9th June

Digger arrives
1987 - John Barnes was signed from Watford for £900,000. His transfer had been heavily trailed for at least six months, and Kopites were not disappointed by his performances once he arrived, as he helped us to two League titles, FA Cup, League Cup and two FA Charity Shields during an Anfield career in which he scored 108 goals in 407 appearances. He was also twice voted Football Writers’ Player Of The Year, as well as once by his fellow players, eventually moving on to Newcastle United on a free transfer in August 1997.

In comes Jordan
2011 – Midfielder Jordan Henderson signed from Sunderland for £16m. He has notched 33 times in 492 reds games by the time he turned 33, becoming club captain and helping us to claim the Premier League title, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup, two League Cups and FA Community Shield.

Births and death
1954 - Forward Alan Waddle was born in Wallsend. He signed from Halifax Town for £40,000 in June 1973 but only made 22 appearances in his four years at Anfield, netting just once, at Goodison Park in December 1973, as his route to the first team was usually blocked by Kevin Keegan and John Toshack, although he was on the bench for the European Cup Final in 1977. He moved on to Leicester City that September. His cousin Chris went on to great things with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Olympique de Marseille and England.

1979 - Late-1990’s reserves winger Nicky Rizzo was born in Sydney. He never made a senior reds appearance, and moved on to Crystal Palace and then lower League football in Italy, but is now back in his homeland running his own soccer school.
1947 – Wing-half Charlie Wilson died. He signed from Stockport County on a free transfer in December 1897, bagging three goals in 91 reds games before becoming a Scout at Anfield in 1905, a role he held until the Second World War.

Reds honoured
2003 - Gérard Houllier was awarded an Honorary OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. On the same day, agreement was reached to sign Steve Finnan from Fulham for £3.5m. He officially completed his move to Anfield three weeks later.
2022 - Mohamed Salah was named the PFA Player of the Year for the second time, with Thiago Alcântara, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Sadio Mané and Virgil van Dijk joining him in the PFA Team of the Year.

On the move
2009 - John Achterberg was appointed goalkeeping coach, leaving his position at Tranmere Rovers. On the same day, ex-reds full-back Julian Dicks left his role as Manager of Wivenhoe Town by mutual consent. Meanwhile, ex-red Titi Camara was appointed Head Coach of Guinea, in addition to his role as National Technical Director. He remained in the top job for just over three months.
2012 - Kevin MacDonald left Aston Villa’s coaching staff after seventeen years with the Villains.
2014 - Former Academy full-back Calum Woods signed for Preston North End, having been released by Huddersfield Town at the end of the previous campaign. He played 82 times before joining Bradford City on a free transfer last January.

2001 - Mike Marsh signed for Boston United from Southport for £15,000. He netted once in seven games for the Pilgrims as they clinched the Conference title.
2017 – Ex-reserves forward Jack Dunn signed for Tranmere Rovers, so far making sixteen senior appearances without notching.
2016 – Future keeper Andy Lonergan joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Fulham, playing fourteen times before returning to former club Leeds United in August 2017. On the same day, future reds coach Gary O'Neil signed for Bristol City. He scored once in 36 games before moving on to Bolton Wanderers in August 2018 after being released by the Robins.
2023 – Midfielder Naby Keïta signed for SV Werder Bremen, having left the reds at the end of the previous season. However, injuries restricted him to just five outings in his first campaign back in Germany.

Tommy for Scotland
1963 - Tommy Lawrence won the first of his three Scotland caps as they lost a friendly 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland at Dalymount Park in Dublin. Fellow red Ian St. John also played.

Winning a trophy
1984 - Ian Rush netted in the final minute as we drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur in Swaziland to win the Royal Swazi Sun Soccer Challenge 6-3 on aggregate.

