supplies. Old Trafford was little more than a bombed out shell and although things were certainly better than that in the 1980s. Cities like Manchester and Liverpool both hubs of commerce during the early part of the century suffered from government policies which led to a decline in their traditional industries.
Alex Ferguson was forced to bring youngsters through. The Old Trafford board tightened its belt after a flash period during the early 1980s. The club rode a boom until it threatened to bust and by happy coincidence for his club those outside factors along with some luck and planning brought a very promising group of apprentices through which not only stayed together for a number of seasons but were hungry enough to fuel each other.
Manchester United recognised the need to induce capital and investment so became a public limited company adopting continental methods of financial organisation. In an increasingly cosmopolitan world it paid
off.
Just like Liverpool in the 1960s those at Manchester United had learned to adapt then imposed their own
order building a tradition which though some way short of a dynasty certainly kept them on top for a generation.
It was hard for anyone born during the heyday of Liverpool Football Club that almost two decades could pass without winning the championship. It rarely eluded the trophy cabinet for 12 months. Any longer away
than that and the situation would have been considered a crisis.
It could be said that the Reds had a corner shop approach compared to the supermarket that the Red Devils eventually adopted. Anfield was rarely a hub-bub except on match days unlike Old Trafford. It worked for a long long time as the expertise and quality of service offered exceeded the philosophy but in a world when supermarkets removed themselves from the High Streets and urban life in favour of purpose built out of town sites Liverpool became unable to compete or make the most of conditions.
Roy Evans showed that old values were still good ones but fell short. The teams he assembled should have achieved far more than a single League Cup triumph. Not only could more silverware been lifted they should have been perennial challengers for the Premiership rather than consistent European qualifiers.
That inability to go further did prompt The Reds to follow not only Arsenal but so many clubs across Europe
for guidance and appointing a foreign manager.
It may be common place now but those who had experimented with the practice such as Aston Villa hadn’t met with any success. Appointing Gerard Houllier was a huge departure from tradition. More so than Rafael Benitez as it marked the first step along that route. The sale of the club to Tom Hicks and George Gillett was a clear indication that the club will tread any path that yields success and competitiveness.
The 2001-02 season excepted when only Arsenal’s form and results matched that of Liverpool’s stride for stride little impression has been made in the league.
Though Manchester United have changed hands and are also owned by an American concern starkly it’s now they who are the exception to each of the other ‘Big 4’members. Had Alex Ferguson retired a few seasons ago there seems little doubt that his job would have gone to someone outside these shores and there is no doubting that some of their recent forays in to the transfer market domestic and worldwide have been follies - sometimes expensive ones. There has not been an aversion at Old Trafford to paying high prices and though the youth policy us still active it hasn’t brought through the same block of players since that of the 1990s and there simply isn’t time or the financial flexibility for Manchester United to have the luxury of treading water while a team is nurtured.
Rafa is aloof with his charges but so was Shanks. Players out of the first team could be virtually ignored until they were ready to return but could always be sure that Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Ronnie Moran or Roy Evans would be warmer characters though able to provide a kick up the backside if need be until some of that number took over. Ian St John a man who possibly felt as close to Bill Shankly as any other player was dropped from the side in his early 30s which at the time meant he was never likely to return. There would seem no colder shoulder offered than that.
Postscript - written 1 December 2009
These are not the only similarities to current day events.
There were huge fights not to mention horse trading with those holding the purse strings at Anfield in the 1960s. These only eased when one man director Sidney Reakes took up battle on the manager's behalf.
Criticism came in the shape of letter's to the local paper and one or two Annual General Meetings when shareholders openly questioned decisions, signings or performances.
Rafael Benitez may not be a man able to interact so freely with the fans as Shanks did. He may never address a packed crowd outside the Town Hall and command silence merely by lifting his arms to signal that hush is in order but the Spaniard has an shares ability to communicate in equally simple if less eye-catching ways.
There is little opportunity to answer thousands of emails which would cram any inbox and prepare a football team.
Nor could Rafa wheel out the trusty old typewriter of the kind Bill used to bang out letters to fans who took the time to make direct contact and while those precious items of correspondenced are still treasure by those lucky enough to have received them they would no doubt appear in newspapers, websites or round the clock TV channels.
In the internet age when anyone on the globe can pass an opinion or create blogs which are written by numbers and media screachings rather than considered if critical debate. Not to mention days of post-match radio phone-ins deliberately staged when emotions are high it is intruiging to consider how the pressure would have built on a weekly rather than daily basis.
The man who has to be considered the architect of Liverpool's domination of European football may have either resigned or been forced out by directors keen to beat the malcontents off their backs. It was something considered by those at the top but so too was a voluntary departure when it seemed backing would not be forthcoming.
Liverpool would be a very different club to the one it is now and may have hosted a very moderate standard of football. The trappings of success absent and with it a city which though passionate about the game is considered one of very ordinary acheivement.
How events pan out in years to come and what history tells us in 2059 remains just as fascinating.
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