Bill Shankly

Bill Shankly

Personal information
Full name	William Shankly OBE
Date of birth	2 September 1913(1913-09-02)
Place of birth	Glenbuck, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Date of death	29 September 1981(1981-09-29) (aged 68)
Place of death	Liverpool, England
Playing position	Wing half
Youth career
	Cronberry Eglinton F.C.
	Glenbuck Cherry Pickers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1929–1932	Partick Thistle
1932–1933	Carlisle United	16	(0)
1933–1949	Preston North End	296	(13)
Total		312	(13)
National team
1938–1939	Scotland	5	(0)
Teams managed
1949–1951	Carlisle United
1951–1954	Grimsby Town
1954–1955	Workington
1956–1959	Huddersfield Town
1959–1974	Liverpool
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

William "Bill" Shankly, OBE (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War. He played nearly 300 times in The Football League for Preston North End and represented Scotland seven times, as well as playing for Partick Thistle and Carlisle United.

He is most remembered for his achievements as a manager, particularly with Liverpool. Shankly took charge of Liverpool when they were bottom of the Second Division but soon established them as one of the major forces in the English game. During his 15 years at the club they won three league championships, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup, before his surprise retirement after winning the 1974 FA Cup Final.

Early life

Bill Shankly was born in the small Ayrshire coal-mining village of Glenbuck, close to the Ayrshire-Lanarkshire border. The population in 1913 "had decreased to seven hundred, perhaps less". As Shankly related, "people would move to other villages where the mines were possibly better". As a result, Glenbuck became largely derelict and by the time Shankly's ghost writer John Roberts visited it in 1976, there were only twelve houses left including a cottage owned by Shankly's sister Elizabeth (Liz), whom Roberts described as "the last of the children of Glenbuck". Bill's parents were John and Barbara Shankly who lived in one of the Auchenstilloch Cottages with their family of ten, five boys and five girls. Bill was the ninth child and the youngest boy. Although he was known as Bill throughout his football career, his name in the family was Willie, pronounced "Wullie". His father was a postman who became a tailor of handmade suits but, despite the football pedigree in his family, he did not play himself.

All five Shankly brothers played professional football and Shankly claimed that "once, when we were all at our peaks, we could have beaten any five brothers in the world". His brothers were Alec, known as "Sandy" by the family, who played for Ayr United and Clyde; Jimmy (1902–72), who played for various clubs including Sheffield United and Southend United; John (1903–60), who played for Luton Town and Blackpool; and Bob (1910–82), who played for Alloa Athletic and Falkirk. Bob became a successful manager, guiding Dundee to victory in the Scottish championship in 1962 and the semi-finals of the European Cup the following year. Their maternal uncles, Robert and William Blyth, were also professional players and both became club directors at Portsmouth and Carlisle United respectively.

Shankly wrote in his autobiography that times were hard during his upbringing and everyone was "hungry, especially in wintertime". He admits that he and his friends used to steal vegetables from nearby farms; bread, biscuits and fruit from suppliers' wagons; and bags of coal from the pits. Shankly admits it was wrong but it was "devilment more than badness" and the root cause was their constant hunger, but he insists that he and his friends learned from their mistakes and became "better people in the long run". He was at school from the age of five till he was fourteen. Discipline was strict but Shankly said it was "character-building". His favourite subject was geography and he played football as often as possible, especially in the school playground, but there was no organised school team.

After Shankly left school in 1928, he worked at a local mine alongside his brother Bob. He did this for two years until the pit closed and he faced unemployment. In his autobiography, he described the life of a miner at some length and mentioned many of the problems such as the sheer hard work, rats, the difficulties of eating and drinking at the coal face, but above all the filth: "We were never really clean. It was unbelievable how we survived. Going home to wash in a tub was the biggest thing. The first time I was in a bath was when I was fifteen".

But Shankly had developed his skills as a footballer and was unemployed for only "a matter of months" before Carlisle United signed him. He wrote that he had his football future worked out in his mind and that, even when working in the pit, he was only "killing time" as he "knew it was only a matter of time before he became a professional player with some club or other". He explained that, in football terms, he has always been a optimist with a belief in his destiny and that was the basis of his undying enthusiasm for the sport.

