Bill Shankly

Personal

Vocation

Notable

Traits

Scottish international footballer and also a famous football manager, notably with Liverpool Football Club. He won the English F.A. Cup both as a player with Preston North End, and as a manager, twice, with Liverpool. He also managed Liverpool to the English League championship three times, and won the UEFA (European) Cup in 1973. Shankly declared in his autobiography that he "specialised in the art of tackling", emphasising that it is an art. He claimed that he was "never sent off the field or had (his) name in a referee's book". In his view, the art of tackling is in the timing and the sole object is to win the ball. Even if the opponent is injured in the tackle, "it's not a foul because you have timed everything right and you've won it". His philosophy, therefore, was to play "hard but fair" with no cheating. During his playing career, Shankly said he would not argue with referees. He realised after taking the advice of his brothers that it is a waste of time. The referee, he wrote, "always wins in the end". Shankly wrote in his autobiography that he had long prepared himself "for the day when I would become a football manager". He pointed out that he had absorbed all the coaching systems with any useful qualifications and had full confidence in his ability and in himself to be a leader. For him, he had done the hard work and "it was simply a question of an opportunity presenting itself". Shankly summed up the essential criteria for success in football management when he said: "I could speak common sense about the game and I could spot a player". In terms of the latter criterion, he always applied "the same basic formula" in that, first and foremost, the player must have both ability and courage. Other attributes were physical fitness and willingness to work, especially to struggle against the odds. "Right from the start as a manager, I tried to show that the fans are the people that matter. You've got to know how to treat them (and) have them on your side". This was particularly true at Liverpool and Shankly said he was "made for Liverpool (where) the people that matter most are the ones who come through the turnstiles". He added that "a manager has got to identify himself with the people (because) football is their whole life". In return, he said, the support of the Liverpool fans for their team had been "incredible". Shankly was noted for his wit. His most famous quote is "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" - half-joking and revealing his obsession with the game. When asked by a TV interviewer how he would like to be remembered, Shankly replied: "Basically as an honest man in a game that is sometimes short on honesty. That I've been working honestly for the people of Liverpool to try and give them entertainment" Link to Wikipedia