2nd June

Happy birthday Marks
1957 - Mark Lawrenson was born in Preston. He joined us for a then-record fee of £900,000 from Brighton & Hove Albion in August 1981, going on to make 356 appearances, netting eighteen times while helping us to win four League titles, one European Cup, one FA Cup, three League Cups, the FA Charity Shield and Screen Sport Super Cup in his time at Anfield, before taking over as Oxford United boss in March 1988.
1964 - Mark Everton Walters was born in Birmingham. The most famous of his 124 games in a red shirt came when he inspired a UEFA Cup comeback against Auxerre in 1991, as he remained on the bench for both the 1992 FA Cup Final and League Cup Final in 1995. He also scored the crucial second goal in our defeat of Manchester United that handed the title to Leeds United in April 1992, one of his nineteen reds strikes after signing from Rangers for £1.25m in August 1991. He left Anfield to join Southampton on a free transfer in January 1996.

1867 - David Ashworth was born in Poulton-le-Fylde. He was appointed as reds boss in December 1919. He had previously guided Oldham Athletic from non-League into the top flight, to whom he returned in December 1922 with the reds en route to retaining the League title he had led them to the previous season.
1948 – Full-back Stuart Mason was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire. He signed with left-back Peter Wall from Wrexham for a combined £35,000, never managing to make the first team. He went on to make over a century of League appearances for both Wrexham and Chester.

More arrivals
2014 – Kirkby-born forward Rickie Lambert signed from Southampton for an initial £4m, although he only managed to strike three times in 36 outings across his one season with the reds, with only twelve of these being starts. He moved on to West Bromwich Albion in July 2015.

1997 - Attacking midfielder Øyvind Leonhardsen signed from Wimbledon for £3.5m. He stayed at Anfield for two years, making 49 appearances, many in an uncomfortable left-sided role. He scored seven times before being sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £3m in August 1999.
1923 – Inside-forward Billy McDevitt signed from Swansea Town, being converted into a centre-half, but played just four times before moving on to Exeter City for a club record fee in May 1925.

Six farewells
2003 - Pegguy Arphexad, Patrik Berger, Bernard Diomède, Vegard Heggem, Stephen McNulty and Mark Peers were all released by the club. Heggem had netted three times in a total of 65 reds games, but injury brought his career to an end, while Berger had struck 35 goals in 196 appearances.

Back in black
1936 - We wore a black kit as we beat Romanian side Ripensia Timisoara 2-1 in a friendly as Alf Hanson netted in his third consecutive game of our Eastern European tour, with Syd Roberts also on target.
1939 - We thumped a Swedish Combination side 6-0. Phil Taylor bagged a treble, with Berry Nieuwenhuys adding a brace and Harry Eastham also on target.

Reds in the World Cup
2002 - England drew their opening World Cup match with Sweden 1-1 in Saitama. Michael Owen and Emile Heskey both played the full ninety minutes, with Owen ending the game as captain after David Beckham’s substitution, and future red Joe Cole also featuring. Meanwhile, future red Fernando Morientes came off the bench as Spain beat Slovenia 3-1 in Gwangju.

Double trebles
1946 - Jack Balmer scored four goals and Willie Fagan bagged a hat-trick as we thumped Chicago Maroons 9-3 in a friendly at Soldier Field. Phil Taylor and Bob Priday also scored.

Rafa stays on
2006 - Rafael Benítez signed a new four-year contract, after continued speculation linking him with a return to his native land to take over at Real Madrid. He led us to the European Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield during his six seasons as we won 194 of his 350 games as Manager.

Derby disappointment
1941 - We only got on the scoresheet through a Jones own goal as we lost a Wartime League derby 3-1 at Goodison Park.

