Ahead of our fourth meeting of the season on Wednesday evening, YNWA remembers some of the players who have worn the sky blue as well as the Liverpool red.
Current double agents
Craig Bellamy arrived from Blackburn Rovers for £6m in June 2006. His first stay in L4 was only a partial success, as he grabbed nine goals in 42 games, with his finest moment coming in the Camp Nou as he scored a crucial goal in our 2-1 victory to help us progress towards Athens. He was sold to West Ham United for £7.5m in July 2007, the record fee paid by the Irons. However, he moved to Eastlands for a reported £14m in January 2009, scoring against Newcastle United on his debut, another of his former clubs. He made 51 appearances for City, notching fifteen times, returning to Anfield on a free transfer last August. He has so far netted seven times in 21 outings back in red. Academy Chief Scout Dave Moss spent two years in the mid-1990's coaching with City.
God
Robbie Fowler scored 171 goals in 330 reds appearances in his first spell at Anfield. The ‘Toxteth terror' won UEFA Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and two League Cup winners' medals before being sold to Leeds United for a reported £11m in November 2001. He signed for Manchester City for £6m in January 2003, and struck 27 times in 92 games before returning to his spiritual home in January 2006. He netted twelve times in 39 appearances in this second spell, but was released at the end of his second season, signing on with Cardiff City in July 2007.
Stars of the 1980's
Steve McMahon was Kenny Dalglish's first signing when he arrived from Aston Villa for £375,000 in September 1985. He bossed the reds midfield in 277 games, grabbing fifty goals and winning three League titles, FA Cup and two FA Charity Shields before being sold to Manchester City by Graeme Souness for £900,000 in December 1991, for whom he struck just once in 99 outings. Striker David Johnson signed from Ipswich Town for a club record £200,000 in August 1976 and scored 78 goals in his 213 reds games, winning three League titles, European Cup, UEFA Super Cup and two FA Charity Shields before moving to Maine Road via his second spell at Goodison. He bagged one goal in six League games for City in 1983/84.
Peter Beardsley spent six games with City on loan from Bolton Wanderers in early 1998 as they were relegated from the First Division, although he did play in three wins. He had bagged 59 goals in 175 reds games after signing from Newcastle United for a British record £1.9m fee in July 1987, helping us to claim two League titles, an FA Cup and two FA Charity Shields. Paul Walsh joined Manchester City from Portsmouth for £750,000 in March 1994. He netted nineteen times in 62 games in his eighteen months at Maine Road. He had struck 37 times in 112 reds games after signing from Luton Town for £700,000 in May 1984, winning a League title and the Screen Sport Super Cup before joining Tottenham Hotspur for £500,000 in February 1988.
Michael Robinson struck eight goals in thirty League games for City during 1979/80 before joining Brighton & Hove Albion. Joe Fagan then brought him to Anfield in August 1983 for £250,000. He won League title and European Cup medals in his first season, grabbing a total of thirteen goals in 52 games during his Anfield career. He moved to Queens Park Rangers for £100,000 in December 1984.
Legendary managers
Sir Matt Busby, later to become an Old Trafford legend, joined the reds for £8,000 from Manchester City in March 1936, making 125 appearances for us, many as skipper. He had played more than two hundred games for City, including two FA Cup Finals. Another legendary manager to appear for City was Joe Fagan, who was in the Anfield hot-seat for two seasons, in the first of which he led the mighty reds to a unique treble of League, League Cup and European Cup. Uncle Joe started his playing career with City, for whom he played 168 times, captaining them in the last three of these.
Phil Neal, Bob Paisley's first signing for £66,000 from Northampton Town, who won four European Cups amongst many honours while at Anfield, was in charge at City for just ten games, winning only two, having taken over from Steve Coppell who had occupied the role for an even shorter period! David Ashworth led us to our third League title in 1922, and later briefly managed City without any notable success. Kevin Keegan resigned as City boss in March 2005 after four years in charge during which time he led them to the First Division title and top-flight safety. He had netted exactly a century of goals in 323 reds games, helping to fire us to the European Cup, three League titles, two UEFA Cups, FA Cup and two FA Charity Shields.
