LEGENDARY former Huddersfield Town manager Bill Shankly would have been 100 on September 2 – and two of his other former clubs, Preston and Liverpool, have dedicated their forthcoming pre-season friendly to the great man.
The sides meet at Deepdale on Saturday, July 13, providing a high-profile occasion for another ex-Town boss Simon Grayson , now in charge at North End and plotting a fourth League I promotion campaign after successes with Blackpool, Leeds and the John Smith’s club.
Click here to see a gallery of Bill Shankly's time at Huddersfield Town and Liverpool.
Brendan Rodgers will take his team to Preston before a tour which takes in Jakarta, Melbourne, Bangkok, Valerenga and Dublin.
The Reds will also play Olympiacos in Steven Gerrard’s testimonial at Anfield on Saturday August 3, the day the new Football League campaign starts.
Shankly, above, who died aged 68 in September 1981, spent 16 years as a Preston player, and was a member of the North End side who beat Town 1-0 in the 1938 FA Cup final at Wembley. He also won five Scotland caps.
Having bossed Carlisle, where he started his playing career, Grimsby and Workington, he was brought to Leeds Road in December 1955 as assistant to his old Preston teammate Andy Beattie, and succeeded him as manager in November 1956.
He set about reviving Town’s fortunes after relegation from the top flight and was keen to go with youth, handing debuts at just 16 to Denis Law and Kevin McHale.
The signs of a renaissance were in evidence when Shankly left for Liverpool in November 1959, starting an era of huge success at Anfield.
Shankly’s first trophy was the original Division II title in 1962, and he also claimed three league championships (1964, 66 and 73), two FA Cup wins (1965 and 74) and the UEFA Cup in 1973.
One of Shankly’s four brothers, Bob, was also a manager, of Falkirk, Third Lanark, Dundee – who he guided to the Scottish title in 1962 and the European Cup semi-finals in 1963 – Hibs and Stirling.
