Player profile
Kenny Dalglish
| Birthdate: 04.03.1951 Birthplace: Glasgow Scotland Other clubs: Celtic, Cumbernauld United (loan) Bought from: Celtic Signed for LFC: 440000 10.08.1977 International debut: 10.11.1971 vs. Belgium International caps: 102/30 (55/14 at LFC) – 12.11.1986 |
Liverpool debut: 13.08.1977 Last appearance: 01.05.1990 Debut goal: 20.08.1977 Last goal: 18.04.1987 Contract expiry: 1990 LFC league games/goals: 355 / 118 Total LFC games/goals: 515 / 172 |
Player profile
Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish was born in Dalmarnock in the east of Glasgow only a short distance from Celtic’s Parkhead. But the family lived there only briefly and moved to an apartment house in Milton, which had a good view over the Rangers training ground. Dalglish’s supreme football talent was soon obvious in the YMCA boys team he played in. He was picked for the Scottish u-15 national team and played his first game against Northern Ireland and sealed the win with two goals.
Dalglish was only 15-years-old when he played his first game in a Liverpool shirt. He was given a week-long trial at Liverpool and played one game with the B-team against Southport in a 1-0 win on 20 August 1966. Dalglish returned back home and Shankly contacted Celtic manager, Jock Stein, regularly but he didn’t want to sell him. Shankly always regretted that Liverpool didn’t buy Dalglish when he was handed to them on a silver platter.
Despite Dalglish’s interest in joining his favourite team, Rangers, he accepted Celtic’s offer in July 1967. Celtic had just become the first British team to win the European Cup and were widely known as the Lisbon Lions. Dalglish went on loan to Cumbernauld United which was one of the teams Celtic used to mould their players. Dalglish scored four goals in his first game and had scored 37 goals by the end of the season. Dalglish wanted to turn professional right away, but Stein wanted him to play another season with Cumbernauld. The kid held his ground and after asking his father to talk to Stein the boss gave in. Despite being surrounded with stars of Celtic, Bobby Lennox said Dalglish had such class that he immediately fitted in with the rest of the squad.
Dalglish played his first senior game for Celtic on 25 September 1968 when he was a second-half substitute in a 4-2 win over Hamilton Academicals in the quarter-finals of the cup. He played with the reserves for the whole of 1968/69 but only managed four goals in 17 games. He was moved into midfield the next season and his performances improved. Stein put him in the first team against Raith Rovers on 4 October 1969 and Dalglish was a bit nervous as he recollects: “Bobby Murdoch sat down next to me while I was getting ready. he asked me whether I was nervous. ‘No’, I said, ‘I am all right, Bobby, Thanks’. ‘Well’, he replied, ‘you are putting your boots on the wrong feet.’ I looked down and it was true. I had been tugging my right boot on my left foot. I sorted myself out and we won 7-1.” Despite seven goals Dalglish didn’t get on the scoresheet and neither in the next three games he started in. The reserves on the other hand benefited from his goalscoring talent from midfield as he helped them to the league and cup double. Celtic’s reserve side at the time was dominant and known as the “Quality Street Gang” (“after the chocolates,” Dalglish explained.) He scored 19 goals in 31 games, not bad for a midfielder.
Dalglish started the next season the same way his last ended and scored 23 goals when Celtic reserves crushed all of their opponents scoring a total of 108 goals in 34 games. By the end of the of the season he scored four goals against the archrivals Rangers in the reserves league but the highlight of the season came when the two Glasgow teams met in the reserve cup final four days later. Dalglish scored one goal in the 4-1 win in the first leg but in the second leg he showed no mercy and scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win. Stein couldn’t be anything but impressed and picked him for the first team in a beneficiary game against Kilmarnock. Celtic won 7-2 and Dalglish scored six goals. It was obvious the boy had turned into a man.
Dalglish started the 1971/72 season by playing against Rangers in the League Cup on 14 August 1971. In the seventieth minute Celtic got a penalty. The ball was thrown to Dalglish and the kid calmly walked to the spot, strolled back … and started the run-up but stopped midway there and tied his shoelaces, went back … and started the run-up again and scored into the opposite corner to the goalkeeper. The press was overwhelmed the next day: “He was so calm. It was like he was playing a practice match.” Dalglish had scored his first goal for Celtic and what a venue to do it on, at Ibrox, the ground he had once dreamed of playing regularly in Rangers’ colours. Dalglish was though greatly disappointed when he played 90 minutes for Celtic which lost 4-1 to Partick Thistle in the League Cup final on 23 October. Nobody gave Thistle a chance against mighty Celtic, but Thistle were 4-0 up after 36 minutes in front of 62,000 fans at Hampden Park. Dalglish scored Celtic’s consolation goal. Further disappointment was to come when Inter Milan knocked out Celtic in the European Cup semi-final after a penalty kick shoot-out.