On tour
We have won US tour games three times on this day over the years.
1946 - We beat Kearny Celtic Scots 3-1, with Cyril Done grabbing a brace and Willie Fagan also netting.
1948 - A New York All Stars lost 5-2 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Billy Liddell and Albert Stubbins struck twice each, with Willie Fagan also on the scoresheet.
1953 - Inside-right Sammy Smyth bagged a treble when we thumped St. Louis All Stars 5-1, with Billy Liddell adding a brace.

Final caps
1996 - Future red Torben Piechnik won his fifteenth and final cap as a substitute in Denmark’s 1-1 Euro ’96 draw with Portugal at Hillsborough.
1999 - Vladimír Šmicer won his last cap as a Racing Club de Lens player, and 38th in total, as the Czech Republic beat Scotland 3-2 in a Euro 2000 qualifier in Prague, alongside future clubmate Patrik Berger. Meanwhile, Mark Kennedy won his last cap while with Wimbledon, and 22nd to date, as the Republic of Ireland beat FYR Macedonia 1-0 in Dublin, with Robbie Keane playing his ninth and final game while with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

On the same day, Nicolas Anelka made his ninth appearance for France, and final one as an Arsenal player, as they won 1-0 in Andorra in another qualifier. Meanwhile, Dean Saunders won his final cap as an SL Benfica player, and 69th in all, as Wales were beaten 2-0 by Denmark at Anfield, a result that kept the Danes on course for a play-off spot. Future reds Craig Bellamy and Paul Jones also played. Robbie Fowler, Haukur Ingi Gudnason, Sami Hyypiä, Jamie Redknapp and future red Emile Heskey all also played in qualifiers that day, with Kevin Keegan taking charge of England.

2013 - Mamadou Sakho won his final cap for France as a Paris Saint-Germain player in their 3-0 defeat by Brazil in Porto Alegre.
2011 – Alou Diarra won his last cap as a Girondins de Bordeaux player, his 34th to date, as France beat Poland 1-0 in a friendly in Warsaw.
2008 – Dirk Kuyt and future reds coach John Heitinga played as the Netherlands beat Italy 3-0 in Berne, while ex-red Anelka featured as France were held to a goalless draw by Romania in Zurich.
2000 – Alberto Aquilani won his eighth and final cap for Italy Under-15’s as they lost 2-1 to France.

Dirk’s first
2012 - Dirk Kuyt won his first cap as a Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü player as the Netherlands lost 1-0 to a Denmark side captained by Daniel Agger in a European Championships Finals game in Kharkiv, with future reds coach John Heitinga also playing. Ex-red Raúl Meireles also featured in the competition that day, with Kolo Touré bagging his last goal as a Manchester City player as Ivory Coast drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Morocco. Meanwhile, ex-red Javier Mascherano was in friendly action as future red Sadio Mané and Victor Moses played in World Cup qualifiers.

The Guv’nor in charge
1993 - Future red Paul Ince captained his country for the first time, becoming the first black player ever to skipper England, as they lost 2-0 to the USA in Boston. John Barnes and future red Nigel Clough also played. Meanwhile, Stig Inge Bjørnebye and future red Øyvind Leonhardsen featured in Norway’s goalless World Cup qualifying draw in the Netherlands.

On target
1993 - Ex-red John Aldridge scored the fourth of his eight goals in four games against Latvia as the Republic of Ireland won their World Cup qualifier in Riga 2-0. Ex-reds Ray Houghton and Steve Staunton both also played.
2009 – Albert Riera and Fernando Torres both struck as Spain thumped Azerbaijan 6-0 in a friendly in Baku, with David Villa bagging a treble. Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa and Pepe Reina all also featured.
1996 - Future red Christian Ziege netted in Germany’s 2-0 defeat of the Czech Republic in their Euro ’96 group encounter at Old Trafford. Fellow future reds Markus Babbel and Patrik Berger both also featured. On the same day, Mark Kennedy faced future red Brad Friedel in the US Nike Cup as the USA beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in Boston, while future red Mario Balotelli netted for Italy Under-21’s in their 4-0 friendly win in Denmark.

