Topic: The history of Liverpool FC in pictures

[Mottman]

JULIAN DICKS

1993/94  
DATE OF BIRTH 08/08/68  
GAMES 28  
GOALS 3  
HONOURS  
INT'NAL HONS ENGLAND UNDER 21 CAPS  
OTHER CLUBS  BIRMINGHAM CITY,  
WEST HAM UNITED  
 

It's fair to say that Graeme Souness made many mistakes during his stormy tenure in charge of the reds, but the signing of Julian Dicks ranks right up there with the worst of them.  It's easy to see what Souness saw in the player, as he possessed many of the attributes that the Scot was trying to instill into his side.  
Tough, competitive, nasty even, but Dicks was also a highly talented footballer with a sledgehammer for a left foot.  He was good on the ball, could pick out a pass and also had an eye for goal.  Unfortunately though, he was also ill disciplined, lazy and a disruptive influence.  It's not unfair to say that when Julian Dicks eventually returned to West Ham after a less than illustrious spell at Anfield, few people were sorry to see him go, whether they be fans, coaching staff or players.

Often overweight, Dicks regularly suffered from knee trouble which hampered his training.  He arrived at Anfield with a horrendous disciplinary record, but to be fair to him he managed to keep his notoriously short temper in check for the most part during his spell on Merseyside.  There were numerous reports of training ground bust ups with the coaching staff, but on the pitch Dicks' behaviour was fine.

Souness rated him highly, but as soon as the Scot was replaced by Roy Evans, the writing was on the wall for 'Dicksy.'  Both Julian and Mark Wright were left out of a pre-season tour by Evans, due to poor attitudes and condition.  Wright eventually knuckled down and went on to force his way back into Evans' plans, but Dicks' attitude deteriorated further and in the end the reds were mightily relieved to send him back to West Ham.  He was a hero to the Hammers fans, and they were overjoyed to see him return.

He continued his career at Upton Park for another couple of years, before eventualy having to give the game up due to persistent knee trouble.  He's since taken up golf, and reckons that in a few years he's going to turn professional.
 
The last Liverpool player to score at the standing Kop end.
 

[Mottman]

PHIL BOERSMA

1969/76  
DATE OF BIRTH 24/09/49  
GAMES 98 (21)  
GOALS 29  
HONOURS LGE CHAMPIONSHIP  72/73
UEFA CUP 72/73  
OTHER CLUBS WREXHAM (LOAN),
MIDDLESBOROUGH,  
LUTON TOWN,
SWANSEA CITY  
 
Signed in September 1968 and made his League debut almost exactly a year later at West Bromwich Albion, but only made 3 more League appearances that season, plus two in cup competitions. Never really established himself as a first-time regular at Anfield but was always a good 'squad' player and scored a number of important goals for the club, including 4 during the successful UEFA cup run of 1972-73. Also scored 7 times in the League that season as the Reds won the title. But only 73 full First Division appearances in 7 seasons perhaps tells its own story. Phil never had a really long or consistent spell in the side. Eventually transferred to Middlesbrough halfway through the 1975-76 season.

 
 

[Mottman]

WILLIE FAGAN

1937/52  
DATE OF BIRTH  
GAMES 185  
GOALS 57  
HONOURS  LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP 1947  
INT'NAL HONOURS    
OTHER CLUBS PRESTON NORTH END  
 
 
Scottish inside-forward Willie Fagan joined Liverpool from Preston North End soon after the start of the 1937-38 season and went straight into the First Division team, playing in 31 consecutive matches by the end of the season and scoring 8 times. Willie only missed 3 League games in 1938-39 (14 goals) and played in the opening 3 fixtures of the 1939-40 season before the Second World War caused the League programme to be abandoned and Willie's Liverpool career to be severely curtailed at the age of 22. Unlike some of his colleagues, he was young enough to re-establish himself at Anfield when League football resumed in 1946 and made enough appearances to qualify for a well-deserved championship medal in 1947.  
Although called on sporadically (mostly due to injury) in 1947-48 & 1948-49, he had one of his best seasons as a new decade dawned, scoring 11 times in First Division games and helping his club to their first-ever Wembley final in 1950. Approaching his mid-30's by the time the next season opened, Willie's Anfield career was nearing its close and he played his final game for the club against Huddersfield Town on the first day of September 1951. But he still scored over 50 times in nearly 200 competitive matches for the club and if the war hadn't taken so many playing years away from him, there seems little doubt that a fine Liverpool career would have been a great one.

