A long read but I hope if you have the patience for it, you will enjoy it
I thought I would just give this a go anyway; no harm taking a walk down memory lane sometimes is there? There would have been a lot of people in the summer of 1989 would have correctly predicted Liverpool would bounce back from the disappointment of the previous season by winning their 18th title, but surely no one could have predicted that it would be at least 24 years before Liverpool would win one again. I will go on a boxing tangent here momentarily.
Rocky Balboa: “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.”
Liverpool or no other club should have had to face the trauma they did in the 1988/9 season, it wasn’t just the cruel manner in which they lost the league title in the last minute of the last game of the season, it was of course the day 96 fans were crushed to death watching Liverpool play Nottingham Forest in April of 1989 in an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough.
Read the above quote, Liverpool did their utmost to try get up and move on, their courage and bravery in overcoming such a horrible event (as well as disgusting mud-slinging from the police to the media) spoke volumes for the club, its fans, the city, the bereaved and manager Kenny Dalglish. After the season ended Dalglish commented:
“We’re very very proud of the players and proud of what they achieved this year, to come so close in the end was an achievement in itself but at Liverpool we will never accept second best”.
Having understandably been unable to fulfill some fixtures after the awful tragedy of April 15, Liverpool heroically pulled themselves together, having at one point trailed league leaders Arsenal by 19 points (albeit with 4 games in hand) the reds clawed the gap back by early April, then following the aforementioned events, Liverpool not only took a 3 point lead into the final match of the season but also won the FA Cup, it would have been fitting to have won the league as well but cruelly in the 91st minute Arsenal’s Michael Thomas scored a goal against us to give them a 2-0 win, we could have afforded to lose by one goal but Arsenal winning by 2 gave them the title. It was just unbelievably cruel. (Arsenal had won by goal difference even though we both had identical records they had scored more goals and they took the league title.)
We had recovered their big lead, only to be hit by Hillsborough, we did our best to rally everyone and win the FA Cup but then had the league snatched away, if we could make things better on the pitch then the only way to do so was to win the league back the following season. We had been hit hard, but we kept moving forward, it said a lot for Liverpool, and that’s an understatement.
Transfer wise we made only one new signing, Swedish defender Glen Hysen was snatched from under the noses of Manchester United, he signed from Fiorentina for £600,000. There wasn’t much activity, Jim Beglin and Kevin McDonald left on free transfers to Leeds and Coventry respectively. Both men had identical careers, broke into the side in 1984/5, heroes of 1985/6, broken legs in 1986/7 and neither came close to recovering 100%.
The squad going into this season was.
Goalkeepers:
Bruce Grobbelaar: although criticized for his eccentric ways, Brucie’s CV of 5 leagues, 2 FA cups, 3 league cups and a European cup spoke for itself. Missed a chunk of the previous season with meningitis but regained his place in January 1989 and was an ever present for the next 2 years.
Mike Hooper: proved an able deputy, the illness Grobbelaar had the previous season gave Hoops his longest run in the side ever but he lost his place after errors in a match at Sheffield Wednesday. He would make no appearances this season.
Defenders:
Alan Hansen: a fine ambassador for Liverpool and the game of football, Hansen was the club captain, having regained the armband from Ronnie Whelan after suffering a serious knee injury which saw him miss most of the previous season, Jockey Hansen was back to his best despite his creaking knees in what ended up being his last season.
Gary Gillespie: A regular since the arrival of Dalglish as manager, Gillespie had struggled with injury but was an excellent defender with great feet and an eye for goal (had once scored a hat-trick against Birmingham).
Steve Nicol: signed in 1981, Nicol could play anywhere across the back or in midfield either side, the Scottish International won the football writers player of the year award the previous season and was to have another marvelous campaign.
David Burrows: signed the previous season from West Brom, Burrows was a left back, although sometimes a rash tackler he developed a good rapport down the left with John Barnes.
Steve Staunton: aged just 20 Staunton displayed maturity beyond his years and battled for the left back spot with Burrows though could also play in midfield or at centre back, Staunton was already established as a Republic of Ireland international at a time when their squad was heavily talented.
Barry Venison: another who could play left back but usually more adept at right back or in midfield, very versatile but struggled to nail down a regular first team spot.
Gary Ablett: perhaps an underrated player the unspectacular Ablett was solid defensively, comfortable with the ball at his feet and could match anyone for pace, a tough tackler Ablett missed a lot of the season injured having been a regular for the past two years, Ablett died on new year’s day 2012 after suffering from lymphoma.
Glen Hysen: The Swedish international was our only summer signing, an excellent reader and header of the ball, Hysen had an excellent season and international wise he famously snuffed out the threat of England’s Gary Lineker in two world cup qualifiers
Midfield
Ray Houghton: although born in Scotland, Houghton represented the Republic of Ireland, a hard working right sided midfielder with an eye for goal, Houghton was a shrewd purchase in October 1987 and was a regular ever since.
Ronnie Whelan: the glue that held the midfield together, Irishman Whelan was captain in the absence of Hansen the previous season but Hansen now had that honour again. Ronnie had developed into a brilliant central midfielder having played left midfield earlier in his career. Tough tackling and an excellent passer there were few better midfielders if any in the league.
Steve McMahon: the perfect foil in the centre for Whelan, a hard man with an eye for goal McMahon was to be an ever present in his 5th season with many clamoring him for a regular role in the England side.
John Barnes: the best player in the league bar none, if he wasn’t scoring he was setting up a goal and vice versa, a world class player, Barnes was just unstoppable down Liverpool’s left wing, the sight of Barnes in full flight delighted us but scared everyone else.
Jan Molby: with the ball at his feet he could pick a pass anywhere, also possessed a blistering shot but scored mostly from penalties, in recent year’s injury, competition for places as well as his constant weight problems had limited Molby’s influence. As a number of players from defence could play midfield the midfield area isn’t as stretched as I make out so moving on.
