“I would like to win the European Cup, naturally, because that’s the ultimate in Europe; but the main thing – our bread and butter – is this. That’s what we want to win all the time. Never mind Europe. It’s been a great thing for Liverpool and a great thing for the country, but this is our bread and butter, and this is the one we want.”- Bill Shankly 1973 on league success vs European success
This was the attitude of liverpool in the 1970s and 80s. At that time, the reds were still chasing a first ever European cup and most fans considered it the pinnacle of all achievements. Liverpool had achieved plenty of domestic success in the 60s including two league titles and of course the club’s first ever fa cup but success in the European cup had always eluded us. Although we reached the semi finals in 1965, where we put in a famous performance at anfield to win 3-1 against inter milan only to lose 3-0 at the san siro, this is the closest we’d come to European success.
The quote came in 1973 soon after liverpool had won the UEFA cup, beating Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2 over two legs to win Europe’s secondary tournament and liverpool’s first ever piece of European silverware. This was finally success at the continental stage. However, the reds had also won the league championship that year and that was the main thing for Shanks. Although Europe provided the chance for considerable glory, the league championship was, in his opinion, the best measure of a great team. In his eyes, Europe was a bonus and the league was what had to be won every year.
This idea was continued to an even greater scale under Bob Paisley. Of the 8 seasons Bob spent at the club, amazingly only 3 ended without the league title. While the reds also had success in Europe including 3 european cups and a UEFA cup triumph in those 8 years, this was considered as a reward on top of the league championship, which was seen as the minimum expectation for the team. After every season that we won the title, the players were given their medals and were reminded to put it behind them. It was now in the past and they must focus on next year. This was the ruthless nature of liverpool’s domestic achievements. No champagne. No lingering on achievements. This was the bar which we had to set every year and usually did.
This attitude can be seen when liverpool clinched our last league title to date, at anfield in 1990. The players at full time are almost strolling around the pitch, happy but relaxed. Of course this could be partly due to the tragic events of the year before which taught the players that football never has been more important than a matter of life and death but I think it was mainly because there was no need for wild celebrations. This is what liverpool did. We existed to win league titles. I wonder how the players and the fans there at anfield that day would have reacted if someone had told them that we wouldn’t win another one for at least 29 years. It’s been a tough 29 years for the club but success could finally be returning to the club .
A long time has passed since the 70s and 80s when liverpool dominated English football. A lot has changed since then, one being the way we view the league title. While winning the league used to be an expectation that we had to achieve, times have changed and winning the league title is now regarded as the biggest achievement that the club could do. While winning the European cup was the dream of liverpudlians in Shankly’s days, the league has taken on that place of importance. Pre 1977, Europe was the holy grail. Now it’s the league.
So what’s the point of me saying all of this? Well the answer is simple and that’s to show the importance of winning that first title in almost 3 decades. Everyone in the fan base seems very on edge at the moment when discussing the title race which in a way is understandable. We all want to win it so much and the idea of finally winning the league seems almost too good to be true after all the heartbreak we’ve been through in other recent title challenges. However, once we have that first title, we’ll have a monkey off our backs and the fan base can be much more at ease. Maybe we’ll never get to the point of casually strolling round the field after winning the league but we can maybe be a bit more relaxed in future.
Despite this , it seems like some fans need some perspective. Only 9 years ago, Hicks and Gillett were killing the club and we were managed by Roy fucking Hodgson. Whether we win the league or not at the end of the season, we’ve come a hell of a long way since then and some of us will do well to remember that fact. We now have arguably our best squad in the premier league era and are more than holding our own against a club owned by a fucking country. It is absolutely possible that we could “bottle” it as the media are calling it (or getting beaten to the title by a financially doped club who got 100 points last season). However, if we do, we should all remember how lucky we are to support this club right now.
