BEFORE ANFIELD

Many footballers would give their right arm to have an honours list as good as Bill Shankly's, yet it must be said that it could have or should have been more impressive. His playing career was marred by the onset of a World War; at the age of 27 he was starting to peak at Preston when, as part of the war effort the army rented the stadium, Deepdale, putting the club out of action until the end of the war in 1945. Like all 'able men' at the time, Shankly had to 'do his bit'. He enrolled in the Royal Air Force: serving at various stations around the country - continuously on the move, playing football when and wherever he could, more to entertain than to win medals. Quite a list of clubs hosted his footballing talents including; Luton, Cardiff, Norwich, Bolton, Arsenal, Partick Thistle and of course Scotland. Still contracted to Preston at the end of the war, the football league recommenced in August 1946. Shankly, now in his early thirties played for three more seasons before deciding to put his mind to the more responsible matter of managing - after all he was now a married man with a daughter.

It would be fair to say that up until joining Liverpool in 1959 Shankly was learning his trade; coach, negotiator, advisor, manager and ultimately leader of a football club. He worked his way through tough times at struggling clubs were there was little or no money, limited resources and a lack of ambition. For instance, on arriving at Workington he was to realise that the ground was shared with the local rugby club. To no-ones suprise Shankly's style of short and simple passing of the ball was nigh on impossible to get right on a rugby torn pitch; but he perservered and kept the team in the third division. His time at Huddersfield, though enjoyable and invaluable as experience at a big club, was also very testing and frustrating. Improving the team and buying players came second to 'not getting in debt', and any funds that were available had to go towards ground improvements as such. A big 'body blow' to Bill at Huddersfield was that young, home-grown, potential talent had to be sold-on: for Shankly to fulfill his aspirations and his own potential, a top flight club prepared to invest was needed!