Bob Paisley Legacy

The reluctant genius who built Liverpool's European dynasty.

Bob Paisley (23 January 1919 – 14 February 1996) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Reluctantly taking the job in 1974, he built on the foundations laid by his predecessor Bill Shankly and went on to become the most successful English manager in history. Paisley is the first of five managers to have won the European Cup three times.

Quick Facts

Total major trophies: 20 in nine seasons (including League Cups, European Super Cup, and Charity Shields)

Lore & Background

Paisley came from a small County Durham mining community and, in his youth, played for Bishop Auckland, before he signed for Liverpool in 1939. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and could not make his Liverpool debut until 1946. In the 1946–47 season, he was a member of the Liverpool team that won the First Division title for the first time in 24 years. He was made club captain in 1951, and remained with Liverpool until he retired from playing in 1954.

He stayed with the club, and took on the two roles of reserve team coach and club physiotherapist. By this time, Liverpool had been relegated to the Second Division and its facilities were in decline. Shankly was appointed Liverpool manager in December 1959, and he promoted Paisley to work alongside him as his assistant in a management/coaching team that included Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett. Under their leadership, the fortunes of Liverpool turned around dramatically and, in the 1961–62 season, the team gained promotion back to the First Division.

Paisley filled an important role as tactician under Shankly's leadership, and the team won numerous honours during the next twelve seasons. In 1974, Shankly retired as manager and, despite Paisley's own initial reluctance, he was appointed as Shankly's successor. He went on to lead Liverpool through a period of domestic and European dominance, winning twenty honours in nine seasons: six League Championships, three League Cups, six Charity Shields, three European Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super Cup.

He won honours at a rate of 2.2 per season, an English record. At the time of his retirement he had won the Manager of the Year Award a record six times. Paisley retired from management in 1983 and was succeeded by Joe Fagan. He died in 1996, aged 77, after having Alzheimer's disease for several years. In 2002, Paisley was among the six managers who were inaugural inductees into the English Football Hall of Fame.

Reader's Guide

Bob Paisley was born on Thursday 23 January 1919, in the small County Durham coal mining village of Hetton-le-Hole. He attended a local school until he was thirteen. He was an outstanding footballer at Eppleton Primary School and helped his team win seventeen trophies in a four-year period. Throughout his playing career, he was a left half.

After leaving school at the age of 14, Paisley initially worked alongside his father at the pit. The mine was closed down and he trained to become a bricklayer. Paisley had joined Hetton Football Club after leaving school in 1933. He had a boyhood dream of playing for Sunderland but when he was recommended to them by Hetton he was rejected as being 'too small'.

Instead, he signed for Bishop Auckland before the 1937–38 season. Paisley played for 'the Bishops' for two seasons until he was signed by Liverpool in May 1939. His signing on fee was £25 and his wages were £8 a week in the season and £6 a week during the summer. Following pre-season training, Paisley took part in two reserve team games at the start of the 1939–40 season but all competitions were cancelled after war was declared on 3 September.

Paisley had got to know Matt Busby, who was then Liverpool's club captain. In October 1939 he was called up into the Army who assigned him to the Royal Artillery in which he was a gunner in the 73rd Medium Regiment. He was posted overseas at the end of August 1941 and did not return to England until 1945. He could not make his Liverpool debut until 1946.