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Shanks: The Authorised Biography Of Bill Shankly
The authorised biography of Bill Shankly.
Bill Shankly is one of football's greatest heroes. The former coal-miner from Ayrshire gave his life to football. Best remembered for his outstanding Liverpool sides that included Hunt, Keegan, Smith, Clemence and Hughes, he led Liverpool to three Championships, two F.A. Cup and the UEFA Cup.
Told with the full co-operation of his family, and including exclusive interviews with those who lived and worked with Shankly, this is the definitive biography of the man who, when asked whether football was a matter of life and death, 'No, it's much more important than that'.
Bill Shankly is one of football's greatest heroes. The former coal-miner from Ayrshire gave his life to football. Best remembered for his outstanding Liverpool sides that included Hunt, Keegan, Smith, Clemence and Hughes, he led Liverpool to three Championships, two F.A. Cup and the UEFA Cup.
Told with the full co-operation of his family, and including exclusive interviews with those who lived and worked with Shankly, this is the definitive biography of the man who, when asked whether football was a matter of life and death, 'No, it's much more important than that'.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 1996
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September 15, 2024
Having finished ‘Red or Dead’ by David Peace recently, a copy of ‘Shanks – The Authorised Biography of Bill Shankly’ by David Bowler caught my eye in a local charity shop. I allowed myself a breather before starting on ‘Shanks’ so that I wouldn’t suffer from overload of reading the same subject in a short space of time and I’m glad I did. Having a bit of space between the two books allowed me to enjoy the latter on its own merits as a standalone piece of work.
I really enjoyed the all-encompassing nature of this account of Shankly’s life. Especially the parts whereas a Liverpool fan, I got the chance to appreciate his progression as a manager leading up to him taking the helm for the Reds. As someone who’s of an age that wasn’t alive to witness the great man’s teams in the flesh, it’s easy to think of Shankly as a mercurial, mythical footballing god. The Anfield legend has been reduced to the sum of his sayings and quips in some circles, but there’s obviously so much more to the man than this.
As a kid, I grew up thinking that Shankly came to Liverpool Football Club and waved a magic wand, instantly creating a footballing red army capable of obliterating all comers to fortress Anfield and beyond. Bowler’s account of the Scots life and footballing education gave me a great insight into the many factors that contributed to Shankly’s success.
This is a story of a man with an obsessive work ethic and a passionate love of football. I got a real appreciation of why football meant so much to Shankly, given his upbringing amidst the social and political landscape at the time. A large proportion of his drive to succeed in football was born out of how it offered a way out from a predestined life ‘down the pits’. To play football and to be paid to do so as a job was a privilege not to be taken lightly given the grim alternatives. Anyone who thought or acted otherwise was akin to borderline criminal behaviour for a man like Shankly.
To the more modern football fan, aspects of the beautiful game one reads about in this book will be barely recognisable given how much the game has changed. Some of Shankly’s views about football, life and politics are very much a product of their time and make for interesting reading in a modern-day context. A common theme that permeated this book was Shankly’s dislike and mistrust of the ‘people at the top’. He was very much a man of the people and his desire to succeed for the fans was another a significant motivation behind his will to succeed. His views of those in charge, calling the shots behind the scenes, was very much tainted again by the socio-economic climate during his lifetime.
Shankly forged a career in football during a time when uncertainty around employment and the crippling poverty that could ensue was a very real and common threat. The ever-present sceptre of insecurity around the permanence of employment meant that Shankly took playing football for a living as a very serious business. This seriousness conveyed itself in expecting those who played with and for him, to give their all, in every game. It’s evident to me that he led by example in this regard.
With reference to the differences in the dynamics of football in general, I doubt that we’ll ever see a manager like Shankly again. In addition to his talent, vision and drive, there were so many circumstantial factors at the time that allowed him to have such an influence on the game. I say this with emphasis on his time at Liverpool. I doubt that a manager in this day and age would be given the remit to control the many aspects of running a football club that Shankly was given at the time. I also doubt that the way clubs are run now, there would be the need for such root and branch change in a way that was seen at Liverpool when Shankly took charge. That latter point is subjective of course as I’m sure there are many supporters around today who would love to see a total overhaul of how things are done on and off the pitch at their clubs!
