Ian St John Managing The Liverpool Way

ENG 30mnts LfcTv

Ian.St.John.Managing.ENG.twb22.mp4

1.2 Go

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One of the most popular reds of all time as a player, he has somewhat tarnished that reputation with his bitter ramblings as a radio pundit.  Nonetheless, as a player, the 'Saint' is a legend.  His reds career started on the best possible footing, with a hat-trick on his debut against Everton.  Word is that the Liverpool board had been a bit apprehensive about splashing out £37,500 on the fiery young Scot from Motherwell, but that Shanks had told them that they couldn't afford NOT to sign him.  The 'Saint' was a tough striker, who despite his lack of inches was fantastic in the air, and his link up with Roger Hunt yielded a shed load of goals in the 60's.  He was a key component in Shankly's first successful team, and scored the winning goal in the 65 cup final aainst Leeds.  He also tried his hand at management with Motherwell and Portsmouth, but could never scale the heights he did as a player.  Something he should perhaps think about the next time he launches into a verbal assault on Gerard over the airwaves. 

Bought by Bill Shankly from Motherwell as the 1960-61 season drew to a close, Ian St. John would prove to be one of the most significant signings ever made by Liverpool Football Club. His contribution to the success that followed later in the decade was colossal. Despite his relative lack of height, Ian was a strong and tricky forward whose timing enabled him to outjump much taller defenders and either create chances for others or finish them off himself. Liverpool had been trying desperately to get out of the Second Division for six years, during which they had finished 3rd four times and 4th twice.  St. John and the acquisition of Ron Yeats from Dundee United shortly before the 1961-62 season began would prove to be inspirational signings that helped an extremely settled side cruise to the Second Division title by 8 points from Leyton Orient. "The Saint" only missed two League games, scoring 18 times and developing a lethal understanding with Roger Hunt. Liverpool comfortably coped with First Division football, finishing 8th in their first year back in the top league and were unlucky to lose to Leicester City in the F.A. cup semi-final, for whom Gordon Banks performed heroics. But a year later all Bill Shankly's foresight and tactical shrewdness came to fruition. Liverpool won the First Division championship for the first time for 27 years and Ian contributed 21 goals, the highest total he achieved during any single season as a Liverpool player. 

A year later came his (and the club's) greatest moment. After over 70 years of trying, Liverpool finally got their hands on the F.A. cup and Ian's diving header towards the end of extra-time at Wembley flew past Leeds United's goalkeeper Gary Sprake and earned the Scotsman immortality on the red half of Merseyside for that one athletic moment. Ian would collect a second League championship medal a year later to add to his growing collection of Scottish caps but suffered the disappointment of extra-time defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Cup winners' cup final at Hampden Park. St. John hardly missed a game for the next three seasons but as the 60's closed, Shankly had the difficult task of leaving out some of the players who had served him so well for most of the decade. Now 31 years old, Ian became one of the 'casualties'. He was picked for the first 10 League fixtures of 1969-70 but only played in one of the last thirteen. It was clear that a wonderful Anfield career was drawing to its close. 

Ian made just a single (substitute) First Division appearance in 1970-71 but did come off the bench to strike a vital second goal in a home F.A. cup tie with Swansea on 23rd January 1971. It was the last of his 118 senior goals for Liverpool. He moved to Coventry in September of that year before returning to Merseyside to play briefly for Tranmere Rovers under the managership of his former colleague and skipper Ron Yeats. Ian had a brief but fairly unhappy spell himself as a manager (with Portsmouth) before becoming Sheffield Wednesday's coach for a year in the late 70's. But his knowledge of and passion for football, coupled with a friendly and confident personality, enabled him to break into the world of television and for several years he was a popular figure on ITV in tandem with his former international adversary Jimmy Greaves. Ian St. John played over 400 times for Liverpool's first-team and was without doubt one of the best buys the club ever made. At his peak he was one of the most inspired players in the country and contributed so much to Liverpool's domination of the domestic scene in the middle of the 1960's.