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.

Happy birthday Javier 1984 - Javier Mascherano was born in San Lorenzo in Argentina. He signed for the reds on loan from West Ham United in January 2007, joining permanently thirteen months later. He turned out on 139 occasions, finding the back of the net just twice before moving to Barcelona for €22m in August 2010. 2005 - He appeared for his country on his 21st birthday, winning his fourteenth cap, and final one as a River Plate player, as they beat Brazil 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires. 2008 – He was sent off late on while captaining Argentina in their goalless friendly draw with the USA in the Giants Stadium in New Jersey, with future red Maxi Rodríguez also featuring. Meanwhile, ex-reds El-Hadji Diouf and Rigobert Song both featured in World Cup qualifiers. In comes Bernie 2000 - World Cup winner Bernard Diomède signed from Auxerre for £3m. He only made five reds appearances, before moving to AC Ajaccio, firstly on loan in January 2003 then permanently that summer. 2015 - Forward Danny Ings agreed to sign from Burnley on 1st July. He only struck four times in 25 games as he suffered two serious injuries, spending the next season on loan at Southampton before joining them permanently in July 2019. International debutants 2003 – R.C.D. Espanyol’s Maxi Rodríguez struck on his debut for Argentina as they beat Japan 4-1 in a Kirin Cup game in Osaka. Another future reds winger Mark González made his senior international bow for Chile as a substitute in their 1-0 friendly defeat in Costa Rica on the same day. 1999 - Sander Westerveld made his full international debut for the Netherlands, winning his only cap as a Vitesse Arnhem player as the Dutch lost 3-1 to Brazil in a friendly in Goiania, with future Bolo Zenden also in action. 1977 - Kevin Keegan won his first cap as a Hamburger SV player, skippering England as they shared a goalless draw with Brazil in a friendly in Rio de Janeiro. Ray Clemence, Emlyn Hughes, Ray Kennedy and Phil Neal all also featured. In the World Cup 1986 - Ex-red Graeme Souness won his 54th and final Scotland cap as skipper in their 2-1 defeat by West Germany in the Mexico World Cup Finals. Steve Nicol also featured, while Jan Mølby also appeared in the competition that day in Denmark’s 6-1 thrashing of Uruguay. 2017 – Future red Dominic Solanke scored his last two goals for England Under-20’s as they beat Italy 3-1 in their World Cup Semi-final in South Korea, with Sheyi Ojo also in action. 2015 – Ojo played for England Under-18’s in their 2-0 friendly win in Russia. Last internationals 2005 - Vladimír Šmicer won his last cap as a reds player, and 74th to date, as the Czech Republic trounced Macedonia 6-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Teplice, with Milan Baroš grabbing his final goal as a red. Meanwhile, Jari Litmanen was playing his final international while with Hansa Rostock as Finland lost a qualifier 4-0 to the Netherlands in Helsinki, with Sami Hyypiä also in the side and future red Dirk Kuyt amongst the scorers. John Arne Riise skippered his country as they won a friendly 3-2 in Sweden, with Xabi Alonso, Carl Medjani and future reds Christian Poulsen, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin also turning out for their countries. 2013 – Torres again played for Spain, alongside former clubmate Pepe Reina in their 2-1 friendly defeat of Haiti in Miami. On the same day, Jordan Henderson captained England Under-21’s as they lost 3-1 to Norway in a European Championships Finals group game in Israel, with Jonjo Shelvey, Andre Wisdom and ex-red Tom Ince also featuring as future red Steven Caulker won his tenth and final cap at this level. 1997 - Ex-red Ronnie Rosenthal won his 55th and final cap as Israel lost 2-0 to Russia in a World Cup qualifier in Moscow. Meanwhile, Øyvind Leonhardsen won his last cap as a Wimbledon player, and 52nd in total, alongside future clubmate Stig Inge Bjørnebye, as Norway drew 1-1 in Hungary in another World Cup qualifier. 1995 - Nick Barmby won his second full England cap, and last while with Tottenham Hotspur, as they drew 3-3 with Sweden in a friendly at Elland Road. John Barnes, John Scales and ex-red Peter Beardsley all also played. 1960 - Andy Beattie managed Scotland for the last of seventeen times as they lost 4-2 to Turkey in a friendly in Ankara. Beattie had guested with the reds during the war, and later joined the backroom staff at Anfield after a successful management career. Sir Kenny 2018 - Kenny Dalglish was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Ex-reds on the move 2003 - Ex-reds striker Sean Dundee joined Austria Wien on a free transfer from VfB Stuttgart after 25 goals in 77 Bundesliga outings. 2004 - Christian Ziege also moved for free, joining Borussia Mönchengladbach from Tottenham Hotspur. 