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      The Bob Paisley appreciation thread

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      Brian78
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      The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Apr 24, 2014 06:02:04 pm
      Forgive me if something similar exists. And secondly Id love to see other posters start similar appreciation threads for other past greats of the club. Stick in some pics some info on the career such as achievements etc.

      The reason Im starting with this great man is not down to his incredible achievements trophy wise but for his length of time with the club in so many roles. He was Liverpool to the bone, yet not even born there! And has there been a more humble man in the game? A lot of people have shouted louder about themselves and received plaudits from the media and public yet this man achieved so much more then most, if not all, and yet he was so humble. One comment summed it up for me, having won the league (possibly a league and European cup double) he was asked what were his hopes for the following season "win it again" was the answer. Simple answer to a simple question from a simple man

      Ill leave it for others to join in the thread with stats etc rather then me clog it up and if I had the time Id spend hours writing about the man :)
      Brian78
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #1: Apr 24, 2014 06:12:19 pm
      Love the pic of him carrying Emlyn off in his role as physio, shows the nature of the man really

      The other pic for me shows the adoration of him the players had
      Tayls
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #2: Apr 24, 2014 06:18:24 pm
      Nice idea Bri.

      I've nicked this from lfchistory.net

      Quote
      The genius in a flat cap, the sporting icon in a pair of carpet slippers, the world renowned physiotherapist in a woolly cardigan.

      If they handed out prizes for image and appearance then Bob Paisley was never going to be deluged with awards. Come to think of it, in a shallow world that does exactly that, maybe we touch on a reason why Bob was never knighted or elevated to the national treasure status he so richly deserved? He never dazzled or sparkled like a Venables, never dressed like an Atkinson, didn't pour forth his politics a la Clough, nor did he covet column inches on the front pages of the tabloids in preference to the back. The charisma of a Shankly or a Busby was not Bob's to command. He could no more make deep and impassioned speeches to rally his troops than he could speak Swahili yet still he stands apart from his peers as the greatest of them all.
      How can this be? How did Bob Paisley achieve so much without the obvious outward signs of greatness? Well of course, there have been many great people who were shy and retiring, who never courted publicity or fame, who never 'looked the part'. But in the world of sport, and in football in particular, it is a rare person indeed who achieves immortality without some obvious penchant for bluster or self promotion.

      The footballing talents that Paisley had, and had in abundance, can only go part of the way to explaining his position of pre-eminence in English football. For the gaps in the story can only be found in his childhood and his background. How did Bob Paisley the boy turn into Bob Paisley the man?

      Like Shankly, the man who so heavily influenced the second half of Bob Paisley's footballing career, Paisley was born into an obscure village community deep in his country's industrial heartland. Hetton-le-Hole may not be the most famous part of England, but the creative energies and honest workmanship that characterised Hetton, and a thousand other places like it, provided the lifeblood of Britain's industrial revolution.

      And like Ayrshire's Glenbuck, County Durham's Hetton-le-Hole was a mining community. Significantly, on the day Bob was born, the 23rd January 1919, 150,000 miners nationwide went on strike for a shorter working week. For men with no spare cash of any kind, going on strike was a desperate last resort not to be taken lightly and revealed just how tough working conditions must have been.

      Bob was the second eldest of four brothers, Willie and Hugh being the oldest, and Alan the youngest. Bob's father Sam worked in the local mine, and his mother Emily was the homemaker who kept the family's body and soul together through the days of depression and hardship.

      In 1926 during the general strike the seven year old Bob was forced to scramble over slag heaps collecting coal dust that could be mixed with water to make a crude fuel and along with his childhood friends at school, he depended on the soup kitchens to supplement a meagre diet.

      "Hetton le hole is a typical Durham mining village, a close-knit community seven miles from Sunderland where koal was king and football was religion. My father was a miner, and although he never wanted any of his four sons to down the pit, there didn't seem to be many alternatives. We lived in a small terraced house, and although we never went short of life's essentials, there was never much money left over by the end of the week."

      At the age of 14 Bob took a surface job at the pit and was there to witness the horrific moment when his father was brought to the surface after a nasty underground accident. Samuel Paisley was so badly injured that he was unable to work for five years and shortly afterwards, following belated attempts to make the pits safer places to work, the mine was closed down.

      Bob quickly became apprenticed to a bricklayer but by this time his footballing prowess was getting him noticed by local scouts. His talent as a footballer was to be his passport to a new world. In an incredible period between the ages of eleven and fourteen, he was to help his school Eppleton to an astonishing seventeen trophies. The success continued as he went on to play for Hetton, often against youths who were a few years older than him.

      Bob's sporting talent had revealed itself in other ways too. He earned useful money as a handicap foot racer, something which drew big money bets in the north-east at that time. In the summer months the young Paisley also turned his hand to cricket. He was a more than useful fast bowler who could bat a bit and was approached by several local clubs who wanted his services. Always though, it was his love of football that won the day, and it wasn't long before representatives from Bishop Auckland were knocking on the Paisley door.

