Phil Thompson lived his dream at Liverpool, captaining the club to European glory and later taking on the responsibilities Bill Shankly once oversaw, and his passion has never waned.
The Scouser won almost everything on offer during his 11-year playing career at Anfield, which got its start under Shankly in 1972.
The lanky 18-year-old midfielder would grow into one of the club’s best central defenders, forging partnerships with the legendary Emlyn Hughes and Alan Hansen.
Thompson is a Liverpool icon and was recently voted 21st in the club’s greatest all-time list, a position he says is “absolutely not a problem for me” knowing the names that followed.
“I always believe the greats should be about longevity, and should be about winning trophies,” the 72-year-old told This Is Anfield in a recent interview.
“I’d like to think I ticked a couple of those boxes. Then, when you see some of the players that came after me, from 20th downwards, you go, ‘woah, wow, woah’.”
A humble, passionate servant on the field, in the dugout and now as an official club ambassador.
Experiencing the power of Anfield
Liverpool captain Phil Thompson (left) lifts the European Cup after Liverpool won the trophy for the third time, in Paris. 1980s
Liverpool captain Phil Thompson (left) lifts the European Cup after Liverpool won the trophy for the third time, in Paris. 1980s
Born in Kirkby in 1954, Liverpool Football Club is deeply ingrained in Thompson’s blood, although he could have easily been a Blue had he followed his father’s club and not his mother’s.
Thompson regularly watched matches on the Kop, and even after turning professional at 17, he could be spotted in the stands, never far away from the action.
“I go back to 1965, I’m at Anfield,” he tells This Is Anfield. “We’re playing Inter Milan, who’s probably the biggest team in world football, the most renowned team.
“We played in the semi-final [of the] European Cup. Anfield was incredible that day. I’m sitting in the stands on the front row with my mum and my older brother, and I am 11 years of age.
1960s Kop Crowd (PA Images)
1960s Kop Crowd (PA Images)
“And could I take my eyes off the Kop? The mass of swaying back and forward, the passion, the commitment, the drive that it gave the team. We beat them 3-1.”
While there would be no European Cup final on that occasion, Thompson would later do his part to steer his club to the ultimate success more times than he may have ever dreamed of.
And throughout it all, he has never lost sight of how far Liverpool have come from a local institution to a global powerhouse, one that is entirely unique.
He said: “I go back to the ’60s, Bill Shankly, and he’s going ‘to build us up to be a bastion of invincibility’.
03.05.1980 LFC captain Phil Thompson holds the League Division 1 trophy as LFC are crowned champions following a 4-1 win over Aston Villa at Anfield.
03.05.1980 LFC captain Phil Thompson holds the League Division 1 trophy as LFC are crowned champions following a 4-1 win over Aston Villa at Anfield.
“And you were like that as a kid; you were on that journey with him, and to see how we’ve grown!
“He’d be up there looking down and going, ‘That’s my football club’, and it is. It’s so special.”
While the club has grown exponentially, Anfield will always be its home, with the former captain adding: “The power of Anfield is, we’ve seen it.
“Great European nights going back to the ’60s, why does that happen? Why does it continue to happen?
“Other clubs don’t. Even your Manchester United and Arsenals, they don’t have that repetition of great European nights that you can absolutely feel that emotion, that atmosphere, that passion.
1979, Liverpool players perform a lap of honour after winning 3-0 to clinch the League Championship for the third time in four years: (l-r) Alan Kennedy, David Johnson, Terry McDermott, Phil Thompson, Ray Clemence (PA Photos/PA Archive/PA Images) 1970s
1979, Liverpool players perform a lap of honour after winning 3-0 to clinch the League Championship for the third time in four years: (l-r) Alan Kennedy, David Johnson, Terry McDermott, Phil Thompson, Ray Clemence (PA Photos/PA Archive/PA Images) 1970s
“And I think that it’s that bond between Liverpool, the supporters and the players, that we become invested in, and that I think that is what makes us different than anybody.”
“Players come and go, managers come and go, the people remain, and the people will always have that love.
“Yes, we get disappointed when things don’t go right, that is everybody’s divine right. But that love for the football club is different than any other football club.”
The kid on the Kop who did what Bill Shankly did
GAP72K Soccer - Football League Division One - Liverpool Photocall. Liverpool first team squad photo: (back row, l-r) Chris Lawler, Phil Boersma, Larry Lloyd, Ray Clemence, Frank Lane, John Toshack, Ray Kennedy, Phil Thompson; (front row, l-r) Brian Hall, Alec Lindsay, Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith, manager Bill Shankly, Emlyn Hughes, Steve Heighway, Peter Cormack, Kevin Keegan. Liverpool FC squad photo season 1974/75 - 1970s
GAP72K Soccer - Football League Division One - Liverpool Photocall. Liverpool first team squad photo: (back row, l-r) Chris Lawler, Phil Boersma, Larry Lloyd, Ray Clemence, Frank Lane, John Toshack, Ray Kennedy, Phil Thompson; (front row, l-r) Brian Hall, Alec Lindsay, Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith, manager Bill Shankly, Emlyn Hughes, Steve Heighway, Peter Cormack, Kevin Keegan. Liverpool FC squad photo season 1974/75 - 1970s
A 477-game playing career with Liverpool delivered seven league titles, three European Cups, three League Cups, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup and a Super Cup.
Roger Hunt was his childhood hero, and while he never got the chance to play alongside the forward, he had the honour of playing under Shankly 73 times until his shock retirement in 1974.
He would help Bob Paisley deliver further success, but by 1983 he had played his last game for Liverpool – though he never strayed too far.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 5, 2003: Liverpool's manager Ge?rard Houllier and assistant Phil Thompson against Manchester United during the Premiership match at Old Trafford. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 5, 2003: Liverpool's manager Ge?rard Houllier and assistant Phil Thompson against Manchester United during the Premiership match at Old Trafford. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Thompson returned as a reserve coach in 1986, replacing Chris Lawler, and worked alongside Kenny Dalglish, and was later hired as Gerard Houllier‘s assistant in 1998.
“It was wonderful,” he reflected on that period of his life. “There was such a love for each other that grew on us, getting to know each other; he was the lovely, calm, influential Frenchman.
“I was the mad Scouser who demanded discipline, demanded passion, demanded commitment.”
Thompson was in the role until 2004, when the pair both departed the club, but for six months he stood in as caretaker as Houllier recovered from a heart problem.
“Players come and go, managers come and go, the people remain, and the people will always have that love.”
While perhaps not the circumstances he would have wished for, it did see Thompson live out a role that perhaps would never have presented itself.
“His illness when he was at the club gave me that great chance to be manager of Liverpool Football Club,” Thompson started.
“I did what Bill Shankly did, and for the kid who stood on the Kop for all those young days, to do what Bill Shankly did and pick Liverpool’s first team, I thought, was a dream come true.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 4, 2001: Liverpool's caretaker manager Phil Thompson during the Premiership match at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 4, 2001: Liverpool's caretaker manager Phil Thompson during the Premiership match at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Most telling of all, though, was the 72-year-old’s message for new coach Andoni Iraola, which is a reflection of the ‘Liverpool Way’ that has been instilled in him since the ’60s:
“You’ve got to enjoy every moment, be passionate, be committed, and just be there for everybody when we need them.”
Prefer to watch? Catch our full exclusive interview with Phil Thompson on our
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