Cheer up - an unbeaten run always has to end the same way - you get beaten. And the last Liverpool team to lose an unbeaten start to the season at Middlesborough? Yes, you've guessed it, they won the title (though the title in question was the Second Division title in 1961-2 ).
First this season became our best start to the season in 13 years. And what happened that season, 1989-90 ? We won the title. Then this season became our best start to the season since 1987-88…. and we all know about that team.
This all got me thinking. Gérard Houllier has been in sole charge of Liverpool for 4 years today, taking over when Roy Evans stepped down on Thursday 12th November 1998. I drank a toast to the future that day, and I do so again today.
And since he took over a club which was struggling to lift itself out of a rut and back to former glories, and since exactly 4 years later he finds his side top of the league, I can't help feeling a fact-by-fact comparison is in order with the greatest of all managers. Apologies if someone else has written such an article before - I haven't yet seen one, and the time is right.
Both Mr. Shankly and Mr. Houllier started their reigns with resounding home defeats, Shankly 0-4 to Cardiff, Houllier 1-3 to Leeds.
Both men kept established and trusted backroom staff in place whilst gradually beginning to rebuild every aspect of the club's training & playing approach.
In their first seasons, both Mr. Shankly & Mr. Houllier won 11 and drew 5 games (though Shankly lost 4 more after that first Cardiff defeat, whereas Mr. Houllier lost 9 more).
Both then had a second season of consolidation, during which they each phased in 3 absolutely key players - a rock of a central defender (Yeats & Hyppia), a reliable defensive midfielder (Milne & Hamann) and a 'foil' attacker to partner the massive talents already in place when the manager arrived (St. John to partner Roger Hunt and Emile Heskey to partner Michael Owen). Both men were using an immense network of contacts and pool of knowledge brought on by over a decade of watching developing players far and wide - Shankly especially exploited his Scottish contacts and his old Preston mates, just as Houllier exploited all his experience of thirteen years at the very top of French football. Both men would watch an incredible number of games every week, though Bill had only a road atlas, not videos, to help him, as Nessie could testify. [It is wonderful to think that 12 years after he joined Liverpool, Shankly's pre-Liverpool contacts were still helping him find players like Keegan, just as Shankly later helped Matt Busby 'find' Steve Coppell for Man U. - who will Mr. Houllier's French contacts be finding for us in the year 2010?]
Local youth too, began to emerge. As Shankly brought on Ian Callaghan, who would play a quiet but vital role for two whole decades, so Gérard Houllier was the careful controlling hand which supervised the explosion of stephen Gerrard's prodigious talent. Meanwhile big-heads with a star mentality were not tolerated - Shankly offloaded Hickson, and we all know what happened to the Evans-era "Spice Boy" set within a year of the Houllier takeover.
The key elements of the revolutions were by then in place, and things really took off in their 3rd seasons. Mr. Shankly won his first silverware 28 months into the job, the Second Division championship arriving in April 1962. Mr. Houllier won his first trophy 28 months after becoming joint manager and about 25 months after taking sole charge, with the Worthington Cup in February 2001. Both had put core values in place over 2½ years which made their teams very hard to beat - Shankly's team , too, now became more consistent cup battlers.
Both men needed 2 major changes of keeper before they found a truly great keeper as first Slater, then Furnell were just not good enough for Shankly. Ironically, Tommy Lawrence was not a Shankly signing, but it took him 2½ years to stake his claim to the number one shirt he kept for eight great seasons. We can only hope that Chris Kirkland's Liverpool career will follow a similar pattern, but at the moment, Dudek is Houllier's Tommy Lawrence.
So in Season three both men steered a path back to the position amongst the silverware which the supporters felt they deserved, but which is nobody's by divine right. Let's not forget - both men had to work to win over some doubting fans, but as soon as the real supporters began to see the fruits, the bond was there for all to see. Season Four brought more consolidation for both men, though obviously Houllier's side had a crack at major European glory a lot earlier than Shankly's.
Shankly's Season five left no doubts - his team had grown up together, had perfect balance, and were ready for glory. The finishing touch of course was the wide man, signed in '62, again from Preston - Peter Thompson. When he and Callaghan were crossing for Hunt & St. John the team was irresistible - you've all seen the video of Wembley '65, if you weren't lucky enough to be there. If only a wide man could have been Houllier's final touch last summer. Who knows what January may bring?
Anyway, four years on, Shankly's boys were top of the heap at last, and that's where Gérard Houllier's side stand today, even if not so convincingly. Let's now look at the overall WIN-DRAW-LOSS totals.
After 4 years, Mr Shankly had won 89, drawn 35 and lost 45 league games - many of those in the easier Division 2 where even the mediocre mid-fifties Reds only ONCE finished outside the top 4 (unlike the Blues who have achieved that feat in Division 2 twice).
But look at Mr. Houllier's figures.
