Anfield has changed beyond all recognition since Bill Shankly made it his House of Scouse.
But there’s a sanctuary at the heart of Liverpool’s famous stadium, currently occupied by Jurgen Klopp, that is the nerve centre of the club: The Boot Room. It’s a different space from the one which was only big enough for a few cheap chairs and a tatty formica table when Shanks was turning “the biggest toilet in town” into his “bastion of invincibility”.
When Anfield’s Main Stand was being rebuilt, the need to retain the spirit of Shankly was included in the plans. That meant a new Boot Room. One which Klopp describes as “the best pub in Liverpool ” in a new BT Sport documentary which details the place from which Shankly built his dream.
It was amidst the plumes of cigarette smoke, the whiff of whiskey and the drying pairs of Puma and Adidas, that Shankly held court with his most trusted advisors when he arrived in 1959 to manage a club that was ensconced in the old second division. Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan would both become manager after Shanks had retired - and would win the one trophy he couldn’t: the European Cup.
There was also Ronnie Moran, Reuben Bennett and Tom Saunders. Later, Roy Evans would be invited in, after Shankly had persuaded him to hang up his boots on a playing career that promised so much when he was capped by England Schoolboys but had only fleetingly seen him play for Liverpool’s first team, to become reserve-team coach.
Evans was only 26 - but would also go on to walk in Shanks’ shoes as manager. Born and bred in the same Bootle streets as Jamie Carragher, Evans has seen in all. Now aged 73, Evans recalled: “We were in the second division when Bill Shankly came to the club and not really going anywhere. My dad, who played at a decent level in the Welsh League, used to take me to Liverpool one week and Everton the next - and it’s fair to say that the best team played at Goodison.
“But Shanks’ arrival changed history. Without him, Liverpool wouldn’t be the club it is today. And at the heart of it all was the Boot Room. Looking back, I think the secret to it all was that Shanks surrounded himself with people who all had different characters. He didn’t want ‘yes’ men who wouldn’t challenge him or bring him new ideas.
“They all brought something different to the table. Bob (Paisley) was the total opposite of Shankly in that he wasn’t the best talker in the world, but he had an incredible knowledge of the game. Joe Fagan was another great character who didn’t want any attention but had a real understanding of the game. Ronnie Moran used to kick the players’ backsides when needed - and I think when Shanks asked me to take over the reserves it was so I could be Mr Nice Guy.
“There were others. Geoff Twentyman was the chief scout. He spotted players like Kevin Keegan, Ray Clemence and Phil Neal in the lower leagues. Tom Saunders and John Bennisson worked with the youth team and were always in the place. Everyone brought experience and an opinion. Everything and anything was up for discussion - and then the manager would make the final decision. Once that happened we were all behind it.”
Klopp has his own team of lieutenants - and despite coming from the banks of the Neckar river rather than the Mersey, the man from Stuttgart seems to possess what Shankly called “a northern soul". Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz have even been trusted to take charge of the first-team when the German has been absent. Klopp calls it “The Boot Room reloaded".
Evans said: “There will never be another Bill Shankly, he was unique. But Jurgen Klopp is someone who, like Shanks, recognises that teamwork in football is massive - and I’m not just talking about the players out on the pitch. Jurgen has also got that same enthusiasm and is always someone who builds his players up rather than knocks them down. You can see what the club means to him watching him celebrate on the pitch with the fans.”
The Boot Room Boys, the latest from the award-winning BT Sport Films series, will premiere on BT Sport 3 at 10.30pm on 5 April and will be available via the BT Sport App any time thereafter. For more info, visit btsport.com