As a Liverpool fan I was naturally keen to read about his time with the Reds. Especially reading about his league and cup wins, as well as getting an insight into how he built his sides with some of the most legendary players ever to grace the hallowed turf at Anfield. I had to be patient as the author did his due diligence and recalled in detailed fashion, Shankly’s time at the host of other clubs he played for and managed. I particularly enjoyed finding out about the strong connections he made with both Preston North End and Huddersfield. The impact he made at those clubs really highlighted my ignorance regarding the important formative years of Shankly’s career. Reading about how he honed is style as well as the ups and downs he endured has given me a more rounded view and greater appreciation of the man and all he achieved.
Another underappreciated (on my part anyway) aspect of the man was his ability as a footballer and the misfortune of the timing of his career. The impact of the Second World War on Shankly’s achievements as a player will always be a question of ‘what if’. It’s clear from reading this book, that he was an intelligent, technically astute and tough player with an iron will to win. We’ll never know where these desirable attributes could have taken Shankly, but we can be certain that they helped to provide a sound foundation for the man as a football manager in his later years.
What also comes across is that Shankly was not the infallible character that could do no wrong that some may lead us to believe. As with anyone who finds their way to the top, he made his fair shar of mistakes and suffered the results of errors of judgement along the way. The traits that spurred him on could also be said to have been to his detriment at times too. The way he threw himself into management with such gusto and focus may have been at the expense of spending more quality time with his family. In this book we also get glimpses of how the weight of the job at Liverpool took its toll on his health and well-being too.
For the most part, we read about a man who had abundant reserves of self-confidence and self-belief. A man who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and upset the status quo. A man who lived and breathed football and had little time for those within the game who didn’t share his passion. We of course read about Shankly the disciplinarian, the master motivator and psychologist who was never short of a witty remark at the right place and time. However, Bill Shankly also had some paradoxical aspects to his personality that I never knew about.
There were a few instances of how he struggled to contravene the sense of loyalty he had for some of his longer serving players as they reached the ends of their careers. I may be wrong in stating this, but there appeared to be an aversion to want to confront issues of players needing to be moved on at times. Resulting in certain players staying on at the club for longer than they should have, to the detriment of the team. I believe that Shankly adapted his approach in this area of team management after learning from such mistakes, but I got the impression that he was never really comfortable with this aspect of the job.
Some of the many personal highlights from this book included reading about the acquisitions of the likes of Yeats, St, John and Keegan and the impact they had on the club. I loved to read about Shankly’s emphasis on simplicity in relation to how he wanted the game to be played as well as marvelling at his skills as a ‘man-manager’. The importance of the infamous ‘Boot Room’ also came across and showed that Shankly knew his strengths and when to delegate. He managed to foster an environment where confrontation and the challenging of ideas was inevitable given the strong characters that made up the team and staff. However, loyalty to his vision, methods and ideas where paramount and maintained, resulting in the success and team spirit that embodied his Liverpool sides.
I knew from speaking to my dad as well as having read, ‘Red or Dead’, that Shankly’s post-retirement days left something of a bitter taste in the mouth. I was therefore mentally prepared to brace myself for a disappointing end, but it was still interesting to read about them from a personal perspective.
I really enjoyed the all-encompassing nature of this account of Shankly’s life. Especially the parts whereas a Liverpool fan, I got the chance to appreciate his progression as a manager leading up to him taking the helm for the Reds. As someone who’s of an age that wasn’t alive to witness the great man’s teams in the flesh, it’s easy to think of Shankly as a mercurial, mythical footballing god. The Anfield legend has been reduced to the sum of his sayings and quips in some circles, but there’s obviously so much more to the man than this.
As a kid, I grew up thinking that Shankly came to Liverpool Football Club and waved a magic wand, instantly creating a footballing red army capable of obliterating all comers to fortress Anfield and beyond. Bowler’s account of the Scots life and footballing education gave me a great insight into the many factors that contributed to Shankly’s success.
This is a story of a man with an obsessive work ethic and a passionate love of football. I got a real appreciation of why football meant so much to Shankly, given his upbringing amidst the social and political landscape at the time. A large proportion of his drive to succeed in football was born out of how it offered a way out from a predestined life ‘down the pits’. To play football and to be paid to do so as a job was a privilege not to be taken lightly given the grim alternatives. Anyone who thought or acted otherwise was akin to borderline criminal behaviour for a man like Shankly.
