Bob Paisley

[Bobby Hundreds]

I like it.

[aws]

Looks really good.  

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

That is ace.

[Baltar]

About time the great man got his own statue. I'd like to see Kenny get one too, preferably during his lifetime.

[Bjornebye]

One of my favourite old Liverpool pictures that is. Great stuff. 

[Bob]

I met bob once. I was 12 I think, maybe 13, and my uncle had got me and my dad tickets to watch us beat Oldham (Rush left footed screamer from 20 yards at the kop end) sat in the new centenary stand or the old Kemlyn maybe.

 

after he’d got us passes to go into the old trophy room and lounge by the players entrance as he was connected somehow to John Smith.

 

while lingering by the players lounge doors waiting to meet my heroes and grab some autographs, I saw Bob start to come down the stairs with a young woman by his side and approached for an autograph, which he gladly offered with a smile, and which his nurse (the young woman) had to help him spell his name.

 

she then apologised to the other kids who weren’t allowed an autograph due to his poor health.

 

thats all really. 

 

ive told that story before and I’ll likely tell it again. I met Digger too, which was pretty much the best moment of my life.

[easytoslip]

1 hour ago, Bob Spunkmouse said:

I met bob once. I was 12 I think, maybe 13, and my uncle had got me and my dad tickets to watch us beat Oldham (Rush left footed screamer from 20 yards at the kop end) sat in the new centenary stand or the old Kemlyn maybe.

 

after he’d got us passes to go into the old trophy room and lounge by the players entrance as he was connected somehow to John Smith.

 

while lingering by the players lounge doors waiting to meet my heroes and grab some autographs, I saw Bob start to come down the stairs with a young woman by his side and approached for an autograph, which he gladly offered with a smile, and which his nurse (the young woman) had to help him spell his name.

 

she then apologised to the other kids who weren’t allowed an autograph due to his poor health.

 

thats all really. 

 

ive told that story before and I’ll likely tell it again. I met Digger too, which was pretty much the best moment of my life.

Sound that.

[index1000]

I had the pleasure of meeting him as well. He was signing a book in WH Smith in Church st. 

He was on his own at a table set up for him. 

He was a gent and signed the book to my dear old Dad who had watched him play for us as well as become the great manager he was.

I wish i had talked longer with him now looking back but i was young and you don't appreciate the significance until you get older and look back.

The statue is great.

[easytoslip]

22 minutes ago, index1000 said:

I had the pleasure of meeting him as well. He was signing a book in WH Smith in Church st. 

He was on his own at a table set up for him. 

He was a gent and signed the book to my dear old Dad who had watched him play for us as well as become the great manager he was.

I wish i had talked longer with him now looking back but i was young and you don't appreciate the significance until you get older and look back.

The statue is great.

That’s right you don’t, I met a few when a kid, but it doesn’t register as such. 

[Leyton388]

I never met him. 

[Mudface]

I went to his last home game as manager. We'd won the title a good month beforehand, and I was kind of expecting a celebration, Paisley taking a last bow or something. There was nothing, and I was really disappointed. Then I realised that such a modest, self-effacing man would never have done anything like that, he just bowed out gracefully with yet another league title and left the team and club in a brilliant place.

 

I never met him, but my mates and I did see him in a window in the main stand when we were walking around the ground before Thommo's testimonial. There was a ragged cheer from the people milling around and he just smiled, nodded and disappeared back into the room. My hero as a kid, not least because he was similar in looks and manner to my granddad.

[easytoslip]

11 minutes ago, Mudface said:

I went to his last home game as manager. We'd won the title a good month beforehand, and I was kind of expecting a celebration, Paisley taking a last bow or something. There was nothing, and I was really disappointed. Then I realised that such a modest, self-effacing man would never have done anything like that, he just bowed out gracefully with yet another league title and left the team and club in a brilliant place.

 

I never met him, but my mates and I did see him in a window in the main stand when we were walking around the ground before Thommo's testimonial. There was a ragged cheer from the people milling around and he just smiled, nodded and disappeared back into the room. My hero as a kid, not least because he was similar in looks and manner to my granddad.

That’s nice mate.

[suzy]

I love Bob, so unassuming. 
Great tribute that, I got a Paisley key ring for my birthday so it seems the club are trying to promote him a bit more. 