Shankly's village team was called the Glenbuck Cherrypickers, a name probably derived from the 11th Hussars (the "Cherry Pickers"), but Shankly says "the club was near extinction when I had a trial and I never actually played for them". Shankly, aged 18, then played "half a season" (1931–32) for Cronberry Eglinton, about twelve miles from Glenbuck. He used to cycle to and from the ground. Cronberry were in the Cumnock & District League.. Although Shankly had less than one full season at Cronberry, he acknowledged his debt to Scottish Junior Football as he "learnt a lot", mainly by listening to older players and especially his brothers.

Playing career

Carlisle United

Shankly had a single season, 1932–33, at Carlisle United, then relatively new to The Football League and playing in the Third Division North, their reserve side playing in the North Eastern League. Shankly was recommended by a scout called Peter Carruthers who had seen him playing for Cronberry. He was invited for a month's trial and said it was the first time he had left Scotland. He was signed after just one trial match for Carlisle's reserves against Middlesbrough reserves, even though Carlisle reserves lost the match 6–0. Shankly made his senior debut on 31 December 1932 in a 2–2 draw against Rochdale and made 16 appearances for the first team. At the end of the season, the reserves won the North Eastern League Cup, defeating Newcastle United reserves 1–0 in the final. In his 1976 autobiography, Shankly stated: "I've still got the medal". Shankly was paid four pounds ten shillings a week at Carlisle which he considered a good wage as the top rate at that time was eight pounds.

At this stage of his career, Shankly was assessed as "a hard running, gritty right-half" whose displays brought him much praise and credit and he was "earmarked as a key young player capable of taking Carlisle on to greater things".

Preston North End

Soon after the 1932–33 season ended, Shankly received a telegram from Carlisle United asking him to return as soon as possible because "another club was after me". Arriving at Carlisle, he discovered that the interested club was Preston North End who had offered a fee of £500. The terms for Shankly personally were a fee of £50 plus a £10 signing-on fee and wages of five pounds a week. Shankly's initial reaction was that it was not enough and the deal nearly fell through. But Shankly's brother Alec pointed out to him that Preston were in the Second Division and a bigger club than Carlisle with the potential to regain First Division status. Alec convinced Bill that the opportunity was more important than what he would be paid immediately: "it's what you're going to get later that counts". Shankly took his brother's advice and signed the Preston contract in a railway carriage.

Shankly began his Preston career in the reserves, who played in the Central League, as this was a higher standard of football than at Carlisle. But he made his first-team debut on 9 December 1933, three months after his 20th birthday, against Hull City. Shankly created an early goal and Preston won 5–0. With his wholehearted attitude and commitment to the team, he quickly established himself as a first-team regular and became a crowd favourite. Preston fulfilled their potential and gained promotion to the First Division as runners-up to Grimsby Town. It was therefore a successful debut season for Shankly who stayed with Preston until he retired in 1949. His wage was increased to eight pounds a week with six pounds in the summer. In a summary of the 1933–34 season, a Preston correspondent, Walter Pilkington, wrote: "One of this season's discoveries, Bill Shankly, played with rare tenacity and uncommonly good ideas for a lad of twenty. He is full of good football and possessed with unlimited energy; he should go far".

Preston were unfazed by playing in the First Division and Shankly wrote: "We more than held our own in the 1934–35 season". Preston were not relegated again until the end of the 1948–49 season in which Shankly left them. In 1936–37, Preston reached the FA Cup Final but were well beaten 3–1 by Sunderland at Wembley Stadium. Preston were back at Wembley a year later and defeated Huddersfield Town 1–0 with a penalty scored by George Mutch in the final minute of extra time. As well as winning the FA Cup, Preston finished third in the league. That season marked "the pinnacle of Shankly's playing career".

