[lfc-news] Reds honour a true great - Echo

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Liverpool Echo, 5 Nov 2004
Reds honour a true great
By David Jones, Liverpool Echo

THE name Liddell is legendary in Anfield folklore.

"His loyalty, versatility and consistency illuminated Anfield's gloomy era
in the old Second Division."

Not my words. Part of the special inscription on a plaque unveiled
yesterday in tribute to a player regarded by many as the greatest to have
worn the red shirt.

Billy Liddell was a beacon of light for Liverpool fans in an era when
consistently winning trophies was still largely a pipedream.

During an illustrious career which spanned 20 years, 228 goals and 534
appearances, the fans adored him and the club was dubbed "Liddellpool" in
honour of his fantastic performances.

The honour paid to him yesterday was seen by many fans as long overdue -
his widow, Phyllis, and another Anfield legend, Ian Callaghan, performing
the unveiling ceremony in the Kop Stand, adjacent to the Anfield Museum and
Visitor Centre.

Callaghan, who replaced him in the Reds line-up, admitted Liddell was "my
idol. It was a great privilege to take over from Billy and he was the main
reason why I became a Liverpool supporter."

Callaghan added: "He was a giant on and off the field, and such a lovely man."

Another legend, Tommy Smith, recalled a reserve game he played in when
Lid-dell was outside left.

"I passed the ball a yard in front of him and he did not run for it. He
shouted across: 'Tommy, to feet'. I knew what he meant."

Phyllis, thanking the supporters who turned up to see the unveiling, said:
"The older generation has always wanted this to happen. It's a very
touching moment."

One of those fans, John Pritchard, 64, from Toxteth, a Red since 1952,
recalled the first time he saw Liddell play.

"It was a big FA Cup tie against Wolves. Everyone wore a cap, the Kop was
packed, there was no singing but a mighty roar almost all through the
game," he said.

"We won 2-1 and seeing Liddell was unbealievable.

"He was Liverpool - a oneoff. He was literally carrying the team.

"I am made up about the plaque. It is long overdue, but I would have liked
to have seen a statue, the same as Dixie Dean."

Pritchard, wearing a Liverpool shirt with the number 11 on it and the name
"Liddell", met his idol when writing a book, 'A View from the Kop'.

"He brought a cap along that he won against Wales and let me put it on. I
still have the photograph today," he said..

"For the service he gave Liverpool he should have been knighted." Liddell,
born in Townhill, Fife, in 1922, died on July 3, 2001.

He won 28 Scotland caps and was one of only two players - Sir Stanley
Matthews was the other - to play for Great Britain twice.

Liddell won a Championship medal in 1946-7.

To the thousands who worshipped him during his wonderful career, he was
simply the best.


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