Ex-Liverpool player talks about Shankly in new book released a week before anniversary of great man's death

In The Lost Shankly Boy, George Scott, who signed for Liverpool in 1960, tells of similarities between current Red’s boss Jurgen Klopp and the man considered responsible for leading them from the Second Division to decades of dominance in the English league.

George says: “Shankly lived for the supporters and among them and they were his bread and butter. He told us all the time that these were people who worked hard all week and came to see us on a weekend to get a lift from their ordinary lives, so we owed it to them to give everything to try and provide that.

“It’s clear that Klopp has a similar mindset but I think he’s built a team in a similar way to Shankly too.”

Co-author of the book, Jeff Goulding agrees, saying: “Klopp is his own man. Like Shankly he is completely authentic... the route to success in football and in life will always be based on those same principles of collectivism and hard work that Bill preached all those years ago.

“Klopp shares that same belief in life and the socialist ideals that bonded the club and the supporters together all those years ago, allied with a relentless quest for excellence, it made Liverpool unstoppable. Only when the club moved away from those ideals, did the trophies dry up. Klopp has brought all that back and it’s paying dividends.”

George arrived at Anfield aged just 15 from a small fishing village near Aberdeen. He never made a senior appearance for the club despite scoring 71 goals in 182 appearances from midfield for the team’s reserves.

George scoring for Liverpool at the Kop end.

After five years he was transferred back to Aberdeen. Liverpool had just won their first FA Cup, and in a time before substitutes were allowed, the chances of George making the first-team were slim.

George says that Shankly, who died on September 29, 1981, was pivotal in shaping the man he is today. Despite being let go by the Glenbuck great, George was full of praise for the way Shankly handled his departure and how he treated him in the years after he left Liverpool.

"Shankly looked after me unbelievably well even after I had left the club", George said. 

"Selling me to Aberdeen was traumatic in a way, having to leave after being at Liverpool for five years, but I got a £1200 signing on fee out of the £12500 transfer fee which was a lot of money in 1965 which enabled me to buy a new mini for £500! 

"And Shankly's famous psychology helped cushion the blow. He told me there were five good reasons why he had to leave Anfield: Callaghan, Hunt, St John, Smith and Thompson, the first-team forward line who were all internationals and were going nowhere anytime soon. 

"I was in tears as the realisation my dreams of breaking through at Liverpool were over and Shankly was visibly moved by my display of raw emotion. 

"He got out of his seat, walked around it and perched himself on the edge of the desk in front of me, placing his hand on my shoulder. 

"I’ll never forget the words he said in that moment. 

"‘Always remember, that at this moment in history you are the twelth-best player in the world, George.' 

"'The first team here at Anfield, son, they’re the greatest team in the world – they have won the league and the cup in the last two seasons – and you are the leading goalscorer in the reserves. 

"'I have sold you to Aberdeen because I know you will be in their first team. You’ll also be back staying with your family. Go back home and prove me right.’ 

"'As I was leaving his office, still very upset, he rose and shook my hand. His final words meant the world to me. 

"‘Son remember this; you were one of the first players to come here and sign for me. So I want you to think of yourself like the foundation stone of the Liverpool Cathedral. Nobody ever sees it, but it has to be there otherwise the cathedral doesn’t get built.’ 

"I have often wondered how a man who came from such humble beginnings, from a mining community in Glenbuck in south-west Scotland, could speak in such poetic and profound terms. 

"I wonder also whether he truly understood the value and power of his words to me. I hope he did." 

On his return to Aberdeen George enjoyed a successful beginning to his career, scoring on his debut at Rangers. The success was shortlived though, with a ligament injury curtailing his time at the club, who let him go in 1966. 

George scoring on his Aberdeen debut against Rangers.

George went on to play for South African team Port Elizabeth FC via a stint in a biscuit factory on Merseyside. It was Shankly who had recommended him to the manager of the South African club.

It would not be the last time Shankly intervened to secure a better future for George either. After his stint in South Africa, George returned to Anfield to thank Shankly for recommending him to the club.

"We chatted for some time until I felt it was time to say goodbye", said George. 

"I was grateful that he had found time to see me but I didn’t want to outstay my welcome. 

"Just as I stood up to leave, he gestured to me to sit back down, saying: ‘Wait there, George. Let me type this out for you, son.’ 

"He then proceeded to get that old Olivetti typewriter of his out and started typing out a letter - with one finger doing one letter a time! - while I waited. 

"Then he pulled out the paper and handed it to me. I confess that as I looked down at the sheet of headed paper in my hand, I was overcome with emotion to see what he had written. It said: 

To whom it may concern 
Dear People 

George Scott played for my club for five years and during that time he caused no trouble to nobody[sic]. 

I would stake my life on his character. 

W Shankly 
Manager 

"That wonderful reference has served me so well over the years."

The reference letter Shankly wrote for George.

On George’s experience, Jeff said: “George’s story is a fascinating one and filled with humour, poignancy and drama. It will appeal to anyone who has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges in life, only to overcome those obstacles and grow stronger for it. George Scott did all of that, and in that sense there is probably nobody who embodies the Shankly spirit more than he does.”