 
 

[Mottman]

JIMMY MELIA

1955/64
DATE OF BIRTH 01/11/37  
GAMES 287  
GOALS 78  
HONOURS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP 63/64
2nd DIV CHAMPIONSHIP 61/62  
INT'NAL HONOURS 2 ENGLAND CAPS  
OTHER CLUBS WOLVES,
SOUTHAMPTON,
ALDERSHOT,
CREWE ALEXANDRA  
 

Born in Liverpool, Jimmy was a Schoolboy international of exceptional promise and clearly destined from an early age to have a long and distinguished soccer career, which he certainly did by playing in over 500 Football League games for five different clubs. But it was with his home-town club that he made his name as an inside-forward after coming through the Junior ranks and signing professional forms on his 17th birthday in November 1954.  
Liverpool had just been relegated to the Second Division after a long spell and were desperate to return to the First, especially as city rivals Everton had passed them on the way down as they returned to the top League as runners-up to Leicester City. Jimmy had to wait until shortly before Christmas 1955 to make his debut and he played in 4 games out of 5 before returning to the reserves. But the following season, when still a teenager, he broke into the first-team in the Autumn and would be a regular in the side for the next seven years.  

The strain of just missing out on promotion three seasons running finally took its toll on manager and ex-player Phil Taylor and it quickly became apparent that Bill Shankly saw in Melia all the qualities that were needed to help the club back to its position amongst the country's elite. Jimmy revelled in the challenge and when the breakthrough finally came in 1961-62 he played in all 42 League games and was a key member of the team which took the Second Division title by 8 points from Leyton Orient.  

He had a good debut season in Division One, missing only three games, but two-thirds of the way through the following season, in one of the most settled sides the club has ever had, he lost his place to Alf Arrowsmith and was almost immediately transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers, although he had played in enough League matches before the transfer to qualify for a League championship medal. Before the end of the year though, he had moved further again, this time to join Southampton and he enjoyed four good years there (including helping them into the First Division in 1966) before he moved on to Aldershot as first player-coach and then player-manager.  

In January 1971 he had the enormous thrill of leading his club out for an F.A. cup third round tie at Anfield and he received a wonderful reception from the Liverpool crowd who remembered how tirelessly he had worked when he was one of their own. After his playing days were finally over, Jimmy held numerous coaching and managerial posts in several countries but is probably most remembered for being behind Brighton & Hove Albion's heroic run to the F.A. cup final in 1983, which included a shock fifth round victory over Liverpool at Anfield when they were bottom of the First Division at the time and their hosts were top. To make matters worse, the winning goal was scored by a Liverpool old-boy, Jimmy Case!

 
Sunday game if my memorie serves me right.

[Mottman]

CHRISTIAN ZIEGE

 2000/01  
 DATE OF BIRTH 01/02/72  
NATIONALITY GERMAN  
POSITION LEFT BACK  
COST £5.5M  
CLUB HONOURS (L'POOL) LEAGUE CUP 2001  
CLUB HONOURS (OTHER) GERMAN CH'SHIP,  
GERMAN CUP WINNER  
INT'NAL HONS GERMANY CAPS  
OTHER CLUBS BAYERN MUNICH,  
AC MILAN,  
MIDDLESBROUGH, SPURS  
 
Liverpool went to a hell of a lot of trouble to secure the signature of Christian Ziege from Middlesboro in the summer of 2000.  A year later and they were left wondering why the hell they bothered.  It was not that Ziege was a bad player, far from it, he demonstrated on numerous occasions that his left foot was the equal of anyone in Europe, and his delivery from set pices was a potent weapon.  Unfortunately those attributes were nullified to his unbelievably poor attitude and workrate.
He was signed to fill the problem left back spot, which had been a weakness at Anfield for almost a decade.  Going forward, Ziege was excellent, but defensively he appeared clueless.  It's hard to say whether Ziege couldn't defend, or just didn't want to.  He was caught out of position regularly, and produced a string of poor performances and costly errors, notably at Elland Road during the 5-4 defeat, and also in the Czech Republic against the part-timers of Slovan Liberec.

Injury spared him of the indignity of being dropped, but whilst he was sidelined he saw Jamie Carragher make the left back berth his own with a series of outstanding performances that put the experienced German international to shame.  There was no way Ziege was going to usurp Carragher from the back four, so the rest of his opportunities in the first team came on the left of midfield, although he fared little better there.  

Never beofre have I seen a player with such a poor workrate.  He simply would not track back, and would regularly be seen standing on the half way line next to one of our strikers as we were put under pressure at the back.  Not surprisingly, Houllier was not impressed and Ziege missed out on the run in to the treble, seeing youngster Gregory Vignal named ahead of him on the subs bench for both the FA and UEFA Cup finals.  The writing was on the wall, and his cause wasn't helped by an ill-timed outburst against his manager prior to an important European tie with Barcelona.  That sealed his fate, and Houllier decided he wanted rid of the German.