Forwards
Ian Rush: the greatest striker in the clubs history Rush had returned to the club the previous season having played for Juventus for one year, but illness and injury limited him to 10 goals. Two goals in the FA cup final the previous season had awakened a sleeping giant and Rush was ready for the new season.
John Aldridge: Aldo was a boyhood red and hugely popular on the terraces, a striker who could score anywhere he ever played Aldridge had been top scorer the previous two seasons but his days were unfortunately numbered.
Peter Beardsley: although not as prolific in front of goals as Rush and Aldridge, Beardsley in the mold of Kenny Dalglish was blessed with mesmerizing skill, touch and vision and could have played in any side in the world. A perfect foil for anybody and more than worthy of the number 7 shirt.
So with that the football began, there’s not much to tell by way of personal memories, it wasn’t really until the buzz of Italia 90 in Ireland that I really took a vested interest in Liverpool, that’s when my support began, at the time it was limited to getting the odd wear of my brothers shirts or gazing at his wall plastered in posters as well as the odd video. You would have to living under a rock not to notice Liverpool in my house but it was another 12 months before it finally all clicked with me.
The season started at Wembley, it began how the previous one ended against Arsenal, the previous seasons league champions against us the FA cup winners, as my family no doubt nursed the after’s of my sister’s wedding that very week (about as far as personal memories will go here) Liverpool began the season well by taking the traditional curtain raiser the charity shield (aka community shield). Peter Beardsley scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win, collecting a cross from Barry Venison; the unmarked Beardsley controlled the ball before slotting it into the roof of the net beyond John Lukic.
So as I said I haven’t much to go on memory wise but the season reviews and tons of footage and reading material down the years will make up for it and I hope it reminds you of some good times.
The league campaign began on August 19th at home to newly promoted Manchester city, this was of course before sheikhs bankrolled them but city had a talented enough squad despite dropping from what was then division 1 in 1987. Liverpool however were not going to roll out the red carpet for their opponents, early on Andy Dibble in the City goal did well to deny Ian Rush but just 7 minutes in John Barnes opened the scoring from the spot after Peter Beardsley’s shot struck the hand of City defender Brian Gayle. City did however level before half time from a free kick, this followed a bone crunching tackle from Steve McMahon on City forward Trevor Morley, McMahon came off worse but both players continued. From the free kick Andy Hinchcliffe’s shot deflected off Barnes and wrong footed Grobbelaar.
The second half we took over again, the unfortunate city defender Steve Redmond attempted to cut out Steve Nicol’s cross but almost turned it into his own net, Dibble denied this with a fine save (as was legal as keepers were allowed pick up back passes until 1992) but couldn’t hold on and this allowed Beardsley to make it 2-1, and in the final minute some absolutely marvellous skill from Barnes twisted the City backline inside and out and his unselfish pull back was smashed home by Nicol for a superb 3-1 win.
The following game Liverpool travelled to Aston Villa hoping to maintain a winning start against a Villa side that struggled near the foot of the table the previous season. Liverpool had to wear a change strip of white as both their home and away kits clashed, as in the previous two seasons it would be the only time the white jersey would be worn all season. John Barnes opened the scoring having worked his way into the penalty area his shot appeared to take a deflection and Liverpool were ahead but in the second half the home side levelled from a corner when David Platt slotted home at the back post to make it 1-1 and that’s how it ended. Villa were to improve greatly as the season went on so this was by no means two points dropped.
Liverpool’s next two games were also to be away from home, Luton Town were a familiar name in the top flight throughout the 80s but now are no longer even in the league, the 1988 league cup champions also gained notoriety for using a plastic artificial surface. Although it saved money no one liked it, the ball moved a lot faster, bounced a lot higher and the surface could easily cause cuts and nasty gashes and burns if players slid on it, although goalkeepers could wear tracksuit bottoms the outfield players were particularly prone and Kenny Dalglish never hid his negative view on it, although Liverpool won there in the past they never seemed at ease playing on it.
One personal thing ill drag up always stuck with me, in my 6-7 year old innocence I asked my brother why he wanted Luton to
go down given we had family there, he simply roared
“I want them gone cos of their poxy plastic pitch”.
However on this day Liverpool were the better team, David Burrows went close early on when he found space following a well worked free kick but his shot flashed across the goal of Alec Chamberlain. The Luton Stopper then did brilliantly well to tip over a wonderful chipped shot from John Barnes. In the second half Liverpool were again unlucky not to score in the last minute when Chamberlain was beaten all ends up but unfortunately for us, substitute John Aldridge saw his shot strike the inside of the post, it ended scoreless.
The third away fixture in a row was against Derby County, although they finished a brilliant 5th the season before the days of league titles under Dave Mackay and Brian Clough were long gone but it was still going to be a tricky away game. The reds however made light work of it, Peter Beardsley turned in an electrifying performance, the Liverpool number 7 saw his shot strike the crossbar and as it bounced downward the away end frantically prayed for a red to knock it home and Ian Rush obliged for his first of the season. John Barnes made it two when Beardlsey was fouled by Derby and England keeper Peter Shilton for a penalty, shortly after Beardsley struck the post but in the final minute he made a monkey out of future red Mark Wright and buried the ball past Shilton to make it 3-0 and wrap up the points.
The following Tuesday it was announced Liverpool had agreed a deal to sell John Aldridge to Spanish side Real Soceidad for £1.1m, many felt upfront with Beardsley and Rush that we not only already had a brilliant partnership but that 3 into 2 didn’t go. As brilliant as Aldo was he hadn’t started a game this season so Liverpool allowed the 31 year old to move on, as this was before squad rotation you could see why in some respect but I do think Liverpool should have held on to Aldo who was on the bench for a Tuesday night game against newly promoted Crystal Palace.
