Bill Shankly to Tommy Smith, who tried to explain that his bandaged knee was
injured :
“Take that poof bandage off. And what do you mean about YOUR knee? It's
Liverpool's knee!”

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very
disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more
important than that.”

“If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the
curtains.”

Exchange of words between Shankly and Ray Clemence, after Clemence had let
in a fluke goal between his legs:
Clemence: “Sorry, boss, I should have kept my legs together.” Shankly:
“Wrong, it`s your mother who should have!”

“The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know
the game.”

“A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe that you are the
best and then make sure that you are, in my time at Liverpool we always said
we had the best two teams in Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves.”

(about the ‘This is Anfield’ plaque)
“It's there to remind our lads who they're playing for, and to remind the
opposition who they're playing against.”

“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.”

“If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain advantage, then
he should be.”

(after a hard fought 1-1 draw)
“The best side drew.”

(on the day he signed Ian St John)
“Son, you'll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don't over-eat
and don't lose your accent.”

“If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing.”

(after a 0-0 draw at Anfield)
“What can you do, playing against eleven goalposts?”

(to Kevin Keegan)
“Just go out and drop a few hand grenades all over the place son.”

(at Dixie Dean's funeral)
“I know this is a sad occasion but I think that Dixie would be amazed to
know that even in death he could draw a bigger crowd than Everton can on a
Saturday afternoon.”

(to a journalist suggesting Liverpool were in difficulties)
“Ay, here we are with problems at the top of the league.”

(to a translator when being surrounded by gesticulating Italian journalists)
“Just tell them I completely disagree with everything they say!”

(to Alan Ball who just signed for Everton)
“Don't worry Alan. At least you'll be able to play close to a great team!”

(after beating Everton in the 1971 FA cup semi-final)
“Sickness would not have kept me away from this one. If I'd been dead, I
would have had them bring the casket to the ground, prop it up in the stands
and cut a hole in the lid.”

(to a Liverpool fan)
“Where are you from?”, “I'm a Liverpool fan from London”, “Well
laddie…what's it like to be in heaven?”

(to a reporter in the 60's)
“Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them.”

(after signing Ron Yeats)
“With him in defence, we could play Arthur Askey in goal.”




The following collection of anecdotes from friends and associates of
Shankly's down the years when seen in isolation may appear as no more than
humorous soundbites and throwaway lines. Though an essential part of the
man, his witty and, let's face it, often bizarre way of looking at life, is
more clearly explained by the fact that he was simply devoted, child like,
to the game he loved. The quotes and stories simply reveal how deeply the
devotion ran through him, like lettered rock. They were the result of his
dedication and fanaticism, not the cause of his enduring fame. Enjoy !




*

MIKE LYONS - Everton captain of the 1970s
“In his retirement Shanks used to help out with the schoolboys at Everton
and I'd never seen anything like it. There he was, well into his sixties,
mixing it with the kids, playing his heart out and motivating his side to do
the same, moaning if there was a free kick against him and shaking hands and
patting lads on the back whenever his side got a goal. He was just like one
of the kids himself.
He used to come to me and give me a match report afterward. He once said
'Great game today Mick. We won 19-17 !' It was almost as if he were back in
the school playground. Most importantly he enjoyed himself and I always got
a kick when I saw that.”


*

TOMMY DOCHERTY - just after Bill had announced his retirement
“Adidas wanted to present him with a Golden Boot in recognition of what he'd
done. Bob ( Paisley ) took the call and said, ‘They want to know what shoe
size you take’. Shanks shouted back, ‘If it’s gold, I'm a 28.' ”


*

HOWARD KENDALL - Former Everton manager
“Probably the most profound advice he ever gave me was to get into a
tracksuit as soon as I turn up for work. He said that it showed the players
that there was work to be done and acted as a deterrent to people in suits
who wanted to bog you down with administrative work.”


*

JOHN KEITH - Journalist colleague of Shankly's
“Bill Shankly's suspicions of dirty tricks in foreign lands were always at
their height when Liverpool travelled behind the former Iron Curtain. On one
trip into Eastern Europe, a member of the club party called at Bill's hotel
room and found him standing on a chair talking to the ceiling light.
'I know you're there … you're spying on us,' he shouted, borrowing nothing
from James Bond. Then, still glaring upwards, he demanded: ‘Why don’t you
come out, you cowards ?' ”


*

PETER THOMPSON - Liverpool winger of the 60s and 70s
“It was a quarter to three on match day at Anfield and there was no sign of
Shanks. Suddenly, he came in. His shirt's torn, tie undone, jacket hanging
off, hair all over the place. ‘What’s happened boss ?' ‘I’ve just been in
the Kop with the boys.' He'd gone in with 28,000 of them and they'd been
lifting him shoulder high, passing him round, and he loved that.”


