Joe Fagan was born on March 12th 1921 in Liverpool. He spent his childhood in the Litherland area of the city and as a boy he watched both Everton and Liverpool play, although he preferred Anfield, he later recalled, "as it had a better boys' pen".
He was educated at St Elizabeth Central School, where he led the 1st XI to victory in the Daily Dispatch Trophy in 1935. A reliable centre half, good in the air and solid on the ground, he then played amateur football for Earlstown Bohemians, where he caught the eye of several clubs. Although he was offered forms by Liverpool, in October 1938 he opted instead to join Manchester City. However, as with all his peers, Joe's playing career was severely hampered by the onset of war in 1939.
During wartime Joe served his country in the Royal Navy but was able to continue playing in the makeshift wartime league. It was during this time he first came into contact with Harry Catterick, a man who would later make an impact of his own in Merseyside football. Catterick and Fagan first turned out together for Manchester City in 1942 and after the end of the war the City side roared to promotion from the old Second Division with Joe playing a key part at the heart of defence.
Fagan had made his full official debut for City on New Year's Day 1947 and in the following four seasons made 168 appearances, skippering the side for the last three. That City side contained many men who went on to great things in the game including the magnificent goalkeeper Frank Swift. Just a few months before Fagan was to join Anfield in the summer of 1958, Swift, now retired from the game and working as a journalist, was tragically killed in the Munich air crash.
At the age of 30 Joe Fagan left Maine Road in 1951 to become player-manager of part-timers Nelson, a job he combined with one inspecting gas meters in local factories. He then briefly returned to the professional game with Bradford Park Avenue before being appointed trainer, under the management of his old wartime pal Catterick, at Rochdale in 1953.
It was on Catterick's recommendation, that Fagan joined the Anfield coaching staff as assistant trainer in May 1958, just 18 months before the arrival of Bill Shankly would transform the club from Second Division no-hopers to the best side in Europe. Shankly had long been an admirer of Fagan's and had tried to sign him when he was managing Grimsby and Fagan was playing for Manchester City. One of Shankly's first acts on arrival was to reassure the back room staff at Anfield that their positions were safe. It was the start of a footballing dynasty that Joe Fagan was to play a major role in.
Fagan, an avuncular figure appropriately known as "Uncle Joe", was perhaps the closest of all the back room staff to the players, acting as adviser and friend as well as coach. If he made a criticism, it was a reasoned one without a hint of malice, and only rarely would he lose his temper. As he once explained, "I can give anyone the mother and father of a hiding, verbally. You can't let players think you are a soft touch, not here or at any club." It wasn't a side of Fagan his players often saw, but they knew they stepped out of line at their own peril. His straightforward manner and immense knowledge of the game commanded great respect at the club and enabled him to get the most out of those in his care.
After a spell looking after the reserves, Fagan was appointed first team trainer in 1971, and stepped up to chief coach in 1974 when the untimely retirement of Shankly forced a boot room reshuffle. In 1979 he continued his move up the 'Boot Room' hierarchy by becoming assistant manager and was instrumental in helping to grow the club's ever increasing pile of silverware.
Famously, during the 1981-82 season, when Liverpool were struggling in 12th position and the players were having daily discussions about their loss of form, it was Fagan who put a stop to matters, telling them that they were having more meetings than the UN and should just concentrate on playing ! The team duly went on to win the championship.
His rise to the top, though late in his professional life, saw him finally take the helm at Liverpool as manager in the summer of 1983 with the retirement of Bob Paisley.
The two years from 1983 were astonishing in every sense for everyone connected with the club. Firstly, leading the club to an unprecented treble, a treble that included the League Championship and European Cup, 'Uncle Joe' became Manager of the Year in 1984 after just one year in charge.
To this day he remains the only English manager to achieve this feat.
The following season was to be a disappointment though as the club finished second in the league to a rejuvenated Everton. The magnificent high point of the previous year was pushed further back from our minds when the tragic events of Heysel unfolded in May 1985. Fagan had already decided to quit as manager at the season's end but the deaths of 39 Juventus supporters before the European Cup Final was forever destined to cast a dark shadow over his tenure as manager. In a game subsequently rendered meaningless by earlier events Liverpool were to lose the European Cup 1:0 and ended the season trophyless.
Oddly enough, despite his incredible achievements as manager, it is perhaps for the years of unstinting loyalty as a member of the boot room, as a trainer and coach, that Fagan will be best remembered.
Fagan kept a low profile in retirement, although he returned occasionally to the Liverpool training ground at Melwood, especially when Roy Evans was in charge. Another manager much influenced by him was a young Swede who used to visit the Anfield boot room in the 1970s - the current England coach Sven Goran Eriksson.