A win would lift Liverpool top above Millwall (yes that’s right) and the reds went goal crazy, Steve Nicol opened the scoring with a curling left footed effort after John Barnes had his shot blocked. The night may have been different if Palace skipper Geoff Thomas had scored from a free kick at the Kop end but the ball crashed against the post. Palace never recovered, Steve McMahon brilliantly lobbed Palace keeper Perry Suckling to make it 2-0 and before half time Ian Rush smashed home a third from close range, it was simply now a case of how many.
Early in the second half a corner was played into the box at the Kop end, Barnes flicked it on and Gary Gillespie headed in the fourth. Ronnie Whelan’s quick free kick then allowed Liverpool to begin their move for number 5, a lovely one two with Beardsley and Rush allowed Beardsley to make it 5-0. There was still half an hour left, the loudest ovations came when Liverpool were awarded a penalty for a foul on Ronnie Whelan, John Barnes was going to take it but at 5-0 there was really only one man, John Aldridge was sent from the bench, Barnes stood aside and Aldo had a chance to go out in style, the crowd got noisier and noisier until Aldo dispatched the spot kick to make it 6-0 a heroes farewell.
Just to show it wasn’t their night, Palace were awarded a penalty immediately after for a foul by Glen Hysen on Alan Pardew but Geoff Thomas smashed his penalty over the bar. We continued to smash in the goals, a wonderful free kick from Barnes made it 7 before Hysen headed home Barnes’s corner for 8-0, the Swedes first goal for us. Two minutes from time Steve Nicol scored again to make it 9 but we just ran out of time to make it double figures, 9-0 was more than enough though and to have 8 different scorers was incredible. John Aldridge headed towards his beloved Kop and famously threw his boots and shirt into the crowd and left to a deserved standing ovation. 9-0 and top of the league Aldo bowed out in style.
The following Saturday we could have done with him, after tearing palace apart we could only draw 0-0 with Norwich. We went from free scoring free flowing football to not being able to hit a cows arse with a banjo, case in point when Peter Beardsley and Glen Hysen both missed open goals although we did have a narrow escape when Robert Rosario struck the underside of the bar with a fierce volley, the result meant Everton took the lead of the first division with victory at Charlton Athletic.
The league cup then known as the Littlewoods cup took centre stage, in the second round first leg Liverpool defeated Wigan 5-2 after briefly trailing 2-1 at Anfield, Glen Hysen, Peter Beardsley, John Barnes and Ian Rush (twice) were the goal scorers. This set us up nicely for a top of the table clash with Everton at Goodison Park. Everton began much better with Mike Newell opening the scoring; Newell was always a thorn in our side having scored against us in the past most notably a hat trick against us during his Luton days. After Graeme Sharp and Ian Rush both hit the woodwork Liverpool eventually drew level in the first half through John Barnes. In the second half two goals from Rush gave Liverpool a 3-1 win to lead us into October unbeaten and top of the league.
October opened with Wigan again visiting Anfield, back then lower league teams had the option of switching venues to the opposition and needing a bigger gate they played their Springfield Park tie at Anfield, remarkably Liverpool played Steve Staunton upfront in the absence of Ian Rush and Staunton unbelievably scored all 3 as Liverpool won 3-0 on the night and 8-2 on aggregate.
The reds then headed for London to play Wimbledon at Plough Lane following the international break, an early goal from Beardsley gave us the lead but a horrendous mistake from Grobbelaar allowed Dennis Wise to equalize, the error came as Terry Gibson’s cross appeared to be easy but Brucie dropped it down for Wise to prod home an equalizer with the bemused keeper hardly able to believe what he had done. We still won the game 2-1 and Brucie’s bonus was his get out of jail card given by Ronnie Whelan who pounced after Staunton’s shot was parried by Wimbledon keeper Hans Segers.
We then headed for the Dell at Southampton, a tight compact ground not much bigger than Plough Lane that said both grounds no longer exist. Southampton did have an excellent team, Paul Rideout was upfront and in later years would score the winner in an FA cup final, Rodney Wallace was blessed with superb skill, pace and control while Matthew Le Tissier was one of the most talented players to have graced the English game, incidentally another striker on the books at the time was future record premier league scorer Alan Shearer.
Southampton just tore us apart, a crushing header from Rideout gave them the lead before Wallace danced his way into the area to smash a second, Wallace added his second and the Saint’s third in the second half smashing in at the back post and there was no way back. With an hour gone though a foul by former Red Jimmy Case on David Burrows allowed Peter Beardsley to smash home a penalty past future England keeper Tim Flowers but it was the Saints day. Rodney Wallace was a constant thorn in our side and his run down the left wing allowed him to cross for Le Tissier to power home a fourth and that was game set and match with us losing 4-1.
In midweek the Reds also lost, this time to Arsenal in the Littlewoods cup, Kenny Dalglish elected to drop the inform Beardsley and beef up our back line, Alex Watson played for the first time all season but the 1-0 defeat knocked us out of the league cup with Alan Smith scoring the winner late on. Two defeats on the spin wasn’t good but the Reds responded with one of their best displays of the season against Spurs at Anfield.
We took the lead when John Barnes broke the offside trap and slotted beyond Spurs keeper Erik Thorstvedt who was perhaps poorly positioned. The big Norwegian more than made up for it but almost made an embarrassment of himself when he slipped receiving a Pat Van Den Hauwe back pass although luckily for him no Liverpool player followed in, Thorstvedt who had turned 27 the day before spent the rest of the afternoon more than redeeming himself denying Ian Rush in a one on one and flicking away a John Barnes chip from close range. The second half saw the Spurs keeper go into beast mode with an superb tip over to deny John Barnes again, Barnes chested a free kick and swivelled before smashing a volley at the top corner only for it to be flicked away. Late on he denied Peter Beardsley and seconds later denied Ray Houghton but the latter was flagged offside although the entire ground warmly applauded the visiting keeper for his heroics which kept the final score down to 1-0. The result left us one point clear at the top with one game in hand but a huge dip in form was en route.