Shankly had just reached his 26th birthday when the Second World War began and the war claimed the peak years of his playing career. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and managed to play in numerous wartime league, cup and exhibition matches for Norwich City, Arsenal, Luton Town and Partick Thistle, depending on where he was stationed. On 30 May 1942, he played a single game for Liverpool in a 4-1 win over Everton at Anfield. Shankly was keen on boxing and fought as a middleweight in the RAF, winning a trophy when he was stationed in Manchester. He confirmed in his autobiography that his weight as an RAF boxer was 11 stone 5 pounds and he was only 6 pounds heavier than that in 1976. Shankly met his wife, Nessie, in the RAF (she was in the WRAF and stationed at the same camp) and they married in 1944.

With the resumption of full League football again in the 1946–47 season, Shankly returned to Preston who held his registration, but he was now 33 and coming to the end of his playing days. By 1949, he was Preston's club captain but had lost his place in the first team, which was struggling against relegation. Shankly was a qualified masseur and had decided he wanted to become a coach so, when Carlisle United asked him to become their manager in March of that year, he retired as a player and accepted the job. Shankly was succeeded in the Preston team by Tommy Docherty and Shankly told Docherty that he should "just put the number 4 shirt on and let it run round, it knows where to go". But Shankly's departure from Preston was resented by some at the club and he was refused a benefit match, to which he felt entitled. He described Preston's attitude as "the biggest let-down of my life in football".

Scotland

Shankly made his debut for Scotland in a 1–0 win against England in April 1938.^{[citation needed]} He played for Scotland thirteen times from 1938 to 1943 in five full and eight wartime internationals. He spoke of his "unbelievable pride" when playing for Scotland against England and how, when confronted by the "Auld Enemy", the Scottish players would become William Wallace or Robert the Bruce for ninety minutes after pulling on the blue jersey.

Style and technique

Shankly declared in his autobiography that he "specialised in the art of tackling", emphasising that it is an art. He claims that he was "never sent off the field or had (his) name in a referee's book". In his view, the art of tackling is in the timing and the sole object is to win the ball. Even if the opponent is injured in the tackle, "it's not a foul because you have timed everything right and you've won it". His philosophy, therefore, was to play "hard but fair" with no cheating. Shankly was a wing half whose job was to win the ball and take it forward, so he was the equivalent of what is now called a holding midfielder.

During his playing career, Shankly said he would not argue with referees. He realised after taking the advice of his brothers that it is a waste of time. The referee, he wrote, "always wins in the end".

Shankly was famous for his dedication to football. For example, during the summer of 1933 after completing his first season as a professional, he returned to Glenbuck where he continued to do his own training. Being an early exponent of the long throw-in he would practice by throwing balls over a row of houses and getting the small boys of the village to fetch them back for him.

Managerial career

Carlisle United

Shankly retired from playing in March 1949 and the same month was appointed the manager of Carlisle United, beginning his managerial career where his professional playing career had also started. He lifted Carlisle from 15th in Division Three North in 1949 to a title challenging 3rd in 1951, but resigned in that year citing a lack of financial commitment on the part of the directors – a pattern which would repeat itself for the next ten years across a succession of northern English football clubs. However, Shankly influenced the careers of players such as Ivor Broadis (who went on to collect 14 caps for England and remained friends with him long after his departure), for many years.

Grimsby Town

After a failed interview at Liverpool, Shankly moved to manage Grimsby Town in 1951.

When Shankly arrived at Grimsby he inherited an ageing group of players and the club had just been relegated to Division 3 North, their second relegation in four seasons. While the morale of the players and supporters was low, Shankly reasoned that they were the same players who had served Grimsby in the top flight, and he was quickly able to use the raw material at his disposal to weld the players into a capable side. He quickly became a cult figure at Blundell Park, and the team regularly drew crowds in excess of 20,000, while Shankly, still a competent player, would attract attendances in excess of 5,000 when appearing for the reserves. However, Grimsby missed out on promotion in 1951–52, despite picking up 36 points out a possible 40 in the last 20 matches. It was to be a last hurrah for the old team, and after a bright start to the 1952–53 season, their form slumped. Shankly was given little money to buy new players and was reluctant to blood some promising reserves because of the loyalty he felt to these older stalwarts (a fault that was to surface at Liverpool years later). Disillusioned by events, he quit in January 1954, citing once again a lack of ambition by the board as his main reason.

