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.
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