On the 30th May 2004 (before Benitez was appointed), I wrote a post on ThisIsAnfield.com arguing that Martin O Neill should get the Manager's job ahead of Benitez and Jose Mourinho. Five years later and O'Neill is apparently one of the favourites to become the next Liverpool manager. Well, my opinion has not changed: For me, O'neill is the only man for the job. Click to continue reading...

Book Review: The Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout by Simon Hughes
Now this is an intriguing book. Whilst most of the key architects of Liverpools's lasting success over the four decades after Bill Shankly took over avtively shunned publicity, most were still pushed into the limelight. Click to continue reading...

In November 1959 Bill Shankly was approached by two men at the end of a Huddersfield game. One was Tom Williams, the Liverpool chairman, the other Harry Latham, a director. "How would you like to manage the best club in the country?" asked Williams. "Why?" Shankly replied, sharp as ever. "Is Matt Busby packing it in?

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Despite 8 defeats in 15 games this season, JODY DANIELS refuses to give up hope, and is confident that if Liverpool fans keep the faith, their loyalty will eventually be rewarded.
In my view, fans publicly chastising the club Manager/Owners (or accepting the pessimistic, bias and prejudiced stories written by the media) is totally against the spirit of Liverpool FC. Click to continue reading...

He headed down the tunnel, avoided a few picture takers, autograph hounds, his own subs wanting to talk tactics. He signaled to them but avoided conversation, winding his way to an executive office and finding a private bathroom.
He looked in the mirror. "The fat Spanish waiter." His palms were still sweaty, so he washed them and then washed his face. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has insisted that he would like to remain as the tactican of the Merseyside club for many more years to come.
The Reds are in a serious crisis, as six losses in seven games has threatened to throw the club's ambitions out the window. A seventh loss - against Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League - would be catastrophic for the Anfield outfit, as it would be their worst run since the appointment of the legendary Bill Shankly as manager of the club. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool are facing the prospect of their worst run of results since the Bill Shankly era started 50 years ago - but under-fire boss Rafael Benitez has received backing from an Anfield legend.
Benitez is battling to overcome a horror injury list ahead of the make-or-break Champions League showdown in Lyon on Wednesday. Click to continue reading...

Bill Shankly once said: "Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor". Against Fulham on Saturday, Rafa Benitez didn't aim for the sky or the ceiling; he didn't even aim for the floor! With his cautious approach and maddeningly incomprehensible decisions, Benitez went against everything Liverpool FC stands for and committed the ultimate footballing sin: he gave up and conceded defeat. Click to continue reading...

Paul Armstrong the editor of the iconic BBC production, Match of the Day joins us to answer everything you want to know about the show.

Topics discussed include the theme music from the program, the running order of highlights, why certain matches have more highlights, why some weeks have midweek MOTD and others do not, what MOTD2 is, and much, much more.

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Big Story

Today most newspapers are running with the extraordinary pressure on Rafa Benitez's Liverpool to win their fixture today against Manchester United, a game that Gary Neville recently called Manchester's "real" derby. Following last week's infamous (foot)Ball on (beach)Ball action and a home loss to Lyon in the CL, the fans and press have their fangs out for Liverpool's big man, and if not for him, then the American whipping boys Gillette and Hicks.

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Granted that all LFC fans want us to succeed but to agree along with what the media have been calling for non-stop now would be ridiculous. They want Rafa's head to roll. And this after what Rafa has achieved even with so many obstacles (need they be mentioned again and again?) in front of him.Â

Here's something from the www.

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Rafael Benítez has been unable to get beach-ball boy off his mind over the past few days. That's the kid who kicked off Liverpool's latest crisis by throwing an inflatable on to the pitch at the Stadium of Light.
Six days later, Benítez's side are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after Tuesday's defeat by Lyons, their title aspirations are in ruins and Michael Owen and Manchester United are due in town on Sunday. Click to continue reading...

Sir Alex Ferguson has won 33 trophies in 22 years at the helm of Manchester United, and he was recently recognized for his tremendous success. The makers of Football Manager 2010 had Ferguson topping their poll of the Greatest Manager of All-Time.
The poll features other Knights of the Realm such as the late, great Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alf Ramsey but despite their fine records, none of them can match Sir Alex's two decade long domination of the English game. Click to continue reading...

It happens quite a lot nowadays in Liverpool. A man (or woman) walks into a room, bearing a small pin-badge on their clothing, and instantly gets the thumbs-up. The badge may be understated, but its emblem, and what it stands for, is most definitely not.
Arms outstretched, with a red scarf around his neck, Bill Shankly is captured forever in his most famous pose. Click to continue reading...

Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been voted as the greatest football manager of all time. Sir Alex came ahead of some of the football greats such as Sir Alf Ramsey, Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Matt Busby.
This poll was carried out by the makers of Football Manager 2010, here are the top 10 football managers of all time, voted for by the public. Click to continue reading...

A recent poll carried out by Sports Interactive has confirmed what we United fans have known for sometime. Sir Alex Ferguson is by far the greatest manager to have ever graced the game of football.

Football fans who play the popular Football Manager game series were polled to see who they hold in highest regard with Fergie coming out on top; head and shoulders above anyone else.

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Sir Alex Ferguson is assured legendary status in football and his achievements have been recognised by football fans worldwide - even those that prefer spending their days playing Football Manager than playing football.

Ferguson topped a poll carried out by Sports Interactive (makers Football Manager 2010) with 26 per cent of the vote.

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Bill Shankly once said: "A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best, and then make sure that you are." Truer words have never been spoken, and every Liverpool player needs to take that philosophy on board before it's too late.
In my "The good, the bad and ugly" article I mentioned that the problem with Liverpool this season is not that they're losing, but how they're losing. Click to continue reading...

