reading

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Published by
deCoubertin Books Ltd in 2013

deCoubertin Books,
145-157 St John Street,
London, EC1V 4PY

www.decoubertin.co.uk

First hardback edition

Standard Edition
978-1-909245-08-2

Legends Edition
978-1-909245-14-3

Shankly The Great Edition
978-1-909245-15-0

The rights of Arnie Baldursson
and Gudmundur Magnusson to
be identified as the authors of this
work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by
any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise) without
the prior written permission of
the publisher. Any person who
does any unauthorised act in
relation to this publication may be
left liable to criminal prosecution
and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for
this book is available from the
British Library.

Printed and bound in the UK by
Butler, Tanner and Dennis.

Design in Liverpool
by Leslie Priestley.

This book is sold subject to the
condition that it shall not, by the
way of trade or otherwise, be lent,
resold, hired out, or otherwise
circulated without the author’s
prior consent in any form of
binding or cover other than that in
which it was published and without
a similar condition including
this condition being imposed
on the subsequent purchaser.

Photographs courtesy of Getty
Images and the private collections
of the authors and other Liverpool
supporters. Thank you to
Dr David France for the use of
his portrait of John Houlding.

Every effort has been made to
contact copyright holders for
photographs used in this book.
If we have overlooked you in any
way, please get in touch so that we
can rectify this in future editions.

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

MY LOVELY WIFE,
ÁSTA SÓL,
HAS SUPPORTED MY
DEDICATION TO
LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA
AND GIVES ME
STRENGTH TO ACHIEVE
THE GOALS I SET
MYSELF IN LIFE. MY CHILDREN
ELENA AND LEON BJARTUR,

AND THE ONE WHO
WANTED TO BE A PART
OF THIS PRODUCTION PROCESS,
EXPECTED IN JANUARY 2014,
I AM THANKFUL FOR EVERY DAY.
FINALLY, TO
LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB
THAT HAS BEEN
A FAITHFUL COMPANION
OF MINE
THROUGH ALL MY LIFE.

ARNIE

TO MY
WONDERFUL WIFE ÓLÖF,
MY GREAT,
ADVENTUROUS DAUGHTER
ELÍSABET ÓSK
AND THE MEMORY
OF MY GRANDFATHER
GUÐMUNDUR
WHO ENCOURAGED ME
TO GET
INVOLVED IN FOOTBALL.

GUÐMUNDUR

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THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Introduction

I AND Gudmundur Magnusson
started working together on the
board of the Official Icelandic
Liverpool Supporters’ Club back
in 1997. Iceland has a strong
link with Liverpool’s past as
the club’s first-ever European
game took place in the country’s
capital, Reykjavík in 1964.

It was an adventure for the
locals to see such a strong team
and their interest has been
passed on from one generation
to the next. We, however, do not
come from such families. I fell
head over heels as I read Derek
Hodgson’s book about Liverpool,
published in Iceland in 1980
when I was nine. I wrote my first
draft of Liverpool FC’s history as
a school essay at 15 years of age.
I guess this was always meant to
be. Gudmundur chose Liverpool
to represent him in a computer
game when he was 10 years
old and that was the point of no
return. In 2003 our passion for

Liverpool manifested itself in the
launch of www.LFChistory.net.
The site has grown considerably
in volume and importance
during that period and has been
officially embraced by the club
as well as its huge fan base.

Following the success of our first book, Liverpool: The Complete Record,
published in 2011, we agreed to deCoubertin Books’ offer to further our
documentation of Liverpool in print. Whereas Complete Record focused

on stats and a comprehensive narrative for each season, this publication
ideally complements that with profiles for every single player and key
aspects of the club’s illustrious history. We approached every player
from as fresh a perspective as possible and wanted to infuse humanity
into even the most unknown of figures. Hopefully you will appreciate
our efforts, but we would never have made such progress on our own.
Words cannot really do justice to the help provided by a quintumvirate
of dedicated Reds. Kjell Hanssen has consistently brought forth rare
newspaper articles that have been worth their weight in gold, Adrian
Killen has provided us with fantastic images, Graeme and Reg Riley’s
research has benefited us greatly and Chris Wood’s dedication to our
cause almost from day one is unparalleled. Without them this book
would not have reached the standard that we aimed for. Mark Anthony,
Stuart Basson, Ian Beardsley, Bob Blenkinsop, Martin Brodetsky,
Jim Donnelly (curator of the Unofficial Liverpool museum on Facebook),
Torbjørn Flatin, Gavin Foster, David France, Jeff Gaydish, Chris Goodwin,
Lee Gray, Sigfús Guttormsson, Skapti Hallgrímsson, Elizabeth Hargreaves,
Vegard Heggem, Alan Hindley, Steven Horton, David Hughes,
Hyder Jawad, Gerald Jensen, John Jones, Rena Liddell, Bob McCluskey,
Kevin Nealon, Joe Neary, Ron Parrott, Mark Platt, Paul Plowman,
Katharine Reidel, Darren Riley, Pete Sampara, George Sephton,
Dave Usher and Jacqueline Wadsworth also deserve a mention for their
various contributions.

WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK several former Liverpool players
whom we have interviewed throughout the years. They have shed
further light on their own careers and given us priceless insight into
the legends who built the club and its inner workings. A collective thank
you to Gerry Byrne, Ian Callaghan, Jimmy Case, Ray Clemence,
David Fairclough, Joey Jones, Alan Kennedy, Jan Mølby, Phil Neal,
Neil Ruddock, Ian Rush, Ian St John, Michael Thomas, Peter Thompson,
Phil Thompson, John Wark and Ron Yeats.

We have overcome plenty of obstacles on the way, but establishing
dates of birth and death has been notoriously difficult and we welcome
any corrections that you might have, at webmaster@lfchistory.net.

For those who may not be familiar to formations of old, a number of
players’ positions are classified according to the 2-3-5 pyramid formation
which needs a brief explanation. The full-backs served as the team’s
prime defenders, guarding their keeper from onrushing forwards while
the half-backs (left-half, centre-half and right half) were more akin to
modern midfielders. The wingers were called outside-right and outside-left
and the inside-forwards worked the channels on either side of the
centre-forward.

