William "Bill" Shankly, (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was 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.
He is most remembered, however, for his achievements as a manager, particularly with Liverpool. Shankly established Liverpool, which had been a Second Division club when he arrived, as one of the major forces in the English game. The club won three league championships, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup under Shankly, before his surprise retirement after the 1974 FA Cup Final.
Shankly became the manager of Liverpool in December 1959.
In 1959, Liverpool was a club in the bottom half of the old Second Division, with a crumbling stadium, poor training facilities and a large and poor quality playing staff. The only quality was in the backroom staff, with Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett, added to by the recently retired footballer Bob Paisley, whom Shankly admired.
The training ground at Melwood was in a terrible state, overgrown and with only one mains water tap. Shankly turned this into a strength, by getting the players to arrive instead at Anfield, and then bus them over to Melwood - this created 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 that so defined his football thinking - pass and move, keep it simple, a creed taken from the daily matches played by the miners of Glenbuck. 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 he would keep his players free from injury. As a result, in the 1965-1966 season Liverpool finished as champions using just 14 players and two of those only played a handful of games.
1960s team
Slowly at first, and then with a gathering pace, Shankly and his backroom team turned Liverpool around. The Anfield crowd sensed change, with gates regularly topping 40,000[citation needed] and with new signings Ron Yeats, Ian St. John and Gordon Milne, promotion was gained back to the first division in 1961-1962. The addition of Peter Thompson (along with a failed swoop for Jack Charlton) added to his ever-improving team. The supremacy of Everton in the city of Liverpool was the first target for Shankly now that he had got the club back into the top flight, and in 1963-1964, Liverpool clinched their 6th title, from former champions Everton.
The first F.A. Cup win in 1965 was followed by Europe where Liverpool were stopped by Inter Milan, managed by Helenio Herrera, winning the first leg at Anfield only to lose the follow up. The following year it was defeat by Ajax led by then 19-year old Johan Cruyff (7-3 on aggregate; including a 5-1 hammering in Amsterdam). Whilst Shankly, orchestrating events at Anfield was at one with the fans, perfectly in tune with the Kopites, knowing and understanding how they felt about football and the pride a successful team gave them - remaining in touch with his working class roots. He would tell anyone who cared to listen that his lads played to a socialist ethic. If a player was having a poor game Shankly would expect a team mate to cover for him and bail him out like you would do for a neighbour or a colleague down the mine.
1970s team
The decline of the 1960s team saw the birth of Shankly's second great Liverpool side. Out went Hunt, St.John, Yeats and Lawrence, and in came Kevin Keegan, Steve Heighway, Larry Lloyd and Ray Clemence - he missed out on signing Lou Macari, and sent a note round to the players after Macari had signed for Manchester United that Shankly had only wanted him for the Reserve team. The UEFA Cup, the first European trophy, arrived in 1973, won in tandem with the club's 8th league title. In 1974, the F.A. Cup came back to Anfield after a Wembley performance against Malcolm Macdonald's Newcastle United. The result was 3-0.
Shankly told Kevin Keegan in 1971 as Liverpool were playing West Ham United "Christ son, I've just seen that Bobby Moore. What a wreck. He's got bags under his eyes, he's limping. He's got dandruff and it looks as if he has been to a nightclub again". Moore played a blinder during the match but Keegan still scored. After the game Shankly said to Keegan "Aye he's some player that Bobby Moore isn't he? You'll never play against anyone better than him".
Relationship with fans
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 didn't do well.
When he wasn't managing a football club, Shankly was usually at his typewriter, personally replying to the letters which 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, when a Liverpool scarf which had been thrown at Shankly during a lap of honour was flung to one side by a policeman, in April 1973, when he and the team were showing off the League Championship trophy to the Kop. Shankly pounced on the scarf and reprimanded the copper, uttering the immortal words "Don't do that. This might be someone's life".
After his retirement he said: "I was only in the game for the love of football - and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool."
Retirement
Shankly was by now 60 years old, and on 12 July 1974 decided to retire - he said that going to tell the chairman of his decision was like facing the electric chair. He wanted to spend time with his wife Ness and their family. 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, with the bootroom staff supplemented by ex-players Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans and they got behind new manager Bob Paisley. Later it was revealed that Shankly wanted Jack Charlton to succeed him at Liverpool, and not Bob Paisley.
Shankly regretted resigning from Liverpool and began watching training sessions at Melwood. The board were unhappy that Shankly was not allowing new manager Bob Paisley to settle into the management role. Phil Thompson even claims that at Melwood Shankly was still called "boss" while Paisley was known as "Bob". Ronnie Moran claimed things "began to get a bit awkward". Liverpool striker Kevin Keegan states 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.
Shankly was awarded the OBE in November 1974. He continued to live in the house that he and his wife had bought when they moved to Liverpool, and he was a regular sight around the city, happy and willing to talk to anyone about 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 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's condition unexpectedly took a turn for the worse and died, aged 68, at 1.20am on 29 September 1981. He was cremated, and his ashes buried at the Anfield Crematorium on 2 October.
