When Bill Shankly left Anfield for the last time after winning the 1974 FA Cup, it brought down the curtain on a glorious 15-year reign. In that time Shankly had turned Liverpool from a struggling, unambitious club into one of the most formidable sides in world football.
Waking the sleeping giant
Shankly had had success with the other clubs he had managed - Carlisle, Grimsby, Workington and Huddersfield - but was hampered by their lack of vision and unwillingness to invest. Liverpool, on the other hand, was a true sleeping giant, and it was Shankly who woke it up and unleashed it on the world. Promotion to the top flight came in 1961 -62, his second full season at the club. After just one season of consolidation Liverpool won the championship. Over the next 10 years he steered the club to two more league titles and two FA Cup victories. He also lifted the UEFA Cup in 1973, Liverpool beating Borussia Moenchengladbach in the final. The man from Glenbuck, Ayrshire was revered by fans and players alike, who loved his dry wit. He certainly laid the foundations for the side which dominated the English game in the 1970s and 1980s. Shankly died in 1981. His name adorns a pair of gates at the entrance to his beloved Anfield and his spirit pervades the club to this day.
Opposite top: A fan adorns Bill Shankly with a scarf as he bids farewell to Anfield after fifteen years as Liverpool’s manager.
Opposite below: The Aston Villa team, with manager Ron Saunders (pointing), inspect the Wembley pitch before their League Cup Final match against Norwich in 1975. Villa won the tie 1-0.
Above: Alan Taylor scores the second of his two goals which clinched the FA Cup for West Ham against London rivals Fulham in the 1975 Final.
Above top: West Ham’s Trevor Brooking is mobbed by fans after the team’s defeat of their Second Division rivals.
World History
