Author Topic: RAWK Advent Calendar 2014 #12 - John Aldridge vs Crystal Palace, Sept 1989  (Read 27655 times)

Offline ashleyrose-66

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RAWK Advent Calendar 2014 #12 - John Aldridge vs Crystal Palace, Sept 1989

I suppose choosing a penalty as my favourite goal is a strange decision, but it was more than the penalty for me.  It was a player that I had become to hero-worship as a kid saying goodbye to the club that he loved.  It was what that goal meant so much to him, and to so many others, and he knew he was saying goodbye.

I remember the day I heard Ian Rush was leaving Liverpool to sign for Juventus.
I couldn’t believe we were letting the greatest goalscorer I had ever seem play for the club leave. 

We were Liverpool Football Club; we don’t sell our best players, we buy other teams’ best players and WE get better!

I was only 10 years old and I simply believed that when a player reached a certain age, they would become the new manager just as Dalglish had done a year before.  I genuinely expected Rush to play for Liverpool until he retired and would get Dalglish’s job.  It was the natural progression for the best striker at our club to then become the manager (I was a bit too young to remember Keegan had left for Hamburg years before!)
I was absolutely heartbroken and couldn’t get my head round who could possibly come in and replace “Rushy”, wear the famous #9 shirt and bang the goals in for us.

We’d just lost the league to Everton and Arsenal had beaten us in the League Cup Final.  It added to what turned out to be a miserable season.  Rush had scored 30 league goals, and we were selling him!!



Kenny, what are you thinking?

A few months before Rush finally left for Turin, we’d signed a young striker from Oxford United called John Aldridge.  You have to remember, this was a time before the internet or Sky TV existed.
As a 10 year-old kid, your wider football knowledge came from watching Elton Welsby presenting “The Match” on ITV on a Sunday afternoon, reading the match reports in the Sunday papers, buying a copy of “Shoot” or “Match” magazine or dialing up page 302 on Ceefax! 
If you wanted the real inside gossip, you could phone “Clubcall” a premium line telephone service.  Did anyone actually call Clubcall?

So I didn’t know a great deal about this new striker we’d signed.  I remember thinking he looked a bit like Rush, but he just wasn’t Ian Rush, and no matter how hard he tried to be like Rush, he wouldn’t be as good as the player we’d agreed to sell. 

Player-manager Dalglish was now playing infrequently and Rush, Aldridge and Paul Walsh rotated with 2 of the 3 usually forming the Liverpool strikeforce as Liverpool just missed out on silverware in 1987.

Rush departed in the summer of 1987, and the money was re-invested in bringing John Barnes and Peter Beardsley to Anfield.

Aldridge scored 26 league goals as (arguably) one of the finest Liverpool sides won the First Division Championship in style in 1987-88, going 29 games without defeat. 
We were absolutely sensational that year.  Barnes and Beardsley were majestic, Steve McMahon drove the midfield on, Ray Houghton was classy, and we played some of the best football I have ever seen.

Aldridge just couldn't stop scoring.  He'd done the impossible in my eyes and had replaced the legend.   

The “Double” (a second in 2 years) was agonisingly prevented by Wimbledon who won the FA Cup 1-0 at Wembley, with Aldridge becoming the first player to miss an FA Cup Final penalty!

Rumours began to circulate that Liverpool were planning to re-sign Ian Rush after just one year in Italy. As Liverpool made their way to London to play Wimbledon in the Charity Shield, news broke that Liverpool had agreed to bring Rush home, to the delight of the travelling Liverpool fans.

Liverpool exacted some revenge on Wimbledon with a 2-1 win. Aldridge scoring both Liverpool goals to remind the travelling Kop that he was still Liverpool’s #1 striker.

There was speculation that Aldridge would be sold to accommodate Rush as Liverpool had played such a fluid 4-3-3 formation in their brilliant season in 1987-88.  Beardsley and Barnes supporting Aldridge in a devastating Liverpool attack.  Rush coming in would make it a 4-4-2, which would unbalance the team.  But Dalglish persisted and often played Aldridge and Rush together.

Aldridge scored 31 goals in all competitions, and Rush was on the score sheet 11 times as Liverpool ended the season with the heartbreaking events at Hillsborough engulfing the city.   Aldridge and Rush (2) scored in a moving Merseyside FA Cup Final as Liverpool beat Everton 3-2 to lift the FA Cup.

