Ask most Liverpool fans about Sir John Smith and I’m sure the majority response would be one of confusion. This is a sad state of affairs considering Smith is the most influential chairman in Liverpool’s history. His contribution to the club is unmatched at boardroom level, and without him, it is doubtful Liverpool would have achieved such an amazing level of success.

Sir John Smith ran Liverpool FC for 17 years from 1973 until 1990, playing an integral part in Liverpool’s unparalleled success over that period. During his tenure, Liverpool won four European Cups and 11 championship titles – a feat that has never been (and will never be) matched in England or indeed anywhere in the world.

A strong believer in continuity, Smith ended the club's policy of changing the chairman every three years. In his time, changes on the board were rare and shares in the club were never quoted on the Stock Exchange. Liverpool has always been a family club, and Smith strongly believed in this ideal and fought to ensure it remained that way.

"There's never been a better bit of business than that'' - John Smith on Liverpool's signing of Kenny Dalglish


Working with former chief executive Peter Robinson, Smith ran a tight ship, and during his time, Liverpool’s exemplary business practices became the envy of many other football clubs. Smith was also a staunch defender of the 'boot room' system of promotion from within, which created continuity of success under Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish.

Smith was a strong proponent of another of the club’s defining philosophies: the idea that no manager or player was bigger than the club. This is something synonymous with Liverpool FC but, once again, this ideal is slowly being eroded in the modern game, with player power increasingly having a negative impact on the game.

An influential and effective leader for Liverpool, Smith never shirked difficult decisions, and this was illustrated in his handling of the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Within days of the tragedy, Smith acted decisively by announcing that the club would be withdrawing from the following season's UEFA Cup.

He ensured that the club behaved with sensitivity and responsibility towards the victims and the guilty, but also recognised that the stadium was sub-standard and possibly contributed to the collapse of the stand, stating: "The ground was not good enough for an ordinary match, let alone a final". And he was undoubtedly right.

Smith also defended Liverpool’s travelling fans, who were under fire across the world. He issued a statement saying that the Heysel troublemakers were actually National Front supporters, probably from London, and that a shot had been fired before the worst part of the riot.

This was a view backed by Liberal councillor Peter Millea, who was at the match. He told the Liverpool Echo that he distinctly made out a contingent of skinheads wearing Union Jack T-shirts and speaking with Cockney accents.

Smith’s greatest contribution to Liverpool FC is, however, his role in bringing Dalglish to the club. This one piece of business laid the foundation for 13 years of non-stop glory, with Dalglish being the creative catalyst for the most successful period in Liverpool’s history.

Just 72 hours before the 1977 Scottish season began, Smith and manager Bob Paisley travelled up to Glasgow intent on signing Dalglish. They watched Kenny play for Celtic against Dunfermline in a pre-season friendly the same afternoon.

Rumours that Paisley was in the stand filtered back to Dalglish, but on hearing nothing concrete, he simply changed after the game and left the ground. It was only much later that evening, when he was called to Parkhead for a meeting, that he would learn the truth.

Smith and Paisley had already been at Parkhead for some hours negotiating what turned out to be one of the most important deals in the club's history. An initial £300,000 was offered but legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein rejected it as ‘'paltry'’.

In private talks prior to negotiation, the Liverpool party had agreed to keep adding 10 per cent, with £400,000 being the final offer. That figure was reached, but Stein once again rejected the offer. However, for some reason, Stein indicated that a further 10 per cent may tip the scales.

A simple nod of heads sealed the deal; Stein had lost his man, and he would remain silent on the matter after the deal, only ever stating that Liverpool got a better player than Kevin Keegan (Dalglish’s predecessor) and still made a profit.

Smith was delighted with the deal, enthusing: "There's never been a better bit of business than that”.
And no Liverpool fan would ever argue with that statement.

Smith also recommended the appointment of Dalglish as successor to Joe Fagan, whose spirit had been broken by the Heysel disaster. With Dalglish as manager, the club’s success continued, with the league and Cup double achieved in 1985-86, and two more titles in 1988 and 1990 before Smith retired.

Football has changed dramatically (and for the worse) since Smith ran the club, with ignorant publicity hounds like Peter Kenyon and Freddy Shepherd indicative of the new breed of shallow, media-hungry football chairmen.
Indeed, current Liverpool chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett should take a leaf out of Smith’s book and learn how to conduct themselves in the proper manner. Their recent public war of words with Rafael Benitez brought shame on the club, and Smith is probably turning in his grave at such a gross lack of professionalism.

Ultimately, Sir John Smith was a model of integrity and a credit to Liverpool FC. Like Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, he was ‘old school’ and represented everything that was good about the club. His achievements deserve respect and his contribution to the club should never be forgotten.

To read the complete version of this article, please visit:
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2007/12/liverpools-forgotten-heroes-no-02-sir.html