LFC Info: BILL SHANKLY
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.
Background
Shankly was born in the Ayrshire mining village of Glenbuck, He was
one of 5 brothers who went on to play professional football. His brother
Bob (1910–1982) was also a successful manager, guiding
Dundee to victory in the
Scottish championship in 1962 and the semi-finals of the European Cup the following year. His tough upbringing was the basis for his own brand of
humanitarian based
socialism,
and he would joke in later life that he never had a bath until aged 15,
and that the poverty brought about a good sense of humour.
Football was a way of getting away from the mine shafts – either on a
Saturday afternoon and during weekly training, or as a professional
option. All five Shankly brothers were members of the
Glenbuck Cherrypickers
– a team famous at the time for producing 49 footballers from the
village, straddling the latter part of the 19th and the early years of
the 20th century – although Bill, the youngest brother, never played for
their first eleven.
His other brothers were
Alec, who played for
Ayr United and
Clyde,
Jimmy (1902–1972), who played for various clubs, including
Sheffield United and
Southend United, and
John (1903–1960), who played for
Luton Town and
Blackpool. His maternal uncle,
Bob Blyth, played for
Preston North End and
Portsmouth, before becoming Portsmouth's manager.
Playing Career
Shankly's playing career began in
Scottish Junior Football, where he played for the now defunct
Cronberry Eglinton and Glenbuck Cherrypickers. In July 1932 he caught the eye of scouts and was signed to play for
Carlisle United, making his debut on 31 December 1932 against
Rochdale. In July 1933, after only 16 appearances for Carlisle, he signed for
Preston North End for a fee of £500.00, and was a key member of the Preston side promoted to the
First Division in 1934. He played for Preston in two
FA Cup finals, losing to
Sunderland in 1937, but beating
Huddersfield Town in 1938.
Shankly made his debut for
Scotland in a 1–0 win against
England
in April 1938. He made four further appearances for his country, plus
another seven in wartime internationals, but his distinguished playing
career was interrupted by
war in 1939.
He played for a number of teams during the war, including
Northampton Town,
Liverpool,
Arsenal,
Cardiff City,
Bolton Wanderers,
Luton Town,
Partick Thistle and
King's Park,
and helped Preston to victory in the 1941 Wartime Cup Final at Wembley.
With the resumption of organised professional football again in 1946,
Shankly resumed playing for Preston, but was 33 and coming to the end of
his playing days.
World War II had taken away the best years of his career.
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| Shankly Gates |
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.
[7]
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.
[10]
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".
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".
[11]
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.
[citation needed]
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.
[12] 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.
[13]
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.
His grandsons Keiran and Darren Shankly, who were both born after his death, were given a box at
Anfield. However, it appears they have never used the box, the Shanklys being a discreet family who shun the limelight.
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.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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| Bill Shankly statue |
Bill Shankly menjadi pengurus Liverpool bulan Disember 1959. Dalam
tempoh 15 tahun, Bill Shankly menjadikan Liverpool antara pasukan paling
ternama di Eropah.
Tindakan pertama Bill Shankly selepas
mengambil alih jawatan pengurus adalah untuk membuang 24 orang pemain.
Bill Shankly membeli Ian St. John dan Ron Yeats dari Scotland dan
mendapatkan Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan dan...
Gerry Byrne. Dalam musim ketiga pengurusannya, Bill Shankly memenangi
kejuaraan Divisyen Kedua Liga Inggeris dan dinaikkan ke Divisyen Satu
Liga Inggeris.
Tahun 1964 menyaksikan Liverpool menjulang
kejuaraan Divisyen Satu Liga Inggeris buat kali pertama dalam masa 17
tahun. Bill Shankly menukar jersi Liverpool daripada merah dan putih
kepada warna merah seluruhnya, dan warna ini kekal digunakan hingga ke
hari ini.
Di musim berikutnya, Liverpool pertama kali
memenangi Piala F.A. mengalahkan Leeds United 2-1. Liverpool juga
pertama kali beraksi di benua Eropah, tetapi dikalahkan Inter Milan di
peringkat separuh akhir.
Dalam tahun 1966 Liverpool tewas
pertandingan Piala Pemenang-Pemenang Eropah (European Cup Winners Cup,
(kini Piala UEFA) kepada Borussia Dortmund. Bill Shankly memperkuatkan
skuadnya. Beliau membeli Emlyn Hughes, Ray Clemence dan Kevin Keegan
dalam tahun 1971.
Tahun 1973 membawa kejayaan besar bagi
Liverpool dan Bill Shankly. Liverpool menang kejuaraan Liga buat kali
kelapan, dan mencapai kejayaan pertama di Eropah memenangi Piala UEFA
setelah mengalahkan Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Pada tahun
1974, Liverpool menjadi juara Piala F.A.. Bill Shankly mengumumkan
perletakan jawatan sebagai pengurus Liverpool selepas 15 tahun menerajui
Liverpool. Bill Shankly mencalonkan Bob Paisley sebagai penggantinya.
