Alan A'Court - 2nd Division International

“Between Two Cup Finals”

Alan A’Court gave loyal service to Liverpool Football Club from his 18th birthday, when he signed his first professional contract and throughout the twelve years that followed. 381 games and 63 goals are impressive figures that place him as number 32 on the list of those who have made most appearances for Liverpool. Joining the ageing side of the early 1950’s Alan endured the despair of relegation and the eight years that followed in the second division, before playing an integral part in Shankly’s side that gained promotion.

40 years on from his “last pass”, Alan speaks exclusively to lfchistory.net

Growing up in Liverpool in the years after the war, was it the dream of many young men to wear the red shirt?

Yeah it was a dream, but life seems to just happen for you. I was at Prescot Grammar school, ten miles from Liverpool, and my wife and friends had traveled seven miles the other way towards Widnes. And in those days the schools tended to play the same game that the town team played so I was playing football. Had I gone to Widnes, I would have ended up playing rugby.

How did the scouting system work in those days? Was it difficult to get your talent spotted?

I played for my school team, I then got picked to play for the Merseyside grammar schools, and then picked for my county, Lancashire, and then I went down to Oxford for schools week, playing for England grammar schools against top pro amateur sides. I played against Pegasus and there were scouts watching those games who would say, “look at that left winger” and it went from there. I had a choice between Liverpool, Everton, Wolverhampton and Bolton Wanderers.

What made you choose to sign for Liverpool?

I was a village lad, family orientated. I liked the fact that I wasn’t too far away from home and I had no car at that time. I had been to Bolton for a trial, but I fancied the atmosphere more at Liverpool. They called Everton the school of science because at their ground you would look down on the pitch and the formation of the players, whereas at Liverpool you were close to the players and the pitch.

What kind of bond was there between supporters and players?

It was very good, sadly the war years had intervened with a lot of the playing careers, so the Liverpool team was growing old in the early 1950’s and it was a transition period for the club. I played with the team that went down and the team that came back up again, but it took us eight years!

How difficult was it joining an ageing side in decline?

It was frustrating, you were playing Arsenal and United then the following year, after relegation you were going to Grimsby and Lincoln. No disrespect to those sides but they saw Liverpool as a big catch.

You also have the rather dubious claim to fame of being part of the side that recorded the heaviest loss in Liverpool’s history, a 9-1 defeat to Birmingham?

You bloody journalists! (Shakes his head and laughs), You always ask me about that, you never mention the 45 yarder I scored against Derby, or the time we beat Fulham 7-0 with Johnny Haynes and all. We went to Birmingham, had a pre match meal of boiled potatoes, chicken and rice pudding. It was the middle of winter, the pitch was frozen, it was hard underneath and wet on top. In those days, there were no rubber boots, so they came out with plimsolls on. (pauses) They were five up in a quarter of an hour. We could not keep our feet! We lost another four in the second half and Billy Liddell’s one goal was the best of the ten!

Can you remember Billy Liddells’ strike that day?

Oh yeah, he was a very well balanced player, how he kept his balance I don’t know, he was playing centre forward, which is another reason I was able to get in the team, because he was switched from the left wing where he was scoring six goals a season, to up front where he was getting 20-30 goals every year. It was Liddellpool in those days, and while he was doing that, I was getting more experience on the wing.

(Back to the game) So he cut through the middle and lambasted it right into the top corner of the net past the English goalkeeper Gill Merrick.

Did the lack of ambition at board level permeate through to the players?

The board wouldn’t give the manager any money to spend, but we were always 3rd or 4th, there or there abouts, but not quite capable of making the extra step. One Easter we played Doncaster home and away (because that’s how the fixtures were scheduled) and lost both times. It was little things like that, that were making the difference between gaining promotion and not. We felt that although we were getting 45,000-50,000 fans every week, where was that money going? It certainly wasn’t being spent on transfers!

The players were also rewarded for attendance figures?

Yeah that’s right, For home games, we got £1 for every 1,000 supporters over 28,000, for example if 45,000 people turned up we got a £17 bonus and it would be carried over for the next week’s away game. We also got £2 for a win and £1 for a draw on top of your basic wage.

Do you think that was a better system for paying players?

Well in a way it was, but it wasn’t about the money in those days, but it was a nice way for the club to reward you with that little bit extra. It was like dangling the carrot in front of you, because the more games you won, the more supporters would show up, the more you would get paid.

The peak years of your career where spent in Division Two, you showed an incredible amount of loyalty to the club throughout that period, when there was reported interest from top clubs such as Arsenal.

I played just under 400 games for the club, and I was happy at Liverpool. Arsenal were interested, and offered £12,000. I didn’t want to move house, I was happy at home and I had good mates in Liverpool. When we got relegated young England were playing old England, I was playing for England under 23’s. Because we were in the second division, people would watch and ask, “who is that young lad A’Court on the left wing”, and that’s how the transfer interest started. I thought we’d get promotion next season, but we never did.

Do you regret not taking the move?

In some ways I do, some of my family had pursued their careers to London and often say “you should have come to London when you had the chance”. I am what I am and you do what you do.

Do you think the loyalty you showed in the 1950’s would be shown by players in the modern game?

No, not now. Really, there is no loyalty now. I’ll be in the top 30 for appearances at Liverpool and players like Carragher and Gerrard fair enough, but few of these foreigners will stay there long enough. You’ve got to hand in to them, two local boys and two great players.

Do you wish you were playing today with the wages on offer?

Out of football, I got all my memories and a house without a mortgage. But no, my answer to that is a bit cynical, I could have been born in 1924 and had to go to Dunkirk and been killed, so you live the life you live. (smiles) I’m being philosophical now. 