November began with a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry, guilty of missing several excellent chances in the first half Liverpool were made to pay when Cyril Regis headed home a free kick in the second half and the reds couldn’t force an equalizer and Coventry had won at Anfield for the first time in their history. The following week saw another defeat at QPR; they took the lead when a foul by Glen Hysen on Mark Falco allowed Paul Wright to smash home from the spot. In an entertaining contest the reds levelled soon after when John Barnes was fouled by Paul Parker and Barnes scored from the resulting spot kick.
Another foul by Hysen on Falco lead to a free kick and Paul Wright’s heavily deflected shot put the home side back in front, we came close to going level when an Ian Rush header was superbly tipped over by Rangers keeper David Seaman. Down the other end a superb run from Andy Sinton was followed up with a brilliant finish from Falco and the points belonged to QPR although John Barnes did pull one back late on with a fine finish but it was a 3-2 defeat. It was all getting tight at the top; we were 4 behind Chelsea and 3 behind Arsenal but had a game in hand on both with both due to play us soon. The reds lay third ahead of Norwich and Aston Villa on goal difference but we also had a game in hand on them.
Next up was a Sunday fixture at Millwall, if you cast your mind back to the 9-0 palace game that put us top, Millwall had been top going into that fixture but had one won of the following 8 games and worse still they would win only one match for the rest of the season from here on in, some good refereeing allowed Liverpool to play advantage after a clear foul on Ian Rush, John Barnes took advantage to chip home a wonderful goal. Just a minute later the man who fouled Rush (David Thompson) responded to level it up with a crushing close range header and the sides were level at half time but with 20 minutes left Rush scored the winner with a close range turn and finish after good work from Steve Staunton, it was Rush’s first goal for 8 games but it was enough to win 2-1.
It was a similar story the following Sunday when Liverpool played defending champions Arsenal, after an earlier penalty miss from Barnes, Liverpool took the lead thanks to a fine shot from Steve McMahon. In the second half Barnes made up for his penalty miss with a stunning free kick, ITV commentator Brian Moore summed it up well :
“Its gunna be Barnes, CURLED BRILLIANTLY! What a fabulous free kick goal”
Moore compared Barnes to Brazilians, he certainly would have been some sight in that team, and it was 2-0 while the late Moore’s quote of “its gunna be Barnes” is actually the username of a poster on RAWK. So there you go! Arsenal did pull one back late on when Alan Smith bundled home his 3rd goal in 3 league games against us but it was once again 3 points and a 2-1 win for us. The result put us back ahead of Arsenal on goal difference with a game in hand while Aston Villa and Chelsea were also tied on 27 points with us but we had a game in hand over them too.
The game in hand was to be away to Sheffield Wednesday as Liverpool visited the ground that had seen 96 of their fans crushed to death the previous season, the end and part of the ground where this happened remained partially closed, the upper end was full of reds but the lower end where the disaster primarily took place remained empty apart from some flowers left in tribute. Although Wednesday were bottom they outplayed us, they were more up for it which is maybe understandable given Liverpool were more than likely haunted by returning to the scene of the clubs darkest day, take nothing away from the home side though. The partnership upfront of Dalian Atkinson and David Hirst tortured us all night. Hirst slotted home the first in the second half but Liverpool stayed in the game albeit only because of the some heroics from Bruce Grobbelaar. He pulled off a superb double save at one point and also one brilliant tip over from a long range shot from Atkinson. It was Atkinson though who wrapped up the points when he danced through the defence and slotted home in the final minute for a 2-0 win. We were still top but manager Kenny Dalglish couldn’t get out of the ground quick enough, he claimed years later in his autobiography to have driven home with Steve Nicol who did his best to keep his boss spirits up. Dalglish claimed Nicol (who was known for his sweet tooth) repeatedly asked to stop in a chippy but the boss kept responding “no” and motored on just desperate to get as far away from Sheffield as he could.
It was obviously something Dalglish was very very haunted by and around 18 months later we all know what happened, but in between Liverpool had some football to play, they opened December in fine style at Manchester City who played at the time in Maine Road. Ian Rush opened the scoring slotting home after City keeper Andy Dibble was out of position following a good run by Jan Molby. In the second half a wonderful individual goal from Peter Beardsley made it 2-0 with his first goal since mid-October before Steve McMahon broke clear of City’s offside trap to make it 3-0. City did get one back almost immediately when striker Trevor Morley collided with Grobbelaar and from the resulting penalty Clive Allen smashed home a consolation, which is all it was as Ian Rush scored his second late on thanks again to McMahon breaking an offside trap and it gave us a handsome 4-1 win.
The second Saturday in December would lead to a top of the table clash between the two would be title pretenders, Graham Taylor was often criticised in later years for some poor football and even more so for his reign as England manager but it should be noted he established the likes of Watford in top flight football as well as re-establishing an Aston Villa side relegated in 1987. Taylor achieved promotion immediately and although they had struggled one year before and sold star striker Alan McInally they had an excellent young team. Paul McGrath had also been a very shrewd purchase.
The visitors took the lead after Ian Olney rifled a stunning shot past Grobbelaar after the big striker had earlier in the game hit the post, it was a promising season for Olney who was just a few weeks short of his 20th birthday but he never really did much once the season ended. Liverpool had their chances too with Ian Rush’s flicked header being tipped over by Nigel Spink, a veteran of their 1982 European cup win. Spink seemed to withstand all that was thrown at him. Late in the first half there was a blow for the reds when John Barnes appeared to pull a muscle and collapsed in a heap in the penalty area, although despite the loss of arguably their best player Liverpool continued to push on in the second half and Jan Molby tested Spink’s resilience with a fierce left foot drive. Spink was finally beaten midway through the second half when Peter Beardsley side footed home from just outside the area.
Chances came and went at both ends, like Olney, Ian Ormondroyd was said to have a promising future but he never did anything after the season ended and here he missed a good chance when Grobbelaar went walkies but Ormondroyd himself was off balance and sliced his effort high into the Anfield road end. Down at the Kop an Ian Rush volley late on flew just over as both sides played out a 1-1 draw which was a fair reflection.
