Liverpool FC Info 2

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.

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.