More recently
Left-winger Albert Riera joined the reds from R.C.D. Espanyol for an initial £5.5m fee on transfer deadline day in September 2008, and made 56 appearances, netting five times before joining Olympiacos for an initial £3.3m last July. He had spent time on loan with City from the Barcelona-based club in 2006, notching once in 21 games while at Eastlands. David James arrived at Anfield from Watford for a fee of £1m in July 1992. He made 277 appearances in his seven years at Anfield, helping us to claim the League Cup in 1995 before being sold to Aston Villa for £1.7m in June 1999. He moved to Manchester City from West Ham United for £2m in January 2004, playing exactly one hundred times before joining Portsmouth for £1.2m in August 2006.
Dietmar Hamann made a total of 283 appearances for the reds, helping us to claim the Champions League, UEFA Cup, two FA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, two League Cups and the FA Charity Shield after signing from Newcastle United for £8m in July 1999. Three of his eleven goals had come against City. He moved on to both Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City in a bizarre transfer saga in the summer of 2006 to bring his Anfield career to a close. He played 71 times for City, only featuring on the scoresheet once, before being released in the summer of 2009.
Nicolas Anelka struck 46 times in 104 games for City after signing from Paris St. Germain for £13m in June 2002, before moving to Fenerbahçe SK in January 2005 for £7m. He had bagged five goals in 22 reds games while on loan during 2001/02. Steve McManaman spent the last two seasons of his career with City after four years at Real Madrid, failing to score in 44 games, in contrast to his time at Anfield when he struck 66 times in 364 games, as we won the FA Cup in 1992 and the Coca-Cola Cup three years later. July 1992 saw Manchester-born Paul Stewart move to Anfield from Tottenham Hotspur for £2.3m. He spent four years at White Hart Lane after moving there from Manchester City, for whom he had struck thirty times in 63 games. He was one of Graeme Souness's failed buys, making 42 uninspiring appearances before leaving for free after four seasons at Anfield.
In January 1996 Nigel Clough moved to Maine Road for £1.5m after three seasons, nine goals and 44 games in a red jersey, having signed from Nottingham Forest for £2.275m in June 1993. He bagged five goals in 44 games for City. Irish winger Mark Kennedy joined the reds from Millwall for £1.5m in March 1995, failing to score in 21 games before moving to Wimbledon for £1.75m three years later. He then moved on to City for £1m in July 1999, netting eleven times in 77 games whilst at Maine Road, before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers for £2m in July 2001. Bootle-born Mark Seagraves made the switch from Anfield to Maine Road for £100,000 in September 1987 after only two appearances in a red shirt. He played fifty times for City before moving to Bolton Wanderers for the same fee three years later. Richard Money left Liverpool after only seventeen outings. He had a stint as coach at Manchester City after injury ended his playing career.
Other double agents
1930's forward Tosh Johnson signed from Everton in March 1934, bagging eight goals in 38 reds games. He had started his professional career with City, netting 38 League goals in season 1928/29, still a club record. Bill Kinghorn struck four times in nineteen games in our forward line during the last full season before the outbreak of the Second World War. He then guested for City during the war. Inside-right Jimmy Ross won two League titles with the ‘invincible' Preston North End before joining the reds for a club record £75 in 1894. He netted 39 times in 85 reds games, helping us to claim the Second Division title and skippering the side, moving on to Burnley in March 1897. He died of an acute skin disease in June 1902, while a City player, having helped them to the Second Division title.
Scottish international inside-right George Livingstone signed from Celtic in May 1902, scoring four times in 32 games, including one on his debut against Blackburn Rovers, before moving to Maine Road in May 1903, creating the winning goal for Billy Meredith in the 1904 FA Cup Final for them. He amazingly played for both the big sides in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester! Utility man Tom Chorlton netted eight times in 121 reds games before joining Manchester United in 1912. He later became a Trainer at Maine Road. Other double agents include keeper Augustus Beeby, who signed from amateur side Osmaston in December 1908, moving on to City in May 1911 after sixteen reds games. Forward Pat Finnerhan signed from Ardwick in March 1897, as City were then known. He netted once in eight outings before moving to Bristol City the following year.
Alan Harper never made our first-team, enjoying more success across Stanley Park. He joined City in December 1989 from Sheffield Wednesday for £150,000, scoring twice in 62 games for them before returning to Goodison. Former goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan spent over twelve years with City, most of them as their first choice keeper, as he made 592 appearances to rank at number two in their list of games played. He helped them to claim the FA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and two League Cups. Centre-forward Fred Howe joined on a free transfer from Hyde United in March 1935, netting 36 times in 94 outings before joining Manchester City in June 1938, netting five times in six League games before joining Grimsby Town later that year. He bagged three reds trebles, including notching four times in our record 6-0 derby victory at Anfield in September 1935.