But Celtic continued their domestic dominance by winning their seventh consecutive League title as well as beating Hibernian 6-1 in the Scottish Cup final. Dalglish scored 23 goals in 49 games and one of the major newspapers in Scotland voted Dalglish “Player of the season”. He played his first senior game for the national team on 10 November 1971 in a 1-0 win over Belgium in a European championship qualifier.
Dalglish was a hero to the Celtic fans but he kept a low profile off the pitch. He occasionally went out on the town but preferred the company of his girlfriend, Marina, to his teammates. He still lived with his parents and didn’t own a sports car. He did though make an album with one of his Scotland teammates, Sandy Jardine. Songs from the album didn’t reach the top ten, but it did sell, even though they were kindly asked not the make another album! Dalglish’s success on the pitch didn’t lessen. Celtic won the title again and Dalglish had his best ever season at Celtic in terms of goalscoring as he scored no less 41 goals in 53 games!
The 1973/74 season was the beginning of Celtic’s problems. The players’ salaries were low and they were getting restless because they had some great offers from English teams. Despite the team being unsettled, Celtic won the title again and the Scottish Cup. Celtic also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, but lost to Atletico Madrid in an ill-tempered duel. Three Atletico players were sent off in the goalless first leg at Parkhead which Dalglish described as “without doubt the worst game I have ever played in as far as violence is concerned.” Celtic lost 2-0 to Atletico in Madrid where ugly pre-game threats had tarnished the game. In the 1974/75 season Rangers ended Celtic’s dominance in the League. Dalglish had been moved back to midfield orchestrating Celtic’s play. Scottish Sunday Express predicted that he would soon “become a midfield mastermind in the Cruyff mould, dictating play, making matches run to his pattern.” 24-year-old Dalglish was made captain before the 1975/76 season, but the situation at Celtic got progressively worse when their manager, Jock Stein, got seriously injured in a car accident and had to rest through the season. The title was lost again, but Dalglish was voted the Player of the Year in Scotland by the Players’ Association.
Dalglish was becoming restless at Celtic but agreed to stay a bit longer, but the 1976/77 season was to be his last with Celtic. Jock Stein came back to management and Celtic retrieved the title and won the cup as well. Dalglish’s team-mates weren’t surprised that he wanted to test pastures new. He had been the driving force of the team for the last three years and if he wanted to evolve as a player he had to leave Celtic. In his Celtic career Dalglish played 322 games and scored 167 goals. He won four League titles, four Scottish Cups, a League Cup and earned 47 Scotland caps. His next club would be either Manchester United or Liverpool.
Liverpool had just won the European Cup with a 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach but now they needed somebody to replace Kevin Keegan, who was leaving for Hamburg SV. Manchester United offered Dalglish more money but he preferred Liverpool. Paisley had contacted Jock Stein a year earlier when he heard that Dalglish wanted to go but Stein had said that he was going nowhere. Stein added that Paisley would be the first he would contact if he couldn’t talk Dalglish out of leaving Celtic. Stein kept his promise even though he was disappointed to be losing a player of this calibre. Liverpool and Celtic sat down to discuss the deal. Liverpool initially offered £300,000 but were ready to add 10% until they reached £400,000. That was to be their final offer. In the end Liverpool’s offer had reached £400,000 after Stein had refused both £330,000 and £360,000. Stein still refused, but added that if Liverpool were to offer 10% more they would reach an agreement. Smith looked at Paisley and that was all he needed to do, Smith nodded his head and Liverpool agreed on £440,000 which was then the record transfer fee between two British clubs. There was no doubt in Dalglish’s mind. Liverpool was the best team in Europe and Anfield was where he wanted to be: “Bob told John Smith he wanted me. Liverpool had such a simple way of handling transfers,” Kenny said. “Old Bob would just pick the players he wanted to bring to Anfield and John Smith and Peter Robinson would sort out the deals. They were brilliant at deals. So I walked into the boardroom to meet my next employers. Bob was there as well because new players like to talk to the person who is going to be looking after them. They informed me that the two clubs had agreed a fee. We talked for a couple of minutes. After two years of wanting a move, it was all happening in minutes.”