Arnie wrote his first draft
on Liverpool’s history in 1986.

Note that the statistics in the book
include all seasons from 1892/93
to 2012/13. Data from the
2013/14 season onwards awaits
future editions. International stats
are up to 1 July 2013.

IT IS ONLY JUST to put on record
my gratefulness to the Coca Cola
Company and double Espressos
for keeping me up on occasion
beyond any rhyme or reason.
Designer Leslie Priestley weaved
his magic on these pages and
was a true pleasure to work
with as well as his son Stephen.
Editor Ian Allen provided his
expertise and the impressive
ambition of publisher James Corbett
encouraged us to greater deeds.

This book is really a culmination
of our work that started 11 years
ago when two Icelanders felt
that a clearer vision of Liverpool
FC’s history was needed so
we started to collect information
and data. During the last
12 arduous months to make
this book a reality my wife’s
patience was admittedly wearing
thin sometimes but she has come
to understand my unrelenting
passion for all things Liverpool.

Arnie Baldursson

Reykjavík, Iceland,

22 JULY 2013

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THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

A’Court,
Alan

RAINHILL-BORN A’Court gave
Liverpool outstanding service
from the day he made his debut
against Middlesbrough as
an 18-year-old on 7 February
1953 until his last appearance
on 14 September 1964.

The Liverpool Echo’s Leslie
Edwards saw A’Court’s fantastic
potential when watching him in
only his fourth game for Liverpool
against Bolton at Anfield on
4 March 1953: ‘With A’Court
showing unmistakable signs of
football genius – on this first look
at him I rate him as outstanding
of the new boys, both for courage
and ability – the Liverpool attack
must continue to succeed.’

BORN

Rainhill,
30 September 1934

DIED

14 December 2009

POSITION

Left-winger

OTHER CLUBS

Prescot Cables,
Tranmere Rovers
(1964–66)

SIGNED FROM

Prescot Cables,
24 September 1952

INTERNATIONAL CAPS

5 England caps (1 goal),
1957–58

LFC DEBUT GAME/GOAL

7 February 1953 /
14 March 1953

CONTRACT EXPIRY

October 1964

HONOURS

Second Division
Championship 1961/62

A’Court’s reputation as a schoolboy footballer had evolved steadily and
he was chosen to represent Merseyside grammar schools, then Lancashire
County and finally the England grammar schools’ team. He played
amateur football at Prescot Cables and, with scouts from the Reds, Bolton,
Wolves and Everton watching with interest, he accepted Don Welsh’s
offer of a £10 signing-on fee to become a professional at Liverpool. A’Court
got an early opportunity in the first team but unfortunately when he was
establishing himself at Anfield the club was relegated in 1954. He was held
in such high regard that the great Billy Liddell was moved to centre-forward
to make room for him on the left flank as the club’s first campaign outside
the top flight for 49 years got under way. A’Court was a regular in the side
for seven years and a crucial part of the Liverpool side that finally made its
way out of the Second Division in the 1961/62 season, being the only player
– apart from Ronnie Moran – who had been relegated eight years earlier.

A’COURT WAS STRONG and direct with awesome power in his boots, and
impressed sufficiently for the England selectors to include him in their
World Cup squad in Sweden 1958 while he was a second division player.
This was no mean feat! He replaced the injured legend Tom Finney after
England’s opening game, a 2-2 draw against USSR, and featured in
a goalless draw with eventual world champions Brazil and a 2-2 draw
with Austria. USSR and England were equal on points in their group
so a play-off was required, which A’Court and his team-mates lost 1-0.

LFCHistory.net interviewed Alan in 2004 and asked him about the
incredible loyalty he showed in sticking with the club in the Second
Division, despite being an England international at the peak of his
powers. ‘I played just under 400 games for the club and I was happy at
Liverpool. Arsenal were interested and offered £12,000. I didn’t want
to move house, I was happy at home and I had good mates in Liverpool.’
A’Court missed half of his debut season in the First Division due to
niggles and strains and the papers speculated that he would soon be

replaced by Peter Thompson, who
had scored Preston North End’s
winning goal against Liverpool in
the FA Cup the previous season.
As predicted, Thompson was
brought in to fill the left-wing role
that A’Court had made his own for
so long. After not having featured
in the first team for 16 months he
made his farewell appearance for
Liverpool in the club’s first-ever
European tie at Anfield, against
KR Reykjavik in September 1964.

A’Court had passed his 30th
birthday by a few days when he
moved to Tranmere and he was
perhaps unlucky to just miss out
on the glory days that awaited
Liverpool, having to settle for a
Second Division Championship
medal as his only major honour.
He later became a coach, serving
Norwich City, Crewe Alexandra
and Stoke City. According to
Bill Shankly, A’Court wasn’t only
important on the field but an
inspiration off it as well as he
noted in the Liverpool Echo. ‘Jovial
Alan A’Court is a wit and worth
his weight in gold in the dressing
room with his practical jokes.’

Ian Callaghan said it was made
easy for him to sign for Liverpool
as his heroes Billy Liddell and
A’Court played for the club. He
paid this tribute to A’Court after
Alan’s passing on 14 December
2009: ‘He had this ability to cross
a fantastic ball and he was an
inspiration to me when I was
coming through the ranks as a
raw 17-year-old. He was one of
the nicest guys you could ever
wish to meet and he took me
under his wing and he took me

HE WAS HELD IN
SUCH HIGH REGARD
THAT THE
GREAT BILLY LIDDELL
WAS MOVED TO
CENTRE-FORWARD

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THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

out on social trips. He had
this fantastic car, which was a
Sunbeam Rapier Convertible,
and it was fantastic to go in
that with him.’ Alan A’Court
had fantastic memories of his
time at Anfield as he revealed in
his autobiography. ‘The crowd
had helped me enormously in
settling into the side but then they
backed every member of the team
that gave everything to the cause.
My best asset was my pace but
Anfield is a very confined playing
space and, if you were racing for

the corner, it was impossible to
pull up if you really wanted to
reach the ball in time. I lost count
of the number of times I went
flying off the pitch, ending up
in the arms of the spectators,
before being pushed on again.
They weren’t nearly so helpful to
visiting wingers, who were allowed
to crash in the concrete surrounds,
often with painful consequences.’

