Just wow...
In Liverpool Daily Post 21st of April 1983 at the end of his career as Liverpool manager
"I have always preferred to liken the championship to a marathon. You have to know how to start the race, how to take the strain when problems come along and to make sure you don't give any potentially dangerous rivals an advantage. My policy is to ideally have five or six men around the age of 26, a couple of youngsters, a couple round the 28 mark and one or two in their 30s. But the nucleus of the team should be experienced and not too old.
You don't just look at the calendar. The medical side is an important yardstick. Our two over 30s are Phil Neal and Kenny Dalglish. Phil is the type of player who doesn't often get injured. Kenny takes more knocks than the others, but he is very strong. They have been outstanding from a stamina point of view as well as in skill. They have kept going as well as anyone. But they still need that help from the younger players."
*
"Some of the jargon is frightening. They talk of "gettin' round the back" and sound like burglars. They say "You've got to make more positive runs" or "You're too negative". That sounds as though you're filling the team with electricians. But people talk like this without real depth or knowledge of what they're really talking about."
*
"There are five things generally accepted to be necessary to make a footballer: skill, strength, stamina, speed and flexibility. You have to bear these factors in mind when you are putting together your training programme. The whole scene is a stamina test, a marathon race. Strength has to be developed from the start. You build that up, giving the player a higher resistance to things. Skill comes next, developed with a constant repetition of pattern. Speed comes after you've run them in. Then you start to get them stretching out. Flexibility is important, and we probably suffer in this country because of our climate. It's a well-known fact that players performing in warmer climates have a wider range of movements."
*
"People who sit in the stands perhaps don't realise the extra pressure exerted by the emotional side of the game. It's not easy to cope with and it's quite possible to become drunk on four ounces of wine gum!"
*
"I just hoped that after the trials and tribulations of my early years in management, someone up high would smile on me and guide my hand. My plea was answered when we got Kenny Dalglish. What a player, what a great professional!"
*
"The secret is that our Liverpool team never know when to stop running and working. At Anfield we have always believed in players supporting each other and concentrating on not giving the ball away. You can't go charging forward all the time, willy-nilly. You must have patience, and this is where we can play the Continentals at their own game."
Look at Liverpools main 15-16 players this year, and see how that stacks up to what Bob was saying 30 years.... back to the future anyone ?
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