Bill Shankly couldn’t believe his ears when he heard that Celtic had allowed Dalglish to leave. “I understand that like Kevin Keegan, Dalglish wants to get on but I would have moved heaven and earth to keep him. I would rather have quit and got out of the game altogether than sold a player of his brilliance.” Only two days later, on 13 August 1977, Dalglish played his first game for the Reds against Manchester United in the Charity Shield which finished in a goalless draw. The Liverpool fans were excited, but kept in mind that many good players had come from Scotland but hadn’t succeeded south of the border where the league is tougher. Dalglish’s teammates were not bad: Ray Clemence was the ‘keeper, Phil Neal and Joey Jones full-backs, Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes central defenders, in front of them Ian Callaghan and Terry McDermott, Ray Kennedy and Steve Heighway on the wings and up front David Johnson and David Fairclough. Promising defender Alan Hansen waited for his chance in the first team. Dalglish’s League debut was away against Middlesbrough and he had to play against a young Scot named Souness in the Boro midfield. It was so described by Liverpool Echo: “The first goal of the game came appropriately enough from the £440,000 feet of Kenny Dalglish, what a start for Liverpool’s record buy. It stemmed from a lovely down the middle move as Case controlled the ball just inside the Boro half, flicked it through to McDermott who turned into the path of Dalglish. Boro looked for an offside decision which wasn’t there and Dalglish strode smoothly on to beat Platt comfortably as the goalkeeper came out. It was a perfectly finished shot to a fine move and the Liverpool players enveloped Dalglish in their congratulations for his opener.”
Three days later Dalglish made his home debut as he remembers vividly: “My Anfield debut came against Newcastle, who counted Tommy Craig, amongst their number. I had grown up with Wee Tam, playing Glasgow Schools, Scottish Schools and Scottish Youth with him. Before kick-off, I found Tam looking up at the sign that declares “This Is Anfield.” ‘How are you?’, he asked. ‘I’m all right, I think’, I told Tam, ‘but you see that sign there? It’s supposed to frighten the opposition. I’m terrified by it and it’s my home ground.’ Fortunately the game worked out well. Just after half-time, Ray Kennedy started wandering off down the inside left. I raced towards the box. Ray’s pass came in and I clipped the ball past Newcastle’s keeper, Steve Hardwick, as he came out. The goal was at the Kop end and I nearly finished up in amongst them. Their appreciation was magnificent. It really touched me. That was the start of the relationship between the Kop and me. It was a special relationship, hard to articulate how strong the bond was. We would share great success in England and Europe.” The Liverpool fans had found a new hero to adore.
Dalglish scored in his third and fourth consecutive game and seven wins from 11 in the League meant Liverpool were second after 12 rounds two points behind Nottingham Forest. Liverpool lost three League games in a row and their inconsistency killed any hope of winning the title. Paisley had strengthened in January by buying Graeme Souness which fitted nicely into the team and while the Reds were not in ideal form domestically they were clearly determined to defend their European title. In the semi-finals they came up against their opponents from last year’s final, Borussia Mönchengladbach. Liverpool lost 2-1 in Germany but Dalglish was the architect of a 3-0 win at Anfield.
In the final Liverpool played FC Bruges from Belgium that had beaten Juventus in the semi-finals. The only goal in the final came after 65 minutes. Souness sent the ball through the Bruges defence and Dalglish finished it brilliantly. The recipe to Kenny’s goal was quite simple according to the man himself: “I noticed a habit of the Bruges goalkeeper, Jensen, that proved to be his undoing. Each of the two times Terry Mac ran through and shot low, Jensen dropped down to block the ball. So when Graeme Souness played me in, Jensen came out as he had for Terry and I knew he was going to go down early. I dummied to play it, Jensen fell for it, allowing me the opening to lift the ball over the top of him. As the ball fell sweetly into the net, I continued my run, leaping the hoardings to go and salute the Liverpool supporters who seemed to have taken over Wembley.”
Liverpool had won the European Cup for the second consecutive year. Dalglish could be pleased with his first season at Anfield: 31 goals in 62 matches, League and League Cup runner-up and a European champion.
Liverpool started the 1978/79 season by scoring 35 goals and conceding only four in ten wins out of eleven League games. Dalglish had scored ten including a brace when Liverpool beat Tottenham 7-0 at Anfield which is still today considered one of the greatest games in the club’s history. But, only two weeks later they lost 2-0 to the English champions, Nottingham Forest, in the first round of the European Cup followed by a goalless draw in the second leg at Anfield. An early exit for the double European champions. This shock didn’t knock Liverpool out of their stride and from Christmas they only lost two games for the rest of the campaign; against Manchester United in a FA Cup semi-final replay and Aston Villa in the League. Liverpool gained a record total of 68 points (two points for a win) and only conceded 16 goals, which was also a League record. Liverpool won 19, drew two and lost none at Anfield. Ray Clemence kept 17 clean sheets and conceded only four goals at home while his teammates scored 54! Liverpool won the title with eight more points than the runners-up, Nottingham Forest. Dalglish scored 21 League goals and combined well with David Johnson, who scored 16 League goals.
