Citat
We reckon Carlton covers every blade of grass - but then you have to if your first touch is that crap.
Dave Jones (after So´ton´s 4-1 defeat of Barnsley) (Talking about Carlton Palmer)
It took a lot of bottle for Tony to own up.
Ian Wright, Arsenal striker, on Tony Adams´ confession to alcoholism
This is an unusual Scotland side because they have good players.
Javier Clemente, Spanish Coach, on Scotland´s 1996 Under-21 side
If the players want to make it hard for me, I am happy to make it twice as hard for them.
Wendy Toms, the first female referee to officiate in a professional game in England
I was about to say, before something far more interesting interrupted...
John Motson, BBC1 Commentator, During Euro 96
You know Dennis Wise. He could start a fight in an empty house.
Alex Ferguson
There´s nobody fitter at his age, except maybe Raquel Welch.
Ron Atkinson lauds Gordon Strachan, 39
The tackles are coming in thick and thin.
Alan Brazil, on Radio 5 Live
By the end he was knackered-o. I think that´s the Spanish for it.
Kevin Keegan´s view of Faustino Asprilla´s first game for Newcastle
I don´t think there is anyone bigger or smaller than Maradona.
A very perceptive Kevin Keegan
Don´t tell those coming in the result of that fantastic match, but let´s have another look at Italy´s winning goal.
David Coleman
John Harkes going to Sheffield, Wednesday.
The New York Post
Juninho will only need to learn three words of English : Pound, Thank You and Bye Bye.
A somewhat cynical Jan Aage Fjortoft
Venison and Butcher - they´re both as brave as two peas in a pod.
John Sillett
I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.
Stuart Pearce
Football today would certainly not be the same if it had not existed.
Elton Welsby
They compare Steve McManaman to Steve Heighway and he´s nothing like him, but I can see why - it´s because he´s a bit different.
Kevin Keegan
The only thing I have in common with George Best is that we come from the same place ... play for the same club ... and were discovered by the same man.
Norman Whiteside
Viv Anderson has pissed a fatness test.
John Helm
And now for the goals at Carrow Road where it ended nil - nil.
Elton Welsby
Poland nil, England nil, though England are now looking the better value for their nil.
Barry Davies
Rosenborg have won 66 games, and they´ve scored in all of them.
Brian Moore
I never comment on referees and I´m not going to break the habit of a lifetime for that prat.
Ron Atkinson
Merseyside derbies usually last 90 minutes and I´m sure today´s won´t be any different.
Trevor Brooking
Ian Rush is as quick as a needle.
Ron Jones (Radio 5)
My team won´t freeze in the white-hot atmosphere of Anfield.
Ron Saunders
Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.
Bill Shankly
Barry Venison should be made to play in a motorcycle helmet.
Nick Hancock (Comedian, on the player´s looks, 1994)
If football was meant to be an art, God wouldn´t have invented Carlton Palmer.
Dominik Diamond (Radio host and football columnist, 1994)
I think he will go on to be a great player for us.
Doug Livermore (The Spurs coach on Neil Ruddock, 1992)
If I´d agreed to pay a 21-year-old who hadn´t played for England 12,000 pounds, I would have had 10 guys knocking on my door saying that they were full internationals and that they wanted the same money.
Roy Evans (On why he didn´t buy Chris Sutton, 1994)
He reminds me of Kenny Dalglish the way he sticks his backside into people.
Terry McDermott (On Newcastle midfielder Robert Lee, 1994)
It gets like this in Liverpool when you´re on the ferry and the sun reflects off the Mersey.
John Aldridge (On Orlando, Florida during the mega-hot World Cup, 1994)
After the Fulham game, I went round the chippy with my mates and got a big kiss from my mum when I got home!
Robbie Fowler (On how he celebrated the above feat, 1993)
I´d kick my own brother if necessary ... it´s what being a professional footballer is all about.
Steve McMahon (1991)
Girls first; football second.