      Of course, the outbreak of World War Two quickly put paid to any fledgling sporting aspirations and Bob Paisley joined the 73rd Regiment of the Royal Artillery. He served with Montgomery's Eighth Army, the so called Desert Rats at the relief of Tobruk and the watershed victory at El Aleamein, as an anti tank gunner.

      But there was still time for sport even then and Bob once captained the regimental hockey team in a match and then played football and cricket all in the same day! It was during this time he also began to cultivate an interest in race horses, an interest that was to endure for the rest of his life. A jockey called Reg Stretton was in Bob's regiment and the two became great friends. In later years Bob was to strike close friendships with British horse racing figures Frank Carr and Frankie Durr.

      Whilst Bob was on active service in Italy he was given the news that his younger brother Alan had died back home at the age of fifteen from scarlet fever and diptheria. On hearing this news, Bob wandered aimlessley away from where he had been positioned, understandably dazed and upset by what he had heard, and moments later a shell dropped and exploded right where he had been. The tragic news had ironically saved his own life.

      In June 1944 he proudly rode aboard a tank as the Allies liberated Rome. It was a proud moment as the relieving forces were welcomed as heroes by the Italians. For Bob and his fighting comrades it was the beginning of the end of the war, a war that had given him an early insight into the Scouse character, for many of the men in his regiment were Merseysiders.

      As he was to explain, "I love the city and the people here. I've been with them for many years and I fought alongside them. Ninety per cent of the regiment were from the Merseyside area. So I got to know the Liverpool character. From a psychological point of view, that was a big asset. I've had a fair time to judge the Liverpool people and I think they're tremendous." For a man not renown for his way with words that's a pretty clear and direct statement.

      In 1945, shortly before he was demobbed, Bob met Jessie on a train outside Maghull and in July the following year the two were married. In the years that followed, Bob and Jessie were to celebrate the birth of two sons, Robert and Graham, and a daughter Christine.

      Bob Paisley may not have been made for the media age, and maybe at times it seemed he could barely string together a coherent sentence in a television interview, but at heart he was a Scouser, albeit an adopted one and he identified easily with the mass of support that huddled together on the Kop at Anfield. He knew as we all did, that his football teams did all the talking that was necessary.


      "This club has been my life. I'd go out and sweep the street and be proud to do it for Liverpool FC if they asked me to." - Bob Paisley

      waltonl4
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #3: Apr 24, 2014 06:19:58 pm
      Along with Joe Fagan they built the dugouts at Anfield which was a sh*t tip when Shanks took over. Also picked up a new player from town still wearing his slippers. What a man and what a nice man, he would have been far too nice a guy to flourish today he simply wouldn't have hung around to take all this sh*t that gets plastered in every paper.He was like your favourite Uncle.
      Madscouser
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #4: Apr 24, 2014 06:33:02 pm
      When I was a kid growing up in 'kenny' , he was the manager. First league game I saw at Anfield, on my dads ticket was his last as manager

      Legend doesnt even come close. 3 European Cups in 5 years - plus the UEFA cup the year before the 1st European Cup

      Humble man and without doubt the greatest english born football manager of all time
      Redangel
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #5: Apr 24, 2014 06:47:50 pm
      Such a nice man. He always had time for the fans, just like Shanks. He was head and shoulders above some of the 'special/chosen ones'.
      He would have been appalled at the way some things are done now.
      He will however be cheering the lads on, with our other greats, Shanks and Joe.
      Sir Bob, he will always be, a humble and kind man, who would have appreciated the honour from the fans far more than a political knighthood.
      He's our 'Sir', and that's what would mean the most to him.
      RedLFCBlood
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #6: Apr 24, 2014 07:32:59 pm
      There's a shop at Hellon le hole where Paisley's house used to stand and it has a plaque on it, also next to the shop is a memorial in a little park, I used to live in a pub just across the road from called The Colliery Inn when I was around 11/12 year old.

      RedLFCBlood
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #7: Apr 24, 2014 07:35:58 pm
      The Memorial at Hetton Le Hole.



      I'll see if I can find the plaque on the shop.
      RedLFCBlood
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #8: Apr 24, 2014 07:43:09 pm
      The plaque if you look closely enough, is on the side of that little extension on the building, its small and black and a few feet up the wall, can't find any close ups of it, the park where the memorial is, is to the the left of the little extension looking at it.


