Academy column: McManaman on Ronnie Moran and Anfield return

I would like to start by paying tribute to a great man that will never be forgotten by anybody connected with Liverpool Football Club. Ronnie Moran was an amazing bloke. It is very apt the new book about his life is called ‘Mr Liverpool’. I’ve actually just finished reading it and it’s brilliant. We knew he was suffering of late but it was so sad to hear the news. As somebody else mentioned, Ronnie seemed to have occupied every role at Liverpool FC from an apprentice to professional, then captain and all of the jobs including physio, coach, everything. It was just incredible what he did for this club and you will never have the likes of that again. We have gone through an era of long-serving managers like Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, but the fact that Bugsy Moran, Roy Evans, Tom Saunders and Joe Fagan were involved with the club for so long and in such distinguished fashion I think is unheard of.

He was just an amazing character and I think I speak for loads and loads of players who have been at the club during his time and they will all say how much Ronnie helped everybody. Whether that was barking orders, giving them constructive criticism or little bits of advice, he was always there for everybody. I still remember the things he said to me when I was coming through as a player over 20 years ago. I think what he told me and players before me still rings true nowadays. The best way to play football, as Ronnie taught us, was on the floor. Beat teams by keeping the ball, passing it quick and playing entertaining football. That applies now like it did in the 60s, 70s and 80s with the wonderful Liverpool sides that we saw.

A lot of the encouragement he gave us was common sense really. I always remember he used to say to me 'stay wide and be patient'. He knew what type of player I was and he knew how to read the game and where the dangerous areas would be. You see nowadays a lot of kids are very impatient because sometimes they don’t get a kick of the ball for five minutes and they start wandering all over the field just to try and get a kick. The most important thing sometimes is to keep the pitch nice and big and stay out wide like Ronnie told me - if you can’t get the ball then it will create space for your teammates to exploit. I will hold what he taught me forever and when I’m coaching at the Academy I try to pass that on to people who play in the same position as me. It’s all about passing on the information. Bugsy did it by passing it on to all of the ex-players, and all of the ex-players try to pass it on to all of the young kids of today. Ronnie was a great man and we will never forget him.

On Saturday, we have the wonderful opportunity to return to Anfield and play in front of the Kop again when Liverpool Legends face Real Madrid Legends in aid of a wonderful cause, the Liverpool FC Foundation. I’m really looking forward to it. Going out and playing at Anfield again is very special when you stop playing. I played there in the Hillsborough Memorial match which was absolutely fantastic. These games at Anfield only come around once in a blue moon but coupled with the fact we have a new-look stadium with the Main Stand in front of 54,000 supporters it just adds to the already special occasion. We are all fans now and want Liverpool to do well. It will also be great to see the lads again, some of whom I haven’t seen for a long time like Patrik Berger, Vladi Smicer and Bjorn Tore Kvarme. It’s going to be brilliant to meet up again and the fact that we get the chance to play together at Anfield again just makes it that even more special.

It will also be great to meet up with the Real Madrid lads again. I know the majority of those lads as I’ve played in a few Legends games for Real Madrid. Clarence Seedorf, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, they are all ex-teammates of mine and it’s going to be a brilliant occasion. Emilio Butragueno was at the club when I was there and Fernando Sanz, so I am going to go along and see them on Friday night, have a bite to eat and a catch up. We are playing to raise funds for a fantastic charity, the LFC Foundation. Two years ago, when we played at the Santiago Bernabeu, we raised funds for the Real Madrid Foundation. The more we can raise the better it will be because the LFC Foundation does some absolutely fantastic work for the local community.

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Fans from around the world (excluding Spain) can watch Liverpool Legends v Real Madrid live and free of charge on LFCTV, LFCTV GO and Facebook from 2pm GMT.

It's fantastic for me to work with some of the outstanding talent we have coming through in Kirkby after Alex Inglethorpe gave me the opportunity to come back to the club and do some coaching, and it’s a role I thoroughly enjoy. It's great for go down to the Academy and see Alex and his staff - it really is a special place. Alex and his team do an incredible job and I think it shows that when you look at the youngsters who have had the opportunity to play in the first-team this season. That’s ultimately down to our manager Jürgen Klopp, who has given them hope because he wouldn’t pick these lads if he didn’t think they were good enough. We also had a few lads make their debut under Brendan Rodgers as well and I think it shows that the system is working and that’s the future. You can’t keep going out every year spending £200 million and you have to rely on what is coming through the ranks. The more lads we can get through and the more that play for the first team, the better.

My role in Kirkby is to help the lads in any way that I can. I try to impart any wisdom I can to the kids, whether that is speaking to them personally, calling them up or texting them to see how they are. I’ve told the lads that I will be always be around for them if they need to ask me any questions or want advice. I really enjoy it and I certainly don’t do anything like the work the staff do there because all of them work incredibly hard. They are out every night watching games. Last week I was watching Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 and then a couple of nights later I’m in Altrincham with our U18s taking on Manchester United. I went to Monaco for the Champions League game against Manchester City and then I was back in Kirkby to watch the U18s produce an impressive display to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0. I love watching all styles of football and if I can give any sort of wisdom to help the kids and help them get better that is what I want to do. If we can help them one day play in Liverpool’s first team then that would be brilliant, but if not and we can help them try to earn a living in this wonderful game, then all the better for it.