Chris Kiwomya (1993)
For a bet I once ate three Mexican chillies. I thought I was really smart after I´d eaten them and then about 30 seconds later I came out in a serious sweat and a horrible rash. But I won the bet and took the money.
John Scales (1993)
My bum has been through every temperature known to man.
Gordon Strachan (On the perils of heat treatment and ice-packs, 1993)
I was in a hotel for six months and I just couldn´t get rid of it.
Neil Ruddock (On his love-handle weight problem, 1994)
I could have signed for Newcastle when I was 17, but I decided I would be better off at Carlisle. I´d had a drink that night.
Peter Beardsley (1994)
The first wasn´t a foul, so I thought, if they want a foul I´ll give them a foul.
Eric Cantona (Explaining his second sending off in consecutive games at Arsenal, 1994)
To be honest I thought in extra time both teams had settled for a replay. I was panicking then, because I hadn´t re-booked our hotel for midweek.
Steve Coppell (Crystal palace manager, on their 1990 FA Cup semi against Liverpool)
There´s only one United - the biscuit.
Anfield badge (1990)
Beating them isn´t special any more.
Brian Gayle (Sheffield United player, after their 2-0 victory over Liverpool in 1992)
I thought there might be eight goals but I never thought we would get four of them.
Dave Lancaster (Chesterfield striker, after their 4-4 Coke Cup draw at Anfield)
He´d get an injury of he went on Question of Sport.
Tommy Docherty (on Mark Wright)
Beneath the drayman´s body, his feet remain as nimble as a ballet dancer´s.
Hugh McIlvanney (on Jan Molby)
Molby looked corpulent enough to be playing darts for Denmark.
Brian Glanville (football writer)
We´ve another boy who´s ten and if he sees a tin can on his way to school, he steps over it. Steven was the opposite.
Steve McManaman´s father (1991)
He´s a brilliant player but we´re no getting all psychedelic about him.
Andy Roxburgh (on Gheorghe Hagi)
The elastic eccentric.
Joe Lovejoy (on Bruce Grobbelaar)
He´s only got one trick, but it´s a good one isn´t it?
Graham Taylor (on Tony Daley)
Batty would probably get himself booked playing Handel´s Largo.
David Lacey (football writer for The Guardian)
The trouble with Earl is that he´s one paced .... Zooommmmm.
Joe Royle (on Earl Barrett)
I hear Tony Adams is appealing. Apparently he wasn´t pissed. He was just trying to get the wall back another 10 yards.
Bob Bevan (on Tony Adams´ drink-driving conviction)
The only thing I fear is missing an open goal in front of the Kop. I would die if that were to happen. When they start singing ´You´ll Never Walk Alone´ my eyes start to water. There have been times when I´ve actually been crying while I´ve been playing
Kevin Keegan
Sometimes I feel I´m hardly wanted in this Liverpool team. If I get two or three saves to make I´ve had a busy day.
Ray Clemence
Liverpool are magic .... Everton are tragic.
Emlyn Hughes
I said to Kevin (Keegan) ´I´ll go near post´ and he replied ´No, just go for the ball´
Tommy Smith
He typifies everything that is good in football, and he has never changed. You could stake your life on Ian.
Bill Shankly (on Ian Callaghan)
I don´t know how I would have managed without him. It was a big step up playing in the first team, and I don´t know how I would have coped without someone keeping an eye on me and helping me out of difficult situations. I soon learned that at Liverpool, we were essentially part of a team and depended on each other.
Ian Callaghan (on Ronnie Moran)
He made it clear he couldn´t care less how the team got on provided he had a good game.
Billy Liddell (on ex-Scotland partner, Billy Steele)
Bill was so strong it was unbelievable. You couldn´t shake him off the ball. It didn´t matter where he was playing, though I suppose his best position was outside-left. He could go round you, or past you, or even straight through you sometimes!
Bob Paisley (on Billy Liddell)
The goal looked as big as the Mersey Tunnel.
