Author Nicky Allt tells us why the great man is still his ultimate inspiration.

Bill Shankly is an everyday inspiration.

There are two pictures on the wall in my study that I always look at when I get up in the morning and start to write. One is of Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly when they are wearing those Gola shirts and the other one is Shanks when he is pointing on the pitch.

When I look at him each morning it makes me think that I had better get to work. He's like my four star petrol that starts me off. He was always on about working hard.

It's no exaggeration when I say he is one of the biggest inspirations in my life.

He was an iconic figure, like a Hollywood movie star to us. I went up to Anfield with my brother to get autographs one day and as we walked up the hill we sneaked past the side alleyway by the Albert pub. In the darkness we couldn't see much but we just heard this Scottish voice.

It was Bill Shankly and he was talking to Ian St John. He saw us and asked us what we were doing there. We told him we'd got the bus up from Kirkby.

We were just star struck and couldn't say anything to him. He took us back out and pointed to where we could get the bus home. On our way back we kept looking at each other and couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

For me, he was a complete one off. Celtic supporters may point to Jock Stein and Manchester United fans may say Matt Busby, but Bill Shankly seemed to have different characteristics to them. I think he had a lot more personality than the others.

There have been other managers who can claim to have had similar success, but the fact Liverpool are one of the biggest club's in the world goes back to that man. He made a lot of sacrifices to achieve what he did. His family must have suffered to some point because to build the club he had to make personal sacrifices.

He was a massive influence in me choosing red over blue. Harry Catterick didn't have that aura about him and neither did Goodison Park. It was always the Kop and I associated that with Shankly.

Karen Gill, his granddaughter, has been to the show and it would have been brilliant for him to have been able to watch the Shankly Show too.

I think Shanks would be annoyed at how the modern game has developed, with the interference of agents and things like that. There are a lot of aspects of it that would get right up his nose.

Having said that, I think football is crying out for a Bill Shankly figure now. He would motivate players like no-one else and because of the aura around him I think even millionaire footballers would take on board what he had to say.

It's important the 50^th anniversary of his arrival is celebrated and that people know what he did for the football club. He is the reason why Liverpool Football Club is what it is today.