Search the Community

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 28 times in 359 reds games to date, becoming club captain and then helping us to claim the UEFA Champions League and League Cup. Ephraim arrives 1910 - Right-back Ephraim Longworth signed from Clapton Orient. He played for the reds 370 times across the next two decades, without finding the back of the net. He helped us to two League titles and became the first Liverpool player to captain England in May 1921. He then served as Reserve team trainer, before joining the ground staff. Happy birthdays 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. Ged 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. 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. 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. 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 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. On the move 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 touring keeper Andy Lonergan joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Fulham, playing fourteen times before returning to former club Leeds United in August 2017. Dirk’s first 2012 - Dirk Kuyt won his first cap as a Fenerbahçe SK player as the Netherlands lost 1-0 to a Denmark side captained by Daniel Agger in a European Championships Finals game in Kharkiv. Ex-red Raúl Meireles also featured in the competition that day, with ex-red Javier Mascherano in friendly action and future red Victor Moses playing in a World Cup qualifier. 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 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 and ex-red Philippe Coutinho scored 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 and ex-red Raheem Sterling also played for their countries that day. 2018 – Ex-red Iago Aspas scored as Spain beat Tunisia a friendly 1-0 in Russia. 2017 – Philippe Coutinho played in Argentina’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. Future red Xherdan Shaqiri also played for his country 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. On the same day, future reds Emre Can and Alberto Moreno faced each other at Under-21’s level in a European Championships Finals group game in Israel. 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.

The first title 1901 – We won 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion to clinch our first League title, with John Walker on target in the first half of our final game of the season against the already-relegated Baggies. A fife and drum band playing “The Conquering Hero” welcomed the team back into Liverpool. The plan was to lift Club Secretary Tom Watson shoulder high in celebration, but as the Liverpool Echo said, “No arms were long enough to grip his girth.” However, our two inter-war meetings with the Baggies both resulted in 2-1 defeats. 1922 - Harry Beadles nabbed our consolation at Anfield, with Howard Gregory bagging a brace for the Baggies. 1933 - Tom Bradshaw was on target at The Hawthorns, with forward Ted Crawford playing his eighth and last reds game. Billy Richardson scored one of his nine goals past us, with Jock Carter also on target. Nando’s last 2006 - Fernando Morientes scored his twelfth and final reds goal, which was our 300th against Aston Villa in all competitions. Gareth Barry equalised with one of his four goals past us to date before Steven Gerrard struck his twentieth and 21st goals of the season to hand us a 3-1 victory in our last home game of the season. This brought us to 48 points from home League games that campaign, our highest ever tally in a 38-game season. Djimi Traoré made his 141st and last reds appearance in this game. 1961 - Dave Hickson played his 67th and last reds game in a 1-1 draw at Sunderland, with Roger Hunt netting our goal. We have twice more faced Aston Villa in the First Division on this day in history. 1899 - Centre-forward George Allan made his 96th and final reds appearance as we were thumped 5-0 at Villa Park. This was our last match of the season, in which Villa won the title by two points from the second-placed reds. Fred Wheldon struck the last two of his five goals against the reds, with Jack Devey nabbing two of his seven past us and Jimmy Crabtree also on target. 1911 - We won 3-1 at Anfield, with Ronald Orr bagging a brace and John McDonald also on the scoresheet as we finished in thirteenth after this our final game of the season, with Joe Walters netting one of his five goals against the reds. Unfortunately, this result helped Manchester United to claim their second League title. 1972 – We lost the second leg of the FA Youth Cup Final at Anfield 4-2 to Aston Villa, having already been beaten 1-0 in the first game. The reds included Brian Kettle and Phil Thompson. Testimonial for Shanks 1975 - A testimonial match for Bill Shankly was played at Anfield. Emlyn Hughes and Jimmy Case both bagged braces, with Alan Waddle and Tommy Smith also on target as the reds beat a Don Revie Select side 6-2. 