164 Facts About Bill Shankly

William Shankly was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool.

Bill Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winning three League Championships and the UEFA Cup.

Bill Shankly laid foundations on which his successors Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan were able to build by winning seven league titles and four European Cups in the ten seasons after Shankly retired in 1974.

In 2019,60 years after Bill Shankly arrived at Liverpool, Tony Evans of The Independent wrote, "Bill Shankly created the idea of Liverpool, transforming the football club by emphasising the importance of the Kop and making supporters feel like participants".

Bill Shankly came from a small Scottish mining community and was one of five brothers who played football professionally.

Bill Shankly played as a ball-winning right-half and was capped twelve times for Scotland, including seven wartime internationals.

Bill Shankly spent one season at Carlisle United before spending the rest of his career at Preston North End, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1938.

Bill Shankly's playing career was interrupted by his service in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Bill Shankly became a manager after he retired from playing in 1949, returning to Carlisle United.

Bill Shankly later managed Grimsby Town, Workington and Huddersfield Town before moving to become Liverpool manager in December 1959.

Bill Shankly took charge of Liverpool when they were in the Second Division and rebuilt the team into a major force in English and European football.

Bill Shankly led Liverpool to the Second Division Championship to gain promotion to the top-flight First Division in 1962, before going on to win three First Division Championships, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields and one UEFA Cup.

Bill Shankly announced his surprise retirement from football a few weeks after Liverpool had won the 1974 FA Cup Final, having managed the club for 15 years, and was succeeded by his long-time assistant Bob Paisley.

Bill Shankly led the Liverpool team out for the last time at Wembley for the 1974 FA Charity Shield.

Bill Shankly was born in the small Scottish coal mining village of Glenbuck, Ayrshire, whose population in 1913, the year of Shankly's birth, was around 700.

Bill Shankly's father was a postman who became a tailor of handmade suits.

All five Bill Shankly brothers played professional football and Bill Shankly claimed they could have beaten any five brothers in the world when they were all at their peaks.

Bill Shankly's brothers were Alec, known as Sandy by the family, who played for Ayr United and Clyde; Jimmy, who played for various clubs including Sheffield United and Southend United; John, who played for Portsmouth and Luton Town; and Bob, who played for Alloa Athletic and Falkirk.

Bill Shankly wrote in his autobiography that times were hard during his upbringing and that hunger was a prevailing condition, especially during the winter months.

Bill Shankly admitted 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.

Bill Shankly admitted the act was wrong but insisted it was done out of devilment only because the root cause was their constant hunger.

Bill Shankly said that he and his friends learned from their mistakes and became better people in later years.

Discipline at both home and school was strict but Bill Shankly said it was character-building.

Bill Shankly did this for two years until the pit closed and he faced unemployment.

Bill Shankly developed his skills to the point that he was unemployed for only a few months before Carlisle United signed him.

Bill Shankly 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".

Bill Shankly always believed that it was only a matter of time before he became a professional player.

Bill Shankly explained that, in football terms, he had always been an optimist with a belief in his destiny and that was the basis of his undying enthusiasm for the sport.

Bill Shankly was recommended by a scout called Peter Carruthers who had seen him playing for Cronberry.

Bill Shankly was invited for a month's trial and said it was the first time he had left Scotland.

At this stage of his career, Bill Shankly was assessed as "a hard running, gritty right-half" whose displays brought him much praise and credit.

Bill Shankly was considered a promising key young player who was capable of taking Carlisle to greater things.

Bill 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.

Bill Shankly was happy at Carlisle which was close to his home at Glenbuck and he had settled in well with almost a guarantee of first team football.

Bill Shankly took his brother's advice and signed the Preston contract in a railway carriage.

Bill Shankly began his Preston career in the reserves, who played in the Central League which was a higher standard than the North Eastern League.

Bill Shankly made his first team debut on 9 December 1933, three months after his 20th birthday, against Hull City.

Bill Shankly's wage was increased to eight pounds a week with six pounds in the summer.

One of this season's discoveries, Bill Shankly, played with rare tenacity and uncommonly good ideas for a lad of 20.

Bill Shankly is full of good football and possessed with unlimited energy; he should go far.

Bill Shankly developed into a tough half back, as good as any in the Football League.

Bill Shankly had just reached his 26th birthday when the Second World War began and the war claimed the peak years of his playing career.

Bill Shankly joined the Royal Air Force and managed to play in numerous wartime league, cup and exhibition matches for Norwich City, Arsenal, Luton Town, Cardiff City, Lovell's Athletic FCand Partick Thistle, depending on where he was stationed.

