Following the sad news of Ronnie Moran's passing, Carl Clemente, co-author of the story of the Reds legend's life, 'Mr Liverpool', has penned the following tribute.

As authors of Ronnie's biography, myself and Arnie Baldursson are deeply saddened by his passing. Over the last couple of years, we have got to know Ron and his family and, as avid Liverpool supporters, we will be forever thankful for his commitment to the club. Ronnie Moran's 49-year career at Liverpool was one of loyalty, hard work and dedication. There is little likelihood that anyone will ever surpass Ron's contribution to the club, not only because of his remarkable achievements, but also because during his half a century on the playing and coaching staff he carried out almost every role imaginable.

Ronnie was born on February 28, 1934 on Coronation Road in Crosby and was the youngest of five brothers and four sisters. His interest in football started at a young age and came from going to watch two of his older brothers play for Formby. It soon became apparent that Ronnie was an able footballer with a promising future ahead of him, and he went on to represent Crosby, Bootle and Lancashire Boys. Ronnie was 15 when he joined Liverpool in 1949 after being recommended by the postman who delivered letters to the club's chairman Samuel Williams. He signed part-time forms with the club and at the same time worked for the Mersey docks and Harbour Board as an apprentice electrician. From 1949 to 1952, Ronnie represented Liverpool's C, B and A teams. Initially, he played as a striker, but as he made his way through the ranks, he developed into a hard-tackling, powerful left-back. On January 7, 1952, just weeks before his 18th birthday, Ron signed his first full-time professional contract and, from then on, became a regular fixture for Liverpool's reserves.

In the same year, he was given his first-team debut by manager Don Welsh at Derby County's Baseball Ground. Liverpool lost 3-2 that afternoon, however, the young left-back would have taken a lot away from the game - not only did he make his bow, but it was alongside his boyhood hero Billy Liddell! Incidentally, his future colleague Bob Paisley also turned out for the Reds that day.

Watch: Bugsy Moran - A tribute to LFC's sergeant major

Ronnie went on to represent Liverpool's first team 379 times over 13 seasons, 47 of which were as captain. Ronnie also scored 17 goals, many of which were set-pieces that owed much to the power and accuracy generated from his left foot. In 1962, Ronnie helped Liverpool gain promotion back into the First Division after eight seasons in the Second Division. He then went on to make a huge contribution to Bill Shankly's first championship-winning side in 1964, playing 35 out of a possible 42 league games. Ronnie gave his all every time he pulled on the red jersey and had a hatred for only one aspect of the game: losing!

In 1966, Ronnie's playing days were coming to an end, which prompted Shankly to offer him a place on his coaching staff. Despite receiving interest from other clubs to prolong his playing career, he took less than 24 hours to accept Bill's offer and immediately took control of the youth teams while carrying on playing for the reserves. Ronnie once said: "The first thing I realised about Bill Shankly was that, after a very short time at the club, I knew that Liverpool were destined for greater things under his management and I wanted to be a part of it."

Ronnie's career as a coach went from strength to strength. After successfully teaching a generation of youngsters the basics and simplicities of the game, in 1971 he was promoted to reserve-team manager and guided them to back-to-back Central League titles in 1973 and 1974. In July of the same year, the day after Bob Paisley had been formally hired as Shankly's successor, the new boss declared Ronnie would be his first-team trainer. In addition to his new coaching role, Ronnie, as the lowest-ranked trainer in the first-team setup, took charge of physio duties as well. Ronnie was taught by the best and he, in turn, produced the best. 23 of Liverpool’s 41 major honours were won with Moran on the first-team coaching staff, including an incredible 10 league titles and four European Cups. Every player who enjoyed some glory and success during their time at Liverpool has Ronnie Moran to thank. Melwood's own sergeant major converted dozens of 'good players' into 'Liverpool players', teaching them to play 'The Liverpool Way'.

Ronnie was level-headed and had the right balance to be a successful coach; he was straightforward and treated everyone the same. He gave all the players an equal chance, whether it was a young apprentice starting out or one of the 'Bigheads', which was how he referred to the senior players. Ronnie taught the players to be fearless and knew that if they were able to survive his intensive and demanding training sessions, they would be prepared to play on a Saturday in front of 50,000 even more demanding fans. Although Ronnie knew how to build the players up for the big occasions, he also knew how to bring them back down to earth. It was always about the next game for him - nothing else mattered. Every game was a big game and he prepared the players to go about their business in exactly the same way, whether they were playing a second round League Cup tie or a European Cup final.

Towards the end of Ronnie's incredible career, he was trusted to take charge of the first team as caretaker manager on two separate occasions, and during his second stint in 1992 he proudly led the squad out at Wembley for the FA Cup final. That day, along with Liverpool's first European Cup triumph in Rome in 1977, provided the highlights of his career. 

Ronnie turned 60 on February 28, 1994 and, with 45 years of experience at Liverpool behind him, his coaching duties continued well into the Premier League era. Now under the management of his good friend Roy Evans, Ronnie kept himself in good shape and would still get involved in the small-sided training games at Melwood. Ronnie retired at the end of the 1997-98 campaign at the age of 64 when it emerged the club were exploring a new direction. In total, Ronnie represented Liverpool's first team as a player and a coach an incredible 1,744 times, only missing one game in all competitions between 1974 and 1998. However, his ties with his beloved Liverpool didn't end there; he later became a scout for the club and was involved with LFCTV, either commentating on games or offering his expert analysis from the studio. Moreover, in 2009 assistant manager Sammy Lee brought Ronnie back to Anfield on matchdays and recreated the old Boot Room tradition of inviting opposition managers for post-match refreshments.

Without a doubt, there is no better title for Ronnie than ‘Mr Liverpool’. It is true that Shankly laid down the foundations and planted the seeds for the club's triumphs, but Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Roy Evans and Ronnie Moran - the famous Boot Room - kept the ball rolling and built teams that dominated the game home and abroad.

Ronnie's contribution to Liverpool Football Club will forever be remembered by everybody connected to the club. He was an Anfield phenomenon and much of Liverpool's success during the time he was a club employee is down to him. He was the man who had more contact with the players on a daily basis than any manager ever did. Ronnie was the constant, he was all ears and all eyes and nothing ever got past him. Ronnie Moran is one of the most important individuals Liverpool Football Club has ever had and a true gentleman of the game. Whatever role Ronnie was asked to do within the football club, no matter how big or how small, he always made sure he did it to the best of his ability and always put the best interests of LFC first. Ronnie will be sadly missed, not only by family and friends, but also everyone connected with Liverpool Football Club past and present. We have lost the last surviving member of the original Boot Room, a group of men without whom Liverpool would not be where it is today.

He gave so much to the club that meant so much to him. RIP Bugsy Moran