Hi lads and lasses, here is a link to an article in the Sunderland echo which also has a slideshow for anyone interested.
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/Liverpool-fan39s-tribute-to-legend.4400258.jpPublished Date:
18 August 2008
By Jane O'Neill
Hundreds of Liverpool fans arrived early on Wearside this weekend for the unveiling of a memorial to football legend Bob Paisley.
More than 200 supporters joined locals from the late, great Paisley's home town for the special ceremony to unveil an engraved stone at Hetton Memorial Park.
The Merseyside fans then headed off to the Stadium of Light to see their team beat the Black Cats by one goal in their opening game of the new season.
Earlier this year, the Bob Paisley Memorial Committee embarked on a series of fund-raisers to pay for a lasting tribute to one of the most successful managers in English football.
In his nine years in charge of the Reds from 1974, he took the team to six league titles, three League Cups, three European Cups, one Uefa Cup and a European Super Cup.
John Price, clerk of Hetton Town Council, said: "The Liverpool organising committee have been working with the town council over the last few months to make this possible.
"All the funds were raised by volunteers, and thankfully the sun shone for unveiling ceremony.
"We tried to keep everything local and the stone was made and engraved up here. They've made a really good job of it."
Liverpool supporter and football poet Peter Etherington, known as Evo, read out a poem he had penned especially for the event.
He said: "His achievements live on in what we have all come to see, this memorial to our legend, the great Bob Paisley.
"We have been up here since Friday and have been welcomed all over the town. It's been great."
Bob's son, also Bob, made the journey to Hetton to see the memorial to his father.
He said: "It has been lovely, a really special day. I was quite surprised how many people are here. It's quite unexpected."
Paisley was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 1992. He died on February 14, 1996.
Bob's rise to the pinnacle of football
Bob Paisley, born in Hetton, joined Liverpool from non-League Bishop Auckland FC in May 1939.
Bob Paisley with a collection of trophies won as Liverpool's manager.
However, as with so many of his generation, the outbreak of World War ll delayed the start of his career.
He eventually made his long-overdue debut on January 5, 1946, in Liverpool's first post-war competitive match, which was an FA Cup 3rd round game.
Paisley's first goal came on May 1, 1948, in a league game at Anfield, against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
His 22nd-minute strike along with a Jack Balmer goal in the 80th were enough to help the Reds win 2-1.
In the first full season after the war, Paisley helped Liverpool to their first league title in 24 years, making 34 appearances in the 42-match season.
After retiring in 1954, he joined the back room staff as self-taught physiotherapist and had a knack of being able to diagnose a player's injury just by looking at them.
The arrival of Bill Shankly as manager in December 1959 transformed the fortunes of the club. Paisley became Shankly's right-hand man and the partnership blossomed, as the three league titles, two FA Cups and Uefa Cup won over the next 15 years demonstrated.
In July 1974, Shankly rocked the foundations of the club when, out of the blue, he announced his retirement. Like thousands of Kopites, the directors of Liverpool pondered on who to appoint as the great man's successor.
Ultimately they turned to the unassuming Paisley who, reluctantly, took on the mountainous task of following Shankly.
His record would better than that of Shankly. Paisley led the team for nine seasons, winning at least one trophy in eight of those.