HE MADE HIS
FAREWELL
APPEARANCE FOR
LIVERPOOL IN THE
CLUB’S FIRST- EVER
EUROPEAN TIE
AT ANFIELD

League

FA Cup

League Cup

Europe

Other

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

1952/53
1953/54
1954/55
1955/56
1956/57
1957/58
1958/59
1959/60
1960/61
1961/62
1962/63
1964/65
Total

12
16
30
40
38
39
39
42
33
42
23
0
354

2
3
2
6
10
6
7
8
7
8
2
0
61

0
0
3
5
1
5
1
2
2
5
0
0
24

0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
-
-
-
2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
-
-
-
0

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0

12
16
33
45
39
44
40
44
37
47
23
1
381

2
3
3
6
10
6
7
8
7
9
2
0
63

Ablett, Gary

A HARD-WORKING DEFENDER who could play either at left-back
or centre-half, Gary Ablett came through the ranks at Liverpool and
made his debut for the reserves on 23 November 1982.

The 21-year-old made quite an
impression on his senior home
debut against Nottingham Forest
on 18 April 1987.

The Times reported: ‘For one so

young, Ablett produced a quite
memorable display. He carried out
his defensive duties with elegant
poise and underlined his rich
potential by scoring Liverpool’s third
goal after 68 minutes with a quite
delightful volley.’ This turned out
to be his only goal for Liverpool.

A week later Ablett helped Ian
Rush make local history as his
pass led to the forward equalling
Dixie Dean’s record of 19 goals in
Merseyside derbies. Gary Gillespie

and Barry Venison were first
choice when the historic 1987/88
season started, but from the end
of January onwards Ablett played
every game except one due to his
rivals’ injuries. As the following
league season kicked off Ablett
found himself again in the
reserves, but soon enough Venison
was on the sidelines and then
Gillespie was out for four months.
After featuring in 49 matches in
1988/89 Ablett looked forward to
the following campaign, but to his
dismay he was considered second
best to a number of players.
Gillespie’s rotten luck with injuries
was again to Ablett’s benefit in
1990/91 and he started 30 games
for the club. Ablett was in Graeme

Souness’s first XI as the following
season started, but after a dismal
run of results that left Liverpool
in ninth place he was booted out
of the team and sold to Everton
for £750,000 in January 1992.

ABLETT WROTE HIS NAME in
the history books by becoming the
only player to win the FA Cup at
both Liverpool and Everton when
the Blues beat Manchester United
in the 1995 final, having won the
cup for the Reds in 1989. Ablett
went on to make 156 appearances
for Everton in four years before
establishing an excellent
understanding with Steve Bruce in
the middle of Birmingham City’s
defence between 1996 and 1998.
When Bruce left to become
player-manager at Sheffield
United, Ablett was appointed
Birmingham captain. He finished
his career in the unlikely venue
of New York as a member
of Long Island Rough Riders.

Subsequently Ablett spent a
few years as coach at Everton’s
academy but in the summer of
2006 he returned to Liverpool
as manager of the reserve team.
It was quite seldom that a player
would cross the great divide
from Reds to Blues and then
back again, and came as a great
surprise to him. ‘Crossing Stanley
Park is a very strange feeling.
Although I’d always been a
Liverpudlian all my thoughts and

ABLETT
WROTE HIS NAME
IN THE HISTORY
BOOKS BY BECOMING
THE ONLY PLAYER
TO WIN THE FA CUP
AT BOTH LIVERPOOL
AND EVERTON

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

energies were suddenly focused
on Everton and I wanted to prove
Liverpool were wrong for letting
me go. When I eventually hung
up my boots and returned to
England it was Everton who gave
me my break on the coaching side
and that’s all I was concentrating
on. I would never have dreamed
that four years down the line I’d
be crossing sides again.’

I HAD PLAYED FOR
THE BEST TWO
TEAMS IN THE WORLD,
COACHED FOR
THE BEST TWO TEAMS
IN THE WORLD

HIS RETURN TO Liverpool
brought success as under Ablett’s
guidance the club won the
Premier Reserve League North
in April 2008 and a month later
became national champions
by convincingly defeating the
southern champions Aston Villa
3-0 at Anfield. His second season
in charge proved to be somewhat
anti-climactic and he was sacked
as part of Rafa Benítez’s rebuilding
of the youth system at Liverpool
in the summer of 2009. But he
was not out of the game for long.

On 8 July 2009 Ablett was named
as the new manager of League
One club Stockport County.
Unfortunately they endured a
miserable 2009/10 season and
were relegated back to League
Two. Just over two months later

Ablett had left the club. In the summer of 2010, Ablett was offered a way
back into the game by Roy Keane at Ipswich Town, who wanted to add
him to his coaching staff. Unfortunately, before he was really able to
make an impression, Ablett was rushed to hospital after being taken ill on
the training ground. It was subsequently confirmed that the 44-year-old
had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – the same form of cancer that ex-Arsenal
midfielder David Rocastle died from in 2001. Only three days passed from
diagnosis to the first session of chemotherapy so it was a massive shock
to Gary and his family. Gary fought the disease bravely for 16 months.
‘I thought it can’t be me, it just can’t,’ he told Everton’s official website.
‘I felt so strong – I had played for the best two teams in the world,

coached for the best two teams
in the world. It can’t be me.

But unfortunately it was. In terms
of what I’ve been through with
the different regimes of the
chemotherapy, the blood
transfusions, the platelet
transfusions, eight radiotherapy
sessions, the lumbar punctures
and I had a bone marrow
transplant in January 2011...
the list can go on and on.’

Sadly the battle was one that was
lost and Gary Ablett passed away
on 1 January 2012, aged just 46.