In his autobiography Shankly was to claim that his Grimsby team was: "Pound for pound, and class for class, the best football team I have seen in England since the war. In the league they were in they played football nobody else could play. Everything was measured, planned and perfected and you could not wish to see more entertaining football."

Workington

After Shankly left Grimsby he went on to manage Workington in 1954–55, lifting the side from the lower end of Division Three North to a 8th place, their highest finish at the time, and for the first time above their local rivals and Shankly's former club Carlisle United.

Huddersfield Town

Shankly arrived at Huddersfield in 1955 to assist the brilliant, but perfectionist Andy Beattie, who had offered to resign after Huddersfield had finished 12th in Division One, having finished 3rd in the season previous. They were unable to prevent the club's decline, however, and Huddersfield were relegated, with Beattie resigning to become a postmaster (he eventually returned to management two years later, and had a brief spell as Scotland manager) in the November 1956, leaving Bill Shankly in sole charge.

Overall, Shankly's tenure at Huddersfield was relatively unsuccessful, as the Terriers recorded three successive mid-table finishes in Division Two, a period that included an extraordinary 7–6 loss to Charlton Athletic, after being 5–1 up with half an hour to play. He appeared prone to falling foul of the boardroom at each club he managed, as he often felt they did not apply the same commitment to team affairs as he did, and Huddersfield was no exception. Shankly was particularly resistant to the board's desire to sell a young Denis Law, on one occasion stating to the boardroom: "Get out your diary and write this down. One day, Denis Law will be transferred for £100,000." After four years at Huddersfield, and after Shankly's departure for Liverpool, Manchester City signed Law for a transfer fee of £55,000, setting a new British record, and Shankly's prediction was eventually met and exceeded in 1962 when Law was signed by Manchester United for £115,000.

Liverpool

It was Shankly's own commitment and enthusiasm that had initially intrigued Liverpool chairman T.V. Williams when Shankly had been interviewed for the vacant Liverpool job in 1951, and in December 1959, following an embarrassing defeat to non-league Worcester City in the FA Cup, Shankly was appointed manager of Liverpool.

Liverpool had suffered a period of decline in the 1950s, after having won five league titles in the first half of the century, and were at this time languishing in the Second Division, with a crumbling stadium, poor training facilities, and a large pool of untalented players. Shankly released 24 of these, and converted a storage room into a room for tactical discussion, where Shankly, along with other Boot Room founding members Joe Fagan, Reuben Bennett and Bob Paisley began to reshape the team.

The training ground at Melwood was in a poor state of affairs, overgrown and with only one mains water tap. Shankly turned this into a strength, by arranging for the players to arrive instead at Anfield, and then bus them over to Melwood, creating team camaraderie. At Melwood Shankly introduced fitness training, including diet assessment, and skills training including using an artificial goal painted on a convenient wall, split into eight sections which he would demand the players hit each time. For playing practice, Shankly introduced five-a-side games, and after training, the team would all bus back to Anfield together to shower, change and eat a communal meal. This way Shankly ensured all his players had warmed down correctly and were free from injury.

1960s team

Slowly at first, and then with a gathering pace, Shankly and his backroom team turned Liverpool around, and with new signings Ron Yeats, Ian St. John and Gordon Milne, promotion was gained back to the First Division in 1961–1962. Liverpool finished 8th in their first season back in the top flight. The addition of Peter Thompson in 1963 further strengthened the team, and in 1963–1964 Liverpool clinched their 6th league title, ahead of Manchester United.

In 1964–65, Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history with a 2–1 victory over Leeds United at Wembley. The team finished 7th in the League, and reached the European Cup semi-finals, before eventually succumbing 4–3 on aggregate to Inter Milan managed by Helenio Herrera, after taking a 3–1 first leg lead to the San Siro.