[sir roger]

Different world ;

 

John Keith recounts that Paisley's football skills saved him from a posting to the Far East which would inevitably have resulted in his becoming a prisoner of war of the Japanese. He was captain of the 73rd's team and, when his battery was due to be posted, his commanding officer transferred him to another battery so that he could remain in Britain and lead the regimental team. His old unit was subsequently overrun by the Japanese.^[10]

At the end of August 1941, on the bank holiday, Paisley was posted overseas and did not return to England until 1945. He went in a troopship to Egypt, the voyage lasting ten weeks because they had to sail around South Africa. He spent Christmas in Egypt and then received his first mail from England which turned out to be a postcard from George Kay asking him if he would be available to play for Liverpool against Preston North End (Bill Shankly's team) in the season opener three months earlier.^[14] While he was in Egypt, Paisley became interested in horse racing through friendship with jockey Reg Stretton and trainer Frank Carr. Paisley learned to ride himself and he retained this interest after the war, often studying form in his spare moments.^[15]

He was stationed south of Cairo and learned to drive a 15 cwt. truck. More importantly, he had a month's training on firing anti-tank guns, a skill he needed in the desert as a member of the Eighth Army in Operation Crusader which relieved the Siege of Tobruk. During periods of leave from the conflict, Paisley returned to Cairo where he was mostly involved in team sports, not only football but also cricket and hockey. He represented the Combined Services football team as well as playing for his regiment. Paisley was involved in the Second Battle of El Alamein and subsequently fought his way across North Africa until the final defeat of the Afrika Korps in 1943. He only suffered injury once when he was temporarily blinded by sand sprayed into his face by explosive bullets fired from an aircraft during a Luftwaffe attack on his unit.^[16]

In 1943, Paisley went with the Eighth Army into Sicily and then into Italy. Whilst he was on active service in Italy he received the news that his younger brother Alan, aged fifteen, had died at home from scarlet fever and diphtheria. In June 1944, Paisley took part in the liberation of Rome and rode into the city on top of a tank, an event he recalled 33 years later when Liverpool won the 1977 European Cup Final in Rome's Stadio Olimpic

[easytoslip]

9 minutes ago, sir roger said:

Different world ;

 

John Keith recounts that Paisley's football skills saved him from a posting to the Far East which would inevitably have resulted in his becoming a prisoner of war of the Japanese. He was captain of the 73rd's team and, when his battery was due to be posted, his commanding officer transferred him to another battery so that he could remain in Britain and lead the regimental team. His old unit was subsequently overrun by the Japanese.^[10]

At the end of August 1941, on the bank holiday, Paisley was posted overseas and did not return to England until 1945. He went in a troopship to Egypt, the voyage lasting ten weeks because they had to sail around South Africa. He spent Christmas in Egypt and then received his first mail from England which turned out to be a postcard from George Kay asking him if he would be available to play for Liverpool against Preston North End (Bill Shankly's team) in the season opener three months earlier.^[14] While he was in Egypt, Paisley became interested in horse racing through friendship with jockey Reg Stretton and trainer Frank Carr. Paisley learned to ride himself and he retained this interest after the war, often studying form in his spare moments.^[15]

He was stationed south of Cairo and learned to drive a 15 cwt. truck. More importantly, he had a month's training on firing anti-tank guns, a skill he needed in the desert as a member of the Eighth Army in Operation Crusader which relieved the Siege of Tobruk. During periods of leave from the conflict, Paisley returned to Cairo where he was mostly involved in team sports, not only football but also cricket and hockey. He represented the Combined Services football team as well as playing for his regiment. Paisley was involved in the Second Battle of El Alamein and subsequently fought his way across North Africa until the final defeat of the Afrika Korps in 1943. He only suffered injury once when he was temporarily blinded by sand sprayed into his face by explosive bullets fired from an aircraft during a Luftwaffe attack on his unit.^[16]

In 1943, Paisley went with the Eighth Army into Sicily and then into Italy. Whilst he was on active service in Italy he received the news that his younger brother Alan, aged fifteen, had died at home from scarlet fever and diphtheria. In June 1944, Paisley took part in the liberation of Rome and rode into the city on top of a tank, an event he recalled 33 years later when Liverpool won the 1977 European Cup Final in Rome's Stadio Olimpic

Good that , imagine how things might of been had he gone to Far East , what a servant to the club , the likes we’ll never see again.

[sir roger]

5 minutes ago, easytoslip said:

Good that , imagine how things might of been had he gone to Far East , what a servant to the club , the likes we’ll never see again.

True , but he'll never suffer the mental anguish and hardships that lads like Bobby Duncan have to these days.

[easytoslip]

5 minutes ago, sir roger said:

True , but he'll never suffer the mental anguish and hardships that lads like Bobby Duncan have to these days.

Yes right enough , they do have a tough time of it , not like Bob on a ten week cruise around SA to exotic climes for a bit of fun.