Bill Shankly was keen on boxing and fought as a middleweight in the RAF, winning a trophy when he was stationed in Manchester.

Bill Shankly confirmed in his autobiography that his weight as an RAF boxer was 159 pounds and he was only six pounds heavier than that in 1976.

Bill Shankly met his wife, Nessie, in the RAF and they married in 1944.

Bill Shankly described Preston's attitude as the biggest let-down of his life in football.

Bill Shankly had enormous admiration for Tom Finney and devotes more than three pages of his autobiography to Finney's prowess as a footballer.

Bill Shankly was succeeded in the Preston team by Tommy Docherty and Bill Shankly told Docherty that he should just put the number four shirt on and let it run round by itself because it knows where to go.

Bill Shankly played for Scotland 12 times from 1938 to 1943 in five full and seven wartime internationals.

Bill Shankly 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 90 minutes after pulling on the blue jersey.

Bill Shankly himself certainly had that spirit when playing for Scotland as confirmed by Alex James, who said of Bill Shankly: "He is a real Scotland player who will fight until he drops".

Bill Shankly took a speculative shot towards goal from 50 yards and the ball bounced over the England goalkeeper's head and into the net.

In January 1973, when Bill Shankly was the subject of This Is Your Life, the goal was shown and Bill Shankly commented that "they all count and we won".

Bill Shankly declared in his autobiography that he specialised in what he called "the art of tackling", emphasising that it is an art.

Bill Shankly wrote that he was never sent off or booked by a referee.

Bill Shankly wrote that even if the opponent is injured in the tackle, it is not a foul if you have timed everything right and you have won the ball.

Bill Shankly realised after taking the advice of his brothers that it is a waste of time.

Bill Shankly was always noted for his dedication to football and, in his playing days, would do his own training during the summer months.

Bill Shankly wrote in his autobiography that he had long prepared himself for a career as a football manager.

Bill Shankly had absorbed all the coaching systems with any useful qualifications and had full confidence in his ability and in himself to be a leader.

Bill Shankly summed up the essential criteria for success in football management when he claimed he could speak common sense about the game and could spot a good player.

Bill Shankly began his managerial career at Carlisle United, the club where his professional playing career had started.

Bill Shankly used psychology to motivate his players, for example telling them that the opposition had had a very tiring journey and were not fit to play the match.

Bill Shankly urged the local population to support the team and would use the public address system at matches to tell the crowd about his team changes and how his strategy was improving the team.

Bill Shankly recalled that Brunton Park was dilapidated, writing that the main stand was falling to pieces and the terraces derelict.

Bill Shankly resigned and accepted an offer from Grimsby Town.

Bill Shankly said in his autobiography that there was greater potential at Grimsby than at Carlisle.

Bill Shankly insisted in his autobiography that his Grimsby team was:.

Bill Shankly made great use of five-a-side football in training at Grimsby, playing these games as if they were competitive cup or league matches.

Bill Shankly worked on set pieces such as throw-ins and tried to devise a method of counter-attacking from corners conceded.

Bill Shankly was reluctant to promote some promising reserves because of loyalty to the older players and he finally resigned in January 1954, citing the board's lack of ambition as his main reason.

Workington operated on a shoestring and Bill Shankly had to do much of the administration work himself, including answering the telephone and dealing with the mail by using an old typewriter to answer letters.

One of his main problems was sharing the ground with the local rugby league club and Bill Shankly was very concerned about the damage done to the playing surface by the rugby players.

Bill Shankly resigned on 15 November 1955 to take up the post of assistant manager at Huddersfield Town, working with his old friend Andy Beattie.

Beattie resigned in the next season and, on 5 November 1956, Bill Shankly succeeded him as manager.

Bill Shankly described it as one of the most amazing games he had ever seen.

Disillusioned by a board that wanted to sell his best players without offering money to buy replacements, Bill Shankly felt stifled by Huddersfield's lack of ambition and was delighted in November 1959 to receive an approach for his services by Liverpool.

Bill Shankly described the training ground at Melwood as "a shambles".

In spite of the difficulties, Bill Shankly quickly felt at home in his new club and believed he shared an immediate bond with the supporters, whom he saw as his kind of people.

Bill Shankly quickly established working relationships with the coaching staff of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett who shared his views about loyalty to each other and to the club.

Paisley's influence at Liverpool was crucial for, as Kelly puts it, Bill Shankly was "the great motivating force behind Liverpool, but it was Paisley who was the tactician".

