How would the greatest manager in the history of the game fare in the media saturated world of today's football, where footballers resemble Hollywood stars more than the Stanley Matthew`s of the past.
People have different views on who is the greatest manager in British football of all time, fans of Manchester Utd will either say Matt Busby or Alex Ferguson, fans of Liverpool will be divided between Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley and others will put forward the merits of great managers like Jock Stein, Alf Ramsey, Bill Nicholson, Brian Clough and many others.
If the title went to the manager who won the most silverware then the title would go to Paisley, but i think that would be unfair to the rest of the challengers, they all faced different challenges when they took charge of their respective clubs, so its not all about medals and cups its about what they did for their respective clubs. That is why we can never say who is the best from the past, we can only state what our opinion is, and here is mine and why.
For me Paisley will always be the greatest, but it is impossible to write about him without mentioning the great Bill Shankly because their managerial careers are so intertwined. Shankly took over at Liverpool when they were a mediocre team in the old second division, who every year nearly got promoted but always fell at the last hurdle. Shankly took them into the first division and went on to make them the best team in England and started the Liverpool empire, and for his achievements the Liverpool fan base will always be divided on who was the greatest, Shankly or Paisley, but as one journalist once said `Shankly lit the fire, and Paisley fueled it´.
But for me this also shows why Paisley comes out number one, Shankly was the great motivator of that team while the soft spoken Paisley was the better tactician and would have a quiet word here and there with the players, while Shankly`s achievements at building the Liverpool empire might seem the greatest feat, we have to remember that Paisley played a major part in all of this.
When Shankly made his shock announcement to the world that he was retiring and made his recommendation to the board that his replacement should be his number two, Paisley reluctantly accepted, and on the first day of pre-season training walked into the dressing room and announced to the players 'Shanks has gone and they're giving me the job even though I didn't really want it. But we must try to carry on what he's started'.
And from here the Paisley era started, an era that would produce the greatest football club team the world has ever known, a team that in nine years won six League titles,3 European Cups,1 UEFA Cup, 1 European Super Cup,5 Charity Shields and 3 League Cups. This was all done by a man who would never raise his voice and would potter around Anfield in his flat cap, woolly cardigan and carpet slippers.
But the question is how would Paisley fare in the football world of today, with the Mourhinho and the Ferguson`s that the modern game has produced. No doubt Shankly would relish the modern day war of words between managers, but it would be short lived because of Shankly`s quick wit and killer statements no one would dare take him on. But Paisley would never reply, such was his mannerism and instead let his team speak for him on the pitch.
But people that think that Paisley could or would not embrace the technology that is part of the modern game would be very much mistaken. When Paisley finished his playing career he took a huge interest in psychology and physiotherapy and actually sat in on a number of operations to learn more about the human body and its injuries,
Paisley's had an amazing ability to spot and diagnose injuries early on, and it was said that he could diagnose a player by just watching him walk. He said himself `I'd always had an interest in physiotherapy and psychology. The physio side probably stemmed from the knocks I got as a player. I found that valuable later on. It stood me in good stead. If I was pinned down I'd say that was my greatest asset. I could speak to players and give them examples of injuries and how they heal´.
Whatever he was doing worked because while at Liverpool they had very few long term injuries compared to other teams of the day.
He was decades ahead of his time in realising the importance of having a squad of players being ready for battle both mentally and physically. He was a man of few words but when he spoke people listened.
When he reluctantly took over the helm at Anfield many people thought because of his soft spoken manner and his very few words that he was too soft to run and continue the building of the empire built by his predecessor Shankly, how very wrong they were. He showed his ruthlessness by selling Kevin Keegan the star of the Liverpool team of the day which in comparable terms would be like selling Steven Gerrard today. But he bought one Kenny Dalglish, and the rest is history.
Imagine Bob Paisley in today's modern game, one picture keeps coming to me, Jose Mourhinho standing in his technical area on the sideline in his expensive Armani suit and beside him, the grandad like figure of the great Sir Bob Paisley in his flat cap, woolly cardigan and carpet slippers.
So if people want to know if famous sports people from the past would succeed in today's world, they should look no further than Bob Paisley, not only would he survive in today's game, he would thrive in the world of today's football, his biggest attributes when he managed was that he could spot talent from a mile away, that he was not afraid to change his tactics for different teams as he proved with his European conquests, he embraced new ideas on fitness and psychology, so as to the question could he survive, if he were around today he once again conquer the football world.
And finally, we dont need the government to recognise what the great man achieved by giving any gongs or medals, to all Liverpool fans across the globe he will always be the great Sir Bob Paisley.
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