2010 – It was announced that ex-reds defender Jon Otsemobor would sign for Sheffield Wednesday from Southampton on 1st July of that year. 2011 – Former Academy full-back Calum Woods joined Huddersfield Town on a free transfer from Dunfermline Athletic. 2012 - Steve Clarke was appointed Manager of West Bromwich Albion, guiding them to an eighth-place top-flight finish in his first season in charge, but was sacked in December 2013. On the same day, future reds midfielder Fabinho signed for Portuguese side Rio Ave. Phil’s treble 2016 – Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick as Brazil thumped Haiti 7-1 in a Copa América Centenario group game in Orlando, with future red Alisson Becker also in action. Also on target for their countries 1997 - Captain Gary McAllister netted the only goal of the game as Scotland beat Belarus in a World Cup qualifier in Minsk. On the same day, Jari Litmanen was on target in Finland’s 3-0 qualifying defeat of Azerbaijan in Helsinki. Fellow future red Sami Hyypiä also played, with Vladimír Šmicer also featuring in a qualifier. 1998 - Christian Ziege was on target as Germany thrashed Luxembourg 7-0 in a friendly in Mannheim. Fellow future reds Markus Babbel and Dietmar Hamann both also featured. 2006 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Andriy Voronin struck in the Ukraine’s 3-0 friendly win in Luxembourg. 2010 – Fernando Torres struck as Spain thumped Poland 6-0 in a friendly in Murcia. Ex-reds Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa both also played. 2011 – Dirk Kuyt was on target as the Netherlands drew 1-1 with Luis Suárez’s Uruguay in a friendly in Montevideo, with the home side winning 4-3 on penalties. 2018 – Ex-red Suárez converted a penalty as Uruguay beat Uzbekistan 3-0 in Montevideo. Xherdan Shaqiri played for Switzerland in their 2-0 friendly defeat of Japan in Lugano. 2013 – Shaqiri featured again, while still at Bayern München, as they beat Cyprus 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Geneva. On the same day, Dejan Lovren faced Sadio Mané in a friendly, with Croatia beating Senegal 2-1 in Osijek. 2019 – Andy Robertson struck for Scotland while skippering them in their 2-1 European Championships qualifying defeat of Cyprus at Hampden Park. Meanwhile, ex-red Luis Suárez scored in Uruguay’s 3-0 friendly defeat of Panama, with Dejan Lovren, Harry Wilson and ex-red Joe Allen also in international action. In the European Championships 1996 - Future red Stéphane Henchoz faced an England side at Wembley that included Steve McManaman and future reds Nick Barmby and Paul Ince. This tournament opener ended 1-1. 1968 - Roger Hunt appeared as England clinched third place by beating the USSR 2-0 in Rome. 2012 – Ex-red Milan Baroš featured as the Czech Republic were thumped 4-1 by Russia in Poland. Into India 2009 – The club launched the Ahbijit Kadam Football Development Centre in Pune, India in association with Kickworldwide.

Birthdays galore 1954 - Midfielder Jimmy Case was born in Liverpool. He signed from South Liverpool for a bargain £500 in May 1973 and bagged 46 goals in 269 reds games, helping us to claim three European Cups, four League titles, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, League Cup and three FA Charity Shields, before joining Brighton & Hove Albion for £350,000 in August 1981. 1863 - Matt McQueen was born in Harthill, Lanarkshire. He arrived from Leith Athletic in October 1892 and bagged seven goals in 103 games for the reds, playing in every position on the park including 41 games in goal, helping us to claim the Second Division title twice, once while as a keeper. He moved on to Heart Of Midlothian in 1899 but later served the reds as a Director, and then as Manager for five years in the 1920’s, leading us to our fourth League title in 1923. 1958 - Howard Gayle was born in Toxteth. The first black player to represent Liverpool in modern times, he signed professional terms in November 1977 and notched once in five first-team appearances before moving on to Birmingham City in January 1983 for £75,000. Two keepers also share a birthday today. 1971 - Brad Friedel was born in Bay Village, Ohio. He made 31 first-team appearances for us after signing from US side Columbus Crew for £1m in December 1997, moving to Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer in November 2000. 