SIX of the BEST  -  GREAT POST WAR MANAGERS

Bill Shankly 
Bill Shankly was manager of Liverpool for 15 glorious years in the 60's and 70's.  @
The bare statistics say it all - A second division title, three League Championships, two F.A. Cups @
and one U.E.F.A. Cup.  Born into a footballing family in an Ayrshire mining village he as a player @
helped Preston to two successive cup finals and won 5 Scotland caps, only the war prevented @
him winning more.  He took over as Liverpool manager having served his apprenticeship at @
Carlisle, Grimsby, Workington and Huddersfield.  He quickly got Liverpool back into the top division @
and then onto greater success.  Shankly was a shrewd mover in the transfer market, always got the @
best out of his players and was a messiah of the kop.  His dry wit and sharp tongue meant that @
Shanks was always good for a quote.  One of his most memorable was ' Football is not a matter of @
life and death - it's much more important'.  Shankly died in 1981 but a generation of scousers will @
never forget him.  

Alex Ferguson 
Alex Ferguson was perhaps one game away from getting the sack as manager of Manchester United @
in January of 1990.  Defeat against Notts Forest in the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup could only mean one @
thing.  Ferguson had been manager of United forovr 3 years but had not won a trophy, the writing @
seemed to be on the wall for Ferguson after another indifferent league campaign.  However United @
won the game 1-0 and went on to win the F.A. Cup that year and Ferguson has not looked back @
since.  Appointed manager of United in November 1986, having broken the Old Firm stranglehold as @
manager of Aberdeen, Ferguson seemed to have the credentials to bring the Championship to @
Old Trafford for the first time since 1967.  United went on to beat Barcelona to win the European @
Cup Winners Cup in 1991, beat Notts Forest to win the League Cup for the first time in 1992, and @
then at last brought The Championship to Old Trafford in 1993.  This success was followed with a @
League and F.A. Cup double in 1994.   Ferguson looks set to win more trophies having assembled a @
squad which is among the most exciting in Europe.

George Graham
George Graham was not the fans' first choice to take over as manager of Arsenal; when the position @
became vacant in May 1986, but the ex Arsenal player soon won them over.  Buying in players and @
exploiting the youth talent at Highbury Graham quickly built up a great side.  Arsenal beat Liverpool @
to win the League Cup in 1987, and then two years later in the most dramatic finish to a @
championship ever beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in the last game of the season to win The @
Championship for the first time in 18 years.  In 1991 Arsenal took The Championship again losing only @
1 league match. In 1993, Arsenal became the only club ever to win the F.A. Cup and League Cup @
beating Sheffield Wednesday.  Graham's crowning glory was a Cup Winners Cup Final win against @
all the odds against Parma in Copenhagen.  Unfortunately Graham's Arsenal career came to an end @
when he was unceremoniously sacked due to financial irregularities in February 1995.

Bob Paisley
Bob Paisley took over the reins at Anfield from the legendary Bill Shankly.  Paisley brought in @
players like Souness, Rush and Dalglish and built perhaps the greatest teams ever seen. Under @
paisley Liverpool won the league an incredible six times in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983.  @
They won the U.E.F.A. Cup in 1976, and the European Cup in 1977, 1978 and 1981.  Liverpool under @
Paisley also won the League Cup in 1981, 1982 and 1983.  Paisley only failed to win the F.A. Cup.  @
The ever modest Paisley climbed up the steps at Wembley to collect the League Cup on his 12th @
visit to the stadium when Liverpool beat Manchester United in 1983, a great gesture to a great @
manager.

Sir Matt Busby
Sir Matt was an accomplished Manchestr City player in the 1930's but it was for Manchester's other @
great team that Sir Matt really made his mark.  Sir Matt was manager of United from 1945 to 1968 @
and in this time built three great teams all of which played exciting football and had the fans @
flocking to Old Trafford.  His first great side won the cup in 1948 and the league in 1952.  When @
this side got too old, using his youth policy and scouting system Busby built up another great side, @
a young brilliant side who became known as the Busby Babes.  This team won the League in 1956 @
and 1957 before the Munich air crash in 1958 claimed the lives of half his team and robbed football @
of a great side.  Sir Matt survived to build his third and last great United side around the sublime @
skills of Best, Charlton and Law to win the F.A. Cup in 1963, the league in 1965 and 1967 and to cap @
it all the European Cup in 1968.  Sir Matt died in 1994, he lived long enough to see United's first @
championship since 1967 - when he was in charge.

Sir Alf Ramsey
Sir Alf was an accomplished right back in the 1940's and 1950's earning 32 England caps, but it was @
as England Manager that Sir Alf became a football legend.  Ramsey led Ipswich Town to a League @
Championship in 1962.  In 1963 he was appointed England manager and predicted that England @
would win the World Cup in 1966.  He was right, England overcame West Germany in front of an @
adoring Wembley public to win The World Cup for the first and so far only time.  Sir Alf remained @
as England manager until 1974 when he was dismissed after England's failure to qualify for the @
1974 World Cup finals in Germany.  Under Ramsey England reached the semis of the European @
Championships and were knocked out at the quarter final stage of the 1970 World Cup and @
1972 Euro Championships by West Germany.  Ramsey returned to club management, but nothing @
could compare to the 1966 World Cup triumph.
