American_Mary
Well-known member
I've posted this on the Clough/Charlton thread but think it's a story worthy of a thread of it's own, I was doing a bit of research for another article and thought it was worth writing, might post up some more unpublished stuff if there's much of an interest ?
Bill Shankly and Middlesbrough:
In 1952 when David Jack resigned as Manager of Middlesbrough to look after his ill wife, Bill Shankly, was on the back of an excellent first season as manager of Grimsby, transforming their system of play, the training regime and the whole ethos within the club, 'pound for pound the best footballing team produced since the war' he was very much viewed as the next big thing and Middlesbrough duly approached, Shankly booked into a hotel in Ripon and met Harry French, the then Boro Chairman, excited at the opportunity of taking charge of a club who had finished 6th in the 1st Division only 2 seasons earlier, at the time the North East was seen very much as a hotbed of football and the move suited the fiercely ambitious Shankly.
After been shown around Ayresome Park, Shankly and French shook hands on a deal and Shankly went straight back to Cleethorpes, not even stopping overnight in Ripon, and told his wife, Ness, to get ready to move as they were off to Middlesbrough and waited for the phone call and contract offer that had been promised to make everything official.
At the time Grimsby's chairman, Arthur Drewery, was Head of the FA selection Committee and President of the Football League, and the Boro Chairman had designs on a position on that Committee, when he phoned Drewery to make official the approach for Shankly, he was told that would be fine but that it might hinder any chance he would have of furthering his ambitions within the FA, French, didn't take the approach any further and we appointed Walter Rowley.
"Missing that job was a terrible disappointment, because I was bubbling with ideas and Middlesbrough had a fantastic ground and a lot of good players, before the war they had one of the best footballing teams in Britain. Ayresome Park represented potential, just as Liverpool did" Bill Shankly from his autobiography.
As a post script in 1974 when Shankly left Liverpool he implored the Liverpool board to appoint Jack Charlton as his replacement and was surprised and disappointed when they decided not to approach Charlton and promote Paisley from within, for the sake of harmony, for once, Shankly bit his tongue and went along with the official line that Paisley was always his first choice of successor but in private he remained a very keen advocate of Charlton.
Bill Shankly and Middlesbrough:
In 1952 when David Jack resigned as Manager of Middlesbrough to look after his ill wife, Bill Shankly, was on the back of an excellent first season as manager of Grimsby, transforming their system of play, the training regime and the whole ethos within the club, 'pound for pound the best footballing team produced since the war' he was very much viewed as the next big thing and Middlesbrough duly approached, Shankly booked into a hotel in Ripon and met Harry French, the then Boro Chairman, excited at the opportunity of taking charge of a club who had finished 6th in the 1st Division only 2 seasons earlier, at the time the North East was seen very much as a hotbed of football and the move suited the fiercely ambitious Shankly.
After been shown around Ayresome Park, Shankly and French shook hands on a deal and Shankly went straight back to Cleethorpes, not even stopping overnight in Ripon, and told his wife, Ness, to get ready to move as they were off to Middlesbrough and waited for the phone call and contract offer that had been promised to make everything official.
At the time Grimsby's chairman, Arthur Drewery, was Head of the FA selection Committee and President of the Football League, and the Boro Chairman had designs on a position on that Committee, when he phoned Drewery to make official the approach for Shankly, he was told that would be fine but that it might hinder any chance he would have of furthering his ambitions within the FA, French, didn't take the approach any further and we appointed Walter Rowley.
"Missing that job was a terrible disappointment, because I was bubbling with ideas and Middlesbrough had a fantastic ground and a lot of good players, before the war they had one of the best footballing teams in Britain. Ayresome Park represented potential, just as Liverpool did" Bill Shankly from his autobiography.
As a post script in 1974 when Shankly left Liverpool he implored the Liverpool board to appoint Jack Charlton as his replacement and was surprised and disappointed when they decided not to approach Charlton and promote Paisley from within, for the sake of harmony, for once, Shankly bit his tongue and went along with the official line that Paisley was always his first choice of successor but in private he remained a very keen advocate of Charlton.
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