Never before have so many Anfield legends opened up so freely about
their personal lives in print.
In Liverpool Captains, R. Lund Ansnes meets many of the club's greatest
figures; taking you beyond the walls of the training ground and into
their homes, uncovering the human impact of leadership. The themes of
identity, motivation, teamwork and loyalty are consistent but Ansnes
analyses how the role of the captain has changed over the last 55 years
since the appointment of Ron Yeats by Bill Shankly.
Yeats, indeed, is one of her 16 interviewees and like Tommy Smith after
him, Ansnes details the devastating effect of Alzheimer's Disease upon
their lives.
We meet Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and other former captains such
as Paul Ince whose story involves an improbable rise from abandoned
child to captain of club and country. An author of two Liverpool books,
Ansnes spent three years travelling across Europe getting to know the
legends. The outcome is a revealing portrait of life at Anfield, showing
sides of players you have never seen before.