Won 83, drawn 35 and lost 35 league games - all of them slightly better in percentage terms than even Bill Shankly's side's record - take away their first half season each and the difference is actually quite marked. Of course Shankly's teams scored more goals, but that was early sixties football for you - by the late sixties there were even fewer goals than we see the Reds score today.
The man who fell in love with Liverpool Football Club, the supporters and the City two decades before he was ever appointed manager is a worthy heir to the man who came to Liverpool because of the roar of the Kop and the desire to revitalise a sleeping giant in one of football's great cities. You only have to listen to Houllier's veneration for Shankly and his beautiful use of Shanklyisms. His plain red scarf is the heir to Shankly's early seventies silkie, and they practically share a birthday - Houllier was born on the 3rd of September, Shankly on the 2nd, both in sleepy country villages which had seen better days. I promise you, when Houllier brings home championship number 19 I will personally CYCLE, if not run, from Shankly's Glenbuck to Houllier's Thérouanne, carrying a replica trophy. In their different ways, both are men of the people - Houllier in a more academic way, perhaps ( undertaking research on childhood deprivation while spending his year teaching in Liverpool and studying at first hand the problems for adolescents of growing up in Liverpool 8), but both are committed to " making the people happy". It's no coincidence that, like Shankly, Houllier lives happily in urban Liverpool when he could easily move out to a walled compound in the leafy lanes of Lancashire or Cheshire.
May I quote from the oration last summer when Mr. Houllier received an honorary doctorate from Professor John Tarn of Liverpool University : "In a very few years Gérard Houllier has gained the unswerving loyalty of his players, won the affection of the Liverpool supporters and become a major figure in the life of the city and a force to be reckoned with nationally.
"He is in many ways a reticent man, totally dedicated to a
job which is also a lifestyle, but for him football is all about four things: the desire to win, the need always to be a professional, the importance of the team, and mutual respect.
"He subscribes to these beliefs himself and he also requires his players and those who work with him to respect them. As he said in a recent interview, "you win with intelligence. In the modern game passion and commitment are basic requirements, as is mental strength. But I still believe you win with your head". "
The only problem for Houllier might just be that, just as he seems born to manage Liverpool, just as he shares many of Shankly's qualities, just as he rules with a Napoleonic genius, knowing so very much about world football and about how to develop a club, so Arsène Wenger was born to manage Arsenal (just look at the name !!) has many of Bertie Mee's qualities, rules with a Napoleonic genius, knows so very so much about world football and how to develop a club…. and the trouble is, Wenger the whinger has got a winger and plenty of other width as well! Where's the new Peter Thompson going to come from?
But anyway, here's to that Great Fifth Season ….. if DESTINY has anything to do with it, I'll see you in Thérouanne next year.
First this season became our best start to the season in 13 years. And what happened that season, 1989-90 ? We won the title. Then this season became our best start to the season since 1987-88…. and we all know about that team.
This all got me thinking. Gérard Houllier has been in sole charge of Liverpool for 4 years today, taking over when Roy Evans stepped down on Thursday 12th November 1998. I drank a toast to the future that day, and I do so again today.
And since he took over a club which was struggling to lift itself out of a rut and back to former glories, and since exactly 4 years later he finds his side top of the league, I can't help feeling a fact-by-fact comparison is in order with the greatest of all managers. Apologies if someone else has written such an article before - I haven't yet seen one, and the time is right.
Both Mr. Shankly and Mr. Houllier started their reigns with resounding home defeats, Shankly 0-4 to Cardiff, Houllier 1-3 to Leeds.
Both men kept established and trusted backroom staff in place whilst gradually beginning to rebuild every aspect of the club's training & playing approach.
In their first seasons, both Mr. Shankly & Mr. Houllier won 11 and drew 5 games (though Shankly lost 4 more after that first Cardiff defeat, whereas Mr. Houllier lost 9 more).
Both then had a second season of consolidation, during which they each phased in 3 absolutely key players - a rock of a central defender (Yeats & Hyppia), a reliable defensive midfielder (Milne & Hamann) and a 'foil' attacker to partner the massive talents already in place when the manager arrived (St. John to partner Roger Hunt and Emile Heskey to partner Michael Owen). Both men were using an immense network of contacts and pool of knowledge brought on by over a decade of watching developing players far and wide - Shankly especially exploited his Scottish contacts and his old Preston mates, just as Houllier exploited all his experience of thirteen years at the very top of French football. Both men would watch an incredible number of games every week, though Bill had only a road atlas, not videos, to help him, as Nessie could testify. [It is wonderful to think that 12 years after he joined Liverpool, Shankly's pre-Liverpool contacts were still helping him find players like Keegan, just as Shankly later helped Matt Busby 'find' Steve Coppell for Man U. - who will Mr. Houllier's French contacts be finding for us in the year 2010?]
Local youth too, began to emerge. As Shankly brought on Ian Callaghan, who would play a quiet but vital role for two whole decades, so Gérard Houllier was the careful controlling hand which supervised the explosion of stephen Gerrard's prodigious talent. Meanwhile big-heads with a star mentality were not tolerated - Shankly offloaded Hickson, and we all know what happened to the Evans-era "Spice Boy" set within a year of the Houllier takeover.