Other departures
2007 - It was announced that Joint Chief Scout Frank McParland would take over as General Manager at Bolton Wanderers, joining Sammy Lee there, who had recently taken over as Manager.
1910 - Inside-left Bert Goode signed for Wrexham. He had struck once in seven reds outings after signing from his hometown club Chester in May 1908. He scored 136 goals in 276 games across three spells at the Racecourse Ground, being remembered as one of their greatest ever strikers.

Dan’s debut
2005 - Daniel Agger made his senior international debut as Denmark beat Finland 1-0 in a friendly in Tampere, with fellow future red Christian Poulsen also featuring. Ex-red Jari Litmanen skippered a side that also included Sami Hyypiä, while John Welsh and future red James Milner played for England Under-20’s as they beat Tunisia 2-0 in the Toulon Tournament.
2001 - Robbie Keane won his first cap after his permanent move to Leeds United in the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 qualifying draw with Portugal. Also in international action that day were Patrik Berger, Stéphane Henchoz, Vladimír Šmicer, Steve Staunton, future reds Yossi Benayoun, Jerzy Dudek and Paul Jones and ex-reds Øyvind Leonhardsen, Jason McAteer, Rigobert Song and Steve Staunton.

2012 – Agger converted a spot-kick as Denmark beat ex-red Harry Kewell’s Australia 2-0 in a friendly in Copenhagen, while Sadio Mané scored his first goal for Senegal and only one as a Metz player as they beat Liberia 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Dakar.
2007 - He also played for his country, netting his first goal as a reds player in their stormy 3-3 Euro 2008 qualifying draw with Sweden in Copenhagen. Future red Christian Poulsen was sent off for the home side, with the match being abandoned after 89 minutes and later awarded as a 3-0 victory to Sweden. On the same day, future reds keeper Brad Jones played his first game for Australia as they lost 2-1 to Uruguay in a friendly in Sydney, being at fault for one of the goals. Krisztián Németh and future reds Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren also played for their countries that day, while future reds keeper Ádám Bogdán debuted for Hungary Under-21’s in their 1-0 defeat in a European Championships qualifier in Belarus.
2008 – Litmanen also played for Finland in their 1-1 friendly draw with Belarus in Turku.

2022 - Philippe Coutinho won his first cap for Brazil since signing permanently for Aston Villa, scoring in their 5-1 friendly thumping of South Korea in Seoul, with Fabinho also featuring. Conor Bradley, Kostas Tsimikas, future reds Wataru Endō and Darwin Núñez, and ex-reds Sebastián Coates, Nikolay Mihaylov and Xherdan Shaqiri also played for their countries.

International reds on the scoresheet
2004 - Milan Baroš came off the bench to score as the Czech Republic beat Bulgaria 2-1 in a friendly in Prague. Vladimír Šmicer also featured, while Stéphane Henchoz and Dietmar Hamann faced each other in a friendly on the same day that Germany won 2-0, with future red Javier Mascherano also in international action that day.

2007 - John Arne Riise struck in injury time as Norway thumped Malta 4-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier in Oslo.
2006 - Harry Kewell grabbed a brace as Australia beat Dutch side VV Kloetinge in a friendly, with futre reds loanee Nuri Şahin also in international action.
1982 - Ian Rush nabbed the only goal of the game as Wales beat France in a friendly in Toulouse. Ex-red Joey Jones also played.
1969 - Ex-red Tony Hateley scored in the second of all seven games of an FA Tour, bagging four as England trounced New Zealand 7-1 in Wellington. He netted a total of seventeen goals on the tour.
1963 - Roger Hunt netted for England as they beat East Germany 2-1 in a friendly in Leipzig. Gordon Milne also played.
2013 – Ex-red Robbie Keane came off the bench to bag a brace as the Republic of Ireland thumped Georgia 4-0 in a friendly in in Dublin.

