Shankly Bill

Bill Shankly was born in the small mining town of Glenback in the Scottish county of East Ayrshire . Parents besides him had nine more children. He became one of the five brothers who became professional footballers. His brother Bob became a famous coach and led the Dundee club to the championship in 1962 . All five Shankly brothers played for Glenbuck Cherripickers , a team that became famous for giving 49 professional footballers in a short time. Bill Shankly, the youngest of the brothers, did not play a single match for the club’s first team.

Bill Shankly's career as a player began in the Scottish Youth League , in which he played for the now defunct Crownberry Eglington and Glenbuck Cricklers. In July 1932, he attracted the attention of scouts and soon signed a contract with Carlisle United . His debut took place on December 31, 1932 in a match against Rochdale . In July 1933 , having spent only 16 matches as part of the first Carlisle team, he moved to Preston North End . The transfer amount was 500 pounds.

Shankly became a key player in Preston, who entered the First Division in 1934 , and took part in two FA Cup finals - in the first of them Preston lost to Sunderland ( 1937 ), in the second he beat Huddersfield Town ( 1938 )

In April 1938, Shankly made his debut in the Scottish national team in a match against England , which his team won with a score of 1-0. He spent 4 more official games for the national team (and seven more during the war ), but the war that began in 1939 put an end to his career as a player in the national team.

During the war, he played for Northampton Town , Liverpool , Arsenal , Cardiff City , Bolton Wanderers , Luton Town and Partis Tisl , and also helped Preston win the 1941 War Cup. years . With the start of the 1946/47 season, professional football returned to England. Shankly continued to play for Preston, but he was already 33, and his player career was almost over.

Shankly completed his professional career in March 1949 and almost immediately became a Carlisle United coach, where he once started as a football player. The time spent at the helm of Carlisle was not marked by outstanding achievements. Leaving the club, he said that there was insufficient financial support from the board of directors - for the next ten years this phrase will accompany him on a trip to clubs in northern England.

Shankley did not go through an interview at Liverpool and in 1951 headed Grimsby Town , then moved to Warkington in 1953 and finally to Huddersfield Town in 1956 , where he managed to sign the talented 15-year-old Denis Lowe . Despite the belief that Law should never be allowed to join another team, 4 years later the club management accepted the offer of Manchester City and sold the rising star to the townspeople for 55 thousand pounds, which completely contradicted Shankley’s plans to create a team that would fight for the achievement of the highest goals. The ambitious manager lacked the support of the Board of Directors at any of the clubs he coached in the 1950s . But his talent and enthusiasm attracted the attention of Liverpool President T.V. Williams, who in 1959 proposed to Shankly to lead the Merseyside team.

Liverpool

In December 1959, Bill Shankly became the manager of Liverpool, with whom he managed to achieve the greatest success in his career and begin the success of the club in the 1970s and 1980s . In 1959, Liverpool was a rather miserable sight - the club was located at the bottom of the table of the Second Division , had a dilapidated stadium and terrible conditions for training. The selection of players was also bad. The only trump card of the club of that time could be considered the coaching staff, which included Joe Fagan and Ruben Bennett , as well as recently completed career Bob Paisley . The first thing Shankley said was that the three would work for Anfield while he stayed here. Thus, the beginning of the famous Butrum was laid .

The training fields at Melwood were in terrible condition and almost overgrown with grass, and there was only one shower room at all.

Shankly’s achievements in Liverpool are reflected in many of the club’s songs (for example, Fields Of Anfield Road ). One of the gates leading to Anfield is named after him.

About Bill Shankly

There were legends about Shankly's love of football. So the legendary defender and captain of the “ Reds ” Tommy Smith once said: “If Liverpool did not play that day, he went to watch Everton . If he didn’t play Everton, he went to Manchester . If there was nothing in Manchester, he moved to Newcastle . If there was no football at all that day, he went to the park and watched the children play. If they did not play football, he himself organized a match for them ” ^[1] .

As a player

  Preston North End

• FA Cup : 1938

As a trainer

  Liverpool

• First Division : 1964 , 1966 , 1973
• FA Cup : 1965 , 1974
• UEFA Cup : 1973
• Second Division : 1962
• England Super Cup : 1964 , 1965 , 1966

• Manager profile on Liverbird.ru website (Russian)
• Shankly's Biography on the Football History Site (rus.)