Bob Paisley

Bob Paisley won 20 honours in nine seasons: 6 League Championships, 3 League Cups, 6 Charity Shields, 3 European Cups, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cup.

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. He is also one of five managers to have won the English top-flight championship as both a player and manager at the same club.

Quick Facts

Full name: Robert Paisley
Born: 23 January 1919
Birthplace: Hetton-le-Hole, England
Died: 14 February 1996
Place of death: Liverpool, England
Height: 5 ft 7 in / 1.7 m
Position: Left-half

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. 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 signed for Bishop Auckland before the 1937–38 season. Paisley played for Bishop Auckland 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. In October 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. Paisley was stationed at several camps throughout Great Britain including one at Rhyl. For a long time, he was stationed at a camp near Tarporley in Cheshire which was about thirty miles from Anfield.

On one occasion, Paisley was given clearance by the Army to play for Liverpool against Everton in the 1940 Liverpool Senior Cup final. To get there, he had to use his bicycle and cycle nearly the whole way. He left the bike in Birkenhead and hitched a lift through the Mersey Tunnel. After the match, he had to do the same journey in reverse to return to camp. At the end of August 1941, on the bank holiday, Paisley was posted overseas and did not return to England until 1945.