July 12 - Shanks Quits Liverpool
Liverpool July 12th, 2007Every club has its heroes, players or managers who are revered to the point of sainthood by the club’s supporters.
Occasionally, these heroes can transcend even club loyalties, with fans of even bitter rivals able to recognise their achievements. Bill Shankly was one of these men.
It was on this day in 1974 that Shanks sent shockwaves through the football world when he resigned as manager of Liverpool FC, after 15 years at the helm.
The news was greeted with disbelief by most Liverpool fans with some local factory workers allegedly threatening to go on strike unless the great man returned to his post.
Their reaction was understandable - Shanks had transformed Liverpool from a struggling second division side with a dilapidated stadium and crumbling training ground, into a top trophy winning team.
Although Liverpool went on to become the most successful English club side ever after Shankly had retired, he is credited with laying the foundations that much of that success was based on.
Shankly is also credited with being something of a pioneer in terms of fitness training, and realising the importance of players’ diet to their fitness.
After his retirement, Shankly would often visit the club’s Melwood training ground, and join in the training sessions with his former charges. This put the club into something of a difficult position as it was clearly undermining Shanks’ successor Bob Paisley, so the board took the difficult position to ban him from Melwood.
Despite Shankly’s various dismissive remarks about Liverpool’s city rivals Everton (he once said: “There are only two teams in Liverpool; Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves,) he often visited Everton’s training ground where he said he was made to feel very welcome.
Bill Shankly had a heart attack and died in 1981, aged only 68.
Stories of Shankly’s generosity to fans are legendary and numerous (he is said to have bought many fans tickets to matches they otherwise couldn’t afford), but the best story that really shows how committed to the game he was concerns a rumour that he had taken his wife Ness to watch Rochdale play as a wedding anniversary treat. When asked about it he replied: “Of course I didn’t take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present, it was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves.”
Watch this clip to see the announcement of his retirement, and the disbelieving reaction of some scousers:
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