In 1965–66, Liverpool won the league title, reached the final of the European Cup Winner's Cup, losing 2–1 in extra time to Borussia Dortmund, and beat Everton to win the subsequent following season's Charity Shield. However, Liverpool's performance in the 1966-67 European Cup was poor, and after struggling to overcome FC Petrolul Ploiesti in the first round, they were dumped out of the last-16 by Ajax inspired by then 19-year old Johan Cruyff (7–3 on aggregate; including a 5–1 defeat in Amsterdam). It was this game that convinced Shankly that a more patient, possessive way of playing would be required if Liverpool were to achieve consistent success in Europe. Liverpool gradually improved their League performances again over the course of the next few years, finishing 5th, then 3rd, then 2nd, as Leeds United and Manchester United prevailed.

1970s team

The early 1970s team saw a transitional period which preceded the birth of Shankly's second great Liverpool side. Players such as Roger Hunt, Ian St.John, Ron Yeats and goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence were sold or released, and fresh players such as Kevin Keegan, Emlyn Hughes, Steve Heighway, John Toshack and Ray Clemence were brought in.

Liverpool finished 5th in 1969–70 as Everton regained the title, and 5th again in 1970–71, losing out in the F.A. Cup Final to double winning Arsenal. They just missed out on another title in 1971–72, finishing third in a close group of four teams challenging for the title, and only a single point behind Brian Clough's Derby County.

In 1972–73 the club cruised to the league title, despite strong competition from Arsenal and Leeds. Liverpool also won their first European trophy the UEFA Cup, overcoming Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–2 in a two-legged final. Liverpool lost out to Leeds in the following season's League race, but won the F.A. Cup once more, as Liverpool overcame Newcastle United in a comprehensive 3–0 victory at Wembley, in what proved to be Shankly's last competitive game in charge.

Relationship with fans

Bill Shankly during a lap of honour of Anfield, during the famous scarf incident

Due to his working class background, Shankly had a strong feeling for how the fans followed the team and wanted them to perform. He felt he was letting the fans down when the team performed badly. When he wasn't managing the football club, Shankly was often working at his typewriter, personally replying to letters from fans that arrived at Melwood. Shankly even called some supporters at home to discuss the previous day's game, while the accounts of him providing tickets for fans are endless.

One of the most iconic images of all was caught on television in April 1973, when he and the team were showing off the League Championship trophy to the fans in the Kop. A Liverpool scarf which had been thrown at Shankly during a lap of honour was flung to one side by a policeman. Shankly pounced on the scarf and reprimanded the policeman, saying "Don't do that. This might be someone's life". After his retirement Shankly said: "I was only in the game for the love of football – and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool."

The journalist John Keith, who wrote the play The Bill Shankly Story, commented that Shankly knew how important the fans were to a successful team, and that even after his retirement, at the 1976 second leg of the UEFA Cup final in Brugge: "A fan came over and said he didn't have a ticket – so Shanks went and bought him one."

Retirement

Shankly was by now 60 years old, and on 12 July 1974, he decided to retire as he wanted to spend time with his wife Ness and their family. He said that the process of going to tell the chairman of his decision was like facing the electric chair. When news of Shankly's resignation first emerged, distraught fans jammed the club's switchboard and at least one local factory's workers threatened to go on strike unless their hero returned.

The club was left in capable hands though, with the boot-room staff supplemented by ex-players Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans, who got behind new manager Bob Paisley. Later it was revealed that Shankly wanted Jack Charlton to succeed him at Liverpool, and not Paisley.

Shankly regretted resigning from Liverpool and began watching training sessions at Melwood. The board were unhappy that Shankly was not allowing new manager Paisley to settle in to the management role. Phil Thompson even claims that at Melwood Shankly was still called "Boss" while Paisley was known as "Bob". Moran claimed things "began to get a bit awkward".