*

BOB PAISLEY - Bill's assistant at Liverpool
“When Bill came to Liverpool from Huddersfield, a friend at Huddersfield
told me I'd never be able to work with Bill for more than two years. I
wouldn't be able to stand the strain, he said. But from the moment he
arrived we got on like a house on fire. Bill was happy with us and we were
certainly happy with him. He carried us along through the sheer force of his
personality.”


*

RON YEATS - Liverpool skipper of the 1960s
“He gave me a lot of confidence. He made any player feel like a great
player. If you feel like one, then you'll play like one. Even when we lost,
the boss would prove that it was all a mistake - the winning goal was
offside, one of our blokes was fouled - that sort of thing.
Another thing is that there were no non-triers in a Shankly team. He
wouldn't tolerate any lax attitudes - no matter who you were. We didn't have
any stars really - everyone was treated the same.”


*

TOM SAUNDERS - youth team coach at Liverpool
“The players waited for instructions and Shankly began to speak and
continued for some fifteen minutes. Not about the opposition or even
football. Oh no ! Boxing was the sole subject for a quarter of an hour. He
then switched to football but quickly brought proceedings to a halt. ‘Don’t
let's waste time ! That bloody lot can't play at all.' With that, the team
talk was rapidly brought to a close.”


*

JIM MCLAREN - Carlisle goalkeeper in the 40s and 50s
“We were going to Tranmere for a game and as we got near the ground Bill got
off the coach to ask for directions. The person he asked couldn't help. Bill
got back on the bus shaking his head. ‘Can you believe that ? Imagine not
knowing where the football field is.’ ”


*

RAY WILSON - one of Bill's star players at Huddersfield in the 50s
“When I signed for Everton I hadn't realised how intense the
Liverpool-Everton rivalry is. It took me a couple of years to realise that
feeling bordering on hatred they have there. I'd be talking to Bill as I
remembered him at Huddersfield and he'd be telling me that it was a disgrace
I'd got picked for England. I was the worst full-back ever !”


*

TOM DALEY - Grimsby goalkeeper in the 50s
Tom Daley often played in the same reserve team as Bill and watched him
enjoying himself. “We were at home to Scunthorpe reserves and the ball went
in to the stands. Shanks went to take the throw and he started talking to
the crowd. He was having a great time taking questions and the referee had
to go over and give him a telling off. At half-time he was fuming. ‘I was
just telling ’em about the first team game away last week, trying to get a
bit of atmosphere.' ”


*

JOE MERCER - playing adversary from the 30s and 40s
“From the moment he arrived there's been only one way… up. And this
endless success was mirrored in that amazing relationship with the Kop. When
he was at Anfield he was the city of Liverpool's answer to vandalism and
hooliganism, because the kids came to see Liverpool. They came to see those
red shirts and Shankly was their man, their hero, their football god. He
belongs to the Kop, he's one of them. If he hadn't managed Liverpool I'm
sure he'd have been on the Kop dressed in red, singing and chanting
'Liverpool, Liverpool.' ”


*

RON YEATS - Shankly's captain at Liverpool in the 60s
“I remember he said to Tommy Lawrence after we had just won the League but
still had a few games to play out the season. ‘Tom, wouldn’t it be great if
we could put a deck chair in the middle of the goal, you sitting in it,
cigar in your mouth, and when the ball comes, you get out of your deck chair
and catch it and say ‘It’s a lovely day to play football, isn't it.' ‘ ”


*

DON REVIE - Leeds United manager in the 60s and 70s
“He would phone me up every Sunday morning. Each call followed the same
ritual, with Shankly eulogising over his Liverpool players. Every player
would be praised, including the substitute who would have contributed to the
victory even if he had not played. To Shankly, every player in that red
strip had everything; a right foot, left foot, tackling, heading and
stamina. No player had a weakness, they were each the best player, position
for position in the world. When I managed to get in a mention of one of my
own players, he would just say, ’a fair player, nae bad,' leaving me
wondering how Leeds ever managed to win a match with no great players, not
even good ones for all that Bill would admit to.”