Bob Paisley was impressed by Dalglish and once more his judgement of players hadn’t failed him: “I’d seen Kenny playing for Scotland, watched him on television, and the more I saw of him the more I became convinced that he was what I called a Liverpool-type player. It was his attitude to the game. He wasn’t flashy. He did the simple things and he was consistent too. He was rarely out through injury either. His timing was immaculate and his head ruled his feet.”
Dalglish had scored 56 goals in 116 games in his first two seasons at Liverpool and his contribution had won over the media which voted him Player of the Year in 1979.
Liverpool hadn’t failed to score in the League at home the whole of the 1978/79 season but did so their first game of the 1979/80 season against Bolton. Liverpool dropped out of the European Cup in the first round as the season before, this time against Dinamo Tbilisi. Until then Liverpool had failed to gain any momentum, but remained unbeaten from 6 October until 19 January. Liverpool and United were neck and neck for the rest of the season until Liverpool clinched their second consecutive title with a 4-1 win at Aston Villa in the penultimate game of the season. This time Dalglish scored 16 League goals compared to Johnson’s 21.
Liverpool only managed fifth in the 1980/81 season, their worst placing for ten years. Johnson and Dalglish weren’t producing goals. Remarkably Dalglish had played 180 games in a row since joining Liverpool in August 1977 until he was out injured against Bradford City in the League Cup on 27 August 1980. Dalglish was struggling and went 16 games without a League goal from late November to the end of the season.
Liverpool did on the other hand reach the final in the League Cup and the European Cup. Dalglish netted the first of two in the replayed final against West Ham. Dalglish started the European Cup final against Real Madrid even though he had been out injured since the second leg of the semi-final against Bayern in Munich. He played a little deeper in the second half, seeking to draw defenders so that maximum use could be made of McDermott’s long runs deep into Real’s defence. Alan Kennedy’s goal secured Dalglish another European Cup.
Dalglish failed to score in the first nine League games of the season but finally ended an 11 months’ draught in the League against Brighton on 17 October 1981. Dalglish ended up with 13 goals in 42 matches, being ever-present in the League for the fourth time in five seasons. His new strike-partner, Ian Rush, scored 17 goals in 32 League matches as Liverpool recaptured the Championship. Dalglish was the architect of Liverpool’s League win in 1982/83. He scored 18 goals in the League and Rushie benefited from playing upfront with him since many of his 24 goals came after a brilliant pass from the Scot. Dalglish was voted Player of the Year by both the press and players.
Bob Paisley quit at the end of the 1982/83 season leaving Joe Fagan in charge. Dalglish reached a milestone in his Liverpool career on 26 November 1983 when he scored his 100th League goal for the club with a fantastic shot in the top corner against Ipswich. He was the first player to score 100 League goals both north and south of the border with only two clubs. 1984 didn’t start too well for Dalglish when Kevin Moran broke his cheekbone with a support brace on his wrist in a game against Manchester United on 2 January. Souness said Dalglish looked like the Elephant man after the clash.
Dalglish describes Joe Fagan’s and his teammates’ hospital visit: “When they walked in the door all their faces fell. When Mark Lawrenson saw my face he had to be taken to a side-room for a cup of tea. It didn’t bother me my face was a mess. When Joe came in with the players he obviously got a fright as well. ‘There’s the papers, he said, I’ll leave them there. I can’t stay, thanks, bye’.”
Dalglish missed 14 games, but made his recovery in time for the quarter-finals of the European Cup against Benfica on 7 March. The last weekend in March proved to be a big one for Dalglish. The 33-year-old was pleasantly surprised to be offered a four-year contract and was included the Team of the Year along with four of his teammates and played at Wembley. Liverpool and Everton drew 0-0 after extra-time in the League Cup final and won the replay.
The enigmatic Scot was busy smashing European records. Dalglish surpassed Denis Law’s scoring record when he scored his 15th goal in the European Cup against Odense Boldklub in the second leg of the first round. He had now played more games, 54 in total, and scored more goals in Europe’s premier competition than any other British player. Dalglish played in his third European Cup final, this time against Roma at their own turf. The game went into a penalty shoot-out, but Dalglish had by then been substituted since he couldn’t quite cope with the heat in Italy and was carrying a slight injury. Alan Kennedy was the hero like three years before and scored the decisive penalty. Dalglish had won his third consecutive League title, fourth consecutive League Cup and the European Cup for the third time in seven years.
In 1984/85 Dalglish was dropped for the first time in his Liverpool career when Liverpool faced Tottenham in a live televised match on 12 October. Liverpool lost 1-0 and Fagan admitted it had been his most stupid decision as manager and put him straight back in the team! Dalglish missed more games after receiving a three-match ban for being sent off for the first time in his career against Benfica in Lisbon on 7 November. A week later he scored his 30th and final goal for Scotland in a game against Spain, equalling Denis Law’s record. A great honour was bestowed upon him in the 1985 New Year Honours List when he was awarded an MBE for services to football.