Ian St. John (on his winning goal in the 1965 FA Cup Final)
He´s not just the best centre-forward in the British Isles, but the only one.
Bill Shankly (on Ian St.John)
Anyone who doesn´t learn from Ian Rush needs shooting.
Robbie Fowler
I´d rather have Bruce Grobbelaar trying to lose than Dave Beasant trying to win.
Anonymous Southampton fan after the match-rigging allegations
If they hadn´t scored, we would´ve won.
Howard Wilkinson (after a one-all draw)
I´m not too happy with our attack. Some of them couldn´t hit a cow´s backside with a banjo.
Dave Bassett (after another Wimbledon defeat)
Joe Harvey once said to me: ´I´ve got a special job for you today. I want to see how fast their centre-forward can limp.
John McGrath (former Preston manager, recalling his days as Newcastle centre-half)
Acne is a bigger problem than injuries.
Brian Clough (on his young Forest side)
My mum wants the season to end tomorrow.
Dave Bassett (when Wimbledon were top of the first division after four games)
People always remember the second half.
Graham Turner (former Wolves manager)
Yes, it looks as if Hearts have reverted to a five man back four.
Alan McInally (during a Rangers v Hearts game)
The problem with you, son, is that all your brains are in your head
Bill Shankly (talking to a Liverpool trainee)
He´s a vain bastard, I thought he was going to tell me that he was having a nose job.
Phil Boersma (on the moment Souness told him that he was having a heart bypass)
I don´t believe everything Bill tells me about his players. If they were that good, they´d not only have won the European Cup but the Ryder Cup, the Boat Race and even the Grand National!
Jock Stein (on Shanks)
I only wanted him for the reserves.
Bill Shankly (to the players after failing to sign Lou Macari)
What can you do, playing against 11 goalposts?
Bill Shankly (after a 0-0 draw at Anfield)
The best side drew.
Bill Shankly (after a hard fought 1-1 draw)
With him in defence, we could play Arthur Askey in goal.
Bill Shankly (after signing Ron Yeats)
Yes, Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them.
Bill Shankly (to a reporter in the 60´s)
The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.
Bill Shankly
If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.
Bill Shankly
A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are. In my time at Liverpool we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves.
Bill Shankly
You, me, same." Dalglish, perplexed, just nodded. But when the next day Cohen said the same thing. Dalglish said, "What are you talking about, Avi?" "You, me, same. Both learn English.
Avi Cohen (to Kenny Dalglish on the day that Cohen joined the club)
"Where are you from?"
"I´m a Liverpool fan from London."
"Well laddie . . . . What´s it like to be in heaven?"
Bill Shankly (to a Liverpool fan)
Laddie, that man scored 200 goals in 270 matches - an incredible record - and he has won cup after cup as a manager. When he talks, pin back your ears.
Bill Shankly (to a photographer who suggested Brian Clough was outspoken)
Sickness would not have kept me away from this one. If I´d been dead, I would have had them bring the casket to the ground, prop it up in the stands and cut a hole in the lid.
Bill Shankly (after beating Everton in the ´71 cup semi)
Nonsense! I´ve kicked every ball, headed out every cross. I once scored a hat-trick; One was lucky, but the others were great goals.
Bill Shankly (when told he had never experienced playing in a derby)
I know this is a sad occasion but I think that Dixie would be amazed to know that even in death he could draw a bigger crowd than Everton can on a Saturday Afternoon.
Bill Shankly (at Dixie Dean´s funeral)
There is no sentiment at Anfield. When your number is up it´s up.
Paul Walsh (when he joined Tottenham from Liverpool in Feb 1988/9)
I didn´t want Kenny to be criticised, but I´m amazed nobody said a word against him. If England had lost at Wembley as unexpectedly as Liverpool, I would have been slaughtered.
Bobby Robson (after Liverpool´s shock FA Cup Final defeat by Wimbledon)
I will stay with Juventus until 1989, and then I think I´ll join Liverpool.
