Liverpool FC is steeped in history and the famed boot room boys have played a significant role in the powerhouse we see today. Here we look back at some of the brilliant photos of their era.
The boot room was Liverpool’s inner sanctum that plotted Liverpool’s incredible rise from the Second Division to Kings of Europe.
The influence was vast from Bill Shankly and his backroom staff of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Ronnie Moran, Tom Saunders and Reuben Bennett, who are affectionately known as the boot room boys.
The boot room was a small meeting place underneath the Main Stand at Anfield that served as the epicentre of the Reds’ brains trust, where they analysed opponents and shared ideas that would have a long-lasting influence over the club.
The original six members would sit and talk for hours, everything was on the table and they even welcomed opposition coaches who would could then be schmoozed into relaying information.
Shankly was the catalyst for the lineage of legendary managers that would follow in his footsteps, with his arrival in 1959 triggering an incredible rise and a long sustained period of success.
He oversaw 783 games during his 15 years as manager of Liverpool and led his team to 10 honours, including four league titles, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields and one UEFA Cup.
The man of the people delivered the club’s first ever FA Cup in 1965 and led his formidable side with distinction before announcing his shock decision to retire in 1974.
The great Bob Paisley would pick up from where Shankly left off, a smooth transition that catapulted the Reds to greater heights domestically and in Europe.
From 1974 to 1983, Paisley was the reluctant genius who added 20 trophies to the cabinet in just nine seasons; six league titles, three European Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Cup, one Super Cup and three charity shields.
But long before he became manager, he was a Liverpool player before rising up the ranks off the field and becoming the natural successor to Shankly.
An introvert and not one for the spotlight, Paisley soon stepped into the limelight after taking up the manager’s position 35 years after first joining the club.
His first season as manager would end without silverware but it would be the first and last time, headlined by an incredible three European Cups.
Once his time at the helm came to an end in 1983, Paisley had loyally served Liverpool Football Club for 44 years and the baton would then be handed to fellow boot room original, Joe Fagan.
“When I was appointed manager of Liverpool Football Club, it was inevitable that people should pose the question: ‘How can he follow Bob Paisley?’”
It was a fair question from Fagan after some sizeable shoes were left to be filled and while he too was a reluctant successor, his transition was seamless.
Fagan joined Liverpool as a coach in 1958 and would remain an ever-present at Anfield until 1985, with his 131 games in the top job returning one European Cup, one league title and one League Cup.
And those three trophies arrived as part of a historic treble in his first season in 1983/84, one that could be easily argued as Liverpool’s finest.
Kenny Dalglish would emerge as the first student of the boot room to rise to the top job and continue the fine legacy that had come before him, but there was still one original member that would briefly sit in the hot seat.
When Dalglish had sensationally stood down in 1991, Moran was turned to until a replacement could be found as he was the obvious and trusted choice after being embedded in the club since 1949.
He would be in charge for just 10 games before the club decided Graeme Souness would be the next permanent manager, who he then again deputised for when the Scot underwent heart surgery in 1992.
Moran was one of the club’s greatest ever servants.
The original boot room legacy from Shankly to Moran lasted an incredible 33 years but their influence extended beyond just their small room at Anfield, but to all those who would follow in their footsteps.
They created the Liverpool way and the spirit that still runs through the club in present day, a legacy and culture that will always be at the heart of Liverpool FC.
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