This story is taken from Bill Shankly's autobiography'
"Whatever happens now, I shall always think back with special happiness to one particular period of my time at Anfield which represented everything I could have hoped for in the organisation and running of a football club. That was when Eric Roberts was the Chairman, Eric Sawyer the financial director and Peter Robinson the Secretary. We had a wonderful working relationship, funnily enough, I met the Liverpool representatives at the home of Mr.Roberts father, Robson Roberts, who was a director when I was interviewed for the job.
"When I came to Liverpool the secretary was Jimmy McInnes and he was a very good secretary but the club's success was too much for him, he died. Archie Macaulay the manager of Brighton Football Club phoned me one day and recommended Peter Robinson, I told the board, Peter got the job and was a huge success.
Above all Peter knows people and how to deal with them, he new me. I didn't try to tell Peter anything about his job and he didn't try to tell me anything about mine. He came along at the right time, when the club was becoming more and more successful and the ground was about to be rebuilt."
There isn't much about John Smith but rumour (I remember talking to Eli Wass the head groundsman about it) had it that he was chasing a knighthood, something to do with the Duke of Edinborough award scheme.