FURNELL VISION

Jim Furnell once broke it - and his finger - and, boy did he pay.

As this story unfolds you'll appreciate the significance, not only of that injury, but the link to the events of this very weekend.

Fate, date and contemplate.

At this juncture in 1962, Jim, a strapping goalkeeper from Burnley, signed on for Shankly's fast-rising Liverpool.

Precisely 36 years on he is now preparing himself for another transfer, this time from long service with Blackburn's youth set-up into soccer retirement.

It's ironic then that today's undisputed match of the day should feature the Merseyside Reds against the Lancashire Blues.

Jim's playing career with Liverpool lasted but 18 months and 28 senior games. His off-the-field role with Rovers totalled 16 years.

His heart lies with the latter, but Jim admits that ex-Anfield players always remain part of the Liverpool "family".

"A truly amazing place. Under Shankly it was awesome, made you understand the real meaning of fanatical. There's never been an atmosphere to compare with Anfield. We used to get goosebumps running out there, heaven knows what opponents must have felt like," he recalled.

Jim was a Shankly signing, no doubt endearing himself to the legend by previously turning down a move to Everton.

"I was playing well in the reserves at Burnley and, although Adam Blacklaw was the first choice, I really felt I was close to breaking through.

"Everton came in for me and I was flattered. They were then known as the Millionaires Club but I felt I wasn't quite ready and could have found myself out of my depth and eventually said no.

"The next week I played in a representative game at Hillsborough, an annual fixture between the Central League champions (Sheffield Wednesday) and the best of the rest. It went well but I got back to Burnley to find I'd been dropped to the A team.

"Immediately I began to regret turning down Everton but, within a matter of days, Liverpool made an approach, Burnley agreed a fee of £12,000 and I was off like a shot.

"Shankly was just starting to get things going and although Liverpool were then in Division Two you just sensed it was waiting to take off.

"I went straight into the side, replacing Bert Slater, and made my debut at Walsall. I stayed in, too, and we clinched the championship.

"Great time and some great players - the likes of Ian St John, Ian Callaghan and Peter Thompson were just starting to make their mark."

Shanks must have thrown a party.

"You're kidding, Leyton Orient, who finished a place below us, went off for a long celebration break in Barbados. We were taken for a week in Dublin and it rained every day!

"The start of the following season was electric. I remember playing in front of 76,000 in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, a 2-2 draw.

"Roy Vernon scored a penalty and Shanks blamed me - crikey, did he give me a rollicking. Vernon had scored a penalty the previous week in a game that had been screened on television.

"Penalties are all about mind games between the taker and the keeper.

"I decided that he would realise I'd seen that penalty on the telly and probably hit it in the opposite corner. He didn't and I went the wrong way.

"Shanks went ape. 'Don't you watch the bloody TV, son?' he snarled and I had nothing to offer in defence."

Thirteen games into the campaign Jim's career took a cruel twist.

"I broke my finger in a freak training field accident. I went down to collect the ball in a five-a-side and caught the finger on the ground.

"Shanks took me out of goal and made me complete the match up front. He wouldn't believe that it was broken, but Bob Paisley insisted I should go along to have it checked out by the doctors.

"I spent a week in hospital, needed a bone graft and didn't play again for months. Didn't realise it at the time, but it was the end for me at Anfield.

"That's when I saw another side to Shankly. If you were injured it was as though you stopped existing. He didn't come to visit me and more or less ignored me when I reported in at the club for daily treatment.

"If you were injured you were useless to him and he didn't try to hide the fact.

"Tommy Lawrence came up from the reserves to take my place and the team just went from strength to strength.

"It was the start of the Liverpool domination - two championships in three years, the European Cup, the FA Cup.

"You name it, they won it and, but for the injury, the person wearing the green jersey and picking up the medals would probably have been me. That's fate, that's football and that's life. By the time I was fit again Lawrence was established and it was back to reserve team football. I knew I had to move on and was fortunate enough to get a move to Arsenal where I had four great years and around 150 games.

"People have often asked if it left me bitter. No it didn't. I've always been a realist and I prefer to look back on the good times rather than reflect on what might have been.

"Playing for Liverpool, under probably the greatest club manager ever, was a fantastic experience. Being in goal in front of 15,000 on The Kop made you feel unbeatable.

"All the games were special, but I also remember playing against Rovers at Ewood and being done by a late goal from Bryan Douglas.

"As a top flight player I was earning around £30 a week in those days, but Shanks used to make it clear that it wasn't a job, it was an honour."

Clitheroe-born Jim's playing career later took him to Rotherham and Plymouth before he joined the Ewood Park coaching staff in 1981 following the appointment of Bobby Saxton.

That particular chapter, including spells as reserve team manager and youth development officer, is about to close - Jim is currently negotiating an early retirement package.

He's recently turned 60 and his Boot Room is packed with happy memories: "Apart from a couple of months I've enjoyed an unbroken football career spanning 44 years.

"I played for two of the biggest clubs in the land and was fortunate enough to be closely involved in the rise and rise of Rovers. To coin a phrase it's been a lot of fun too. How could I possibly have any regrets?"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.