Bill Shankly resolutely pursued his strength through the middle goal and always knew which three players he needed to achieve it.

The foundations Bill Shankly laid at Melwood manifested in success at Anfield.

Bill Shankly commented that one of the pitches looked as if bombs had been dropped on it and he asked if the Germans had been over in the war.

Bill Shankly instituted a development programme to cultivate the site and modernise the facilities.

Bill Shankly deplored long-distance running on roads and insisted that, apart from warm-up exercises or any special exercises needed to overcome injuries, the players trained on grass using a ball.

One particular routine designed to develop stamina, reflexes and ball skills was the "sweat box" which Bill Shankly described as: "using boards like the walls of a house with players playing the ball off one wall and on to the next; the ball was played against the boards, you controlled it, turned around and took it again".

Bill Shankly got the idea from a routine he had seen Tom Finney use at Preston to hone his skills.

Bill Shankly insisted on suitable cooling-off periods after training before the players took a bath and had a meal.

Bill Shankly summarised the entire strategy in terms of attention to detail with nothing left to chance.

Liverpool's recovery depended on new players being acquired and, in his autobiography, Bill Shankly recalled the struggles he had with the board to make them realise the club's potential and the need to spend money on good players.

Bill Shankly said there were times when he felt like walking out.

Bill Shankly found a valuable ally in Eric Sawyer, of the Littlewoods pools organisation, who joined the board not long after Shankly's appointment and shared Shankly's vision of Liverpool as the best club in England.

At one board meeting in 1961 when Bill Shankly insisted the club make offers for two players in Scotland, the board's initial response was that they couldn't afford them, but Sawyer stepped in and said: "We can't afford not to buy them".

Immediately before the match, Bill Shankly decided to experiment with the Liverpool kit.

Eleven years later, Bill Shankly maintained that two of Inter's goals were illegal.

Bill Shankly said after the defeat in Milan that the Inter fans were going mad because they were so pleased to have beaten Liverpool and he insisted it proved the high standard to which the Liverpool team had raised itself.

Bill Shankly had applied the principle in a preliminary round tie against Juventus when Liverpool were away in the first leg.

The Liverpool site argues that Bill Shankly was mistaken in his decision at this time to postpone team rebuilding.

Bill Shankly made two controversial signings in this period which did not turn out as he had hoped.

Bill Shankly wrote that bad luck and injuries disrupted the progress of two other prospects Alf Arrowsmith and Gordon Wallace; Shankly had compared the latter to Tom Finney.

Bill Shankly later recalled that Evans was scarred by a glass in a nightclub incident which, in Shankly's opinion, had a detrimental impact on his career.

The only long-term success that Bill Shankly had in the transfer market in the late 1960s was his signing of Emlyn Hughes, who went on to captain Liverpool to victory in the European Cup.

Bill Shankly was characteristically defiant whenever Everton got the better of Liverpool and, although he liked and respected everyone connected with Everton, would always talk up Liverpool at Everton's expense.

Bill Shankly wanted Twentyman to check the player's personality and ensure he had the right attitude for a professional footballer.

Bill Shankly summarised Keegan as "the inspiration of the new team".

Bill Shankly maintained that Liverpool were denied a definite penalty in their crucial away match against Derby and then had a good goal disallowed towards the end of their final match against Arsenal.

Bill Shankly had always been noted for his use of psychology, both to encourage his own players and to raise doubt in the minds of opponents.

Bill Shankly stated the plaque "is to remind our lads who they're playing for, and to remind the opposition who they're playing against".

Bill Shankly would try to boost the confidence of his own players by announcing that a key opponent was unfit.

When Keegan was about to play against Bobby Moore for the first time, Bill Shankly told him that Moore had been out at a night club and was hung over.

Bill Shankly had left John Toshack out of the team but then, having studied the Borussia defence, recalled him for the rematch the following night.

Bill Shankly added that a manager has got to identify himself with the people because their team is something that really matters to them.

Bill Shankly saw the offer of the scarf as a mark of respect which deserved his respect in return.

Bill Shankly said he preferred to phone business people as he would put as little as possible in writing when dealing with them.

In Tommy Smith's view, Bill Shankly was completely in tune with the city of Liverpool; he loved the supporters and they loved him, mainly because they knew he understood them.

Bill Shankly was 60 when Liverpool won the 1974 FA Cup final and said in his autobiography that, on returning to the dressing room at the end of the match, he felt tired from all the years.

Bill Shankly's mind was made up and he knew he was going to retire.

