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Bill Shankly resigned as Liverpool director in the summer of 1974, but early in the following season, the club's leaders found themselves in a difficult situation. Bob Paisley was the new manager but Shankly still showed up at the training. He lived only a few minutes on foot. Most mornings, it was already changed when the players arrived.
They were happy to see him at first. They always greeted him as "boss". But with time, it started to go awkward. Shankly was revered by everyone at the club, but they understood that it was difficult for Paisley to establish a real authority with the former director still present. In the end, the club's president, John Smith, had to ask Shankly to stay away from Melwood.
Shankly struggled to get out without her daily involvement in the club. He has seen insults and insults everywhere. He was upset at not having traveled with the official holiday when the club invited him to Rome for the final of the European Cup of 1977. He was not consulted on new recruits nor on football in general . He hated retirement. He felt cut off adrift.
Sir Alex Ferguson felt marginalized by the beleaguered Ed Woodward regime
"Retirement is when you enter a coffin and you put the lid on and your name is on top," he said a few years later. "It's the most stupid word I've ever heard in my life. Nobody can retire. What word. Striped from the folder, "retirement". I am opposed to it. I am retired from Anfield, yes. Retired from football and life, no.
One of the most difficult and delicate tasks of football is how to recalibrate a relationship that has long been at the heart of a club's success. And one of the most important. Time and again, the departure of a long-time director leads to a period of torment and drought.
How to manage an ex-manager, integrate him into the club and take advantage of his experience and his abilities without emasculating his successor is a dilemma that Liverpool has mismanaged humanly with Shankly and that Manchester United has been deceived authorizing Sir Matt Busby has too much power after retiring as a manager in 1969.
Now, it is suggested that United is wrong again. As stated in these pages, Sir Alex Ferguson has felt marginalized by the regime of the beleaguered Executive Vice President, Ed Woodward, since he retired as president of United in 2013. During from the first five years of Woodward's reign, it is thought that he is rarely if ever. asked Ferguson for advice on football.
Woodward made a spectacular mess of legacy that Ferguson bequeathed to him
We already know that Woodward has dramatically spoiled Ferguson's legacy. Three managers have succeeded each other over the last six years, the recruitment has been appalling, the discipline has lost its vigor, loyalties have faded and the club struggled in distress.
Ferguson's return to the Old Trafford on Sunday for the "Treble Reunion" match against Bayern Munich will be both a poignant occasion and a party. By recalling United's glorious past, it will also remind us how much they have fallen.
It will also determine whether Woodward should have kept Ferguson closer and more of his advice. How to deal with a successful ex-manager depends on the situation of a club. Liverpool already had a lot of experience in their Boot Room when Shankly left. United's situation when Ferguson retired was quite different.
They desperately needed the contribution of a man like Ferguson from his departure. One of Woodward's many mistakes has been to sweep the Ferguson diet in droves. Former GM David Gill had already left, but Woodward also allowed men with football knowledge, such as Mike Phelan, to be deported when David Moyes arrived.
Bill Shankly (center) struggled to get out without his daily participation in Liverpool
Woodward was quickly exposed. He and his lieutenant, the commercial director, Richard Arnold, are beginners footballers who know a lot about finance and accounting, but very little about footballers and agents and the psychology of locker rooms. They quickly gained a reputation in the game as an easy touch. United has been used time and again to advance the programs of others.
In these circumstances, keeping Ferguson at arm's length was not just insulting. It was careless. Reluctant to confront his own limits and seek advice from Ferguson, Woodward kept him out and blamed him.
In a club suddenly deprived of all its experience, why not take advantage of the knowledge of a man who is so successful? Why not involve it more closely in transfers? Why be afraid of his influence? Why not maximize it?
Woodward should have kept Ferguson closer and more appealing to his lawyer
In English football in particular, we are more suspicious than we should be the influence of old players. We worry too much about igniting the sensibilities of the new man whereas all we should do is give priority to the club.
Nobody suggests that Ferguson should have been named chief executive of United, like Busby. Nobody says that he should have been training at Carrington every day like Shankly in Melwood.
But there is a sensible solution that United should have implemented. They should have kept him in the club's restricted circle. They should have given him a voice. They should have created a role for him. Retirement? This should be deleted from the record.
And for those who say that this would have led to problems if Ferguson had been given the responsibility he had, there is a clear and obvious answer: it could hardly have been worse than the problem they are in. now.
The Champions League is what makes true legends
Winning the Premier League gives authenticity to a football team. There can be no challenge to achievement because the table is the police of truth. It does not lie. Winning the league is not subject to the vagaries of a knockout system. It's a marathon of 38 games. A team can not benefit from a draw as it could in a cup competition.
But this is not the biggest price in the sport and do not listen to those who say it. Pep Guardiola made this move last week, and of course Manchester City's success in winning two straight titles against a heart-wrenching football brand is a feat that gives his team the right to claim the title. glory.
Liverpool against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005 is a match that stands out from the others
But we all know that City would have preferred to win the Champions League this season. This is the trophy that their owners want the most. It's normal. That's how it should be. Winning the Premier League makes players champions. Winning what we called the European Cup makes it a legend. This is what aspires the best players and managers. That's how they are measured against their rivals. Bob Paisley has won three European Cups, making him the greatest British coach of all time.
In 25 years of reporting on football, three nights stand out: Manchester United against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999, Liverpool against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005 and Chelsea against Bayern Munich in Munich in 2012.
All three were nights of magic and melodrama, the kind of stories that only sport can write. All three are part of the history of the English clubs who won them. All three bequeathed football immortality to the players who won them. (Yes, even Djimi Traoré). All three were Champions League finals.
As Liverpool and the Spurs prepare to face Madrid next Saturday night, anyone trying to deny that they are playing for the biggest prize in the game deserves to be eliminated from the city.
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