Bill Shankly Quotes

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.

If you can't support us when we lose or draw, don't support us when we win

The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That’s how I see football, that’s how I see life.

Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor.

In my time at Anfield we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside - Liverpool and Liverpool reserves.

A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing.

The socialism I believe in isn't really politics. It is a way of living. It is humanity. I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day. That might be asking a lot, but it's the way I see football and the way I see life.

If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.

If you get to the edge of the penalty area with the ball and don't know what to do next, just stick the ball in the net for now. We can evaluate the other options later.

At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the checks.

A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.

Laddie, that man scored 200 goals in 270 matches - an incredible record - and he has won cup after cup as a manager. When he talks, pin back your ears.

If a man….who’s playing in front of the public, is being well paid, and he doesn’t dedicate himself to the job, I’d be hard on him. If I could I would put him in jail, out of the road of society. Because he’s a menace

Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.

My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in.

If Everton were playing down the bottom of my garden, I'd draw the curtains.

The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.

When I've got nothing better to do, I look down the league table to see how Everton are getting along.

Pressure is working down the pit. Pressure is having no work at all. Pressure is trying to escape relegation on 50 shillings a week. Pressure is not the European Cup or the Championship or the Cup Final. That's the reward.

Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried.

If you're not sure what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net and we'll discuss your options afterwards.

Football is a simple game made complicated by people who should know better.

We are a team. We share the ball, we share the game, we share the worries.

The difference between Everton and the Queen Mary is that Everton carry more passengers!

Football (soccer) is a matter of life and death, except more important.