BORN

Aigburth, Liverpool,
19 November 1965

DIED

1 January 2012

POSITION

Left-back / Centre-half

OTHER CLUBS

Derby County (loan, 1985),
Hull City (loan, 1986),
Everton (1992–96),
Sheffield United (loan,1996),
Birmingham City (1996–99),
Wycombe Wanderers
(loan, 1999),
Blackpool (2000),
Long Island Rough Riders
(2000–01)

JOINED

October 1981;
signed professional
19 November 1983

INTERNATIONAL CAPS

1 England U-21 cap

LFC DEBUT GAME/GOAL

20 December 1986 /
18 April 1987

CONTRACT EXPIRY

13 January 1992

HONOURS

League Championship
1987/88, 1989/90;
FA Cup 1989

League

FA Cup

League Cup

Europe

Other

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92

5
15 (2)
34 (1)
13 (2)
23
13 (1)

1
0
0
0
0
0

0 (1)
5
6
0
5 (1)
0

0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
6
1
1
2 (1)

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

-
-
-
-
-
6
6

-
-
-
-
-
0
0

0
-
2
0
1
-
3

0
-
0
0
0
-
0

5 (1)
20 (2)
48 (1)
14 (2)
30 (1)
21 (2)

1
0
0
0
0
0

Total

103 (6)

16 (2)

10 (1)

138 (9)

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Academy

LIVERPOOL FC’S ACADEMY is
located on a roughly forty five
acre land in the eastern suburb of
Kirkby and was opened in 1998.

The idea behind the new facility
was to allow the club to have a
centre for youth development and
keep Melwood separate solely
used for first-team matters. Then
Chief Executive Peter Robinson
made it a mission of his to make
the Academy a reality before he
retired. ‘After visiting a number of
academies in Europe we decided
to base our own on the one at
Ajax. At the time they were one
of the most successful clubs in
Europe when it came to producing
homegrown players,’ Robinson
told the Liverpool Echo.

The first director of the Academy
was Steve Heighway, who had
gained considerable experience
training youngsters in the US. He
was originally brought to the club
to oversee the youth set-up, known
as the School of Excellence.
‘When I started here in 1989
Peter Robinson said to me, ‘We
haven’t produced a local player
for ten years.’ We had a long run
with the likes of Phil Thompson
and Sammy Lee, going back to
Chris Lawler and Tommy Smith
in the 1960s, and then a long
gap.’ Several players moved on
from Heighway’s care into the
first-team picture, such as Steve
McManaman, Robbie Fowler,

Dominic Matteo, David Thompson, Stephen Wright, Richie Partridge,
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, but they had
all progressed as players before the Academy opened. Players of that
calibre are hardly expected to emerge at regular intervals, but a steady
flow of youngsters to form the basis of the first-team squad is the ideal.
Youngsters have been produced by the Academy but they haven’t been
of sufficient quality and mostly ended up strengthening other teams than
Liverpool, further down the League ladder. In that respect the Academy is
still a work in progress, though of fantastic benefit to youngsters learning
the game.

Since 2009 Liverpool have looked towards Barcelona as the blueprint for
future success. Rodolfo Borrell, who coached the likes of Lionel Messi,
Xavi and Andrés Iniesta among other youngsters at Barcelona from
1996 to 2009, was brought to the club as well as Pep Segura, who was
at Barcelona from 2002 to 2004 and had been working in Greece since
2006. Segura left the club in 2012 but Borrell is the current head of
Adacemy coaching. Four major factors are considered when assessing
a youngster at the Academy: technical ability, tactical ability, mental
approach to becoming a professional, and physique (speed, strength and
size being crucial to English football). The 180-200 Academy members,
aged from 8 to 21 years, are taught gradually to appreciate a basic
understanding of the club’s system of play and to work consistently
within the philosophy of the club. Pass and move has been taught at
Liverpool since the days of Bill Shankly; building attacks from the
defensive line while displaying tactical awareness and controlling the
tempo of the game is the order of the day.

The club has a widely spread network of scouts, Locally, English clubs
can only recruit youngsters aged 12 to 16 within 90 miles radius of their
academies and eight to 11-year-olds within 60 miles. Those rules don’t
apply for foreign youngsters. Liverpool search high and low for talent all
over the world, but Academy director Frank McPharland emphasised the
importance of the ‘Scouse factor’ to the Anfield Wrap: ‘If one is English
and one is Scouse, and they’re at exactly the same level, we would 100
per cent always take the Scouse one, because our club’s identity has
always been about having local kids coming through and we’re desperate
to carry that on.’ Once the youngest boys have reached the age at which
their secondary education would normally begin, the Academy has the
facilities in place to cover their academic needs as well as their sporting
requirements. Every match played at the Academy is recorded for later

analysis. The recording includes
the coaches’ voices, an innovation
introduced following research
by the local university, which
suggested that oral communication
was very important in the
boys’ development. Parents
are encouraged to watch their
children play in such matches
with the proviso that they are kept
away from the pitch to avoid the
sort of touchline behaviour that
is sadly so prevalent at amateur
level. Parents discuss their child’s
progress with Academy staff a few
times each year. This means that
they know well in advance if their
child is unlikely to progress through
to the first team. Of course, the
dream is that they will make it,
but the reality is that most won’t.

Progress can be rapid for a boy
who proves that he has all the
necessary attributes to become a
professional footballer. One such
example is Andre Wisdom,
the powerful defender Liverpool
acquired from Bradford City at
only 14 years of age. Wisdom
broke into Liverpool’s first team
as an 18-year-old in the early
stages of the 2012/13 season.
Melwood coach Mike Marsh
lauded Wisdom’s success.
‘It just shows you the input and
work he’s done at the Academy
with all the coaches in his
development.’ Other former
Academy boys who were allocated
a first-team squad number in
2012/13 are Jon Flanagan, Adam
Morgan, Jack Robinson, Suso,
Dani Pacheco, Conor Coady and
Raheem Sterling.