Today's Sunderland defeat is clearly a devastating blow to Liverpool's title chances, after all, no team can win the league after losing 4 of their first 9 league games...right? WRONG. During the 1963-64 season, Bill Shankly's Liverpool team did just that!
I personally don't believe Liverpool can win the title this season, but as history proves, it IS theoretically possible, and it HAS been done before. Click to continue reading...

Many superb Scottish players have turned out for Liverpool over the years, making a considerable contribution to the club's success. But who makes the best ever XI?
Here is my all time Scottish XI:
Manager: Bill Shankly
----------------------- Tommy Lawrence
Steve Nicol --- Alan Hansen --- Ron Yeats --- Bill Dunlop
Willie Stevenson - Graeme Souness(c) - Peter Cormack - Billy Liddell
------------------- Kenny Dalglish
----------------------------- Ian St John
Substitutes
Bert Slater (GK)
Willie Fagan
Gary McAllister
Donald McKinlay
Jimmy McDougall
Total appearances combined: 10,705
Total goals combined: 1396
----
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Alexander Caulfield and Kartik Krishnaiyer take a trip down memory lane in discussing the historic legacy and the managerial styles of both Bill Shankly (Liverpool) and Don Revie (Leeds United).

A must listen to show for fans of either club!

Be sure not to miss a single episode of the EPL Talk Podcast, the only Premier League interview show on the Internet.

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I got a call yesterday from someone reminding me it was the 28th anniversary of Bill Shankly's death.
It's hard to believe so many years have passed since that time.
Of course, it is 50 years ago this December that Shanks first took over as manager of Liverpool. And the rest, as they say, is history. Click to continue reading...

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the death of Bill Shankly. It's really hard to believe it has been that long. Unlike most of you, I never had the privilege of watching Shankly in person.

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Today marks the 28th anniversary of the death of Bill Shankly. It's really hard to believe it has been that long. Unlike most of you, I never had the privilege of watching Shankly in person. My age made it impossible, so I've instead been watching tape of the man for the last 20+ years of my life.

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Romanticism and nostalgia - both are integral to the Liverpool fan experience, and when one hears the words "Liverpool Football Club", you almost expect the word ‘history' to pop up somewhere. But what exactly does history mean in this day and age, and is it actually important to the club's prospects of success? Click to continue reading...

Another good Carling Cup night at the Grove on Tuesday evening. Jack Wilshere was the star of the show but overall a good team performance saw off the Baggies without too much difficulty. Sanchez Watt, who appears to be the latest player from the youth scheme to have come to Arsène Wenger's attention, also got himself on the score-sheet, as did Carlos Vela coming on as a substitute after a while out injured.

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Croatia have qualified for three successive World Cups since Independence, reaching the Semi Final in 1998. It's a remarkable record for a nation of 4 Million. It could be about to end.
Croatia may have been resurgent under Slaven Bilić, qualifying emphatically for the EURO 2008 tournament, pimping McClaren's England along the way, but 2007-8 was a long time ago.

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Much has been made of the demise of Leeds United AFC. We are all familiar with the tale of gross overspending, Ridsdale's goldfish, and a descent into the third tier of English football. Football supporters have little sympathy for a club that reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2001 and are now playing in League One due to its own negligence.

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Debrecen VSC being drawn out of the final pot to complete Group E of this season's Champions League will hardly have sent shivers down the spine of Liverpool fans the world over.
Yet Hungary is traditionally one of Liverpool's unhappiest hunting grounds. The Reds have never won there in four attempts. Click to continue reading...

There was only one Bill Shankly; he was the best manager this land has ever seen, and despite the claims of many a Manchester United fan, his achievements will never be equalled. Benitez is not, and never will be, the next Shanks, But could he be the next Liverpool manager to write his name into Anfield folklore? Click to continue reading...

Kevin Keegan once described Sir Bobby Robson as one of his ‘all time favourite football managers', and I'm sure that many Liverpool fans also have a soft-spot for Robson, a true legend of the game, who sadly passed away today.
A thoroughly decent man, Sir Bobby shared many of the same personal qualities as Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley and remained unaffected by the shallow excesses of modern football. Click to continue reading...

Near the end of last season, Fernando Torres stated that winning the Champions League is more important than winning the league title. Sacrilege, surely? Whilst Torres is perfectly entitled to his opinion, such a belief is contrary to a long-standing principle of Liverpool FC's philosophy.
In an interview in April 2009, Torres stated:
"Domestic titles are very important but to win the Champions League you are saying we are the best team in Europe. Click to continue reading...

Tommy Smith is worried that his former club Liverpool, with whom he excelled as a central defender under the management of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley in the 1960s and '70s, are facing a defensive injury crisis ahead the beginning of the new Premier League season.
Smith also feels that that a general lack of experience amongst the Reds' current defenders could be a cause for concern over the coming campaign. Click to continue reading...

For all the training to do, money to spend and skill to have, it's amazing that so much of what happens in football can be chalked up to luck.
It is on the pitch where players and fans pray most for such intervention, but even off it, Jamie Carragher for one, certainly laments the lack of luck Liverpool have had recently in finding young players who would go on to become household names, as they did during the club's golden era. Click to continue reading...

Come on Rafa!

David Silva has been linked with us longer than Bill Shankly it feels, but can anyone really see him coming to Anfield? surely by the time we sign him he will be past his prime, Aquilani I personally find a strange fit, I admit that I haven't seen that much of him and when I have seen him he seems ok rather than outstanding, his fitness record isn't great plus the success of the Italians in the EPL isn't fantastic.

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