Finney: Shankly was a God

IF Bill Shankly never made any secret of the esteem in which he held Sir Tom Finney, both as a footballer and gentleman, the feelings are certainly mutual.

Shankly, of course, used to drool over the skills which made Finney one of the greatest English players ever and would frequently extol the virtues of a man synonymous with Preston North End.

But ask Sir Tom, a colleague of Shankly's during the latter stages of his playing career at Deepdale, for an appraisal of Glenbuck's most famous son and you are left in no doubt about his opinion.

"Bill was the most unforgettable character that I have ever met in football, a unique man,"

Sir Tom declared. "He will always be a god in the eyes of Liverpool supporters and rightly so for what he achieved at the club. His legend will live on and on."

Given he is in the privileged position of having seen Shankly work as a player and a manager, Sir Tom's stories carry extra credence and it was almost from the time of their first meeting at Deepdale he sensed greatness beckoned for a forward- thinking, passionate individual.

"I was an apprentice plumber and joined Preston as a 15-year-old in 1937," Sir Tom recalled. "Bill was then in his twenties and an established player at the club. He was a good one, too, and went on to play for Scotland.

"Like so many professionals of that era, the war took six years out of Bill's career when he was at his peak. But he was a fine wing-half, as we used to call them, in those days.

"He just lived for the game. He was a fitness fanatic. He really looked after himself and didn't have a lot of time for players who didn't keep themselves in absolutely pristine condition - these were traits he would take into management.

"He had no time for anybody drinking or smoking or anything like that. He just lived for football. His conversation was nothing else but football. It wasn't that he couldn't talk about anything else, it's just that he didn't want to!

"He was so keen it was unbelievable. He was certainly a big influence on my career. Not only could he win the ball but he was also a good passer. It was a great help to me having a player like Bill keeping the supply lines going."

The tales of Shankly describing the star players as being clapped out or nervous wrecks to improve the confidence of his own squad are the stuff of legend but, as Sir Tom reveals, it was the same before he made the transition to the dugout.

Such an approach and attitude struck a chord with Sir Tom - who is now in his 88th year - and the refusal to accept second best would ultimately become the hallmark of Shankly's two great Anfield teams.

"It made a lasting impression on me that while he would discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, it never bothered him in the slightest going out on to the field," he said. "As far as Bill was concerned, he was every bit as good as every other fellow!

"He never stopped talking through games and, regardless of the score, with Bill you never lost a game until the 90 minutes were up. He was simply never beaten until the final whistle went. He took that attitude into management with him, too."

Not surprisingly, Sir Tom followed Shankly's career closely after he left Deepdale, venturing to Carlisle, Grimsby, Workington and Huddersfield, before he accepted T.V Williams offer to take over at Anfield in the winter of 1959.

Though left stunned by his resignation in 1974, Sir Tom was not taken aback that Shankly built up "a bastion of invincibility" and predicts his great friend's work will span the ages.

"Bill's judgement was spot on and the success he had was incredible," Sir Tom declared. "Not only did he sign some tremendous players, such as Ian St John, Ron Yeats, Gordon Milne and Peter Thompson, when he arrived he kept his entire backroom staff.

"Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan were there but he had weighed up what great assets these men were. He kept them together like a family, which became the strength of the club.

"I used to joke with Bill that because of all the nice things he said about me, he should have been my agent! He was a unique person. I've never met anyone like him and I've absolutely no doubt that the memories of Bill Shankly will never die."

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