He plotted glory in the Boot Room
SOMETIMES the simplicity of the message conveys the most powerful meaning. So three sincere, heartfelt words from Ian Rush – “RIP Mr Liverpool” – said more about Ronnie Moran’s life than any number of lengthy tributes. His death, at 83, is a painfully sad moment for Liverpool FC. And the world of football too, because he was a genuine football man, and should be remembered as a monumental figure in the club’s history. His service and deeds for almost half a century as player, coach and – briefly – manager rank alongside those of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish. They were the architects of the Reds becoming one of the biggest clubs in the world – as it still is by almost any measure – and he was an architect too. Moran was synonymous with the Anfield Boot Room. He was born, and lived most of his life, in a modest Crosby dwelling a short journey from the stadium, but that pokey cubbyhole hidden under the stands was his spiritual home. The Boot Room was central command, where the club’s coaches met informally – often without the manager – to plot Liverpool’s remarkable march across Europe for the best part of three decades. The boot room made LFC plc a billionpound, multi-national business. Yet Moran earned £16 a week as a part-timer in 1949, and £30 when he hung up his boots two decades later. He served as a coach for three more decades before retiring in 1998 – never earning a fraction of the mega wages top managers pocket now. But it didn’t matter. For Ronnie Moran, it was about winning and nothing else, about the legend of the club he loved, and served without question. He was Mr Liverpool. The link between the doldrum days of the Second Division pre-shanks and the greatest European nights of all.