Despite his poor season at Anfield, there were no shortage of interested clubs, and Ziege joined    for £5m in the summer of 2001.  Although he was a major disappointment at Anfield, it wasn't all bad.  He scored from the spot in the Worthington Cup final penalty shoot out, and he set up Michael Owen's second goal in the 2-0 win in Rome, but with the undoubted talent he possessed, Ziege should have been a much bigger hit at Liverpool than he was.  

 
 

[Em5y]

Excuse me, is this your 20p???

[RedBoywonder]

Cannock's finest export Stanley Victor Collymore became Liverpool's record signing during the summer of 1995 when Roy Evans paid Nottingham Forest £8.5 million for one of football's hottest properties.
Everton also made a bid for Collymore but the striker wanted to join the Reds. After an excellent pre-season, Collymore made an explosive Anfield debut with a stunning goal on the opening day of the 1995-96 season in a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

However, in his next game at Leeds United he was injured and missed the following three games. Again though he bounced back in style with another stunning strike from 30-yards in a 3-0 win over reigning champions Blackburn Rovers at Anfield.

Despite these spectacular strikes Collymore struggled to settle. He scored just two goals in seven starts and was dropped to the bench with Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush paired in attack. Frustrated, Collymore took his problems out in the open and a controversial magazine interview, when he questioned Roy Evans tactics and criticised the club, did little to help his cause.

After a clear the air meeting with Evans, Collymore began to do his talking where it mattered and established himself as a Kop favourite. Restored to the attack, he formed an excellent partnership with Robbie Fowler. Collymore scored 17 goals and created countless others for the likes of Fowler, and played his part in a quite extraordinary 4-3 thriller at Anfield against Newcastle United.

Collymore scored twice that night including an incredible injury time winner, which proved to be his finest moment as a Liverpool player, but the season ended on a depressing low when Liverpool lost the FA Cup Final to Manchester United, and a below par Collymore was substituted.

The following season, which turned out to be Collymore's last at Anfield, was even more controversial. He found himself in and out of the side and, to make matters worse, he refused to turn out for the reserves at Tranmere Rovers one midweek evening and was fined. Another major problem was his refusal to live closer to Liverpool, and he commuted from his home in Cannock.

With the emergence of Michael Owen Liverpool cut their losses and sold Collymore to Aston Villa, the team he supported as a boy for £7 million. However the striker was to have further off field problems which tarnished his career. After undergoing treatment for stress Collymore moved to Leicester City but after a good start he had an argument with manager Peter Taylor.

Bradford City then took a chance of the enigmatic striker and sure enough he made an electric start with a magnificent overhead kick in the derby with Leeds United, but it all ended too early with the Bantams cutting their wage bill.

Collymore then tried his luck in Spain with Real Oviedo but after being told he was overweight and having to settle for a role on the bench he decided to quit. Sensationally announcing his decision to retire from football at the age of 30, Collymore said he was hanging up his boots "to explore other career opportunities."
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

[RedBoywonder]

Keegan

[RedBoywonder]

"The word fantastic has been used many times, but I think there must be another word to describe the Anfield spectators. I think its more than fanaticism. Its a religion with them. To the thousands who come here to worship......... its a sort of shrine - it isnt a football ground. these people are not simply fans, they are more like members of a tremendous family."

-Bill Shankly.

[RedBoywonder]

Liverpools greatest ever signing!

[RedBoywonder]

For 73 years, the FA Cup remained a notable absentee on Liverpool Football Club's roll of honour. Between 1892 and 1965, the Anfield trophy cabinet welcomed the arrival of no less than six First Division titles. Yet, in their quest for success in the world's greatest knockout competition, the Reds endured nothing but heartache and frustration.

That changed on the unforgettable afternoon of 1 May 1965 - a day forever remembered as the greatest in the club's history. It was a day that many supporters thought they would never see. Year after year, they saw Liverpool's cup aspirations flounder, be it at the first or final hurdle and some genuinely believed there was a mystic jinx blocking the Reds' path to FA Cup glory.

It was even joked that the mythical Liver Birds would fly from their perch the day a Liverpool team brought home the FA Cup, such was the belief that they would never add their name to the FA Cup roll of honour.

[RedBoywonder]

Only Leeds United now stood between Liverpool Football Club and its holy grail. Not surprisingly every Reds fan was desperate to be at Wembley on the big day and a meagre allocation of just 15,000 tickets for each club caused a frantic scramble for tickets.

Requests came from all over the world but Shanks declared: "Any tickets I've got are going to the boys on the Kop."

Despite such a pitiful allocation of tickets the travelling Kopites were in fine voice beneath the twin towers and on a grey day in the capital they lit up the stadium with their red and white banners.