2019 – Roberto Firmino scored with ex-red Philippe Coutinho converting a spot-kick as Brazil thumped Honduras 7-0 in a friendly in Porto Alegre. Ryan Babel won his last cap as a Fulham player, with Virgil van Dijk captaining a side that also included Gini Wijnaldum as Portugal beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League Final in Porto. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Caoimhín Kelleher, ex-red Raheem Sterling and future reds Luis Díaz, Arthur Melo and Takumi Minamino also played for their countries that day.
2018 – Ex-red Iago Aspas scored as Spain beat Tunisia a friendly 1-0 in Russia, while future red Ozan Kabak netted as Turkey Under-18’s beat Sweden 3-2. Marko Grujić, future red Thiago Alcântara and ex-reds Péter Gulácsi and Brad Jones also played for their countries that day.

2017 – Philippe Coutinho played in Brazil’s 1-0 friendly defeat by Argentina in Melbourne, with Gini Wijnaldum on target as the Netherlands beat Luxembourg 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Rotterdam. Nikolay Mihaylov won his last cap for Bulgaria as a Mersin İdmanyurdu player as they lost a qualifier 2-1 in Belarus. Ragnar Klavan, future reds Xherdan Shaqiri and Kostas Tsimikas and ex-red Péter Gulácsi also played for their countries that day.
2013 – Future red Wijnaldum scored in his fourth consecutive game for the Dutch Under-21’s as they thumped Russia 5-1 in a European Championships Finals group game in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, future red Mohamed Salah bagged a treble as Egypt won a World Cup qualifier 4-2 in Zimbabwe, with future red Joël Matip and ex-reds Charles Itandje and Carl Medjani also playing in qualifiers. On the same day, Emre Can won his last Under-21’s cap as a Bayern München player as Germany lost 1-0 to Spain in a European Championships Finals group game in Israel with Thiago Alcântara captaining a side that also included fellow future red Alberto Moreno.

In Toulon
Future red Nigel Clough appeared in the Toulon Tournament in consecutive years for England Under-21’s.
1987 - They were held by the USSR to a goalless draw.
1988 – England beat Morocco 1-0. Fellow future reds Julian Dicks and Michael Thomas both also featured.
1989 – Future red Neil Ruddock featured in a goalless match with Republic of Ireland in the same competition.
1993 – Jamie Redknapp played in a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, when future reds Academy coach Mike Sheron struck his fourth and final goal at this level.

God married
2001 - Robbie Fowler married Kerrie at Duns Castle in Scotland. They already had two young daughters, Madison and Jaya, with a third following a year later, and have since added a son to their brood.

Still the masters
2002 - The Liverpool Legends team won the Irish Masters in Belfast, with former reserves regular John Durnin grabbing both goals in their 2-0 Final victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Barclay elected
1890 – William Barclay was elected Vice Chairman of Everton. He later worked as a Secretary-c**-Manager for the first four years of the reds’ existence.

Also in international action
1983 – Glenn Hysén played for Sweden as they lost a European Championships qualifier 1-0 to Romania in Solna.
1985 – Future red John Barnes appeared as England lost a friendly 1-0 in Mexico.
2015 – Future red Ragnar Klavan captained Estonia as they won a friendly 2-0 in Finland.
2021 – Diogo Jota played as Portugal beat Israel 4-0 in a friendly in Lisbon.

2022 – Conor Bradley, Diogo Jota, Naby Keïta, Kostas Tsimikas, future red Giorgi Mamardashvili and ex-reds Steven Caulker and Xherdan Shaqiri played for their countries, with Rigobert Song taking charge of Cameroon as they beat Burundi 1-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Tanzania and Bernard Diomède managing France Under-20’s in their 4-1 friendly defeat of Mexico in Salon-de-Provence.
2023 – Josh Davidson played for England Under-18’s in their 2-2 draw with Norway in the XXVII Torneio Internacional de Lisboa 2022/23 in Lisbon.