“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.”
“Brian Clough’s worse than the rain in Manchester. At least God stops that occasionally”
“He typifies everything that is good in football, and he has never changed. You could stake your life on Ian.” About Ian Callaghan
“If Everton were playing down the bottom of my garden, I’d draw the curtains.”
“The difference between Everton and the Queen Mary is that Everton carry more passengers!”
“He’s not just the best centre-forward in the British Isles, but the only one.” About Ian St John
On derby day while waiting for Everton to arrive Bill Shankly gave a box of toilet rolls to the Anfield doorman and said: “Give them these when they arrive – they’ll need them!”
“We absolutely annihilated England. It was a massacre. We beat them 5-4.”
“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in.”
“My life is my work. My work is my life.”
“I was only in the game for the love of football – and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool.”
“Above all, I would like to be remembered as a man who was selfless, who strove and worried so that others could share the glory, and who built up a family of people who could hold their heads up high and say “We’re Liverpool.”
“When you get the ball, I want you to beat a couple of men and smash the ball into the net, just the same way you used to at Bury,” said Shankly. Lindsay replied: “But, boss, that wasn’t me, it was Jimmy Kerr.” Shankly turned to Bob Paisley and said: “Christ, Bob, we’ve signed the wrong player.”
“Laddie, that man scored 200 goals in 270 matches – an incredible record – and he has won cup after cup as a manager. When he talks, pin back your ears.” about Brian Clough
“A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing.”
“For a player to be good enough to play for Liverpool, he must be prepared to run through a brick wall for me then come out fighting on the other side.”
“I’ve been a slave to football. It follows you home, it follows you everywhere, and eats into your family life. But every working man misses out on some things because of his job.”
“If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing.”
“At a football club, there’s a holy trinity – the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don’t come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques”
“Although I’m a Scot, I’d be proud to be called a Scouser.”
“If he isn’t named Footballer of the Year, football should be stopped and the men who picked any other player should be sent to the Kremlin” on Tommy Smith
“Take that poof bandage off. And what do you mean about Your knee? It’s Liverpool’s knee!”
“Chairman Mao has never seen a greater show of red strength.”
“Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool.”
“If you can’t make decisions in life, you’re a bloody menace. You’d be better becoming an MP!”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, yesterday at Wembley we might have lost the Cup but you the Liverpool people have won everything. You have won the admiration of the policemen in London and you have won the admiration of the public in London.” after losing in the F.A. Cup final to Arsenal.
“Fire in your belly comes from pride and passion in wearing the red shirt. We don’t need to motivate players because each of them is responsible for the performance of the team as a whole. The status of Liverpool’s players keeps them motivated.”
“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.” after beating Everton in the 1971 FA Cup semi-final.
“Nonsense! I’ve kicked every ball, headed out every cross. I once scored a hat-trick; One was lucky, but the others were great goals.” After being told that he had never experienced playing in a derby
“He has football in his blood,” the disappointed scout complained. “You may be right,” Shankly said, “but it hasn’t reached his legs yet.”
“A hundred thousand wouldn’t buy him,” Tommy Docherty said. “And I’m one of the of the hundred thousand,” replied Shankly.
“This is a team of skill and character, with men eager and ready to do any job if it’s for the benefit of the club.”
“But that’s where I live!” To the Brussels hotel receptionist who queried his signing “Anfield” as his address on the hotel register.
“Anything off the top?”, asked a barber. “Aye, Everton,” replied Shankly.
“A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.”
“Just tell them I completely disagree with everything they say.” To an interpreter regarding excited Italian journalists.
“No one was asked to do more than anyone else…we were a team. We shared the ball, we shared the game, we shared the worries.”
“What can you do, playing against eleven goalposts?” After a 0-0 draw at Anfield
“I told this player, ‘Listen Son, you haven’t broken your leg. It’s all in the mind.'”
“The best side drew.” After a hard fought 1-1 draw
“Aye, watch it Bob, it’s very greasy and treacherous out there. Very difficult for goalkeepers.” To Arsenal ‘keeper Bob Wilson before the 1971 Cup Final
“The fans here are the greatest in the land. They know the game and they know what they want to see. The people on the Kop make you feel great – yet humble.”
“What a great day for football, all we need is some green grass and a ball.”
“I don’t think I was in a bath until I was 15 years old. I used to use a tub to wash myself. But out of poverty with a lot of people living in the same house, you get humour.”
“I was the best manager in Britain because I was never devious or cheated anyone. I’d break my wife’s legs if I played against her, but I’d never cheat her.”
“If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be.” on the off side rule.
“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.” at Dixie Dean’s funeral
“No one was asked to do more than anyone else…we were a team. We shared the ball, we shared the game, we shared the worries.”
“The problem with you, son, is that all your brains are in your head.”
“Denis Law could dance on eggshells.”
“I’m just one of the people who stands on the Kop. They think the same as I do, and I think the same as they do. It’s a kind of marriage of people who like each other.”
Tommy Lawrence, the Liverpool keeper, let the ball go through his legs. “Sorry, boss, I should have kept my legs together,” said Lawrence. “No, Tommy, your mother should have kept her legs together!,” replied Shankly.
“I’ve been a slave to football. It follows you home, it follows you everywhere, and eats into your family life. But every working man misses out on some things because of his job.”
“We murdered them 0-0.”
“Son, you’ll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don’t over-eat and don’t lose your accent.” to Ian St John
“The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That’s how I see football, that’s how I see life.”
“The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.”
“Don’t worry Alan. At least you’ll be able to play close to a great team!” to Alan Ball after he signed for Everton.
“Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.”
“Where are you from?” “I’m a Liverpool fan from London.” “Well laddie, what’s it like to be in heaven?”
“Ay, here we are with problems at the top of the league.”
“If you’re not sure what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net and we’ll discuss your options afterwards.”
“Just go out and drop a few hand grenades all over the place son.” to Kevin Keegan
To Tommy Smith, “You son, you could start a riot in a graveyard.”
“Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them.”
“Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.”
“It’s great grass at Anfield, professional grass!”
“I only wanted him for the reserves anyway.” After Lou Macari signed for United.
“With him in defence, we could play Arthur Askey in goal.” after signing Ron Yeats
“This city has two great teams – Liverpool and Liverpool reserves.”
“Laddie, I never drop players, I only make changes.” to a journalist who criticised his team selection
“I’m a people’s man – only the people matter.”
“It’s there to remind our lads who they’re playing for, and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against.” about the ‘This is Anfield’ sign.
“When I’ve got nothing better to do, I look down the league table to see how Everton are getting along.”
“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.”
“Me having no education. I had to use my brains.”
“Hold on a minute, John Wayne hasn’t arrived yet.” to journalists
“It was the most difficult thing in the world, when I went to tell the chairman. It was like walking to the electric chair. That’s the way it felt.” when he resigned.