With such support Liverpool could not lose. "You're going to win because you're the best team," Shankly told his players before the game, "Leeds are honoured to be on the same field as you. AND you're not going to disappoint the greatest supporters in the world. If necessary - and it won't be - you should be prepared to die for them."

[RedBoywonder]

with that inspirational pep talk ringing in their ears Liverpool stepped out at Wembley with confidence sky-high. "I knew we were going to win the cup and the thought of getting beat didn't even enter my head," Ron Yeats freely admits.

A physical battle was expected and the game was only ten minutes old when Gerry Byrne sustained an injury that was to become part of Liverpool folklore. "I went in for a tackle with Bobby Collins. He put his foot over the ball and turned his shoulder into me. I'd never broken a collarbone before, so I wasn't aware of what damage had been done straight away. It didn't cross my mind to leave the field and I played on with my arm dangling motionless by my side."

[RedBoywonder]

It was a match that was to be littered with niggly fouls and one that will not be remembered as a classic. Despite Liverpool's best attacking intentions, the dour defensive tactics of Don Revie's men made for a dull spectacle and after the opening 90 minutes failed to yield a goal extra-time was played in a Cup Final for the first time since 1947.

Bill Shankly took great pride in the fact that his side was regarded as one, if not the, fittest team around and in extra time they proved this. Within three minutes the game suddenly exploded into life.

"Willie Stevenson beat a couple of Leeds players, pushed it forward to where Gerry Byrne was out on the left. Gerry cut it back from the line and it came to me about four feet high," recalls Roger Hunt. "I just stooped and headed it in. Maybe I've scored more spectacular goals in my career, but who cares? I felt ten feet tall. There was tears of joy."

The Liverpool fans went wild with delight and it took five policemen to remove one ecstatic supporter from the pitch, although he still managed to wave his rattle as he was carried off!

Liverpool's joy though was to be short-lived and eight minutes later, out of the blue, Leeds hit back with a venomous strike from Billy Bremner that levelled matters.

But with a two-legged European Cup semi-final with Inter Milan to come the Reds refused to settle for a draw.

With 111 minutes gone, they pressed forward again. Callaghan floated a cross to the head of an unmarked Ian St John and from a central position on the edge of the six-yard box the Saint made no mistake with a diving header that nestled sweetly into the bottom of Gary Sprake's net.

[RedBoywonder]

It was a goal that sparked more delirious scenes among the vociferous Liverpudlians and one that the scorer recalls with great pride: "The goal looked as big as the Mersey tunnel when I headed it in. It was a momentous goal in the history of the club and I'm very grateful that I was the guy on the end of the cross which enabled me to put the ball in the net."

The long wait was overand when Ron Yeats finally held aloft the trophy, supporters inside Wembley that day swear they had never heard a louder roar. 'Ee-Aye-Addio - We've Won The Cup' bellowed around the famous venue as the emotion of the occasion took over.

"To think a club like Liverpool had never won the FA Cup was unbelievable," recalled Shankly in later years. "So many had prayed for it to happen over all the years but it had never come to pass. So when we beat Leeds at Wembley in 1965, the emotion was unforgettable. Grown men were crying and it was the greatest feeling any human could have to see what we had done."

Ron Yeats adds: "Evertonians had always ribbed Liverpudlians about the fact that Liverpool had never won the FA Cup and I received a tremendous amount of mail after the final, congratulating me, as captain, on our victory. Some letter were from older supporters who actually wrote that they could now die in peace after Liverpool had won the FA Cup."

Winning the cup for the first time meant that much. It had been an unforgettable day - greatest in the history of the club. And the last time I looked the Liver Birds were still sat on top of the Liver Buildings!

[RedBoywonder]

Swiss training camp

[RedBoywonder]

more

[RedBoywonder]

Rushie

[RedBoywonder]

Rush

[RedBoywonder]

New players

[RedBoywonder]

Harrold

[RedBoywonder]

Anthony & steve

[RedBoywonder]

ST. Michael

[RedBoywonder]

Ged

[RedBoywonder]

Ged

[RedBoywonder]

Damiano with Ged & new players.

[RedBoywonder]

Finnan, Le-tallec & Pongolle at Melwood.

[RedBoywonder]

League cup winners 2001

[RedBoywonder]

Tell yer ma, yer ma......

[Woodbury]

[RedBoywonder]

Treble winners 2001

[RedBoywonder]

Tour bus

[RedBoywonder]

[RedBoywonder]

Super sub

[RedBoywonder]

Justice

[ttnbd]

Last Day of the Kop

[ttnbd]

and again

[RedBoywonder]

[RedBoywonder]

Shankly signs Kevin keegan from Sc*nthorpe.

[RedBoywonder]

Shanks