It spread faster than the one that Suzi Quattro was going to unzip her leather catsuit live on Top of the Pops but this time the rumour was true. Liverpool had reduced the price of admission to the terraces to 10p for the Uefa Cup Final because rain had forced the ref to abandon the match the night before. I'd been at the match and wasn't sorry to see it abandoned because we were struggling against a decent German side. This was my first European final and the last thing I wanted was to lose the home leg so the abandonment hadn't worried me but getting in to tonights match was going to be a worry with it 10p on the gate every man and his dog was going to be there. It was going to be difficult getting down early with school finishing at four. It was no use bunking off because I had to get home to get changed anyway and my Ma would easily 'sus' me out if I came home too early.
School normally revolved around tales of going the match so I knew my mate Joey from Crocky would be going but our other mate Mick from Walton, who was a dead ringer for a young Rod Stewart, could never afford the match so he made out he wasn't arsed but he was up for this one with it being 10P that he could raise selling his dinner ticket, so instead of going with our normal mates from around ours we all arranged to go together. This was the era when even Scousers wore three star jumpers so it was Flemo's, me new Ox-Blood Major Domos and a check Wrangler lumber jacket. Thank God me Mum had relented and bought me me Flemo's or I'd look a right knob in front of my mates in the new school. As it was I was dressed suitably for what would be my second experience of a European final in two nights.
I dived in got changed and was out and down the ground for half Five. Joey went the Anny so we decided to go there. It wasn't as packed as I'd expected and we were all in no bother. We ended up going down the front of the Anny by the corner flag next to the Paddock. Coincidently this was where My Dad used to take me before I'd graduated to the Kop, right behind the St John's Ambulance fellas, so it was going to be fun knocking their hats off for a laugh and impressing my school mates.
When the teams were announced I was made up Shanks was playing Toshack as I loved him and he always seemed to get us goals when we needed them and I hoped Gunter Netzer had a shit game, he was my third favourite German Player after Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer who I'd seen when we beat Bayern and Alun Evans scored an hatrick. Liverpool won 3-0 and went on to win Shanks first and only European trophy. The You Tube clip is worth watching and will save me writing a few extra paragraphs
http://www.youtube.com/v/Yp9mtHTiME4If you look when Keegan takes the corner for the third goal at 2.07 you can just make us out but on telly that night we had several close ups so when we came in school the next morning everyone had seen us on telly it was the talk of the playground. We dubbed ourselves the Tellystars taking the piss. The sad thing is it was the last game that the Tellystars made an appearance at because Mick was killed by a car before the Red Star game the next season but that night back in 1973 that would lead to Shankly's first European trophy. We were untouchable, full of life and optimism. We were Kings. Kings of Europe.