THE TWO MAIN TARGETS of
the Academy are the same today
as when its doors opened in 1998:
‘To implement a common
style of play in teams through
all categories, and to provide
players for the first team.’
Brendan Rodgers is ready to
take a real chance on youngsters,
which bodes well for the future
of the Academy.

BRENDAN RODGERS
IS READY TO
TAKE A REAL CHANCE
ON YOUNGSTERS
WHICH BODES WELL
FOR THE FUTURE
OF THE ACADEMY

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPO A

Adam,
Charlie

BORN IN DUNDEE a fortnight
before Christmas in 1985, Charlie
Adam didn’t represent either of
his local professional clubs but
instead joined Glasgow Rangers
shortly after his 17th birthday.

George Adams, who was head of
Celtic’s youth programme, later
told the Daily Mail that Adam was
quite a prospect back then. ‘At 13
or 14, everyone thought he would
go right to the very top,’ Adams
said. ‘Every club in Scotland
wanted him, and a few in
England. Two of those clubs were
Manchester United and Liverpool.
But it came down to a choice
between Rangers and Celtic.’

ADAM HAD GAINED
A REPUTATION
AS A DEAD-BALL
SPECIALIST

Adam didn’t become a regular
in the Rangers team until the
2006/07 season but then he was
an immediate success, scoring
18 times in 74 competitive
matches over two seasons.

This success earned him a new
five-year deal with Rangers in
June 2007, but he failed to add
to his goal tally in nine Scottish
Premier League matches at
the start of the 2008/09 season.

Stuck on the left wing and
overweight, Adam was subsequently
loaned out to Championship
club Blackpool, for whom he was
sent off on his debut! This lapse
in discipline did not deter the
Seasiders from signing him
permanently the following summer.
Adam quickly became a firm fans’
favourite at Blackpool, who were
promoted to the Premier League
at the end of the 2009/10 season.

ADAM soon made an impression
in the top flight and by mid-season
Blackpool looked to be in a
comfortable position in the Premier
League. Liverpool tried to buy
25-year-old Adam in the January
2011 transfer window. According
to manager Ian Holloway the
offer was ‘disgraceful’ for a player
key to Blackpool’s survival.

Nevertheless, the club slid
down the table, with relegation
confirmed on the final day of
the season despite Adam’s
efforts, endeavours that saw him
nominated for the Professional
Footballers’ Association’s Player
of the Year. Blackpool activated
an option to extend his contract
by another year, but six weeks
later he had signed for Liverpool,
despite Tottenham’s last-ditch
effort to steal him.

At Bloomfield Road Adam had
gained a reputation as a dead-ball
specialist: corners, free kicks and
penalty kicks, even scoring direct
from a corner in February 2011.
Yet Sir Alex Ferguson’s claim
that ‘Adam’s corners are worth
£10million alone,’ did not ring
true as he struggled to impress
Liverpool fans, although he did
provide a few assists. He missed
a penalty at Wigan in December
2011 and put another spot kick

into orbit during the shootout
that followed the drawn League
Cup final in February 2012.

Adam played in nearly 70 per cent
of Liverpool’s first-team matches
in 2011/12 but his debut campaign
was ended by lateral knee
ligament damage suffered against
QPR on 21 March 2012.

Maybe Adam was not suited to life
at Liverpool, where he was just a
small fish in a big pond compared
to Blackpool. He left Liverpool for
Stoke City on the last day of the
2012 summer transfer window.

BORN

Dundee, Scotland,
10 December 1985

POSITION

Midfielder

OTHER CLUBS

Rangers (2004–09),
Ross County (loan, 2004–05),
St Mirren (loan, 2005–06),
Blackpool (2009–11),
Stoke City (2012–)

SIGNED FROM

Blackpool, £6.75million,
7 July 2011

INTERNATIONAL CAPS

23 Scotland caps
(6 at LFC), 2007–

LFC DEBUT GAME/GOAL

13 August 2011 /
27 August 2011

CONTRACT EXPIRY

31 August 2012

HONOURS

League Cup 2012

League

FA Cup

League Cup

Europe

Other

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

2011/12
2012/13

27 (1)
0

2
0

1 (1)
0

0
0

3 (2)
0

0
0

-
1 (1)

-
0

-
-

31 (4)
1 (1)

2
0

Total

27 (1)

1 (1)

3 (2)

1 (1)

32 (5)

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Age

Youngest

Oldest

Youngest player
to make debut

Jerome Sinclair
16 years 6 days
26 September 2012

Jack Robinson
16 years 8 months 8 days
9 May 2010

John McFarlane
17 years 1 month 16 days
9 February 1929

Raheem Sterling
17 years 3 months 16 days
24 March 2012

Max Thompson
17 years 4 months 8 days
8 May 1974

Youngest goalscorer

Michael Owen
17 years 4 months 22 days
6 May 1997

Raheem Sterling
17 years 10 months 12 days
20 October 2012

Jimmy Melia
18 years 1 month 16 days
17 December 1955

Jamie Redknapp
18 years 5 months 12 days
7 December 1991

Robbie Fowler
18 years 5 months 13 days
22 September 1993

JAMIE REDKNAPP

LIVERPOOL FC

Oldest player
to make debut

Oldest goalscorer

Ned Doig
37 years 10 months 3 days
1 September 1904

Billy Liddell
38 years 1 month 24 days
5 March 1960

Paul Jones
36 years 8 months 23 days
10 January 2004

Gary McAllister
36 years 9 months 14 days
9 October 2001

Gary McAllister
35 years 7 months 25 days
19 August 2000

Kenny Dalglish
36 years 1 month 14 days
18 April 1987

Phil Bratley
33 years 9 months 7 days
3 October 1914

Ian Callaghan
35 years 11 months 5 days
15 March 1978

Mauricio Pellegrino
33 years 3 months 10 days
15 January 2005

Donald Mackinlay
35 years 7 months 8 days
5 March 1927

Oldest player

Ned Doig
41 years 5 months 13 days

11 April 1908

Ephraim Longworth
40 years 6 months 19 days

21 April 1928

Elisha Scott
40 years 5 months 28 days

21 February 1934

Kenny Dalglish
39 years 1 month 27 days

1 May 1990

Billy Liddell
38 years 7 months 21 days

31 August 1960

Youngest line-up

22.83 years*

Wolves (away)

