LFC Quotes

Great quotes from some of the all-time Liverpool FC legends.

SHANKLY

"We murdered them 0-0." Bill Shankly

"When I've got nothing better to do, I look down the league table to see how Everton are getting along." Bill Shankly

"Me having no education. I had to use my brains." Bill Shankly

"Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool." Bill Shankly

"If you can't make decisions in life, you're a bloody menace. You'd be better becoming an MP!" Bill Shankly

"A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe that you are the best and then make sure that you are. In my time at Liverpool we always said we had the best two teams in Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves." Bill Shankly

"The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game." Bill Shankly

"If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains." Bill Shankly

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Bill Shankly

"He couldn't play anyway. I only wanted him for the reserve team!" Bill Shankly upon hearing Celtic's Lou Macari had snubbed Liverpool in favour of a move to Manchester United."

"I don't believe everything Bill tells me about his players. Had they been that good, they'd not only have won the European Cup but the Ryder Cup, the Boat Race and even the Grand National!" Celtic manager Jock Stein on Bill Shankly

"Hold on a minute, John Wayne hasn't arrived yet." Bill Shankly to the awaiting TV crews and journalists for the press conference to announce he was retiring from football

"Of course I didn't take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present, it was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves." Bill Shankly

"Son, you'll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don't over-eat and don't lose your accent." Bill Shankly to Ian St John

"Don't worry Alan. At least you'll be able to play close to a great team!" Bill Shankly to Alan Ball after he signed for Everton

"It's there to remind our lads who they're playing for, and to remind the opposition who they're playing against." Bill Shankly about the 'This is Anfield' plaque

"Just go out and drop a few hand grenades all over the place son." Bill Shankly to Kevin Keegan

"Ay, here we are with problems at the top of the league." Bill Shankly suggesting to a journalist that Liverpool were in difficulties

"Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them." Bill Shankly to a reporter

"The difference between Everton and the Queen Mary is that Everton carry more passengers!" Bill Shankly

On awaiting Everton's arrival for a derby game at Anfield, Bill Shankly gave a box of toilet rolls to the doorman and said: "Give them these when they arrive – they'll need them!"

"At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques". Bill Shankly on boardroom meetings

"I'm just one of the people who stands on the kop. They think the same as I do, and I think the same as they do. It's a kind of marriage of people who like each other." Bill Shankly on the fans

"If he isn't named Footballer of the Year, football should be stopped and the men who picked any other player should be sent to the Kremlin" Bill Shankly on Tommy Smith

"It was the most difficult thing in the world, when I went to tell the chairman. It was like walking to the electric chair. That's the way it felt." Bill Shankly on the leaving of Liverpool

"Take that bandage off. And what do you mean about YOUR knee? It's Liverpool's knee!" Bill Shankly to Tommy Smith, who had a bandage on his injured knee

“Ladies and Gentlemen, yesterday at Wembley we might have lost the Cup but you the Liverpool people have won everything. You have won the admiration of the policemen in London and you have won the admiration of the public in London." Bill Shankly after losing the FA Cup in 1971 to Arsenal

To Tommy Lawrence after he let the ball go through his legs and into the goal.

Lawrence "Sorry boss I should have kept my legs closed"

Shankly "Don't worry Son its not your fault, it was your Mother who should have kept her legs closed" Bill Shankly

BOB PAISLEY

"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!" Bob Paisley

"If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later." Bob Paisley

"Mind you, I've been here during the bad times too - one year we came second." Bob Paisley

RAFAEL BENITEZ

"Winning trophies has made me put on weight."

"Before, I said that they were maybe the best supporters in England. Now maybe they are the best supporters in Europe."

"How can you tell your wife you are just popping out to play a match and then not come back for five days? [on test cricket]"

"To work hard and have our supporters behind us and believing until the end, you run a little bit more"

GERARD HOULLIER

"I wished him good luck. He's a good manager and his English is better than I thought. [on Rafa Benitez]" Gerard Houllier

"It is important for the club to find a balance in a world driven by economic and political needs. This club usually does that [on leaving Liverpool] " Gerard Houllier

"There are those who say maybe I should forget about football. Maybe I should forget about breathing." Gerard Houllier

"Liverpool players must play like a lion, give his all. There must be determination, commitment and resolve to be a Liverpool player." Gerard Houllier

 

FORMER PLAYERS

"It's best being a striker. If you miss five then score the winner, you're a hero. The goalkeeper can play a blinder, then let one in… and he's a villain." Ian Rush

"They compare Steve McManaman to Steve Heighway and he's nothing like him, but I can see why - it's because he's a bit different." Kevin Keegan

"Steve Nicol never gives more than 120 per cent." Kevin Keegan

"It was like playing in a foreign country." Ian Rush on his time with Juventus in Italy

"I said to Kevin (Keegan), 'I'll go near post' and he replied, 'No, just go for the ball.'" Tommy Smith

"Liverpool are magic. Everton are tragic." Emlyn Hughes

"If Shankly was the Anfield foreman, Paisley was the brickie, ready to build an empire with his own hands." Tommy Smith

"I may have left Liverpool but the city and club will always be part of me." Kenny Dalglish

"I always carry a picture of him, he comes into my conversation a lot; I learned a lot from him and owe the man a great deal." Kevin Keegan on Shankly

"He was the greatest person I know." Ron Yeats on Bill Shankly

"The only thing I fear is missing an open goal in front of the Kop. I would die if that were to happen. When they start singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' my eyes start to water. There have been times when I've actually been crying while I've been playing". Kevin Keegan

"Playing Roma in Rome in the European Cup final and scoring a penalty in the shoot out to help us win it. That was my very last kick for Liverpool and it doesn't really get any better than that." Graeme Souness

OTHERS

"Should the aggregate score be level after 90 minutes, extra time will be played." Fulham's matchday programme for the second leg of the Littlewoods Cup tie in 1986-87. Liverpool were 10-0 up from the first leg

"I just wanted to jump into the stand and start celebrating with those wonderful fans [on reaching the Champions League final]" Steven Gerrard

"How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this? [on winning the Champions League]" Steven Gerrard

 

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