Liverpool striker Keegan stated that Liverpool "didn't get it wrong very often but they did that time" and believed that Shankly should have been placed on the board of directors, a position he was never offered. Feeling discarded by his own club, Shankly did the unthinkable and turned to the team he had so often railed against, Everton, becomming a regular visitor to home matches at Goodison Park and an almost daily welcome guest at youth team training sessions at their Bellfield training ground. Shankly himself remained modest at this time in his life but gave an insight into his feelings in his autobiography when he wrote "I have been received more warmly by Everton than I have by Liverpool. It is a scandal that I must write these words about the club I helped to build." Shankly was desperate to come back out of retirement but with Everton believeing that he would refuse an official position at Goodison Park, they instead recommended him to Derby County when their manager's job became vacant. However the Rams did not follow up on this suggestion.

Shankly was awarded the OBE in November 1974. He continued to live in a house bought when he and his wife moved to Liverpool, and was a regular sight around the city, happy and willing to talk to anyone about football.

Personality

Shankly was noted for his personality and his wit; as a result, he is oft-quoted. He gave insights into his character in his autobiography such as his world-view as a socialist, explaining that the socialism he believed in was not about politics but about collectivism, with everyone working for each other and enjoying a share of the rewards. That was the basis of his approach to football which is a team game in which everyone works together and shares the rewards. Shankly summarised his view thus: "The socialism I believe in is not really politics. It is a way of living. It is humanity. I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day. That might be asking a lot, but it's the way I see football and the way I see life."

He admitted to idolising Robert Burns, whose birthplace was only 26 miles from Glenbuck and he was inspired by many of Burns' philosophical quotations, such as "A man's a man for a' that".

Shankly had no time for bigotry or prejudice, especially arising from differences of religion. He compared the cities of Glasgow and Liverpool by saying that "fortunately there is nothing like the Rangers-Celtic situation in Liverpool because the supporters of Liverpool and Everton are a mixed bunch whose religion is football".

Death

On the morning of 26 September 1981, Bill Shankly was admitted to Broadgreen Hospital following a heart attack. While in hospital he insisted on being nursed in an ordinary ward and not a private one. "That is where he wanted to be", a hospital spokesman told the Liverpool Echo newspaper. His condition was stable and it appeared that he was going to make a full recovery; there was no suggestion that his life was in danger. The switchboard was jammed with concerned fans and prayers were said for him at the Sunday morning and evening services at both of the Anglican and Catholic Cathedrals. However, late on 28 September, Shankly suffered another heart attack and he died, aged 68, at 1.20am on 29 September 1981. He was cremated, and his ashes buried at the Anfield Crematorium on 2 October.

The Labour Party conference stood in a minute's silence when his death was announced, for a man who had always been a socialist. Sir Matt Busby was so upset when he heard the news of Shankly's death that he refused to take any telephone calls from people asking him for a reaction. Some years before his death, Shankly had paid tribute to Busby, saying that he was "the greatest football manager who ever lived".

The statue of Bill Shankly outside Anfield

On the evening following Shankly's death Liverpool defeated Oulun Palloseura 7–0 in the European Champions' Cup; prior to the kick off a banner was unfurled on the Kop which read "Shankly Lives Forever".

Four days after his death, Liverpool played Swansea City in a first division match. Swansea manager John Toshack, a player Shankly had signed for Liverpool, wore a Liverpool shirt for the minute silence prior to the match.

Shankly's widow, Nessie Shankly, outlived her husband by almost 21 years. She died, aged 82, after suffering a heart attack on 2 August 2002. At the time of her death, she was still living in the house on Bellefield Avenue, West Derby, where she had moved on her husband's appointment as Liverpool manager in 1959.

The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982 in tribute to Shankly; Shankly's widow Nessie unlocked them for the first time on 26 August 1982. Across the Shankly Gates are the words You'll Never Walk Alone, an expression of solidarity familiar to all Liverpool fans. Fans still continue to tie scarves to the gates, to chant his name to the tune of his favourite hymn Amazing Grace, and the distinctive metal work above the gates is featured above the club crest.

From the mid-1990s Preston North End commenced a complete rebuilding of their ground to convert it into a modern all-seater stadium. When the former Spion Kop end was replaced by a new stand in 1998 it was named the Bill Shankly Kop, and was designed with different coloured seats providing an image of Shankly's head and shoulders.

Shankly was made an inaugural inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager.

