You must hear this haunting BBC Scotland radio doc on Shankly’s Village, featuring author Robert Gillan, the voice of Shanks and his relatives, and the excellent Martyn McLaughlin from The Scotsman.

It’s an Off The Ball production, which all Scottish fans will know is the number 1 football radio show north of the border, featuring Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove. 

It’s an atmospheric, informative and heartfelt documentary – just like the book that inspired it. With thanks to Off the Ball producer Stevie Miller.

Click here to listen to The Cradle of Football.
 

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Shankly’s Village: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Glenbuck and its Famous Sons.

 “Shankly’s Village is not only an important book about a lost community, its football teams and its history, but in its rebirth with the Glenbuck Academy, a magnificent inspiration of what football could be and mean again… it has so many great stories… very moving and powerful scenes, and is really well written.” – David Peace

‘As somebody who cherished the friendship of my great fellow  Ayrshireman Bill Shankly, I am delighted that the story of the remarkable mining village that produced him is being vividly told. Physically, Glenbuck has been expunged but its name will always have resonance for anyone interested in the importance of football to the working-class communities of what used to be Britain's industrial areas.’ – Hugh McIlvanney