Dalglish’s life was about to change dramatically. The week before the European final against Juventus at the Heysel stadium he received a phone call from Peter Robinson, Liverpool’s Chief Executive, who asked if he and Chairman John Smith could pay him a visit. ‘Yes, no problem,’ was Dalglish’s reply. Dalglish describes the rest of the conversation in his autobiography: “I thought the conversation was going to finish then but Peter added: ‘Don’t you want to know what we want to see you for?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘if you want to tell me.’ ‘Well, we’d like to offer you the manager’s job.’ ‘That’s no problem, Peter, you can still come to the house.'”
Dalglish accepted the offer on the condition that Bob Paisley would be by his side for the first two years. The announcement was going to be made after the final against Juventus. The press however heard about it and on the morning of the final the back pages were covered with headlines saying Fagan was quitting and Dalglish would replace him. The Liverpool team returned to England in the middle of a media frenzy after 39 people died at the Heysel stadium. Liverpool held a press conference later that day presenting Dalglish as the new boss in the worst circumstances imaginable. Smith told the gathering: “Kenny is entering the managerial side for the first time and we have every reason to believe he will have a successful period in office. We feel we have a man of great ability on the field who has got an old head on young shoulders.”
One of the most successful teams in Europe was banned from taking part in European Cup for an undisclosed period and had lost the League title to neighbours Everton. Many questioned Liverpool’s decision to make Dalglish the first player-manager in the English First Division. One of his closest friends, Graeme Souness, had said in an interview with Scottish journalist Gerry McNee the year before, that he had a feeling that the next manager of Liverpool would be Kenny Dalglish: “People are a bit frightened of him. He growls at them, he makes them jump.” Dalglish was modest in face of this huge undertaking: “You can only do your best.” Then he added something prophetic: “I would be the first to realise if I wasn’t good enough and then I would confront it.”
When Dalglish looked around the manager’s office, his secretary, Sheila, who worked for all Liverpool managers from Paisley to Benítez, asked him if he wanted a new desk. Kenny describes the scene in his autobiography: “I looked around my new office and replied; ‘This was Bob’s desk, this was Joe’s chair. Why would I need new ones?’ ‘We are getting new office furniture.’ ‘Is it expensive?’ ‘Oh, yes,’ Sheila replied, ‘it’s quite a few quid.’ I said: ‘Just put a bar in, Sheila.’ So they installed a full-length bar, made of wood and formica.
Liverpool beat Arsenal comfortably 2-0 on the opening day of the 1985/86 season. Grobbelaar was in goal, Neal and Kennedy full-backs, Hansen and Lawrenson in the centre of the defence, Nicol, Whelan, Mølby and Beglin in midfield with Dalglish in front of them and Rush upfront. Dalglish took over a successful team but in the first part of the season he had to replace the victorious full-backs of the Paisley era; Neal and Kennedy, with Steve Nicol and Jim Beglin. Jan Mølby made 20 starts in his debut 1984/85 season when Liverpool struggled to replace Souness and Dalglish made him his playmaker. Dalglish signed midfield enforcer Steve McMahon from Aston Villa for £350,000 in September. Dalglish let Johnston and later Walsh to have a go in his own place. But despite a good run the team was nine points behind Manchester United that had won all their ten games, at the end of October. Liverpool had a good spell from the end of October to the end of November and managed to reduce the gap to two points. But a bad December and a bad February when the team drew three times and lost four games kept them away from the top. The media and the fans missed Dalglish and believed Liverpool would be better with him in the team at the age of 35. Champions Everton leapfrogged United to a five-point lead. A 2-0 derby loss to Everton turned out to be the turning point and Liverpool won 5 out of 6 games in March and when Steve McMahon scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Manchester City on 31 March the Reds were finally in the desired top position and with Dalglish back in the team conceded one goal and scored 24 in nine games. On the final day when they played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge Liverpool had 85 points versus Everton’s 83. After 23 minutes the game came to a conclusion, Beglin with a great pass to none other than Kenny Dalglish who controlled the ball and scored a great goal into the far corner. “Ah, it could easily have gone in the enclosure,” said Dalglish later, trying to decry the goal and his own part in the championship.
But the season wasn’t over, the big question was if Liverpool could do the same as Arsenal and become the second team that century to win both the League and the Cup in the same season. Their archrivals, Everton, wanted revenge but they couldn’t cope with Jan Mølby and Ian Rush who were marvellous as so often during the season and the double was secured in a fantastic game, 3-1 after Lineker had put Everton in front. It came as no surprise that Dalglish was voted the Manager of the Year.