The following Saturday we had to travel to Chelsea who had performed very well under former red Bobby Graham since returning to the top flight, Stamford Bridge was a lot different then with stands behind both goals much further back, cars and practice goals were stored there whilst upfront they possessed a lethal front line in Scotland’s Gordon Durie and Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon. Liverpool travelled without John Barnes but stormed out of the blocks when their own lethal forward line caught Chelsea asleep and before you could say Roman Abramovich, Liverpool had lead 2-0 inside the first 5 minutes. Peter Beardsley’s third in three games opened the scoring when Chelsea’s offside trap failed. It would fail again mere minutes later when a long ball was retrieved by Ian Rush who scored one of the goals of the season with a wonderful chipped shot over the huge Dave Beasant in the Chelsea goal.
The blues put up little resistance although did half the deficit when Gordon Durie smashed home a rifle of a free kick. Liverpool showed Chelsea had not learned their lessons when they counter attacked quickly with Steve McMahon and Ian Rush setting up Ray Houghton who finished well to give us a 3-1 half time lead. At the beginning of the second half came a collector’s item, Chelsea defender Graham Roberts tripped Beardsley for a penalty but Jan Molby saw his spot kick saved by Dave Beasant in what was almost a carbon copy of his penalty save in the 1988 cup final for Wimbledon. Beasant was a renowned penalty expert so much so a myth persisted for years after he would come on for England in a world cup semi-final just to keep goal for the shoot-out. Big Dave as he was known was not as unbeatable today as he was in 1988 and when Steve McMahon rounded off a fine move to slot home brilliantly for 4-1 it was game set and match. Liverpool would not win again at Stamford bridge for well over a decade but they weren’t finished here today as Ian Rush rounded off another brilliant move by heading home Gary Ablett’s pinpoint cross. It ended 5-2 as Kerry Dixon’s volley trickled through Grobbelaar for a late consolation.
As Christmas day drew closer we hosted bitter rivals Manchester United, we trailed Arsenal by two points and our game in hand was gone, draws and the odd defeat were to blame though it was worth noting Arsenal had already played 10 home games and we only played 7. United were not even a pale shadow of today, they were a miserable 13th just 6 points from bottom and just two points above the drop zone, their fans turning on Alex Ferguson had seen a hefty summer spend on the likes of Danny Wallace, Paul Ince, Gary Pallister and Neil Webb fail spectacularly so far, it had also not been too long since some other big name purchases like goalkeeper Jim Leighton, striker Mark Hughes and defenders Mike Phelan and Steve Bruce.
It says a lot for Alex Ferguson that he not only hung onto his job but was a league champion 3 years later; he would remain at the helm for another 24 years! Had anyone told you that then you would have been locked up. United as poor as they were though were much the better team on the day, despite our success in the 80s, united would lose just one league game all decade at Anfield and on more than one occasion left with three points, they should have done similar on this day. Steve McMahon did test Leighton in the first half with a dipping volley but other than that it was one way traffic, a Mark Hughes shot from close range flew over via the shins of the flying Grobbelaar. Hughes was denied again in the second half when his bullet header flew inches over the bar and just seconds later Grobbelaar brilliantly stretched every sinew to somehow tip over a Brian McClair header, 0-0 was a lucky one was for us and our goalkeeper was worth the point alone.
Christmas was upon us, kids make it worthwhile, I do miss that buzz of running downstairs, see what Santa left, maybe even see if he was still there, every year when I woke up I charged downstairs hoping he would be still there, the milk for Rudolph was gone and the biscuits ravaged. The living room was full with a new BMX bike, one of them v-tech calculators and some Ghostbuster’s gun, happy days. It was funny how much parents had over kids and indeed Santa did, we went to visit my aunt and uncle that night, I can’t quite remember what I did but my folks weren’t happy, they said they would leave my bike back in the sitting room and when we came home Santa will have come back and taken it, it made for a nervous few hours!
24 hours later I didn’t know my future obsession ala Liverpool were at home to Sheffield Wednesday but they made hard work of things despite Jan Molby’s powerful header opening the scoring in just two minutes. At the start of the second half Dalian Atkinson levelled with a back post header after our defenders had gone asleep, it could have been worse when a mistake by David Burrows allowed in Franz Carr, a pacey winger on loan from Forest, Carr scuffed his shot into the path of David Hirst who rounded Grobbelaar but somehow missed the open goal. Wednesday looked set to be the most likely to snatch a winner, but after Atkinson was denied by Grobbelaar again Liverpool stole a late winner when Steve Staunton drilled a low free kick into the 6 yard box and Ian Rush scored a fortunate winner. It finished 2-1 but it was harsh on Wednesday.
1989 and the 80s closed off with a home match with Charlton, Staunton again provided the assist for the winning goal when his cross was turned home by the returning John Barnes who infamously at this time of the year would wear tights and gloves to keep warm in the cold weather. Barnes could have helped Liverpool seal the win when he won a penalty at the Kop end but Ian Rush became the third player to miss a spot kick that season when his effort was saved well by former reds keeper, Bob Bolder. At the other end Grobbelaar reacted brilliantly to a Steve McKenzie volley but clawing it mid-air and not even spilling it, it was a marvellous save worth two points as we won 1-0 to close out the 1980s, it was a decade we dominated. 6 league championships with one to follow this season (we hoped), 2 FA cups, 4 league cups and 2 European cups, it speaks for itself. Liverpool fittingly ended the decade top of the league after Arsenal lost two games in a row.
1990 opened with us top by 4 points from Villa with Arsenal a point further back but both had games in hand. The reds had just 48 hours to rest before a nasty trip to Nottingham Forest, although we made light work of Brian Clough’s men in the first half on a very muddy pitch. Peter Beardsley set up the first from the right and his cross was slotted home by Ian Rush. Beardsley was involved in the build-up to the second when he teed up John Barnes down the left and Rush was there to slide home our second for a 2-0 half time lead. Forest were no mugs though and early in the second half they insured us of a tense finish when Steve Hodge headed home. Late on it was levelled up when a foul by David Burrows on Nigel Jemson allowed Nigel Clough to smash home from the penalty spot for a 2-2 draw. Clough had missed spot kicks against us in the previous two seasons and it was incidentally the third of five games running where we went to the city ground and saw at least one penalty given.
