I mean, our lads never felt uncomfortable. Oh no. They never had their lunch with sweat pouring off them. And in my opinion, this was very important and a key part of Liverpool’s fitness. It actually prevented injuries from happening. Stripping off at Anfield and then getting the bus out to Melwood. And then having a cup of tea before getting the bus back to Anfield. It was very important. Oh yes …
So I mean, these are basic routines. Basic things, simple things. And the same things apply to the actual training sessions. The same basic things, very simple things. Footballers normally train for an hour and a half. But it doesn’t mean they work for an hour and a half. Oh no. Some might be demonstrating a function while others are watching them, you see? And then it’s your turn. And then the others are watching you, you see? So it’s not how long you train. Oh no. It’s what you put into it. Oh yes. I mean, if you train properly, thirty-five minutes a day might well do you. It might well be enough.
I mean, we built Liverpool’s training on exhaustion and recovery with little areas of two-a-side, three-a-side and five-a-side. And in these little areas, you are working hard. Like a boxer, you see? Twisting and turning, turning and twisting. Training the basic skills, working on the simple things. Control. Passing. Vision. And awareness. Oh yes. Our training was based on these simple skills. These basic skills. That was what our training was based on. And on fitness. Because if you are fully fit, you have a huge advantage over everybody else. Oh yes. A tremendous advantage. Oh yes …
And I mean, then after all the training. After all the training was complete, on a Friday. We always had a talk about the impending game. All the players and the subs attended. And one of us, one of the staff. We would have watched the opposition. And they would bring in their report. You know, was it four — four — two, four — three — three or whatever. And did any of the opposing players have any little characteristics we might want to stifle? That kind of thing. But I never ever discussed the opposition at length. Oh no. The last thing you want to do is to talk about the opposition at length. It only builds up your opponents. And then it frightens your own players …
So I mean, we might have been playing Manchester United that weekend. But I wasn’t going to be singing their praises. The praises of the bloody opposition. Oh no. I tell you, I remember once coming out of one of them meetings. And one of our lads, he said to one of his mates. He said, So are Best, Law and Charlton not playing then? And that made me smile, made me laugh. Because you see, we were only concerned about us. And our collective approach. And that was simple. Keep everything simple. And be patient. Even if it takes eighty-nine minutes to score. Keep it simple. And be patient. Because the number of times we won a match at the death was unbelievable. Bloody unbelievable. And when you sneak one like that, it’s heartbreaking for the opposition. Bloody heartbreaking. Oh yes …
But I mean, before the game. Before the match itself. I always tried to have a joke up my sleeve, you know? To boost our lads and to knock down the opposition. I mean, don’t misunderstand me. Don’t get me wrong. We took our football seriously. But we always tried to get a laugh out of our team talks. And so I would always keep a few bombs for Saturday afternoon. Oh yes. I might say to the old boy on the Anfield door. I might say, Here’s a box of toilet rolls. You hand them to the opposition when they come through that door. Because they’re going to bloody need them. All the toilet rolls they can get. And often, I’d say it just as they were coming through the door. And I’d make sure my lads heard me, too. Oh yes! But I mean, don’t misunderstand me. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t arrogance. Or overconfidence. Oh no. Because being overconfident, being cocky. That is a form of ignorance. It means you are talking too much. And if you are guilty of that, then an opponent will bring you down to earth. Oh yes. If you are cocky, then you’ll get knocked down a peg or two. And I mean, we never lost a game. We never lost a match because we were arrogant. Or we were cocky. Oh no. And we didn’t lose many. Not many at all. Not in my day, not in my time. But if we did lose, when we did lose. We were always ready to learn. Always.
I mean, we learnt a lot in Europe. Oh yes. We learnt a lot through playing the Latins in Europe. We realised a football match is like a relay race. Not a sprint. Oh no. And so we realised you can score a goal by playing from the back. I mean, it may be cat and mouse for a while. Waiting for the opening to appear. But as I say, if you are patient. If you keep things simple. Then you’ll get your chance, your opening. If you are patient, if you keep things simple. And you can improvise. Oh yes! Improvisation. If your players can improvise, if your players can adjust to what is happening. You’ve got a chance. But as I say, it’s not a sprint. It’s a relay race. And the season itself, that is a marathon. A bloody marathon. And so in every game, all through the season. It’s vital you conserve your energy. You make sure the opposition are doing all the chasing. They are doing all the running. I mean, when you are playing over sixty games a season, you can’t afford to be running flat out all the time. Oh no. And so you have to make the opposition do the running. And you make sure the ball is doing all the work. So the system we devised, it was very economical. And so you want everyone to be doing their share …
I mean, the important thing is that everyone can control the ball and do the basic things. It’s control and pass. Control and pass. Control and pass. So it’s important to try and give everyone a touch of the ball as quickly as possible as soon as the match starts. If it comes to you, you chest it down simple and you roll it to your mate. And then he does the same, so everyone gets a touch. It doesn’t look much, it might not look much. But it’s important. It’s something. Nothing fancy, nothing clever. If you try to do something clever, something fancy, and then it breaks down, then it can take the confidence out of you. That’s not my way. Oh no. Because that’s when the fear sets in. And then you are done for. You are lost. And you will lose …
And I mean, if you delay. Then the opposition are suddenly all behind the ball. Then you’ve all eleven of them to beat. And no space. And so you are looking for somebody who can control the ball instantly. And then give a forward pass. And then that gives you more space. And then you are all moving. All wanting the ball …
Because I mean, you see some teams playing and it seems as if nobody wants the ball. Nobody wants the bloody thing. They all turn their back on each other. But that’s not my way. Oh no. At Liverpool, there is always somebody there to help you out. There is always somebody in space, somebody asking for the ball. Somebody there to help you. There’s always somebody there to help you out. Oh yes …
So I mean, this is the secret. Get it. Give an early pass. Switch the ball around. You might not seem to be getting very far. But the opposition pattern is changing, the opposition are getting confused. And so then the space opens up for the next pass. And so all the players must understand that when they have delivered a pass, you’ve only just begun. You have only just started. You have to back up. And you have to look to help someone. You have to make yourself available. Available for the next pass. And then you get it again. And then you give it again. Early, always early. And then you move again. Into space again. Looking to help someone again, looking for the ball. That final ball, that final pass. And then the goal. Oh yes. The goal.