Michael Laudrup (Jan 1987)
My plans for Rangers can only be achieved by buying. I don´t have time for young players to mature. That could take five years, and by then I could be out the door.
Graeme Souness (August 1987 as Rangers´ new manager)
See this shirt - I´m keeping it because it will be one of my most treasured possessions. It´s only just beginning to sink in that it´s all over for me as Liverpool player.
Ian Rush (after scoring at Chelsea in his final league game before joining Juventus)
I don´t want people to feel sorry for me. I´m not a cripple. There are many worse off.
Ray Kennedy (former Arsenal, Liverpool and England player, who has Parkinson´s disease)
Don´t worry, Alan. At least you´ll be able to play close to a great team!
Bill Shankly (to Alan Ball, who´d just signed for Everton)
It´s there to remind our lads who they´re playing for, and to remind the opposition who they´re playing against.
Bill Shankly (about the "This is Anfield" plaque)
Just tell them I completely disagree with everything they say!
Bill Shankly (to a translator, when being surrounded by gesticulating Italian journalists)
Ay, here we are with problems at the top of the league.
Bill Shankly (to the journalist suggesting Liverpool were in difficulties)
Take that bandage off. And what do you mean about YOUR knee? It´s Liverpool´s knee!
Bill Shankly (to Tommy Smith, who tried to explain that his bandaged knee was injured)
He´s worse than the rain in Manchester. At least the rain in Manchester stops occasionally.
Bill Shankly (on Brian Clough)
There´s nothing like second best, and Liverpool certainly are not!
Jim Rosenthal - TV Football reporter
It looks as if this boy is going to be some player.
Graeme Souness (after Rob Jones´ debut at Manchester United)
He´s better than Brian Lara because he´s 600 not out. What a guy.
Roy Evans (on Ian Rush´s 600th Liverpool appearance)
On those performances I reckon we would have taken Brazil.
Neil Ruddock (on Liverpool´s 100% start to the 1994-95 season)
It´s best being a striker. If you miss five, then score the winner, you´re a hero. The goalkeeper can play a blinder, then let one in ... and he´s a villain.
Ian Rush
It´s nice t´see t´lads playing in white socks again.
Elderly Bolton fan during their 2-0 defeat of Liverpool
Just go out and drop a few hand-grenades all over the place, son.
Bill Shankly (to Kevin Keegan)
People complain about the number of games, but when Liverpool were dominating Europe they were playing twice a week.
Keith Burkinshaw (former WBA manager)
Bruce Grobbelaar will play on until he is 40 - and at the top level.
Bruce Grobbelaar
Sir John Hall was a multi-millionaire when I came back to Newcastle. With all the players I´ve bought, I´m trying to make him just an ordinary millionaire.
Kevin Keegan (Newcastle manager - April 1994)
I´ve been on this planet for 45 years, and have supported Liverpool for 42 of them.
Roy Evans
Son, you´ll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don´t over-eat and don´t lose your accent.
Bill Shankly (on the day he signed Ian St John)
You son, you could start a riot in a graveyard.
Bill Shankly (to Tommy Smith)
Still we´ve had the hard times too - one year we finished second.
Bob Paisley
It was like playing in a foreign country.
Ian Rush (on his time at Juventus)
If we can play like that every week we´ll get some level of consistency.
Alex Ferguson
I´m a firm beleiver that if the other side scores first you have to score twice to win.
Howard Wilkinson
If you think this club is in crisis, you´ve never been to some of the places I have.
David Speedie when he joined Liverpool towards the end of the Dalglish era
If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I´d pull the curtains.
Bill Shankly
If you´re in the penalty area and don´t know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we´ll discuss the options later.
Bob Paisley
If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be.
Bill Shankly
Mission impossible is accomplished
Kommentatorns uttalande efter 3-3 målet i CL-finalen mot AC Milan
Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.
Bill Shankly
Of course I didn´t take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present. It was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves.
Bill Shankly