1996 - Future red Jari Litmanen netted Finland’s consolation as they lost 2-1 to Turkey in a friendly in Helsinki, with Sami Hyypiä also in the side. Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Mark Kennedy, future red Øyvind Leonhardsen and ex-red Torben Piechnik all also represented their countries that day.
1994 - Jari also played for his country in a 2-1 friendly defeat by Spain in Tampere, with future red Karl-Heinz Riedle in international action.
2001 – Litmanen featured alongside Sami Hyypiä and against clubmate Christian Ziege as their World Cup qualifier ended 2-2 in Helsinki.

Masch the red
2007 - Javier Mascherano won his first cap as a reds player, appearing for Argentina for the 23rd time as a substitute in their 1-1 friendly draw with Switzerland in Basel. Future red Philipp Degen also played and was booked.

Ex-reserves for their countries
1993 - Former reserves midfielder Jim Magilton netted his fourth and final Northern Ireland goal as an Oxford United player as they won a World Cup qualifier in Latvia 2-1. Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Ronnie Rosenthal and future reds Nigel Clough and Øyvind Leonhardsen also appeared in internationals that day.
1992 - Magilton also played in a friendly as they drew 1-1 in Germany, who included future red Karl-Heinz Riedle.
1985 - Kevin Sheedy was on target as the Republic of Ireland beat Switzerland 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road. Jim Beglin, Ronnie Whelan and ex-red Michael Robinson all also featured.

Final caps
1982 - Phil Neal captained England for the only time as England drew 1-1 with Iceland in a friendly in Reykjavik. Joe Corrigan and Terry McDermott both won their final caps in this game.
1963 - Ian Callaghan won his fourth and final cap for England Under-23’s as they lost 1-0 in a friendly in Romania.

2001 - Future red Bolo Zenden won his thirtieth cap for the Netherlands, and final one as a Barcelona player, as they won a World Cup qualifier 4-2 in Estonia.
2000 - Craig Bellamy won his ninth and last cap as a Norwich City player as Wales lost a friendly 3-0 in Portugal, with ex-red Gareth Roberts also featuring.
2007 - Bellamy also won his final cap in his first spell as a red, playing against ex-red Milan Baroš in a goalless Euro 2008 qualifier in Cardiff. Fellow future reds Paul Konchesky and Jermaine Pennant both also featured.
2003 - Glen Johnson won his second and final England Under-21’s cap as a West Ham United player as they beat Serbia & Montenegro 3-2 in a friendly in Hull.    
1996 - Dean Saunders won his final cap as a Galatasaray player as Wales trounced San Marino 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

2007 - Jari Litmanen won his 108th cap, and final one as a Malmö FF player, as Finland lost a Euro 2008 qualifier 2-0 to Serbia in Helsinki, with Sami Hyypiä also playing. Meanwhile, Andriy Voronin made his last appearance for the Ukraine while with Bayer 04 Leverkusen in their 2-0 qualifying defeat in France, for whom ex-red Nicolas Anelka scored. Also in action that day were Xabi Alonso, Djibril Cissé, Dirk Kuyt and future reds John Heitinga and Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
2009 – Anelka again played for France, as they lost 1-0 to Nigeria in a friendly in Saint-Étienne, with ex-red Alou Diarra also in action, and future reds loanee Nuri Şahin also featuring for his country.
2010 – Kyrgiakos featured once more for Greece, in their 2-0 friendly defeat by Paraguay in Zurich with future red Milan Jovanović and ex-red John Arne Riise also in international action.

2012 - Maxi Rodríguez won his last cap as a reds player as Argentina thumped Ecuador 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires. Dirk Kuyt also represented his country for the final time while on our books as the Netherlands trounced Northern Ireland 6-0 in a friendly in Amsterdam. Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson and future red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all played under Roy Hodgson, with Sebastián Coates, Luis Suárez, future reds John Heitinga, Simon Mignolet and James Milner, and ex-reds Javier Mascherano, Carl Medjani, Raúl Meireles and John Arne Riise all also in action.
2016 – Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, James Milner, Daniel Sturridge and ex-red Raheem Sterling all played for Roy Hodgson’s England in their 1-0 friendly defeat of Portugal at Wembley.
2013 - Yossi Benayoun played for Israel for the last time while on loan at West Ham United as they drew a friendly 2-2 with Honduras in New York. On the same day, Roy Hodgson’s England held Brazil to a 2-2 draw in the opening game for the new Estádio do Maracanã, with Glen Johnson and future reds James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain featuring.
2014 – Benayoun also played for Israel in their 4-2 defeat of Honduras in Texas.
2018 – Sterling faced fellow ex-red Victor Moses as England beat Nigeria 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley, with ex-red Christian Benteke also in international action.