1973 - Pegguy Arphexad was born in Guadeloupe. Our former reserve custodian signed on a free transfer in July 2000 but only played six senior reds games, although he claimed six winners’ medals from the bench in his time at Anfield, before moving on to Coventry City in August 2003 after his contract had expired. Euro disappointment 2016 – Daniel Sturridge gave us a half-time lead in the UEFA Europa League Final against Sevilla in Basel, but we collapsed after the break to lose 3-1 with Jorge Moreno bagging a brace to add to a Kévin Gameiro strike. Midfielder Joe Allen, centre-forward Christian Benteke and centre-half Kolo Touré all played their last reds games. We had been denied a clear-cut penalty in the first half as the Spanish side went on to claim the trophy for the third consecutive season. Off goes Emile 2004 - Emile Heskey was sold to Birmingham City for a fee rising to £6.25m after sixty goals in 223 reds games. He struck sixteen times in 78 games for the Blues before moving to Wigan Athletic for £5.5m in July 2006. Other reds signings 1927 - Forward Tom Devlin signed from Preston North End for £250. He was unable to make the first-team, unlike his brother, centre-forward Willie, who was at Anfield at the same time. He moved on to Swindon Town in July 1928. 1985 - Reserves defender Alex Watson signed for the reds as a professional. He only made nine first-team appearances, including our 1988 FA Charity Shield win, before joining Bournemouth in January 1991 for £150,000. The end of the road for A’Court 1963 - Alan A’Court played his 354th and final League game as we lost 2-0 at Aston Villa in a game postponed from Boxing Day to finish the season in eighth place with George Graham netting the first of his four goals past us and Bobby Thomson also on target. He had played 381 games for us in total, scoring 63 goals, helping us to win the Second Division title in 1962. 1982 - Our only other first-class game on this day produced a goalless draw at Middlesbrough, the final game of a season in which we won the League by four points from Ipswich Town. Led by skipper Graeme Souness, the reds had all snuck out of the hotel to go down the pub shortly before the game! On target 2014 – Future red Dominic Solanke netted as England Under-17’s beat Portugal 2-0 in their European Championships Semi-final in Malta, with fellow future red Joe Gomez also in action. First and last caps 1935 - Ex-reds defender Tom Gardner won his second and final cap as England beat the Netherlands 1-0 in a friendly in Amsterdam. 1938 – Ex-reds reserves centre-half Matt O’Mahoney won the first of his six caps for Ireland in their 2-2 friendly draw with Czechoslovakia in Prague. 1939 – O’Mahoney played again as Ireland again drew 2-2 in a friendly, this time with Hungary in Budapest. 1950 - Utility player Bill Jones made his second and final senior appearance for England as they beat Belgium 4-1 in a friendly in Brussels. His grandson Rob went on to win eight full caps for England. 1949 - Bill also played for his country in an unofficial international, when England B beat the Netherlands 4-0 in Amsterdam. 2002 - Future red Djibril Cissé made his senior international debut as a substitute in France’s 2-1 defeat by Belgium at the Stade de France. On the same day, Vladimír Šmicer scored the only goal of the game as the Czech Republic beat World Cup-bound Italy in Prague. Meanwhile, Dietmar Hamann starred in Germany’s 6-2 defeat of Austria, playing alongside ex-red Christian Ziege. 1996 - Reds centre-back Mark Wright won his 45th and final full England cap as they beat Hungary 3-0 in a friendly at Wembley. Future red Paul Ince also played. Into the book 2009 – The club launched its own official Facebook page, which now has over 31m followers. Ex-reds on the move 1999 - John Barnes was released by Charlton Athletic. He had made just two starts for the Addicks, plus a further ten appearances from the bench. His Charlton debut had been at home to the reds, as they won 1-0 following Jamie Carragher’s dubious dismissal. 2000 - Mike Marsh signed for Southport from Kidderminster Harriers on a free transfer. He netted seven times in 37 games as they just missed out on promotion from the Conference. Walters starts out 1982 - Mark Walters signed as a professional for Aston Villa. He struck 48 times in 224 games for the Villains before moving to Rangers for £550,000 in December 1987. Released 2006 - It was announced that Ramon Calliste, Robbie Foy, Paul Lancaster, Paul Willis and Calum Woods were not being retained for the next season once their contracts expired later in the summer. 2007 - Ex-reds midfielder David Thompson was released by Bolton Wanderers after eight games in five months with the Trotters. 1907 – Forward John Carlin was sold to Preston North End after eight goals in 35 outings since signing from Barnsley in December 1902, helping us to the League title in 1906. Young champion 2009 – Christopher Buchtmann helped Germany Under-17’s to claim the European Championship as they beat their Dutch counterparts 2-1 in the Final in Magdeburg after extra time. 2010 – Andre Wisdom featured in the same tournament as England beat the Czech Republic 3-1 in Liechtenstein. On the same day, future red Gini Wijnaldum played as the Dutch Under-21’s lost 3-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Portugal.