Our lead at the top was reduced to two points over Villa and three over Arsenal after Villa won 3-0 at Chelsea while the Gunners beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at Highbury and both teams had a game in hand.
The reds then had another disappointing draw and it ended scoreless at Swansea in the third round of the FA cup but Liverpool then went goal crazy winning the replay 8-0, Ian Rush helped himself to a hat-trick, while John Barnes scored twice. Peter Beardsley, Steve Nicol and Ronnie Whelan added the others. Our next fixture was one we won 5-0 the previous season but Luton were to be a banana skin, despite Barnes opening the scoring with a fabulous free kick they nearly took all three points. In 4 second half minutes the game was turned on its head, Northern Ireland man Kingsley Black made it 1-1 and debutant striker Kurt Nogan gave the Hatters a surprise 2-1 lead. Steve Nicol responded immediately with a brilliant header from a John Barnes cross and the game finished 2-2.
One team still smarting from a pasting from us of course was Crystal Palace and they were next up, having lost 9-0 against us already this season not much was expected of them and a goal in either half from first Ian Rush and then Peter Beardsley gave us a 2-0 win. It was incidentally my 7th birthday; a trip to McNasty's on O’Connell Street in Dublin was like giving me plane tickets to New York now. The date is a good omen for Liverpool, they have not even conceded a goal on this date since 1984 (6 clean sheets) whilst you have to go back to 1951 to find our last defeat on this date, and actually back to 1900 for our last away defeat. Incidentally 3 of our 4 defeats on this date were against Everton, so there is your history lesson. As a result of our draw the previous week we were still top but Aston Villa were level on points with a game in hand and Arsenal 4 adrift but also with a game in hand.
January closed out with two games against Norwich, the first of which was a fourth round FA Cup tie which finished 0-0 at Carrow road but the Reds won the subsequent replay 3-1, John Barnes scored a marvellous header while Steve Nicol and Peter Beardsley also got on the score sheet.
4 days later came the Merseyside Derby at Anfield, Beardsley and Barnes were at it again, Barnes opened the scoring when he side footed home from a Barry Venison cross and Beardsley netted from the spot for the second game in a row after a handball by Everton’s Dave Watson, the match finished 2-1 when Everton made it a nervy end for us after Graeme Sharp netted in a frenzied goalmouth scramble.
The 10th February has not been a kind date, we hadn’t won on this day (and still haven’t) since 1962. The match at Carrow Road against Norwich was to be controversial, Liverpool did appear to open the scoring when Ian Rush slotted home after good work by Peter Beardsley but the referee ruled the goal out saying Beardsley failed to pull the ball back before it crossed the bye line, TV replays indicated that the goal should have stood. By my reckoning Liverpool probably hadn’t had a player sent off since the 1986-7 season when Paul Walsh was sent off in a match at Southampton.
Glen Hysen was to be the next man off, the Swede had been a tower at the back all season but today he was to be constantly tormented by livewire striker Robert Fleck, in the first half Fleck attempted to outsprint Hysen who lunged in and took the Scottish international down when he was last man, in today’s game that would have been a red card, to Fleck’s credit he pleaded with the referee to leave Hysen on. The referee brandished a yellow but Hysen was to be sent off anyway as late on a mistake by Alan Hansen saw Fleck sprint off, Hysen barged Fleck to the ground and the referee had no choice but to send him off although Fleck again appeared to suggest to the referee not to do so which said a lot for the Norwich hitman. Fleck would torment Hysen again over the years, in that summer’s world cup Hysen would suffer defeat against Scotland in a rare instance where Fleck started for the scots whilst 2 years later Hysen was torn apart again by Fleck in another Norwich – Liverpool game, after which Hysen never played for the club again. However on this day in 1990 Hysen and Liverpool drew 0-0, the third time in 4 games this season that both sides played out a scoreless draw. It enabled Villa to close to within a point with two games in hand, after they beat Sheffield Wednesday.
The following week Liverpool hosted Southampton in the FA cup 5th round and gained revenge for a drubbing earlier in the season, goals in either half from Ian Rush and Peter Beardsley put us two up before a superb Steve Nicol lob made it 3-0 putting us in the quarter finals against QPR.
It would be two weeks before league action recommenced, but Villa had not taken advantage after being hockeyed 3-0 at Wimbledon but had taken the lead of the league with a win over Spurs prior to this.
Liverpool hosted Millwall who were sliding down the league, the Lions nearly gifted us the lead when their keeper Keith Branagan didn’t pick up a back pass which was legal then, Ian Rush took the ball off him before playing it out to the wing, the ball was crossed in by Steve Nicol towards John Barnes but as Branagan scrambled back to this goal, Barnes was pushed over and a penalty was given, but Peter Beardsley skied his penalty high over the bar and Branagan had gotten a get out of jail card. Liverpool got one of their own when a Tony Cascarino header struck the bar and late on we finally broke the Lions down when Gary Gillespie headed home for a vital 1-0 win, it gave us a one point lead but Villa would then lose their last game in hand the next day when they were beaten at home to Coventry. Arsenal’s season had faded big time and it was now between us and Villa.
The 6th round quarter final of the FA cup saw us travel to Loftus road for a thriller, Ray Wilkins opened the scoring for QPR but a stunning free kick from John Barnes levelled it up, a late goal from Ian Rush seemed to have been enough for a win but Simon Barker’s equalizer meant a replay was required after a 2-2 draw and in the said replay an early goal from Beardsley was enough for a 1-0 win.