Dalglish knew it would be difficult to repeat the success in the League and the Cup from the 1985/86 season. Liverpool fans didn’t know what to expect when it was announced that Ian Rush would be leaving for Juventus when the 1986/87 season was over. Liverpool were not consistent enough and at the turn of the year Arsenal had 48 points in first place with Liverpool trailing nine points behind in third place. Liverpool took 1987 by storm and won nine out of 11 League games, keeping six clean sheets and progressing in the League Cup. Liverpool had in mid-March gained a few points’ lead on their neighbours Everton with Arsenal falling by the wayside. It certainly looked like Liverpool would retain the title, but then the Reds lost three League games in a row. Everton took their chance and won the championship by a 9 points’ margin. Liverpool also lost the League Cup final 2-1 to Arsenal and finished the season empty handed for only the third time in 15 years.
Dalglish explained Liverpool’s failure: “The board had approached me at Christmas 1986 and said there was money available for players. I gave them the names of five players and I got four of them – Barnes, Beardsley, Houghton and Aldridge. It took time to buy these four. That was instrumental in 1986/87 being such a fruitless season at Anfield. It was my fault we didn’t win anything. I didn’t want to spend Liverpool’s money rashly. Bringing in any old player for a short-term tonic seemed irresponsible. I wanted to wait until those four quality players became available. That shows how supportive Liverpool’s directors were. They were also prepared to wait until the right players were ready. The Board knew Liverpool might not win anything that season but that I was planning for the future. Their patience was rewarded.”
Golden boy Rush went to Italy and not much had been seen of his replacement. John Aldridge, who had been signed in February, hadn’t played much as Dalglish intended to play another system with wide men the next season where he would fit in and become an important part of the team. But Dalglish also needed to replace one of the best players in the club’s history, Kenny Dalglish the player. He’d had his eye on John Barnes at Watford for a while. Barnes seemed to be waiting for an offer from Italy which never came. Barnes eventually signed for Liverpool for £900,000. Liverpool then paid a British record fee of £1.9 million to Newcastle for Peter Beardsley. Dalglish took a bit of a gamble and needed all his talent as manager to create a strong team spirit. After taking over from Joe Fagan before the 1984-1985 season he had slowly rebuilt the team on strong foundations laid by his predecessors with the ever helpful Bob Paisley by his side his first couple of years in management. The vintage of 1987-1988 was his team, taking a more adventurous approach to its games.
Highbury was to be the first stop in the new season and as soon as the ninth minute Liverpool showed what was to be expected. John Barnes with the cross and Aldridge headed home. Liverpool couldn’t play at Anfield for a few weeks because of sewage repairs underneath the Kop and had to play again away against Coventry. Nicol scored a brace, Aldridge scored from the spot and Beardsley his first goal for the club in a 4-1 victory. Coventry manager, John Sillett, said Liverpool’s performance was probably the finest he has ever seen in the First Division. Next was West Ham but a rare mistake by Hansen allowed the Hammers back into the game and the result was a draw. On 12 September Liverpool returned to Anfield and goals from Aldridge and Barnes against Oxford made the crowd go wild. The fans had no reason to keep quiet for the first 29 League games of the season. Nicol scored a hat trick against Newcastle and three consecutive 4-0 games followed against Derby, Portsmouth and the leaders QPR. Peter Shilton, the Derby goalie, was stunned by Liverpool’s performance: “This is the best Liverpool team I have ever played against.” Alan Ball, the Portsmouth manager, thanked Liverpool for the lesson: “It was a valuable experience for my team, it was a sheer joy to watch them in the second half. They have players that can play football and win games, I bet I could play for that team.”
Liverpool didn’t falter in the League until 20 March. The Reds had played 29 games, won 22, drawn 7, scored 65 goals and conceded 13. The bookies in England had stopped taking bets on who would win the title. Legends like Michel Platini praised their performance after watching them live defeat Arsenal 2-0 with breathtaking football. Liverpool had equalled Leeds’s record since 1974, but Everton and Wayne Clarke made sure Liverpool didn’t stay undefeated for 30 games. The bookies were relieved because they would have lost a fortune if Liverpool hadn’t lost a game throughout the season. Dalglish wasn’t amused: “As the final whistle signalled a 1-0 defeat, I felt so frustrated I kicked a bucket placed outside the dugouts at Goodison. It was plastic, so the side buckled and the water shot up all over me. I was soaked, standing there dripping as I congratulated the other bench: ‘Well done, Howard, well done, Colin.’ Drip, drip. I met Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey afterwards for a drink and they gave me some stick about the bucket.”