26 April 1965

22.97 years

Birmingham City (home)

8 May 1963

23.05 years

Everton (home)

21 November 1970

23.07 years

Arsenal (away)

28 November 1970

23.10 years

Mansfield Town (home)

22 September 1970

Oldest line-up

30.82 years

Newcastle United (home)

4 November 1950

30.76 years

West Ham United (home)

5 September 1925

30.74 years

Tottenham Hotspur (away)

13 December 1924

30.72 years

Bolton Wanderers (home)

30 September 1950

30.67 years

Arsenal (home)

3 January 1925

* Bill Shankly lined up a team mostly consisting of reserves as the
FA Cup final against Leeds was just a few days ahead. Of the 11 that played
against Wolves only Geoff Strong featured in the cup final.

In comparison the youngest line-up ever produced by Brendan Rodgers
is 23.21 years against Oldham Athletic (away) in the FA Cup on
27 January 2013. That is the seventh youngest line-up in the history of
the club.

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Agger,
Daniel

BETWEEN 2004 and 2006, when
he joined Liverpool, Daniel
Agger was voted Denmark’s
most promising player. He made
his Brøndby debut on 25 July
2004 in a league match against
OB Odense, having been
on the club’s books since he
was 12 years old.

He got his big break earlier than
expected as Brøndby’s experienced
centre-half, Andreas Jakobsson,
was sold to Southampton. Agger
was voted Brøndby’s man of the
match three games in a row
following his emergence and was
established in the first team aged
just 19, never looking out of
place. He earned his big move to

Liverpool after just 49 first-team
games for Brøndby. Rafa Benítez
was so confident about his abilities
that he declared: ‘He will be a
Liverpool centre-back for the next
ten years.’

AGGER fitted straight into the
Liverpool team and it was a
testament to his abilities that the
great Sami Hyypia was forced to
make way, for a while at least.
The Danish defender scored the
best goal of Liverpool’s 2006/07
season with a fantastic shot from
outside the penalty area against
West Ham in front of the Kop in
only his second league game.
His stylish play earned him rave
reviews and he showed his strong
character against Chelsea in the
Champions League semi-final
at Anfield. He had difficulty in

containing Didier Drogba in
the first leg at Stamford Bridge,
but was man of the match in
the second leg at Anfield,
scoring Liverpool’s goal as well.
An injury to Agger’s metatarsal
in September 2007 wrecked the
2007/08 season as he underwent
an operation that kept him out
until the start of the 2008/09
season. The emergence of Martin
Skrtel kept Agger on the bench
until middle of October 2008
when the Slovakian injured his
knee. The Dane was clearly not in
his best form, but managed to get
a good run in the side until Skrtel
was fit again at the end of January.
Agger seemed to be regaining his
old form at the end of the season,
but a recurrence of a back injury
kept him on the sidelines for the
first two months of 2009/10.

Agger figured in 23 league and 13
cup matches during the 2009/10
season, sometimes at left-back,
but most often in his more familiar
position of centre-back. He
reached his century of Liverpool
matches when picked for the
home leg with Unirea Urziceni
on 25 February 2010.

THE DANISH
DEFENDER SCORED
THE BEST GOAL OF
LIVERPOOL’S 2006/07
SEASON WITH
A FANTASTIC SHOT
FROM OUTSIDE THE
PENALTY AREA

DID

YOU

KNOW

LIVERPOOL’S
GREAT DANE IS A
TATTOO ARTIST AND HAS
THE LATIN PROVERB:

‘MORS CERTA
HORA INCERTA’

INKED ON HIS BACK
IT MEANS:

‘DEATH IS CERTAIN
BUT ITS
HOUR IS NOT’

League

FA Cup

League Cup

Europe

Other

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13

4
23 (4)
4 (1)
15 (3)
23
12 (4)
24 (3)
35

0
2
0
1
0
0
1
3
7

0
1
0
1
1
1
3
0
7

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1

0
2
0
2
0
1
4
0
9

0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2

0
12
1
5
12
3
-
4

0
1
0
0
1
0
-
0
2

0
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
1

0
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
0

4
39 (4)
5 (1)
23 (3)
36
17 (4)
31 (3)
39

0
4
0
2
1
0
2
3

Total

140(15)

194(15)

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

THE LIVERPOOL ECHO’S
Dominic King celebrated the
Dane’s milestone. ‘Agger is one of
those players to whom everything
about the game comes easy, a
terrific, natural talent whom it is a
privilege to watch in close quarters,
as he has skills that many
attacking players don’t possess.’

Denmark’s talisman in the 1980s
and 90s, Michael Laudrup, was
equally complimentary in an
interview with Liverpool’s official
website in July 2011: ‘Ask any
player in the world, even the
greats – you can’t hit top form
if you have niggling injuries…
If he can stay fit then I think he
can definitely be one of the best
central defenders in the game.’
Agger played in Denmark’s three
matches in the 2010 World Cup
but unfortunately the Danes
could not get past the group
stage, finishing third behind the
Netherlands and Japan.

‘Will we ever see a fully fit Daniel
Agger for the whole of a season?’
has been the perennial question
regarding his Reds’ career. He
was concussed in the first Premier
League match of the 2010/11
season against Arsenal and also
had other injuries that kept him
out of contention in the first half
of the campaign. Roy Hodgson
preferred Martin Skrtel to Agger
but the Dane’s fortunes were
revived when Kenny Dalglish took
over. Unfortunately, his injury
jinx struck again when he was
forced to leave the field at West
Bromwich Albion early in March.
That was Agger’s final appearance
of a very disruptive season.

Not suffering from injury as
much as in some previous
seasons, Denmark’s captain was
able to play in two-thirds of
Liverpool’s first-team matches
in 2011/12, forming a great
partnership with Skrtel. Agger’s
silky skills and forward movement
fitted nicely with the Slovakian’s
steely determination.