1992 - We took part in another testimonial, drawing a benefit game for our former reserves forward Wayne Harrison 2-2 at Oldham Athletic. Don Hutchinson and Ronnie Rosenthal were on the scoresheet. Harrison had signed from Oldham for £250,000 in January 1985 but never made a senior reds appearance before he retired due to injury in the summer of 1991, aged just 23. Falling at the final hurdle 2010 – We were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League at the Semi-final stage on away goals by Club Atlético de Madrid, the third time in our history we had fallen foul of this rule in Europe. Alberto Aquilani opened the scoring just before the break with his second and final goal for the club, with the tie having to go into extra time. Yossi Benayoun scored his 29th and last reds goal early in the additional half hour, but Diego Forlán then bagged a crucial away goal, the most recent of his four past us. Philipp Degen played his thirteenth and final reds game. King Kenny starts out 1968 - Kenny Dalglish signed as a professional for Celtic. He helped them to four League titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup, bagging 167 goals in 322 games before moving to Anfield for £440,000 in August 1977. 2018 – Roberto Firmino signed a new contract, having so far scored fifty times in 140 reds games. 1957 – Full-back Allan Jones signed pro terms with the reds, having joined as an amateur two years earlier. He played five times before moving to Brentford in August 1963. Wembley disappointment 1950 - We lost our second FA Cup Final, this time 2-0 to Arsenal with Reg Lewis scoring in each half, the last of his five strikes against us, despite the reds having beaten the Gunners twice in the League that season. It was to be another fifteen years before we finally won the famous trophy. We had to wear blue socks in this match, due to a mix-up over changing from the usual red ones to white, with neither side playing in their regular home strips. Off the mark 1995 – Steve Harkness struck the first of his three reds goals early on at Norwich City, with Robert Ullathorne equalising soon after. Ian Rush grabbed the winner as we won 2-1, with City on their way down to the Endsleigh League. Beating the Clarets We have defeated Burnley twice at Anfield on this day in history, without conceding a single goal. 1905 - Jack Cox, Robbie Robinson and Jack Parkinson were on the scoresheet. Keeper Ned Doig saved a penalty in what was our final game of the season, as we claimed the Second Division championship for a third time. 1914 - A friendly ended 1-0 to the reds, with centre-half Bob Ferguson netting. Award winners 2001 – Steven Gerrard was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, to become the fourth reds recipient after Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler (twice) and Michael Owen. He was also named in the PFA Team of the Year, for the first of eight times, a record in the Premier League era. 2007 - On-loan keeper Scott Carson was named Charlton Athletic’s Player of the Season, despite the Addicks being on their way down to the Championship. Off to Plainmoor 1935 - We played a friendly at Torquay United as part of the transfer of left-back Jack Tennant and fellow defender Alf Gray from the Gulls the previous season. We lost 7-2, with Alf Hanson and Berry Nieuwenhuys on target for the reds. 1924 – We lost 4-1 at Partick Thistle in a testimonial match for the Jags’ Tommy Crichton. First caps 1981 - Ronnie Whelan won the first of his 53 Republic of Ireland caps, helping them to a 3-1 victory over Czechoslovakia at Lansdowne Road as a substitute. Also in action that day was Terry McDermott, coming off the bench as Romania held England to a goalless draw in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley. 1980 – Future reds centre-half Glenn Hysén won his first Under-21’s cap as Sweden lost 2-1 to the USSR in a friendly in Kiev. International reds on target 1987 - Ian Rush netted while winning his final cap in his first spell as a reds player. Wales drew 1-1 with Czechoslovakia in a European Championships qualifier in Wrexham. Meanwhile, Jan Mølby struck the only goal of Denmark’s win in Finland. John Aldridge, Ronnie Whelan and future reds John Barnes and Ray Houghton all also turned out for their countries that day. Young reds for England 1997 - Michael Owen netted for the England Under-18’s in their 2-1 European Championships qualifying defeat of Portugal at Gigg Lane. Jamie Carragher and future red Emile Heskey appeared for the Under-21’s at The Valley on the same day, as England were held to a goalless draw by Georgia in another qualifier while future red Alex Manninger played as Austria thumped Estonia 7-1. 2001 - John Welsh scored from the spot as England Under-16’s beat Germany 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out after their European Championships Quarter-final ended 1-1 at the Cellnet Riverside Stadium. On the same day, Alberto Aquilani won his thirteenth and final cap for Italy in the same competition as they drew 1-1 with Spain in Sunderland, with Fernando Torres netting for Spain. Derby disappointment 1895 – We lost the Liverpool Senior Cup Final 3-0 at Goodison Park. Keepers in opposition 2004 – Pepe Reina came off the bench for Spain Under-21’s as they beat Australia Under-23’s 1-0 in Lorca, with fellow future reds keeper Brad Jones winning the first of his six caps at this level for the losing side. No longer a Tractor boy 2001 - John Scales was released by Ipswich Town. He had only made four appearances since arriving from Tottenham Hotspur the previous July. Leo in the big time 1992 - Øyvind Leonhardsen won his first cap as a Rosenborg BK player, and twelfth in total, playing alongside clubmate Stig Inge Bjørnebye and fellow future red Torben Piechnik as Denmark beat Norway 1-0 in Århus. Future reds Nigel Clough and Paul Stewart and ex-reds John Aldridge and Steve Staunton also featured in internationals the same day.