Liverpool were by no means out of steam despite the Merseyside derby defeat and saved their best for a 4th place Nottingham Forest team at Anfield on 13 April. Liverpool destroyed Forest 5-0 prompting Sir Tom Finney, one of the best players ever to play in England, to declare: “It was the finest exhibition I’ve seen the whole time I’ve played and watched the game. You couldn’t see it bettered anywhere, not even in Brazil. The moves they put together were fantastic.” The Chairman of Forest agreed and said it wouldn’t have made any difference who the opponents had been that night, no team in Europe would have stood a chance. On 23 April Beardsley scored the winner against Tottenham at Anfield and the title was secured with four games to go. The only disappointment was when Liverpool unexpectedly lost to Wimbledon in the FA Cup final and prevented another double.
Dalglish had got it right when signing players during the summer. Aldridge scored 29 goals in 45 games, Beardsley scored 18 in 48 games and John Barnes scored 17 in 48 and was voted the Player of the Year by both the media and the players. It didn’t come as a surprise that Dalglish was voted the Manager of the Year. Liverpool won the title in style and the way they played reflected their manager. This team played a more offensive football than the previous teams and was more about individual play of great players even though the team spirit was high. This was Kenny Dalglish’s team.
The build-up to the 1988/89 season wasn’t as expected. Peter Robinson was relaxing in the Spanish sun when he spotted a magazine article that said talented striker, Alexander Zavarov, was on his way to Juventus and that meant that there would be one foreign player too many. Robinson suspected, who would be left out and immediately phoned Dalglish. On 18 August, two days before Liverpool played Wimbledon in the Charity Shield, the press was stunned; Kenny Dalglish had just announced that Ian Rush had returned to Liverpool. The excitement before the season was great and the fans wondered how he was going to use Barnes, Beardsley, Aldridge and Rush in the same side. Rush was on the bench in the first League game against Charlton but replaced Beardsley in the second half. Aldridge reminded everyone who was the main goalscorer with a stunning hat trick. There was an important part of the defence missing, Hansen was injured, Lawrenson had retired and after only five games Grobbelaar got injured and was out for 25 games. Barnes missed a month through injury. Beardsley and Rush played up front but Rush still didn’t manage to score. He finally got on the scoresheet in the seventh game of the season against Walsall in the League Cup and then scored three goals in the next five. Some dissatisfaction became evident after the 2-1 loss against Nottingham Forest 26 October. This was the third loss of the season, one more than all of the season before. Dalglish’s decision to bring Rush back to Anfield seemed to have backfired. No player was contributing in front of the goal until mid-January. Aldridge had only scored 7 goals compared to 20 the year before, Barnes 6, Rush 5 and Beardsley 4. After 10 League rounds Liverpool were eight points behind Norwich in fourth place.
After a 3-1 loss to Manchester United on 1 January Dalglish had enough. He locked the door to the dressing room and let his frustration all out. He told his players off in no uncertain terms and later Ray Houghton revealed that he had never before seen Kenny this angry. Dalglish apologised for his outburst in training the following day, but another display like the one against Utd. would not be tolerated. Everyone had spoken their mind and it is safe to say that this was the turning point of the season. Liverpool won 16 out of the next 19 League games and drew three times. Aldridge scored 20 goals. Losing was not on the agenda.
The team was also doing well in the FA Cup but in the semi-finals against Nottingham Forest football got a whole new meaning for Kenny Dalglish. This was the third time Dalglish had witnessed a tragedy in a football stadium. When he was in the Celtic squad at the age of nineteen, 66 died at Ibrox, 39 died at Heysel and 96 Liverpool supporters died from injuries received at Hillsborough. The press and the supporters saw a new side to Dalglish. When the city of Liverpool needed someone strong to lead the city through these difficult times Dalglish was prepared. “I cannot even think of the name Hillsborough, even cannot say the word, without so may distressing memories flooding back. I don’t know how many funerals I went to. Marina and I went to four in one day. All the funerals were harrowing. All those families mourning the loss of their loved ones. Most of the church services ended with “You’ll never walk alone.” I couldn’t sing through any of the songs or hymns. I was too choked up. The words could never come out. I just stood there in a daze, still trying to come to terms with what had befallen the club and the people I had so admired. I did what I had to do after Hillsborough, certainly not through any delusions of grandeur.”
About two weeks later the Liverpool players tried to concentrate on football again. Liverpool beat Forest 3-1 in the replayed semi-final and fate would have it Everton would be their opponents in the final. Even though the FA Cup final is usually the biggest day of the season this day had a special meaning as both teams were from Liverpool. Rush was on the bench and Aldridge put Liverpool up front but Stuart McCall equalised less than a minute before the final whistle. Ian Rush came off the bench in overtime which turned out to be a good substitution. Rush scored two goals and Liverpool won the Cup for the second time under Dalglish.