      Billy1
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #9: Apr 24, 2014 08:55:08 pm
      I am the lucky one who saw Bob in all his roles at Liverpool Football Club, first as a player and he was a  good left half (in old money) then I recall Bob as our trainer. Memories of him running on to the pitch with his bucket and sponge to treat an injured player
      the players were hard then no fancy medicines. And then I remember Bob as our manager and what a manager he was, he brought so much glory to this club.
      I also recall Bob scoring the winning goal against Everton in the F.A.Cup  semi final against Everton in 1950 only to get dropped for the final against Arsenal. That was a big  big  mistake by our manager at the time George Kay and we did not have subs in those days.
      One other thing Bob was a gentleman through and through but I can assure you when he wore the Liverpool shirthe was the sort of player who was not afraid to get stuck into the opposition.
      We have had been so lucky over the years and have had so many LOYAL players like Bob. :kop5cf8koxp6:
      andylfcynwa
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #10: Apr 24, 2014 10:05:29 pm
      I dont know or remember how i really got into lfc it was very early seventie,s the only media was sportsnight on a wednesday and match of the day , i can just recall my dad letting me stay up one wednesday , and there was the kop in full bloom ,then there was Bob the scruffy cap and slippers ,the rest is vague but i was hooked , then seeing Bob lead us too our first european cup and just take it all in his stride ,a gentleman of the highest order and a man that we all can be proud of .
      shabbadoo
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #11: Apr 24, 2014 10:09:29 pm
      A wrong needs to be corrected & by that I mean a statue of our most successful manager alongside our founding father.

      Any reasons why one has not been commissioned by the club?.
      redkop63
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #12: Apr 24, 2014 10:30:06 pm
      The difference between Sir Bob and the mourinhos and alex slurs is he went round the country and bought rough diamonds and won trophies with them instead of being a manufactured club.
      MIRO
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #13: Apr 24, 2014 10:56:33 pm
      Bob evolved Shankly's blueprint and took us up to another level.

      A wonderful man .

      SIR Bob.
      Madscouser
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #14: Apr 25, 2014 07:47:02 am
      A few gems from the man :-
      Bob's first season ended in failure; Liverpool only finished second!
      "I'll admit, right away, that I am disappointed that we did not have a major trophy to show for our efforts. We were in four and we had a good side, but when you count second place as failure, then standards are becoming fantastically high. We never celebrate second place here."

      *
       
      Celebrating Liverpool's first European Cup win in 1977
      "This is the second time I've beaten the Germans here... the first time was in 1944. I drove into Rome on a tank when the city was liberated. If anyone had told me I'd be back here to see us win the European Cup 33 years later I'd have told them they were mad! But I want to savour every minute of it... which is why I'm not having a drink tonight. I'm just drinking in the occasion."
       
      *
       
      Paisley addressing the crowd from St George's hall after the European win in 1977.
      "In the 38 years I've been here, this excels everything. And of course it's the biggest day in Liverpool Football Club's life."
       
      *
       
      Bob Paisley showed on more than one occasion that he was a very funny man. Bill Shankly spent his first Saturday afternoon in retirement watching his local home match, Everton - Derby County. Meanwhile Liverpool were playing at Luton and when the press asked Bob what Shankly was doing this particular afternoon, he replied:
      "He's trying to get right away from football. I believe he went to Everton."
      Madscouser
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #15: Apr 25, 2014 07:50:07 am
      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 ?
      bad boy bubby
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #16: Apr 26, 2014 09:50:50 am
      This might sound corny but following Liverpool F.C. has given me some valuable lessons in life. One thing, in particular, I picked up from observing Bob Paisley was the way he was magnanimous in victory; gracious in defeat. A true gent; humble but oozing class from every pore.

      Anther foundation stone at the very core of what we are.
      Brian78
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #17: Apr 30, 2014 09:38:53 pm
      Rest easy tonight Sir Bob knowing that the tw*t will not equal you
      Scotia
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #18: Apr 30, 2014 10:49:04 pm
      Bob said he always wanted to sign Kenny, and then Keegan wanted to leave.

      Exact quote was something along the lines of "...imagine we'd 'ave 'ad 'em both..mighta won something..."

      Bob was humble...but he knew what he'd done and that makes me smile.
      Brian78
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #19: May 24, 2014 10:52:55 pm
      Well Sir Bob, finally someone has equalled your record.

      It was always going to happen. Let us be thankful that a decent man done it. A man who was a fine player and has been a fine manager. Theres a lot worse could have equalled it, a lot worse

      Let us never forget you done 3 in 5 seasons. This man done it in 11

      Always the greatest!
      JD
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #20: May 24, 2014 11:01:06 pm
      I don't have any significant opinions on Ancelotti either way so would prefer it to have been someone like him than a Mourinho/Ferguson.

      Fantastic achievement for both men - Paisley in terms of dominance and Ancelotti doing it at different sides.
      srslfc
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #21: May 24, 2014 11:02:25 pm
      I don't have any significant opinions on Ancelotti either way so would prefer it to have been someone like him than a Mourinho/Ferguson.

      Fantastic achievement for both men - Paisley in terms of dominance and Ancelotti doing it at different sides.

      I was hoping Bob's record didn't go tonight but if it had to go then Ancelotti was one I least minded it going to.
      zz19a
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      Re: The Bob Paisley appreciation thread
      Reply #22: May 24, 2014 11:02:46 pm
      Well Sir Bob, finally someone has equalled your record.

      It was always going to happen. Let us be thankful that a decent man done it. A man who was a fine player and has been a fine manager. Theres a lot worse could have equalled it, a lot worse

      Let us never forget you done 3 in 5 seasons. This man done it in 11

      Always the greatest!

       :romanjury: :gt-happyup: :gt-happyup: :gt-happyup: :oranje: :oranje: :oranje:

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