11th February

Many happy returns
Two former midfielders share a birthday today.
1972 - Steve McManaman was born in Kirkdale. Shaggy struck 66 times in 364 reds games, helping us to the FA Cup in 1992 and the Coca-Cola Cup three years later. He joined Real Madrid on a Bosman free transfer in July 1999.
1974 - Nick Barmby was born in Hull. He arrived in a controversial £6m switch across Stanley Park in July 2000 and netted eight goals in 58 games, including four in our successful UEFA Cup campaign in 2001, before being moved on to Leeds United after just two years at Anfield.

1888 - Winger Jackie Sheldon was born in Clay Cross. He grabbed twenty goals in 147 reds games after joining from Manchester United in November 1913, playing in our first ever FA Cup Final in 1914. He retired in 1922 after breaking his leg, with his name forever tainted by being the go-between in our match-fixing scandal with Manchester United in April 1915.

Michael’s bow
1998 - Michael Owen made his senior England debut in a 2-0 defeat by Chile at Wembley, becoming England’s youngest international of the century. Clubmate Paul Ince also featured.

An eleven-goal derby thriller
1933 - An amazing match against Everton at Anfield finished 7-4, with Harold Barton netting a hat-trick for the reds. Alf Hanson, Tom Morrison, Harold Taylor and Syd Roberts were also on target for us. Dixie Dean netted two of his nineteen derby goals, with Tommy Johnson bagging one of his eight and Jimmy Stein also scoring.

Most recently
2018 – Centre-half Dejan Lovren played his hundredth League game for the reds as we won 2-0 at Southampton. Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah both scored in the first half.
2017 – We beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Anfield, with Sadio Mané bagging a quick-fire first-half brace.

2012 - We lost 2-1 at Manchester United when Wayne Rooney bagged two of his seven goals against the reds before Luis Suárez’s consolation, with the game overshadowed somewhat by the controversy regarding Suárez and Patrice Evra not shaking hands before kick-off. On the same day, future red Tiago Ilori featured for Portugal Under-19’s as they lost 2-1 to Sweden in a friendly.

Mixed fortunes against the Baggies
1905 – We won 2-0 in a Second Division game at West Bromwich Albion, thanks to goals from Sam Raybould and Jack Parkinson.
2013 – We lost 2-0 at Anfield, with Philippe Coutinho making his reds bow from the bench. Gareth McAuley and on-loan Romelu Lukaku both struck late on, one of his five goals past us to date, after Steven Gerrard had seen a penalty saved. Lucas Leiva playing his 200th reds game, while Glen Johnson reached a century of League games for the club. We dominated the match but only put the ball in the net once, when Luis Suárez was correctly ruled offside early on.

Trebles galore
Barton’s hat-trick in 1933 is one of three reds trebles on this day over the years.
1911 - The first came when Jack Parkinson got all the goals in a 3-0 home League win over The Wednesday, with forward Sam Raybould playing his 200th League game for the reds. On the same day, future red Billy Lacey played for Ireland as they lost 2-1 to England in the British International Championships in Derby.
1961 - Our most recent treble on this day was scored by former Blue Dave Hickson in a 5-0 thumping of Leyton Orient in a Second Division game at Anfield, when fellow ex-Blue Johnny Morrissey and winger Kevin Lewis also scored.

Record gates
2006 - Wigan Athletic attracted their then record attendance of 25,023 as a Sami Hyypiä strike was enough to hand us victory at the JJB Stadium, our first ever game away to the Latics.
1939 - 61,315 paid to see Wolverhampton Wanderers thump us 4-1 in the FA Cup Sixth Round, still their record crowd. Willie Fagan netted our consolation from the spot as Dennis Westcott struck one of his nine goals against the reds and Dickie Dorsett bagged the first of his four, with Stan Burton and Alex McIntosh also on target. South African keeper Dirk Kemp was making his thirtieth and last appearance for the reds.

