100 Players
Who Shook The Kop – the groundbreaking series that had every Liverpool fan
talking back in 2006 – is set to return this summer, here's my top ten
countdown.
#7 -
Ron Yeats
Ron Yeats
was the first Liverpool captain to lift the FA Cup – but his place in Anfield
history goes way beyond that.
The Scot
was the rock around which the legendary Bill Shankly built his first great
side.
A colossus
– that's how Shanks described his latest signing in the summer of 1961 before
inviting journalists to take a walk around him.
Yeats was
installed as captain within six months of his arrival from Dundee United, and
it proved to be an inspired choice.
His debut
season saw Liverpool win the Second Division Championship after eight years in
the wilderness and, over the next decade, Yeats would help turn the Reds into
one of the most feared sides in Europe.
A rugged
and commanding presence, the original Big Ron once prompted Shanks to remark:
"With him in defence we could play Arthur Askey in goal!"
Rowdy, as
he was known on the Kop, captained Liverpool to their first league title in 17
years in 1963-64 – but that was just a taste of things to come for Yeats and
co.
The
following season was to prove one of the most momentous in Anfield history, and
not just because it brought a first FA Cup.
In August
1964, Yeats – who worked in a slaughter house before turning pro - led his
teammates on a journey into the unknown as the club played its first ever
European match in Reykjavik.
From there,
it was the skipper who famously guessed right as Liverpool eliminated Cologne
on the toss of a coin in a replayed quarter-final.
The 1964-65
campaign also saw the club ditch its white shorts, and it was Yeats who Shanks
chose to model his new all red kit. It was a move the great man thought would
intimidate opponents – and if the sight of his centre-half was anything to go
by, he was right.
The season
culminated in that never-to-be-forgotten afternoon on 1 May, 1965, when the 6ft
2in defender proudly led his Liverpool teammates up the 39 steps at Wembley to
collect the FA Cup.
Another
title triumph was celebrated in 1966 but, as the decade drew to a close, the
ageing Yeats had to admit his best days were behind him.
He
eventually lost his place to Larry Lloyd, though continued to be a positive
influence at the club. After a spell as an emergency left-back which took him
up to 454 appearances, the now legendary Scotsman accepted an offer to become
player/manager of Tranmere Rovers.
It seemed
only natural that a living legend like Yeats would one day return to Anfield in
some capacity, and he did just that in 1986 when appointed chief scout, a role
he fulfilled with great success until well into the new millennium.
A
footballing giant in size and stature, Ron Yeats can now enjoy his well
deserved retirement and bask in the knowledge that, without him, Liverpool
Football Club would not be the club we know today.
Other
clubs:
Dundee Utd,
Tranmere, Los Angeles Skyhawks, Santa Barbara Condors, Stalybridge Celtic
(amateur), Barrow (amateur)
You can get involved now by casting your vote of what you consider to be the 10 greatest players in this club’s illustrious history. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/100pwstk
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