To the more modern football fan, aspects of the beautiful game one reads about in this book will be barely recognisable given how much the game has changed. Some of Shankly’s views about football, life and politics are very much a product of their time and make for interesting reading in a modern-day context. A common theme that permeated this book was Shankly’s dislike and mistrust of the ‘people at the top’. He was very much a man of the people and his desire to succeed for the fans was another a significant motivation behind his will to succeed. His views of those in charge, calling the shots behind the scenes, was very much tainted again by the socio-economic climate during his lifetime.
Shankly forged a career in football during a time when uncertainty around employment and the crippling poverty that could ensue was a very real and common threat. The ever-present sceptre of insecurity around the permanence of employment meant that Shankly took playing football for a living as a very serious business. This seriousness conveyed itself in expecting those who played with and for him, to give their all, in every game. It’s evident to me that he led by example in this regard.
With reference to the differences in the dynamics of football in general, I doubt that we’ll ever see a manager like Shankly again. In addition to his talent, vision and drive, there were so many circumstantial factors at the time that allowed him to have such an influence on the game. I say this with emphasis on his time at Liverpool. I doubt that a manager in this day and age would be given the remit to control the many aspects of running a football club that Shankly was given at the time. I also doubt that the way clubs are run now, there would be the need for such root and branch change in a way that was seen at Liverpool when Shankly took charge. That latter point is subjective of course as I’m sure there are many supporters around today who would love to see a total overhaul of how things are done on and off the pitch at their clubs!
As a Liverpool fan I was naturally keen to read about his time with the Reds. Especially reading about his league and cup wins, as well as getting an insight into how he built his sides with some of the most legendary players ever to grace the hallowed turf at Anfield. I had to be patient as the author did his due diligence and recalled in detailed fashion, Shankly’s time at the host of other clubs he played for and managed. I particularly enjoyed finding out about the strong connections he made with both Preston North End and Huddersfield. The impact he made at those clubs really highlighted my ignorance regarding the important formative years of Shankly’s career. Reading about how he honed is style as well as the ups and downs he endured has given me a more rounded view and greater appreciation of the man and all he achieved.
Another underappreciated (on my part anyway) aspect of the man was his ability as a footballer and the misfortune of the timing of his career. The impact of the Second World War on Shankly’s achievements as a player will always be a question of ‘what if’. It’s clear from reading this book, that he was an intelligent, technically astute and tough player with an iron will to win. We’ll never know where these desirable attributes could have taken Shankly, but we can be certain that they helped to provide a sound foundation for the man as a football manager in his later years.
What also comes across is that Shankly was not the infallible character that could do no wrong that some may lead us to believe. As with anyone who finds their way to the top, he made his fair shar of mistakes and suffered the results of errors of judgement along the way. The traits that spurred him on could also be said to have been to his detriment at times too. The way he threw himself into management with such gusto and focus may have been at the expense of spending more quality time with his family. In this book we also get glimpses of how the weight of the job at Liverpool took its toll on his health and well-being too.
For the most part, we read about a man who had abundant reserves of self-confidence and self-belief. A man who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and upset the status quo. A man who lived and breathed football and had little time for those within the game who didn’t share his passion. We of course read about Shankly the disciplinarian, the master motivator and psychologist who was never short of a witty remark at the right place and time. However, Bill Shankly also had some paradoxical aspects to his personality that I never knew about.
There were a few instances of how he struggled to contravene the sense of loyalty he had for some of his longer serving players as they reached the ends of their careers. I may be wrong in stating this, but there appeared to be an aversion to want to confront issues of players needing to be moved on at times. Resulting in certain players staying on at the club for longer than they should have, to the detriment of the team. I believe that Shankly adapted his approach in this area of team management after learning from such mistakes, but I got the impression that he was never really comfortable with this aspect of the job.
Some of the many personal highlights from this book included reading about the acquisitions of the likes of Yeats, St, John and Keegan and the impact they had on the club. I loved to read about Shankly’s emphasis on simplicity in relation to how he wanted the game to be played as well as marvelling at his skills as a ‘man-manager’. The importance of the infamous ‘Boot Room’ also came across and showed that Shankly knew his strengths and when to delegate. He managed to foster an environment where confrontation and the challenging of ideas was inevitable given the strong characters that made up the team and staff. However, loyalty to his vision, methods and ideas where paramount and maintained, resulting in the success and team spirit that embodied his Liverpool sides.
I knew from speaking to my dad as well as having read, ‘Red or Dead’, that Shankly’s post-retirement days left something of a bitter taste in the mouth. I was therefore mentally prepared to brace myself for a disappointing end, but it was still interesting to read about them from a personal perspective.
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