Agger should have by now played
around 300-plus games for
Liverpool. There is no question
about his ability as he is generally
considered the best defender in
the squad, but the fact remains
that his numerous injuries have
curtailed his progress. There
was much speculation about his
Liverpool future at the start of the
2012/13 season, but he signed
a new long-term contract with
the club on 5 October 2012. In
November 2012 Agger was voted
the Danish Footballer of the Year
for the second time in his career,

an achievement he first earned in
2007. Agger lacked consistency
in 2012/13 compared to the
previous season, not helped by
Skrtel’s big loss in form. The
Dane looked way more assured
once Jamie Carragher slotted in
by his side from end of January
and Liverpool kept five clean
sheets in their last eight games of
the season, which was testament
to the team’s recovered resolve
in the centre of defence. Agger
enjoyed his best season since
joining the Reds in terms of
league appearances, having
featured in a total of 35. He had
only missed one league game
when he was forced to sit out the
last two of the campaign as he
underwent proactive injections to
enhance the stability of his back.

Aitken,
Andrew

GOALKEEPER Andrew Aitken
made his one and only Liverpool
appearance in a 3-3 draw
away to Blackburn Rovers on
27 December 1930.

Arthur Riley was Liverpool’s
number one at the time and
Aitken had virtually no chance
of establishing himself as the
legendary Elisha Scott was Riley’s
understudy. Aitken’s Anfield
career was cut short when he
broke his leg in a 6-1 loss
against Stockport County’s
reserves on 4 April 1931.

He returned to amateur football
after he left Liverpool, but got
back into the league scene with
Hartlepools United of the Third
Division North.

AITKEN’S ANFIELD
CAREER WAS CUT
SHORT WHEN HE
BROKE HIS LEG IN A
6-1 LOSS AGAINST
STOCKPORT COUNTY

BORN

Hvidovre, Denmark,
12 December 1984

POSITION

Centre-half / Left-back

OTHER CLUBS

Brøndby (1996–2006)

SIGNED FROM

Brøndby, £5.8million,
12 January 2006

INTERNATIONAL CAPS

56 Denmark caps (7 goals)
(52 (5) at LFC), 2005–

LFC DEBUT GAME/GOAL

1 February 2006 /
26 August 2006

HONOURS

League Cup 2012

BORN

Newcastle upon Tyne,
25 August 1909

DIED

October 1984

POSITION

Goalkeeper

OTHER CLUBS

Wallsend (1927–30),
Mickley, Newburn Athletic,
Hartlepools United (1936)

SIGNED FROM

Wallsend, 15 March 1930

LFC DEBUT

27 December 1930

CONTRACT EXPIRY

April 1931

League

FA Cup

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

1930/31

Total

1
1

0
0

1
1

0
0

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Aldridge, John

ONCE UPON A TIME Liverpool had the luxury of dropping 30-goals
-a-season strikers. John ‘Aldo’ Aldridge was a true goalscoring wizard
and it didn’t matter where he was playing, the goals kept coming.
He was an exceptional header of the ball and a master of link-up play.
He would receive the ball with his back to the opposition, feed it into
the right channels and make his way to the box, where he was deadly.

ALDRIDGE was a fervent
Liverpool fan from a very early
age and must have thought his
chance of playing for his boyhood
heroes had passed him by when
he plied his trade with Oxford
United. But the imminent
departure of Ian Rush to Juventus
meant that Kenny Dalglish needed
to strengthen his attacking force
and Aldridge needed no second
invitation when he finally made
his ‘dream move’ to Anfield early
in 1987 at the age of 28. Aldridge
had already scored 15 goals in
25 matches that season for Oxford
but after joining Liverpool he
only added two goals to his total
for that campaign. This was
perhaps not surprising as he came
on as substitute in all but two of
his 10 appearances for the Reds
in 1986/87. Dalglish did not seem
too keen on using him but told
Aldridge not to worry, his time

JOHN
‘ALDO’ ALDRIDGE
WAS A TRUE
GOALSCORING
WIZARD

would come when Rush had
left and other players, who
complemented him better, had
arrived. A few months later, John
Barnes and Peter Beardsley joined
Liverpool. Aldridge took over the

responsibility of leading the attack
with devastating effect, scoring
in each of the first nine league
matches in the 1987/88 season.
Having also scored in the final
league game of the previous
season it set a club record of
scoring in 10 consecutive league
matches, one that still stands.
Rush was in no doubt after
watching his successor in action
in October 1987 that he was the
right man for the job. ‘I always
felt that John was the main man
to take over from me,’ Rush told
the press following Liverpool’s
4-0 annihilation of QPR. ‘He is
scoring goals at a faster rate than
I ever did, and Liverpool look
a better side than they did last
year. There are not many strikers
around like John, and by playing
with wingers they have so many
more options this season.’

Normally so reliable from 12
yards, Aldridge became the first
player to miss a penalty in an
FA Cup final at Wembley when
Liverpool were denied a League
and FA Cup double by Wimbledon
in 1988.

ALDRIDGE got the surprise of his
life when Rush returned to Anfield
after only one season at Juventus,
forcing Dalglish to accommodate
both of them in the same team.
He rose to the challenge, scoring
31 goals during the 1988/89
season, and made amends for his
penalty miss when he scored with
his first touch against Everton
in the 1989 FA Cup final, adding
an FA Cup winners’ medal to his
trophy cabinet as Liverpool beat
their neighbours 3-2 after extra
time. He thereby completed his
domestic set of honours, having

already won the League Cup
as an Oxford player in 1986.
Rush had scored the other two
goals in the FA Cup final against
Everton and when he had finally
reached full fitness at the start
of the 1989/90 season it became
apparent that Kenny would prefer
his old striking partner to Aldridge.

With a move to Real Sociedad
looming he was allowed to come
off the bench when a penalty was
awarded in the 9-0 win of Crystal
Palace on 12 September 1989.
Peter Beardsley graciously made
way for Aldridge, who tucked
the spot kick away with typical
efficiency and threw his shirt and
boots into the Kop at the end of
an emotional farewell appearance.