[A_S]

What I really like is that it's not just a typical pose for the man, but an actual moment in history. Kids will ask who is that? Who is he carrying? Why is he carrying him?? Very enthusiastic parents will eagerly explain the moment, and those that are a bit older will Google it later to read about it more. 

[easytoslip]

34 minutes ago, A_S said:

What I really like is that it's not just a typical pose for the man, but an actual moment in history. Kids will ask who is that? Who is he carrying? Why is he carrying him?? Very enthusiastic parents will eagerly explain the moment, and those that are a bit older will Google it later to read about it more. 

That’s right, I wonder why they picked that one , I’ll be having a look myself in a few weeks when I’m up.

When looking him up they might come across the story about a player who went into his office saying he needed more first team games , that’s ok Bob said you’ve been transferred to Derby or something like that, don’t know who it was?

[s(k)aturation]

 

The statue portrays him as a servant of the club - which he was, first and foremost - and for me, he was our greatest.

 

Beautifully appropriate.

 

In reality, of course, it's he who belongs raised on all our grateful shoulders.

 

[suzy]

5 hours ago, sir roger said:

Different world ;

 

John Keith recounts that Paisley's football skills saved him from a posting to the Far East which would inevitably have resulted in his becoming a prisoner of war of the Japanese. He was captain of the 73rd's team and, when his battery was due to be posted, his commanding officer transferred him to another battery so that he could remain in Britain and lead the regimental team. His old unit was subsequently overrun by the Japanese.^[10]

At the end of August 1941, on the bank holiday, Paisley was posted overseas and did not return to England until 1945. He went in a troopship to Egypt, the voyage lasting ten weeks because they had to sail around South Africa. He spent Christmas in Egypt and then received his first mail from England which turned out to be a postcard from George Kay asking him if he would be available to play for Liverpool against Preston North End (Bill Shankly's team) in the season opener three months earlier.^[14] While he was in Egypt, Paisley became interested in horse racing through friendship with jockey Reg Stretton and trainer Frank Carr. Paisley learned to ride himself and he retained this interest after the war, often studying form in his spare moments.^[15]

He was stationed south of Cairo and learned to drive a 15 cwt. truck. More importantly, he had a month's training on firing anti-tank guns, a skill he needed in the desert as a member of the Eighth Army in Operation Crusader which relieved the Siege of Tobruk. During periods of leave from the conflict, Paisley returned to Cairo where he was mostly involved in team sports, not only football but also cricket and hockey. He represented the Combined Services football team as well as playing for his regiment. Paisley was involved in the Second Battle of El Alamein and subsequently fought his way across North Africa until the final defeat of the Afrika Korps in 1943. He only suffered injury once when he was temporarily blinded by sand sprayed into his face by explosive bullets fired from an aircraft during a Luftwaffe attack on his unit.^[16]

In 1943, Paisley went with the Eighth Army into Sicily and then into Italy. Whilst he was on active service in Italy he received the news that his younger brother Alan, aged fifteen, had died at home from scarlet fever and diphtheria. In June 1944, Paisley took part in the liberation of Rome and rode into the city on top of a tank, an event he recalled 33 years later when Liverpool won the 1977 European Cup Final in Rome's Stadio Olimpic

Great article that.

[Creator Supreme]

I think I've got some dust in my eyes, sniff.....

[Davelfc]

Back in the 70s I was off school with glandular fever, during my recovery my mum took me over to Anfield to grab some autographs. In those days the players arrived at Anfield and took a coach to Melwood. 

 

Bob arrived in his brown rover 3500 and I approached him and asked if I could have his autograph. "Why aren't you in school?" he said to me as he signed my book. 

 

 

[El Rojo]

17 hours ago, Baltar said:

About time the great man got his own statue. I'd like to see Kenny get one too, preferably during his lifetime.

Yeah, great call.

[Vincent Vega]

15 hours ago, index1000 said:

I had the pleasure of meeting him as well. He was signing a book in WH Smith in Church st. 

He was on his own at a table set up for him. 

He was a gent and signed the book to my dear old Dad who had watched him play for us as well as become the great manager he was.

I wish i had talked longer with him now looking back but i was young and you don't appreciate the significance until you get older and look back.

The statue is great.

I met Bob at that exact same book signing and he also signed a copy of the book addressed to my dad that I gave him as a Christmas present. I think it was probably the best present I ever got for my dad. I was around 16 at the time and like you say, at that age you don't really appreciate that you're in the presence of genius.

 

There was hardly any queue at all from memory, these days there's be a queue a mile long for something like that.