How much of a boost was the arrival of Shankly?

Shanks came in ‘59, They called him the suitcase manager you know, someone who moves around all the time. He was every enthusiastic and lived football, if you talked to him about any other sport, he’d get up and walk away. He spoke to a guy in America about Tom Finney, and the man didn’t know who Tom Finney was, Shanks just turned his back on him.

Did you get on well with him?

He wasn’t easy to talk to, Bob Paisley was very good for him in that respect. If you were injured, he wouldn’t even talk to you. I have to thank him as I was in the wax bath one day injured with a swollen ankle, and he came in (puts on Scottish accent) “your’e going to play today son” he said. So I strapped it up and played every game that season, the year we won promotion. If I missed a game and the team won, I wouldn’t get back in, he kept a winning side. In my last season, the year Liverpool won the championship, he only used 14 players.

Was there a feeling amongst players after Shankly arrived, that the club could be more successful?

Yeah, he introduced a lot of his own ideas for training, the sweatbox, Bob would have the stopwatch, and you would pass against the wall, control turn and do the same for every wall. If you missed the 4 ft board, another ball was thrown in, so you got no rest. He hired Reuben Bennett who could run players into the ground, so there was a lot of physical running.

What was it about Shankly that gave him the extra edge?

It just seemed to gel. I feel he never showed any signs of pressure. I don’t think you can show your players that you are stressed, and he didn’t show pressure in any form. He was always happy when people were around him.
He was fanatical about football. He didn’t like you playing golf and he didn’t like you going out. One year in a trip to Blackpool, we went to this nightclub run by former heavyweight boxer Jack London, Ian St John was the spokesman and said ‘We’re Liverpool Football Club’, and London replied “I don’t care if you are fucking Aston Villa, you’re not getting in here.” (Laughs) We thought, we’ll not argue with him. We got back to the hotel late and Bill and Bob were standing in the lobby with their slippers on. ‘I expected better of you Alan’, he said. And it was only a Sunday night!

The signing of Peter Thompson effectively ended your career at Anfield.

Yeah, he scored the winning goal against us in the FA Cup the year before. That was another disappointment - that I never got to a cup final. My book title could have been “Between Two Cup Finals”, because the year before I arrived and the year I left Liverpool went to the cup final. I did get a bit low when I got out of the team, after 10 years, and the team is winning and you are not playing, it was disappointing.

Did you feel that the loyalty you had shown had not been repaid?

That’s football. We used to say at Anfield, your only as good as your last pass. I had given 10 years good service, and what does disappoint me is that Tranmere had to pay £9,000 for me and I made nothing out of the deal. I wasn’t forced out, but I wanted to play. Look at Dudek today, he can’t even get on the bench. The difference is players are getting £35,000 a week nowadays for it, back then you didn’t get your bonuses and there was no substitutions, so you had no chance of playing.

Ferry across the Mersey…

Tranmere was obviously close to home, and we were pipped to promotion two years running. I might have been better going to the second division then dropping down the leagues rather than dropping straight from the first to the fourth division. Because where do you go then?

Playing West Ham

“Boys, I’ve just seen Bobby Moore, it looks like he’s been half awake all night. He’s got sleep in his eyes”. Alan recalls Shankly’s motivational techniques. It was like going in 1-0 up. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and if you are unbeaten at home all season, teams wouldn’t want to come to Anfield.

Was your last appearance at Anfield an emotional farewell?

Well I didn’t know it was my last game! (laughs) It was in the European Cup against Reykjavik. I hadn’t played the away leg, but played my first European game on my last appearance. Ironically my last league game for Tranmere, I scored a hat-trick. I’d never scored a hat-trick in my life!

You played alongside Bob Paisley, how was he as a player?

Bob was very canny, as Phil Taylor the cultured defender was going forward, Bob in his soccer wisdom was covering. He did a job that rarely got praise in the media.
Could you tell he had the potential to be such a great manager?

No, not really when he finished playing, he was given the reserve job at Liverpool. I think he excelled himself to such a degree it surprised even Shanks in the early days.

You went to the World cup in 58 as a second division player, what an incredible feat?

I didn’t realise the significance of it then. I think there was a lot of other left halves, playing in the first division, but I was playing well for the under 23’s. We played Brazil, and couldn’t get the ball off them. They couldn’t score but they had great all round control, and their game hasn’t changed over the years.

Would you say that is the greatest achievement of your playing career?

No, my greatest achievement is gaining promotion. I helped send them down but also helped send them back up there. On an individual basis, playing for my country was great, and you can never take that away from me.

Quote from Ian Callaghan: "Everton were the glamour club back then, they had a much better stadium and I had a chance to go to them, but I was a Liverpool supporter and signing for them appealed to me more. The fact that two of my heroes, Alan A'Court and the great Billy Liddell were here made it easy for me to sign."

Ian Callaghan speaks quite highly of you..

He’s a lovely lad, Cally, I said to him in the early days, if you get £20 a week put £5 of it away, and he did that throughout his career, and at one stage when he finished playing, he was lending people money.

LFChistory.net's Gerry McGuinness with Alan

You say you never get asked about the 45 yard strike against Derby, only the 9-1 defeat, so here’s your chance - tell us about that goal, Alan.

(Laughs) Well it was at the Baseball Ground, I picked the ball up inside my own half, left wing, dribbled just beyond the centre circle and whacked it into the top corner of the net. I couldn’t believe it. The trainer nearly fell off his chair and reminded me, 'You're only meant to stand on your right foot, Alan.'

Interview by Gerry McGuinness - Copyright LFChistory.net