Once again, the chance of winning The “Double” was snatched away as Arsenal won the League title with Michael Thomas’s dramatic winner. 

The news came in September 1989 that Liverpool had agreed to sell Aldridge to Real Sociedad for little over £1m as Dalglish decided he wanted to revert back to the 4-3-3 system that had seen Liverpool play some of the best football we had ever seen in the previous year.  Information at that time was vague.  You couldn't log on to RAWK to read the latest transfer shenanigans in those days.

On the 12th September 1989, Liverpool hosted Crystal Palace at Anfield. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/WdFLIewHMCs?fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/WdFLIewHMCs?fs=1</a>

It was on this day that in front of 35,779 supporters at Anfield, Liverpool trashed Crystal Palace 9-0 but not only will the scoreline be remembered, the match will also be remembered as the day we said a fond farewell to a legend at Anfield John Aldridge who was to sign for Real Sociedad the following day.

That day at Anfield would become one of the most iconic match in Liverpool’s footballing history, the 9-0 scoreline equalled Liverpool’s best ever League victory.

Glen Hysen, Peter Beardsley, Gary Gillespie, Ian Rush, John Barnes, Steve McMahon, John Aldridge and two goals from Steve Nicol secured the win!

With Liverpool already 5-0 up, in the 66th minute, Peter Beardsley (influenced by the crowd) offered to be substituted so that John Aldridge who was on the bench could take a penalty that had just been awarded, Aldridge scored in his final game for Liverpool.

I remember watching as the Kop swayed (as it used to) as Aldridge put the ball on the spot.  We were 5-0 up at the time, but I was feeling like a bag of nerves.  I desperately wanted him to slot this penalty away, and after a few seconds the referee blew his whistle and up he stepped…

Slotted, to his right, the goalkeeper’s left.  The net bulged, and Anfield roared, louder than they had done all night.





Aldridge was mobbed by his team-mates.  It was almost time to say goodbye - He knew it.  His own celebration was muted, it was as if he knew that would be the last time he would score for Liverpool in front of The Kop.

When players are sold these days, they don't really get the chance to say goodbye.  If a player is off, they are left out of the squad so they can do their medical etc, and they are not risked.    Moreno for instance didn't get to play in the Super Cup Final the day before he left Sevilla to join Liverpool back in August.   Aldridge was leaving, and he had the chance to score what he knew would be his last goal for the club and say farewell.   

As the final whistle blew, ‘Aldo’ made an emotional lap of honour around Anfield receiving a standing ovation from the Liverpool fans, Aldridge repaid the supporters for their support by throwing his boots and shirt into the crowd.

Liverpool had won 9-0, but I was gutted!

John William Aldridge had played 104 games for Liverpool, scoring 63 goals.

Liverpool's Team :
Bruce Grobbelaar, Glenn Hysen, David Burrows , Steve Nicol, Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen, Peter Beardsley (John Aldridge), Gary Gillespie, Ian Rush, John Barnes, Steve McMahon (Jan Molby)

Liverpool Goals :
Steve Nicol (7), (90)
Steve McMahon (15)
Ian Rush (45)
Gary Gillespie (56)
Peter Beardsley (61)
John Aldridge (67 pen)
John Barnes (79)
Glenn Hysen (82)

The following day, Aldridge jetted out to Spain.  Now aged 13, I found myself in the same position I was in almost 3 years ago and questioning what Dalglish was playing at!! 

Kenny, how can you sell our best striker? 
 
We were Liverpool Football Club; we don’t sell our best players, we buy other teams’ best players and WE get better...
 
I now understood that strikers didn't automatically become the new manager just as Dalglish had done, but I couldn't imagine Liverpool FC without John Aldridge banging the goals in for us...   

Fast forward 7 months - Alan Hansen was lifting Liverpool’s 18th First Division Title. 

All is forgiven Kenny - But I still miss 'Aldo'.



Merry Christmas everyone.   :wave
« Last Edit: December 1, 2014, 03:35:23 pm by ashleyrose-66 »

Offline Harinder

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A lovely bit of Aldo for the day  :) :) :)
Just clicked on the main board and my virus scanner came back with this

"When we visited this site, we found it exhibited one or more risky behaviors."