The Mersey Poet Adrian Henri, a die-hard Liverpool supporter dedicated a poem "The Thoughts of Chairman Shankly" to Shankly.

Honours

Playing

• 1934 Second Division runner-up (with Preston North End)
• 1937 FA Cup finalist. (with Preston North End)
• 1938 FA Cup winner. (with Preston North End)
• 1941 Wartime Cup winner (with Preston North End)

Managerial

Liverpool

• First Division
  • Champions: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73

• Second Division
  • Champions: 1961–62

• FA Cup
  • Winners: 1965, 1974

• UEFA Cup
  • Winners: 1973

• FA Charity Shield
  • Winners: 1966, 1974
  • Shared: 1964, 1965

• 1973 English Manager of The Year

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Carlisle United	1949	1951	&10000000000000108000000108	&1000000000000004800000048	&1000000000000003300000033	&1000000000000002700000027	&1000000000000004443999944.44
Grimsby Town	1951	1953	&1000000000000008000000080	&1000000000000004700000047	&1000000000000001600000016	&1000000000000001700000017	&1000000000000005875000058.75
Huddersfield Town	1956	1959	&10000000000000134000000134	&1000000000000004900000049	&1000000000000003500000035	&1000000000000005000000050	&1000000000000003657000036.57
Liverpool	1959	1974	&10000000000000753000000753	&10000000000000393000000393	&10000000000000185000000185	&10000000000000175000000175	&1000000000000005218999952.19
Total			&100000000000010750000001,075	&10000000000000537000000537	&10000000000000269000000269	&10000000000000269000000269	&1000000000000004995000049.95

Quotations

• An interview on a Granada Television chat-show hosted by Shelley Rohde in 1981 produced arguably Shankly's most famous (and most often misquoted) quote – "Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'." But on the official Liverpoolfc.tv website, it states that the official quote is "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." It is likely that Shankly paraphrased a quote attributed in the 1950s to Henry Russell Sanders, an American football college coach, although his was referring to a rival – "Beating 'SC is not a matter..."

• "A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are. In my time at Anfield we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves."

• "If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains." (Ironically, his home in West Derby was opposite Everton's former training ground in Bellefield, where he was always a welcome visitor after his retirement.)

• "If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be." (about the offside law, also attributed to Brian Clough)

• Shankly was famously competitive in 5-a-side matches, in which his talented full-back, Chris Lawler was also famed for his taciturnity. Bob Paisley was refereeing one day and decreed a goal offside. Shankly argued long and hard, so much so that in the end Bob Paisley asked Lawler: "Chris – you were the last man, was Bill offside?" To which Chris replied "Yes Bob, he was." Shankly exploded with rage. "All these years he keeps his mouth shut, and when he does speak, it's to tell a lie".

• Shankly was once asked how a top star of the 1970s compared to his former Preston North End teammate Tom Finney: "Aye, he's as good as Tommy – but then Tommy's nearly 60 now."

• On playing for the Scotland national team, Shankly remarked "It's fantastic. You look down at your dark blue shirt, and the wee lion looks up at you and says 'Get out after those English bastards!'"

• "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."

• "First is first. Second is nothing."

• "There's only two teams in the whole of Liverpool; Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves"
• "When I've got nothing better to do, I look down the league table to see how Everton are getting along"

See also

• List of UEFA Cup winning managers
• The Boot Room

References

• St John, Ian (2005). My Autobiography. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0 340 84114 1. 
• Shankly, Bill; Roberts, John (1976). Shankly. Arthur Barker Ltd. ISBN 0 213 16603 8. 

External links

• LFC: Kevin Sampson – 25th Anniversary memories of Bill Shankly original from Esquire magazine
• It's Not Your Leg Son – Book of Shankly Quotes pub. Tangent Books
• LFC Online profile
• Bio at the English Football Hall of Fame
• Shankly.com a website dedicated to the life and times of Bill Shankly
• This Is Anfield: Managerial Profile
• Manager profile at LFChistory.net
• Audio Interview Recordings

Preceded by Bill Nicholson

UEFA Cup Winning Coach 1972–1973

Succeeded by Wiel Coerver