On the move
1971 - Ex-reds captain Sir Matt Busby resigned as Manager of Manchester United for the second time. He had led our deadly rivals to the European Cup, five League titles, two FA Cups and three FA Charity Shields.
2008 – Future reds loanee Aly Cissokho joined Portuguese side Vitória de Setúbal from French club Gueugnon. He only played eighteen times before moving to Porto after they bought 60% of the rights to the left-back for €300,000 in January 2009.

2016 - Former reds coach Steve Clarke was appointed Assistant Manager of Aston Villa, working with Roberto Di Matteo. He was not kept on when Steve Bruce took charge four months later.
2018 – Ex-reds centre-half and coach Mauricio Pellegrino was appointed Manager of Club Deportivo Leganés, leading them to thirteenth place in his first campaign, their highest ever La Liga finish. However, he left by mutual consent in October 2019 after a disappointing start to that season.
2022 – Dirk Kuyt was named Head Coach of ADO Den Haag but was sacked after just five months in charge. On the same day, ex-Academy Coach Neil Critchley was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s Assistant at Aston Villa. He moved on after four months, following Gerrard’s dismissal.

International youngsters on target
1994 - Robbie Fowler netted with Jamie Redknapp converting a penalty as England Under-21’s beat the USA 3-0 in the Toulon Tournament.
1989 - Skipper and future red Michael Thomas was on target at the same level as they beat Poland 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Plymouth. David Burrows also featured.
2001 - Future reds striker Djibril Cissé bagged a goal as France Under-20’s beat the Netherlands 2-0 in a tournament game to clinch third place. Grégory Vignal also played.
2011 – Michael Ngoo netted for England Under-19’s in their 3-2 European Championships qualifying defeat of Switzerland in Nyon. Andre Wisdom skippered a side that also included Conor Coady, Jack Robinson and future red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Coady, Ngoo and Robinson all being cautioned.

Twice for their countries
Ex-red Joey Jones represented Wales on this day in consecutive years.
1979 - He played alongside ex-red John Toshack in a 2-0 European Championships qualifying win in Malta. On the same day, Kenny Dalglish skippered Scotland as they lost 3-1 to a Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina at Hampden Park. Alan Hansen, Frank McGarvey and future red John Wark also featured, with Kenny taking the brunt of the home fans’ disapproval.
1980 – Jones also featured in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory in Iceland.

1984 - Future red John Barnes appeared in England’s 2-0 defeat by the USSR at Wembley.
1990 - He played in another friendly, this time alongside Peter Beardsley and future red Mark Wright as England drew 1-1 in Tunisia. Steve Staunton also played for his country that day.

Club award
2011 – The club won the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year award at The Mersey Partnership Annual Tourism Awards 2011. On the same day, reserves forward Nikola Sarić signed for HNK Hajduk Split.

Also in international action
1965 – Tommy Smith played for England Under-23’s as they held Austria to a goalless draw in Vienna.
2021 – Andy Robertson captained Steve Clarke’s Scotland drew a friendly 2-2 with the Netherlands in Portugal, with Gini Wijnaldum and future red Ryan Gravenberch also playing. Neco Williams was sent off as Wales lost 3-0 to France in Nice, with Harry Wilson and ex-reds Joe Allen and Danny Ward also in action. Trent Alexander-Arnold and ex-red Conor Coady featured as England beat Austria 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.