:lmao

Strip his knighthood https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/47770

Offline Crosby Nick

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If you wanted the real inside gossip, you could phone “Clubcall” a premium line telephone service.  Did anyone actually call Clubcall?


Haha, the parents of a mate of mine had to block him being able to call this number as he was spending so much money on it! :D

Great read, cheers. I guess it was kind of academic given we were 5-0 up but imagine the furore these days if you tried to sub a player on to take a penalty. It surely wouldn't be allowed would it otherwise we'd still have Jan Molby on the bench just in case!

Offline Barneylfc∗

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I rang clubcall twice. There was an automated message from Gerard Houllier. When he started talking I shit myself as I thought it was actually him and I hung up  ::)

2nd time was about a minute later when I got a grip of myself. It was on that call that I was first aware of Markus Babbel joining the following summer.
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Offline macca888

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Lovely read thanks! These are the only good thing about the main forum at the moment.
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moral high ground as ever.

Online child-in-time

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Merry Christmas to you too and thanks for the great story :)
We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.

Offline paulrazor

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Brilliant

Aldridge was the guy who stepped off the kop into the first team

A goal machine

What a moment his last goal was
yer ma should have called you Paolo Zico Gerry Socrates HELLRAZOR

Offline jymbojetset

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Happy memories. Agree with earlier poster - these are the highlight of the forum at the moment (until we beat the mancs tomorrow).

With hindsight, perhaps Kenny should have kept Aldridge 31 goals compared to Rush 11 goals?

Was this the actual start of our decline - heart over head thinking?


Offline FlashingBlade

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I never saw 'pen....nor the other 8!....being an ever present at Anfield for years and using all my cash for football and Europe aways I never really had summer holidays , so me and a mate decided after the events of that year we needed a proper holiday , so off the Greek Island of Kos and Kardenema ( very nice not built up like now).....but it would involve missing a home game!

Pre mobiles and internet and in the days of two day old newspapers on sale...we didn't know the score....waiting in the airport to fly home I went for a walk and see an arrival flight through glass divider walls...and a saw lad in a Liverpool shirt coming into the arrival lounge....I mouthed what was the score? , he held up nine fingers....5-4!! I mouthed.....no 9-0!!

My mate said he knew something was up when he saw me walking back...it took him a full half hour before he believed me....people around us couldn't understand why where we so miserable Liverpool won 9-0?.....we knew.....and we were right....the stick we got...me mates said as the seventh onwards went in they couldn't stop laughing cos we'd missed it.

A lot worse things happened that year than missing the 9-0..but it is still joked about, we should never have sold Aldridge....but it was nice he got to take that pen.

Offline Maggie May

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Most excellent post.  And we should never, ever have sold Aldo.  I think his departure was the last of the golden days when players actually spoke from the heart and when we actually believed them.

But 9 nil though.  Holy fuck.  The fun we had with that.  The variations were infinate.  When's the match kick off?  Oh every ten minutes.  Or.  Shit.  I've missed the kick off.  Not to worry.  There'll be another one along in a minute.  And so forth. 

We kept it going for ages and never grew tired.  Sometimes all you needed was to tap your wrist watch to send people into pleats.

But Aldo was very much one of our own.  And was special.  He did actually live the dream.  Thank you for posting that. 
« Last Edit: December 16, 2014, 06:56:58 am by Maggie May »
Rather a day as a lion than a lifetime as a sheep.

I can only be nice to one person a day.  Today is not your day.  Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
I tried being reasonable.  I didn't like it.  Old enough to know better.  Young enough not to give a fuck.

Offline bravoco

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End of an amazing era. Great post - thank you and Merry Christmas!

Offline Maggie May

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Quote from: bravoco link=topic=318044.msg1the3470504#msg13470504 date=1418685559
End of an amazing era. Great post - thank you and Merry Christmas!
You're right.  Aldo didn't need PR merchants or image consultants or any of that bollix.  He was scouse to the bone and loved for it.  Throwing his boots and shirt into the Kop.  Though he has to go, they stay.  With scousers.  Magic, marvellous days.
Rather a day as a lion than a lifetime as a sheep.

I can only be nice to one person a day.  Today is not your day.  Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
I tried being reasonable.  I didn't like it.  Old enough to know better.  Young enough not to give a fuck.