Football's Greatest: Phil Thompson | "I admire Gary Neville, believe it or not”

Football's Greatest

What makes a great leader in football? Thats’s the question Jeff is asking former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson on this week’s episode of the pod. Thommo was himself a born leader, who lifted the European Cup as captain in 1981.

He talks about how Bill Shankly mapped out his entire career and the time Bob Paisley gave him his biggest rollicking, the best leaders he played with and why captaincy seems to matter more in the UK. He also reveals:

• the player that scared him the most
• how he pranked an England legend into believing he was joining Liverpool
• what he really thought about Alex Ferguson’s great Manchester United sides

Phil also talks about some of his lowest moments, including losing the captaincy at Liverpool to Graeme Souness and being overlooked to be England skipper at the 1982 World Cup, and recalls why Steve Gerrard took the armband from Sami Hyypia at Anfield and his emotional team talk before his first match as Liverpool’s caretaker manager.

You can catch our previous episode with Phil Thompson, where he picked his Top 5 Liverpool players, here:

YouTube - https://youtu.be/eLh7e5tZrow?si=aNp7t-cCv0tM5CpJ

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/footballs-greatest/id1721822502?i=1000647187436

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5dp0JDg6L2l47xrEX83bp8?si=20fa506086d5416d

Football's Greatest is a Folding Pocket Production with BBC Studios.

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