The key elements of the revolutions were by then in place, and things really took off in their 3rd seasons. Mr. Shankly won his first silverware 28 months into the job, the Second Division championship arriving in April 1962. Mr. Houllier won his first trophy 28 months after becoming joint manager and about 25 months after taking sole charge, with the Worthington Cup in February 2001. Both had put core values in place over 2½ years which made their teams very hard to beat - Shankly's team , too, now became more consistent cup battlers.
Both men needed 2 major changes of keeper before they found a truly great keeper as first Slater, then Furnell were just not good enough for Shankly. Ironically, Tommy Lawrence was not a Shankly signing, but it took him 2½ years to stake his claim to the number one shirt he kept for eight great seasons. We can only hope that Chris Kirkland's Liverpool career will follow a similar pattern, but at the moment, Dudek is Houllier's Tommy Lawrence.
So in Season three both men steered a path back to the position amongst the silverware which the supporters felt they deserved, but which is nobody's by divine right. Let's not forget - both men had to work to win over some doubting fans, but as soon as the real supporters began to see the fruits, the bond was there for all to see. Season Four brought more consolidation for both men, though obviously Houllier's side had a crack at major European glory a lot earlier than Shankly's.
Shankly's Season five left no doubts - his team had grown up together, had perfect balance, and were ready for glory. The finishing touch of course was the wide man, signed in '62, again from Preston - Peter Thompson. When he and Callaghan were crossing for Hunt & St. John the team was irresistible - you've all seen the video of Wembley '65, if you weren't lucky enough to be there. If only a wide man could have been Houllier's final touch last summer. Who knows what January may bring?
Anyway, four years on, Shankly's boys were top of the heap at last, and that's where Gérard Houllier's side stand today, even if not so convincingly. Let's now look at the overall WIN-DRAW-LOSS totals.
After 4 years, Mr Shankly had won 89, drawn 35 and lost 45 league games - many of those in the easier Division 2 where even the mediocre mid-fifties Reds only ONCE finished outside the top 4 (unlike the Blues who have achieved that feat in Division 2 twice).
But look at Mr. Houllier's figures.
Won 83, drawn 35 and lost 35 league games - all of them slightly better in percentage terms than even Bill Shankly's side's record - take away their first half season each and the difference is actually quite marked. Of course Shankly's teams scored more goals, but that was early sixties football for you - by the late sixties there were even fewer goals than we see the Reds score today.
The man who fell in love with Liverpool Football Club, the supporters and the City two decades before he was ever appointed manager is a worthy heir to the man who came to Liverpool because of the roar of the Kop and the desire to revitalise a sleeping giant in one of football's great cities. You only have to listen to Houllier's veneration for Shankly and his beautiful use of Shanklyisms. His plain red scarf is the heir to Shankly's early seventies silkie, and they practically share a birthday - Houllier was born on the 3rd of September, Shankly on the 2nd, both in sleepy country villages which had seen better days. I promise you, when Houllier brings home championship number 19 I will personally CYCLE, if not run, from Shankly's Glenbuck to Houllier's Thérouanne, carrying a replica trophy. In their different ways, both are men of the people - Houllier in a more academic way, perhaps ( undertaking research on childhood deprivation while spending his year teaching in Liverpool and studying at first hand the problems for adolescents of growing up in Liverpool 8), but both are committed to " making the people happy". It's no coincidence that, like Shankly, Houllier lives happily in urban Liverpool when he could easily move out to a walled compound in the leafy lanes of Lancashire or Cheshire.
May I quote from the oration last summer when Mr. Houllier received an honorary doctorate from Professor John Tarn of Liverpool University : "In a very few years Gérard Houllier has gained the unswerving loyalty of his players, won the affection of the Liverpool supporters and become a major figure in the life of the city and a force to be reckoned with nationally.
"He is in many ways a reticent man, totally dedicated to a
job which is also a lifestyle, but for him football is all about four things: the desire to win, the need always to be a professional, the importance of the team, and mutual respect.
"He subscribes to these beliefs himself and he also requires his players and those who work with him to respect them. As he said in a recent interview, "you win with intelligence. In the modern game passion and commitment are basic requirements, as is mental strength. But I still believe you win with your head". "
The only problem for Houllier might just be that, just as he seems born to manage Liverpool, just as he shares many of Shankly's qualities, just as he rules with a Napoleonic genius, knowing so very much about world football and about how to develop a club, so Arsène Wenger was born to manage Arsenal (just look at the name !!) has many of Bertie Mee's qualities, rules with a Napoleonic genius, knows so very so much about world football and how to develop a club…. and the trouble is, Wenger the whinger has got a winger and plenty of other width as well! Where's the new Peter Thompson going to come from?
But anyway, here's to that Great Fifth Season ….. if DESTINY has anything to do with it, I'll see you in Thérouanne next year.