BORN

Garston, Liverpool,
18 September 1958

POSITION

Centre-forward

OTHER CLUBS

South Liverpool,
Newport County (1979–84),
Oxford United (1984–87),
Real Sociedad (1989–91),
Tranmere Rovers (1991–98)

SIGNED FROM

Oxford United, £750,000,
27 January 1987

INTERNATIONAL CAPS

69 Ireland caps (19 goals)
(19 (1) at LFC), 1986–96

LFC DEBUT GAME/GOAL

21 February 1987 /
28 February 1987

CONTRACT EXPIRY

13 September 1989

HONOURS

League Championship
1987/88;
FA Cup 1989;
First Division Top-Scorer
1987/88

League

FA Cup

League Cup

Europe

Other

Total

Season

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

App

Goals

1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90

2 (8)
36
31 (4)
0 (2)

2
26
21
1
50

0
6
6
0
12

0
2
6
0
8

0
3
4 (1)
0

0
1
2
0
3

-
-
-
-
0

0
-
1
0
1

0
-
2
0
2

2 (8)
45
42 (5)
0 (2)

2
29
31
1

Total

69 (14)

7(1)

89 (15)

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE

THE LIVERPOOL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Allan,
George

GEORGE ‘DOD’ ALLAN, who
was described as ‘a model centre;
of fine physique, great speed and
no fear’, was Liverpool’s first

great goalscorer in the Football
League and the club’s first player
to be capped for Scotland, on
3 April 1897.

Dundee native Peter D. Allan, said
to be by Scottish Sport, ‘the best
known poacher of Scottish
footballers for English clubs,’
alerted Liverpool to George’s
capabilities. Allan was playing for
Leith Athletic when Liverpool sent
their scouts to watch him. Burnley
had, in fact, already registered him
as a player in the English Football
League but took Liverpool’s offer
of £2 to tear up the contract as
according to the famous scout,
‘Unfortunately for Burnley, they
had seen Allan at his worst.’

Allan’s transfer to Liverpool was
made under controversial
circumstances as he had signed a
contract with St Bernard’s in
Edinburgh as well. He was reported
to the Scottish Football Association
and on 14 October 1895 was
suspended until 30 November,
after which he was considered a
bona fide Liverpool player.

Allan burst on to the scene in the
1895/96 season with a staggering
25 goals from only 20 league
matches as the club won the
Second Division, and would have
no doubt netted more if not
for his eight-game suspension.
He was Liverpool’s top scorer
the following season with 17 goals
from 34 games as Liverpool
finished fifth in the First Division.

The Football League President J.J. Bentley was an admirer, writing in the
Edinburgh Evening News in January 1897: ‘In Liverpool they have one
of the best centre forwards in the country. I may be mistaken, but I fancy
Allan has to thank the tuition of James Ross for his advancement, for when
I first saw him he was energetic, but decidedly clumsy. He is strongly built,
and can stand the charge of the heaviest back with equanimity, whilst he
passes most judiciously. Our Scottish friends might do worse than keep
their selection optics on this young man.’ Allan moved to Celtic in May
1897, where he helped the club to its fourth championship by scoring
15 goals in 17 league games. Liverpool still held his Football League
registration, but quite happily paid £50 to get him back. The club wanted
him to play the last match of the 1897/98 season; a friendly against
league champions Sheffield United. Unfortunately his clearance did
not come through in time so Allan was instead linesman in the match.
In the press afterwards it was said he was the most expensive and best
paid linesman ever. Liverpool finished second in the First Division in
the following season with Allan scoring 11 goals in 36 games.

ALLAN had played seven games in his second spell at Liverpool when he
was involved in a colourful incident with Sheffield United’s goalkeeper,
William ‘Fatty’ Foulke, that gained legendary status. Foulke was over
20 stone (125kg) and very difficult (to say the least!) to charge off the
ball or into the goal – as was permitted in those days. The scene is set for
29 October 1898 when Liverpool and then League champions Sheffield
United were playing at Anfield. Unlike his contemporaries, 5ft 10in and
13st 6lb (173cm and 86kg) Allan was not afraid of ‘Fatty’ and it was
reported that ‘Allan charged Foulke in the goalmouth, and the big man,
losing his temper, seized him by the leg and turned him upside down’.
The referee wasn’t too keen on Foulke’s reaction and awarded Liverpool
a penalty, from which Andy McCowie scored. Liverpool won the
game 2-1, with none other than Allan scoring the other goal for Liverpool.
After he retired from football Foulke gave a different version of this
incident when he was interviewed by the London Evening News.

You may have heard that there was a very great rivalry between
the old Liverpool centre forward Allan and myself, that prior to
one match we breathed fire and slaughter at each other, that at last

he made a rush at me as I was saving a shot, and that I dropped
the ball, caught him by the middle, turned him clean over in a
twinkling, and stood him on his head, giving him such a shock
that he never played again. Well, the story is one which might be
described as a ‘bit of each’. In reality, Allan and I were quite good
friends off the field... What actually happened on the occasion

referred to was that Allan (a big strong chap, mind you) once bore
down on me with all his weight when I was saving. I bent forward
to protect myself, and Allan, striking my shoulder, flew right over

me and fell heavily. He had a shaking up, I admit, but quite the
worst thing about the whole business was that the referee gave a
penalty against us and it cost Sheffield United the match.’

Prior to the 1899/1900 season it
was reported that Allan was too ill
for training. In September 1899
manager Tom Watson admitted
full of sorrow: ‘Diseased lungs are
not cured in a day. Allan’s absence
is now beginning to be felt, and
we are able to estimate him at his
worth. Poor old George!’ Allan
died of tuberculosis in Earlsbury,
Fife, when he was only 24 years
old on 17 October 1899.

BORN

Linlithgow Bridge,
Scotland, 23 April 1875

DIED

17 October 1899

POSITION

Centre-forward

OTHER CLUBS

Vale of Avon,
Linlithgow Athletic,
Broxburn Shamrock (1891–93),