It set us up nicely for a trip to Old Trafford but the visits then were not as daunting, this was a United team plodding around the bottom half of the table and we took a first half lead when John Barnes broke the offside trap and slid the ball under Jim Leighton. In the second half a foul by Viv Anderson on Ian Rush resulted in a penalty which Barnes converted for a 2-0 lead, this lead was preserved momentarily thanks to a miraculous save when Brian McClair’s powerful overhead kicked was brilliantly tipped over Bruce Grobbelaar. It was a world class save but Brucie was to be denied a clean sheet when a bizarre back pass from Ronnie Whelan saw him lob Brucie for an own goal but we still won 2-1. Wins for Villa in the previous week over Luton and Derby meant they lead the first division by two points although it was now us with a game in hand.
Villa increased their lead with a 1-1 draw at QPR and the next day at White Hart lane Liverpool lost for the first time since November when Paul Gascoigne latched onto a mistake by Steve McMahon and his cross was headed home by Paul Stewart to give us a 1-0 defeat, we were now three points behind with a game in hand and with Villa deciding to splash out on the towering Millwall forward Tony Cascarino, was this to be a turning point for them?
You wrote off us at your peril though, Villa lost their next two league games while Liverpool did well to overcome Southampton at Anfield but it wasn’t all easy. A glancing header from John Barnes gave us the lead but Paul Rideout scored with a header of his own and the sides were level at half time. In the second half former Red, Jimmy Case rocketed Southampton back in front with a powerful shot that the Reds legend was famous for. Southampton were on for possibly doing the double over us but an own goal from Russell Osman made it 2-2 and late on a crisp volley from Ian Rush gave us a 3-2 win and three points. The game saw a debut for striker Ronnie Rosenthal who signed on loan from Standard Liege, the Israeli was signed as cover for Peter Beardsley and Ian Rush and we would hear a lot more about him towards the end of the season. We were level on points on top but Arsenal had also found form and were just 6 points off the pace now.
Our game in hand midweek was at home to Wimbledon, who were always a potential banana skin but our third of four consecutive 2-1 wins over them occurred to open up April, Ian Rush opened the scoring with a fine finish before Gary Gillespie powered home a second, Terry Gibson pulled one back for them but the 3 points put us top. It set us up nicely to go to Villa Park but it was not Villa we were playing, it was the FA cup semi-final between Crystal Palace and us. We had beaten Palace 9-0 and 2-0 earlier in the season and we were overwhelming favourites but it was to be a day that shocked everyone.
Ian Rush opened the scoring for us in the first half and it appeared as if we were on our way to Wembley, but whatever was said in the Crystal Palace dressing room at half time worked a treat, a lung busting run from John Pemberton in the opening seconds of the second half saw him cross the ball into our box, there was all sorts of mayhem as John Salako’s volley was saved well by Grobbelaar but Mark Bright hammered in the rebound and Palace were level, Liverpool may have also been unsettled as Ian Rush went off shortly after scoring earlier while Gary Gillespie didn’t emerge for the second half and with only the defensive duo of Barry Venison and Steve Staunton on the bench (only two subs then) the reds had to reshape the team and with Staunton left wing and John Barnes upfront. The team’ balance however had been hampered and Palace were to take full advantage.
With 17 minutes to go the duo of Glen Hysen and Alan Hansen lost their way, as Palace bombarded the Liverpool box with long balls and high crosses the Liverpool centre backs just seemed to fall apart, Gary O’Reilly smashed home when we didn’t clear our lines and all of a sudden we were looking down the barrel of defeat. There was to be more twists though as Liverpool responded with the best goal of the match, the two subs (Venison and Staunton) combined and Venison’s pull back from a set piece was rocketed into the top corner by Steve McMahon for a stunning equalizer 8 minutes from time, just a minute later Liverpool had turned the game on its head when Staunton was brought down and Barnes converted from the penalty spot to give us a 3-2 lead. Just 3 minutes from time though Liverpool again made a complete porridge of dealing with a long ball and Andy Gray nodded home from close range for 3-3 to drag the game into extra time, it was to be Palace’s day though as Alan Pardew nodded home at the back post in extra time to give them a 4-3 win when we failed to deal with a corner. They would go on to meet Man United in the final and our double dream was over.
Three days later the Reds were back in action at Palace’s ground (Selhurst park) which they shared at the time with Charlton Athletic, with Ian Rush still injured his number 9 shirt was given to Ronnie Rosenthal who as I said earlier signed on loan from Standard Liege. Rosenthal opened the scoring when he twisted Charlton defender John Humphrey inside out before driving the ball beyond Bob Bolder, in the second half Rosenthal showed his running power when he charged forward and powered home a left footed drive to seal the points. The frustration of the Palace semi was cleared out of the Liverpool system when we turned on the style from there on in, some wonderful first touch football ended when John Barnes crossed and Rosenthal’s diving header flew home for his hat-trick, it was also a right foot, left foot and header combination so it was perfection all round. Late on there was time for more when Jan Molby’s perfect long ball was retrieved by Barnes and he cut inside before slotting home a fourth. On the same night Aston Villa beat Arsenal 1-0 to end their run of two consecutive losses and we were now 3 points clear with a game in hand.
The gap reduced to one the following Saturday though as we made a mess of things at home to Nottingham Forest whilst Villa had another impressive win, this time at Chelsea. We began the game well against Forest at Anfield when a superb ball from Alan Hansen released John Barnes and his cross was turned home by Rosenthal to give us a 1-0 lead. For the second time that season, we had a 2-0 lead over this lot at half time and this happened again thanks to a deflected strike from Steve McMahon. It was to be déjà vu though as Forest pegged us back and much like on new year’s day the comeback started when Steve Hodge scored early in the second half and it finished 2-2 when Nigel Jemson scored at the Anfield Road end following some hesitancy at the back.
