When it comes to Glory Days, there isn't a team in England that can match Liverpool's.
When you consider their achievements during the era that started with the legendary Bill Shankly and continued under the stewardship of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and the exalted Kenny Dalglish then you can understand the frustration of supporters desperate to win the league title for the first time since 1990.
Bill Shankly - perhaps, along with Brian Clough, the most quoted football manager of all time - was actually appointed manager in 1959 but had to get the club out of the 'old' Second Division before his title winning days could begin. Arguably, though, a decision he made early on in his managerial career proved to be one of the most important of them all. Should you go on the Anfield Stadium Tour at any time, you'll see the Press Room, which is an important enough part of any modern football club. This Press Room, though, is on the site of the old Boot Room, one of the most iconic aspects of Liverpool's greatest era. It was Shankly who changed the Boot Room from its original purpose into the famous and influential 'think tank' where the Liverpool coaches would sit and talk for hours. The Boot Room, launchpad of the careers of Paisley and Fagan, would have some wonderful stories to recount.
Liverpool won the league title under Shankly for the first time in 1963 - 64; interestingly enough Manchester United, Everton, Spurs and Chelsea were the next four teams in the League, which had no fewer than 15 teams that are in this season's Premier League. (There's a good quiz question for you!) This was just the beginning of Liverpool's glorious era of domination of English, and European, football; Shankly's teams, driven by his amazing motivational powers, won the league again in 1966 and 1973, the FA Cup in 1965 and 1974 and their first European competition, the UEFA Cup, in 1973, with two goals from Kevin Keegan.
After Shankly's retirement, Bob Paisley gained even more success, winning an almost unbelievable 21 trophies during his nine seasons as manager. As well as another UEFA Cup success, this haul included no fewer than three European Cup successes in 1997, 1998 and 1981 and six league titles. The Liverpool machine looked completely unstoppable.
When the affable Paisley retired - Mark Lawrenson affectionately likened him to a favourite grandfather when he arrived to sign him from Brighton in his carpet slippers - the continuity that was so important at this time continued with the appointment of his right-hand man, Joe Fagan. In his first season as manager, 1983/84, Fagan's team became the first in England to win three trophies in one season - the European Cup, League and League Cup.
It is generally agreed that the events at the Hysel Stadium at the following season's European Cup Final had a devastating impact on the manager and he resigned soon after. Kenny Dalglish then became the first top-flight player manager in English football, successfully combining both roles. Three championships and two FA Cups meant that, although the club were no longer competing in Europe because of the post-Hysel ban, the successes were still plentiful. At the beginning of the 90s, though - after Hillsborough and with the resignation of King Kenny - the Glory days came to an end.
Liverpool have, of course, continued to win trophies and remain one of the very best teams in Europe. In recent seasons, after all, they have captured the Champions' League, UEFA Cup and two FA and League Cups. Still no sign of that elusive league title, though.
The Glory days were glorious indeed. Successive teams still run off the tongue to this day - Lawrence, Lawler, Byrne, Strong, Yeats, Stevenson, Callaghan, Hunt, St John, Smith, Thompson from the 1960s; Clemence, Neal, Jones, Smith, Kennedy, Hughes, Keegan, Case, Heighway, Callaghan, McDermott from the 1970s (with supersub Fairclough); Clemence, Neal, A Kennedy, Thompson, R Kennedy, Hansen, Dalglish, Lee, Johnson, McDermott, Souness from the early 80s; and others containing some of the English game's greatest players - Rush, Toshack, Lawrenson, Beardsley, and many, many more.
Incidentally, earlier I mentioned that there were 15 current Premier League teams in the old First Division in 1964. When Liverpool won their most recent title, in 1990, there were only 8 - including all of the top six. See if you can name them. If you really want to tease yourself, though, try working out which four current top tier teams were in the old Division Three and which was in Division Four. And which two teams that were in that division aren't even in the Football League anymore. Which puts Liverpool's 'fall' from the Glory Days into a little more perspective!
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