The Liverpool secretary Peter Robinson was initially blase in 1974 but, when he realised Bill Shankly was serious this time, tried to make him change his mind.

Bill Shankly did not agree that there was any hidden motive behind his decision and she thought Brian Clough's view about tiredness was probably correct.

Bill Shankly's retirement was officially and surprisingly announced at a press conference called by Liverpool on 12 July 1974.

Bill Shankly soon regretted his decision and tried to continue his involvement with the club, mainly by turning up for team training at Melwood.

Bill Shankly said he still wanted the involvement as the club had become his life.

Bill Shankly soon stopped going to Melwood because he felt there was some resentment and people were asking what he was doing there.

Bill Shankly still attended matches, but sat in the stand away from the directors and staff.

Bill Shankly was especially annoyed that Liverpool did not invite him to attend away matches as the club's guest.

Bill Shankly contrasted Liverpool's attitude with what he encountered at other clubs, including Liverpool's great rivals Everton and Manchester United, where he was received warmly.

Bill Shankly recalled Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty's comment to a Liverpool director that he was welcome at Old Trafford.

Bill Shankly said it was a scandal that he needed to say that about the club he had helped to build.

From Liverpool's point of view, the situation was that Bill Shankly had retired and the club had to move on.

Bill Shankly did not understand that, by turning up for training at Melwood, he was effectively undermining Bob Paisley's status as manager.

Again, what Bill Shankly did not understand was that his relations with the board had often been acrimonious with several resignation threats and a statement made by Bill Shankly that:.

Bill Shankly was awarded the OBE in November 1974, four months after he retired as Liverpool manager.

Bill Shankly and Nessie went to Buckingham Palace and, according to Kelly, that was a rare day out for them.

Bill Shankly tried to keep busy in retirement and stay in touch with football.

Bill Shankly worked for Radio City 96.7, a Liverpool station on which he presented his own chat show, once interviewing prime minister Harold Wilson, and was a pundit on its football coverage.

Bill Shankly briefly took up advisory roles at Wrexham and then at Tranmere Rovers, helping former Liverpool captain Ron Yeats at the latter.

In November 1976, the press speculated that Bill Shankly would make a return to management as the successor to Dave Mackay at Derby County, but the position went to Colin Murphy instead.

John Toshack recalled that Bill Shankly was a great help to him when he went into management with Swansea City in 1978.

Bill Shankly's condition appeared to be stable and there was no suggestion that his life was in danger.

In 1997, a seven-foot tall bronze statue of Bill Shankly was unveiled outside the stadium.

In 2016, a plinth to Bill Shankly was installed on 96 Avenue outside Anfield.

Bill 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.

Bill Shankly found a team mired in the second tier of English football and propelled them to the continent's top table.

Bill Shankly led the side to three titles, delivered their first FA Cup and their first European trophy, the Uefa Cup.

Bill Shankly created the idea of Liverpool, something that did not exist before his arrival on Merseyside.

Bill Shankly made a point of emphasising the importance of fans.

Bill Shankly is the most significant icon in the club's history.

Bill Shankly was married to his wife Agnes Wren-Fisher from 1944 until his death 37 years later.

Nessie Bill Shankly was still living there at the time of her death more than 40 years later.

Bill Shankly was always more than a great football manager.

Bill Shankly was football's Muhammad Ali: a charismatic maverick whose utterances had an unexpected, undeniable poetry.

Bill Shankly led Liverpool like a revolutionary leader, casting his personnel not just as footballers but soldiers to his cause, and became a folk hero to the fans.

Stephen Kelly, in his 1997 biography of Bill Shankly, calls him "the ultimate obsessive".

Bill Shankly was fanatical about Liverpool and about football in general.

From coaching his players and arguing with journalists to buttonholing fans in pubs, all Bill Shankly ever wanted to do was talk about football and to be involved in football.

One non-football activity that Bill Shankly did enjoy was playing cards and Ian St John said he loved it, always taking part on long coach trips to away matches.

Bill Shankly was noted for his charismatic personality and his wit; as a result, he is oft-quoted.

Kelly wrote that, although it was said half-jokingly, so far as Bill Shankly was concerned there was a degree of truth in what he had said.

Bill Shankly had fully realised the importance of football to its die-hard fans, himself included.

Ian St John agreed that much of Bill Shankly's behaviour was "bizarre", but everything was done with a purpose because Bill Shankly always knew what he was doing and what he was saying.

Bill Shankly had no time for bigotry or prejudice, especially arising from differences of religion.

Bob Paisley said it was Bill Shankly's one failing and it was because he was "a softie at heart".