It meant Villa were just a point behind but by the time we played Arsenal midweek, we had two games in hand as Villa suffered a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, 24 hours later our trip to Arsenal gave us the chance to increase our lead at the top, but Paul Merson gave the Gunners the lead in the first half. There was just 4 minutes left when Steve Nicol’s pinpoint delivery allowed John Barnes to prod home for a 1-1 draw, we were two points clear with a game in hand, it was looking good, Villa had just three games left.
The Saturday which followed saw Liverpool unveil a memorial next to the Shankly Gates in memory of those that lost their lives just a year prior at Hillsborough, the names are engraved and an eternal flame burns in their memory, we then set about trying to turn in a performance that they would have loved as Chelsea travelled to Anfield. Rosenthal opened the scoring with a terrific turn and shot and we doubled our money before half time good work from David Burrows allowed Barnes to cross and Steve Nicol headed home. Nicol added a third in the second half before Ian Rush headed home to make it 4-0, it was all very good but we were denied a clean sheet when Kerry Dixon pulled one back late on but crucially we remained two clear with a game in hand.
April was to end with a home match against QPR, it was our third last game but Villa having already played one more game needed maximum points at home to Norwich. The standings were Liverpool played 35, 70 points, Villa played 36, 68 points. We needed just 4 points from 3 games to bring it home and had a much better goal difference. But going into the game with QPR, we could win the title provided we won and Villa dropped points. We started rather cagey, Roy Wegerle put QPR ahead and they almost doubled the lead when Colin Clarke hit a thunderous drive off the underside of the bar and Ray Wilkins fell over, off balance trying to turn home the rebound, it was a let off.
Just before half time nerves were settled when Ian Rush blasted in at the Kop end from a very tight angle and in the second half we pressed for the win and were awarded a penalty when Danny Maddix fouled Steve Nicol , it appeared as if it may be just outside the box but the referee awarded the penalty and John Barnes gave us a 2-1 lead, however attention was now turning to Villa Park. Aston Villa had lead that match 3-1 but word soon got through Norwich were now level at 3-3, if it stayed put it was game over. Our match ended 2-1 and slowly word filtered through that Villa had been held, Liverpool were league champions for the 18th time. Our lead was now 4 points with a game in hand but with Villa having only one game left the games was up.
The players celebrated afterwards, while manager Kenny Dalglish was launched into a bath in the dressing room still wearing his managers coat, he didn’t mind, it was another triumph, and who would mind a bit of water, on the contrary just to show how things have changed, Manchester United only 4 points above the drop zone but mathematically safe languished in 15th spot.
The following Wednesday it was party time as we hosted Derby County at Anfield for our final home game with everything wrapped up nicely. Derby attempted to shut up shop and did so for a long time, the party mood however gave a wonderful feel to the night and even Kenny Dalglish got in on the act as he came on for this first league appearance in two years at the age of 39. It would have been a shame to have seen the game end 0-0 but a late goal from Gary Gillespie gave us a 1-0 win and the celebrations went on long after the final whistle with the trophy held aloft by Alan Hansen, it was a marvellous night.
There was one more game to encounter and it was at Coventry who hoped to the double over us, they started well when Kevin Gallacher opened the scoring just two minutes in, but it was all downhill from there, Ian rush levelled it up with a fine long range effort and two close range finishes from John Barnes gave us a handy 3-1 lead at half time. In the second half it was one way traffic, Ronnie Rosenthal made it 4-1 before Barnes smashed home another goal for his hat-trick. The final goal of the season came thanks to another left foot drive from Rosenthal, his 7th goal in just 8 games which gave us a crushing 6-1 win, our total of 79 points was more than two a game and we finished 9 points clear of Aston Villa, Rosenthal’s impact saw Dalglish waste little time signing the Israeli for 1m when the season ended.
It appeared as if our domination would continue for years to come, Dalglish was still several months short of his 40th birthday and had just won his 3rd league title. There was talk the team was aging but players such as Ian Rush, John Barnes, Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon, Steve Staunton, David Burrows, Steve Nicol, and Peter Beardsley among others were still in their 20s. what we didn’t know was that more than a year following the Hillsborough disaster, the effects were taking their toll on the health and well-being of manager, Kenny Dalglish, the King hid it well but within months of this triumph he had to call it a day for personal reasons, truth is if anyone had have said that it would be 2-3 years let alone at least 24 before we would scoop the title again they would have been carted off to the loony bin.
1990 remains our last triumph, and it wouldn’t have been like that if Dalglish had have been mentally fit to stay on, and within 18 months several players like Alan Hansen, Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon and John Barnes among others all began either picking up regular injuries or picked some up that basically meant they couldn’t ever get back to the level we had grown accustomed too, indeed Alan Hansen had lead Liverpool marvellously this season but his creaking knees meant he had already played his last game for the club. The forced change of manager meant a change in the way the club would operate as a new manager (whilst entitled to try his own methods) in Graeme Souness came in a year later and made changes but although some were necessary some seemed it was a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water, some players needed to go but some that left such as Peter Beardsley and Steve Staunton still had many years left in them and should never have been sold.
Hindsight is 20/20 vision, it’s easy for me to sit here and tell you what happened, maybe I am just telling you what you already know, down the m62 Manchester United had laid the building foundations for the future, the man in charge a certain Alex Ferguson somehow managed to win back over his own doubtful supporters and given time and patience he would amass 13 league titles in the next 23 years before we could even get one. No one would ever have imagined that, indeed few would have given Fergie 23 days back then never mind nearly a quarter of a century. Their FA Cup win that season was the shot in the arm, a sleeping giant had awoken, it having not won the league at that time for some 23 years.
To sum it up football and times change, without you ever realizing, it’s easy to look back and pinpoint where it happened, but as I said in 1990 no one would have come close to predicting what has happened since, it just happened. Maybe in 23 years’ time it might be us on 20 something league titles, maybe it will be Chelsea, Man City, Spurs, Arsenal or god knows who.
Nobody knows what going to happen tomorrow as Duran Duran sang, at the time it was just another year, another title, it was a different time, a happier time I guess, and it was just simply the beautiful game.
The end!