Sub at the double
1970 - Alun Evans bagged a brace as we won our FA Cup Fifth Round replay 2-0 at Leicester City, so becoming our first ever goalscoring substitute in the competition. He had replaced Peter Thompson after just 21 minutes.

Red beginnings
1904 – Right-half Bobby Robinson signed from his hometown club Sunderland for £500. He was top scorer as we won the Second Division title the following season, also helping us claim the First Division championship in 1906. During the latter stages of his time with the reds, he moved into the half-back line but still bagged a total of 65 goals in 271 games, moving on to Tranmere Rovers in May 1913.
1928 - Right-half Tom Morrison made his reds bow as we lost 1-0 at Portsmouth. He went on to make 254 reds appearances.
2022 - Midfielder Bobby Clark signed pro terms with the reds, so far making seven first-team appearances.

Final strikes
1967 – Right-half Gordon Milne nabbed the only goal of Aston Villa’s visit to L4, his eighteenth and final goal for the club.
1895 – Outside-left John Drummond grabbed his only reds goal as we beat Barnsley St. Peters 4-0 at Anfield in an FA Cup First Round replay that was staged after the Tykes protested at our 2-1 extra time victory in the first match. Outside-left Hugh McQueen scored his eighteenth and final reds goal with Harry Bradshaw and Malcolm McVean also netting in a game played unusually for the times on a Monday. However, we went out to Nottingham Forest at the next stage.

On our way to Wembley
1950 - We won 2-1 at Stockport County in an FA Cup Fifth Round tie, when Willie Fagan and Albert Stubbins were on target and Alex Herd bagged his eighth and last strike against the reds in the final minute. We eventually lost out to Arsenal in the Final.
1992 - We beat Second Division Bristol Rovers 2-1 in a Fourth Round replay at Anfield thanks to goals from birthday boy Steve McManaman and Dean Saunders, after Carl Saunders had given the visitors a shock lead.
1987 - We held Southampton to a goalless draw in the first leg of our Littlewoods Cup Semi-final at The Dell, with Paul Walsh being dismissed for retaliating after Kevin Bond spat in his face. This was the eighth time in nine seasons we had reached this stage of the competition. We won the Anfield return 3-0 to reach our sixth League Cup Final, where we unfortunately lost to Arsenal.

Today is a good day
This day has been very successful for the reds over the years, as we have won fifteen of our 21 fixtures.
1956 - Our most recent defeat came when we were crushed 4-0 at Plymouth Argyle in a Second Division match. Neil Langman scored a hat-trick, with Arthur Morgan also scoring. Billy Liddell was playing his 400th reds game.
2004 - Michael Owen broke a goalless run in our 2-1 defeat of Manchester City at Anfield, with Steven Gerrard also netting. The game was marred by a section of the support booing the substitution of Bruno Cheyrou for Igor Bišcan.

Tons up
1984 – We beat Arsenal 2-1 at Anfield, with Alan Kennedy giving us the lead before Graham Rix scrambled in an equaliser on the stroke of half time. Phil Neal nodded in the late winner as Ian Rush reached a century of League outings for the reds while Ronnie Whelan played his hundredth game in all for us.

Twice against the Hoops
We played Queens Park Rangers twice in consecutive years on this day in history.
1995 - John Scales scored a rare goal as we were held 1-1 at Anfield.
1996 - Mark Wright and Robbie Fowler netted as we won 2-1 at Loftus Road.

Flo for les espoirs
2003 - Florent Sinama-Pongolle scored the only goal as the French Under-21’s beat their Czech Republic counterparts in a friendly in Caen. Alou Diarra, Anthony Le Tallec and future red Charles Itandje also played, with future red Pepe Reina also in Under-21’s action that day.

International goalscorers
2009 – David N’Gog struck for France Under-21’s as they drew 1-1 with Tunisia in Sousse, while Yossi Benayoun captained the side and netted the only goal of Israel’s senior friendly with Hungary in Tel-Aviv. Robbie Keane won the first cap of his second spell as a Tottenham Hotspur player, bagging a brace including a penalty while skippering the Republic of Ireland to a 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat of Georgia at Croke Park in Dublin. Emile Heskey won his first cap while with Aston Villa as England lost 2-0 to Spain in a friendly in Seville, with Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa, Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, future reds Stewart Downing and Glen Johnson, and ex-reds Peter Crouch and David James all also featuring. Future red Alex Manninger won his 33rd and last cap for Austria as they lost a friendly 2-0 to Sweden in Graz.

Andriy Voronin faced future red Milan Jovanović as the Ukraine beat Serbia 1-0 in the Final of the Cyprus Tournament in Nicosia. Also in international action that day were Daniel Agger, Ryan Babel, Sami Hyypiä, Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano, Martin Škrtel, future reds Mario Balotelli, Ragnar Klavan, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Dejan Lovren, Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Maxi Rodríguez, Luis Suárez, Kolo Touré and Gini Wijnaldum and ex-reds Nicolas Anelka, Jari Litmanen, Daniel Sjölund and Rigobert Song. John Barnes and John Toshack both managed their countries, with captain Craig Bellamy winning his first cap as a Manchester City player.

1997 - Former reserves midfielder Jim Magilton netted his fifth and final goal for Northern Ireland, from the spot, his only strike as a Southampton player, as they beat Belgium 3-0 in a friendly at Windsor Park. Jason McAteer, ex-red Steve Staunton and future red Gary McAllister all also played for their countries that day.
2018 – Bobby Duncan scored for England Under-17’s as they drew 1-1 with Germany in the Algarve Tournament with ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper in charge.

Other reds games
1922 – Dick Forshaw scored the only goal as Birmingham City went back to the Midlands without a point.
1899 – We won an FA Cup Second Round tie 3-1 against Newcastle United at Anfield, with Hugh Morgan netting and Alex Raisbeck scoring his first reds goal before Sandy Higgins put through his own net. Jock Peddie nabbed one of his five goals past us as a consolation. We lost out to Sheffield United in the Semi-final later that season.
1893 – We lost a Lancashire League game 3-0 at top-of-the-table Bury, with the reds remaining in second.

Off Song in France
2003 - Rigobert Song won his first cap as a Racing Club de Lens player as Cameroon lost 3-0 to the Ivory Coast in a friendly in France.
1998 - He also played for his country as they drew 2-2 with Guinea in the African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso, with fellow future red Titi Camara skippering Guinea.

On the move
2011 – Roy Hodgson was appointed West Bromwich Albion boss, helping to keep them up in the Premiership. On the same day, reserves centre-half Daniel Ayala joined Derby County on loan, playing seventeen times for the Rams.
1994 - Jim Magilton joined Southampton from Oxford United for £600,000. He netted eighteen goals in 156 games for the Saints, before joining Sheffield Wednesday for £1.6m in September 1997.
2000 - Mike Newell joined Blackpool from Doncaster Rovers on a free transfer. He bagged three goals in 22 games for the Seasiders.

1929 – Centre-forward Albert Whitehurst left the reds to sign for Bradford City. He signed from Rochdale in May 1928, having struck 116 goals in 168 outings in the Third Division North. He scored twice in eight reds games.
2020 – Forward Layton Stewart signed on as a professional. He made it to the first-team bench for the first time in our League Cup thumping at Aston Villa in December 2019, signing a new contract in May 2021 as he awaits his break-through.
2021 – Midfielder Dominic Corness signed pro terms with the reds. He is a regular with the Under-18’s, also playing at left-back.

Also in international action
2010 – Future red Emre Can played for Germany Under-16’s as they won a friendly 3-1 in Cyprus.
2016 – Future reds keeper Kamil Grabara featured for Poland Under-17’s in their 1-0 friendly defeat of Belgium in Marbella.
2017 – Future red Luis Díaz won his fifth and final cap for Colombia Under-20’s as they shared a goalless draw with Brazil in a South American Championships final stage game in Ecuador.
2020 – Future red Bobby Clark played for England Under-15’s for the second and last time as they lost 3-0 to Belgium at St. George’s Park.