Liverpool tried their best to concentrate on the title race. Three days after the Cup final Liverpool beat West Ham 5-1 at Anfield. The last League game was between the two top teams in the League at Anfield. Liverpool had 76 points but Arsenal 73. The goal difference for Liverpool was 65-26 (+39) but Arsenal’s 71-36 (+35). Liverpool could even lose but not with two goals, because Arsenal would then win the title with more goals scored. It was 0-0 at half-time and Liverpool were cruising. Alan Smith scored for Arsenal after 52 minutes. The clock kept on ticking, but in the final minute Arsenal attacked for the very last time with Michael Thomas scoring the deciding goal. 45 seconds passed after Liverpool started again and then the ref blew the final whistle. The Liverpool players got down onto the pitch and cried. Dalglish looked desperately at Moran and Evans. Nine months of hard work had gone down the drain with less than a minute remaining of the season.
This eventful season could hardly had ended in more dramatic circumstances leaving Dalglish out of breath, but the events at Hillsborough put matters in perspective: “When television realised in advance that the race was between Arsenal and Liverpool, they moved our fixture to the end of the season. It was a bad decision and one that probably cost us the title. Three big, tense games in six days takes a lot out of players. We were very disappointed not to win the League but Arsenal deserved to. They had one more goal than us. But if I was going to pick between the League or the FA Cup that week I would have picked the Cup because of Hillsborough. It meant a lot more to the people at that particular time that we won the Cup.”
Dalglish strengthened the defence with the Swede Glenn Hysen and decided to start with Aldridge on the bench in the beginning of the 1989/90 season. Dropping Aldridge in favour of Ian Rush seemed to be a strange decision since Aldridge had scored 20 goals in the last 22 games. Liverpool started this season on a winning note as it had finished the last. The Reds won eight out of their first 11 games and drew three times. Crystal Palace was beaten 9-0 as Liverpool broke the record for the most goals in a match in the top league. Liverpool had lost only one game out of 36 from 3 January to 14 October. But they lost four out of the next five games. Aldridge was unhappy on the bench and accepted an offer from Real Sociedad in Spain. Rush had scored six goals in 14 games. The supporters couldn’t understand how Dalglish could let a goalscorer like John Aldridge leave Anfield. But Liverpool returned on track and by mid-April it became clear that either Aston Villa or Liverpool would be champions. Liverpool had a one-point lead when the Israeli Ronny Rosenthal came on loan from Standard Liege in Belgium. He scored seven goals in eight games and Liverpool won the championship for the eighteenth time and Dalglish was Manager of the Year for the third time in five years. He hadn’t picked himself for the team on a regular basis since October 1986 and played his last-ever game when he came on as a substitute against Derby in the penultimate game of the season. One of the greatest players in the history of football had finally retired after playing a total of 837 games and as the most successful player in the history of the British Isles.
Liverpool started the 1990/91 season well and won their first eight League games with the goal difference of 19-5, including a 4-0 win over Man. Utd. They drew 1-1 against Norwich but then kept on going and won four League games in a row. Liverpool had a eight-point lead over Arsenal at the top. Liverpool conceded a late equaliser against Manchester City in a 2-2 draw and the press had a go at them. It didn’t seem to be a fair criticism of the team that had only dropped two points in middle of November. But the fans were also ruthless. Liverpool’s success had taken its toll. Many of the fans didn’t remember Liverpool other than crushing their opponent one way or the other. The Kop went quiet and the visiting fans sang “You’re supposed to be at home.” Liverpool played Arsenal, who had lost their last game 6-2 to Manchester United and everyone expected Liverpool to attack as usual. But Dalglish surprised everyone by not including the club’s top scorer, Peter Beardsley, in the squad and using a defensive formation to protect the lead at the top anyway he could. But Dalglish’s system of play didn’t work this time. Liverpool experienced their biggest loss in over a year, 3-0 and the media blamed one man. Dalglish refused to take responsibility and blamed the players for the result. Everyone who knew Dalglish were surprised that he had criticised his players in public, as he was always saying that it was the worst thing a manager could do to his players.
It’s fair to say that the press went over the top in their critique, because Liverpool had only lost three games at the turn of the year and were top of the League. But Dalglish knew his players were getting old. Gillespie was 31 and Beardsley, Nicol, McMahon, Whelan and Rush almost 30. Good young players were breaking through to the first team, but Fowler and McManaman were turning 16 and 19 that season respectively. Dalglish had established a powerful youth system in his first year in charge as manager and hired Heighway to run the project but none of the youngsters were quite up to it yet. Dalglish bought a young and promising lad from Bournemouth, Jamie Redknapp and then winger Jimmy Carter from Millwall. The fans soon realised that Carter wasn’t up to Liverpool standards. They had been knocked out of the Rumbelows Cup and twice won narrowly against teams from the Second Division in the FA Cup. David Speedie was signed but many believed the 31-year-old Scotsman was too old but his signing served its purpose in stopping the decline of the team. He scored in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United and two in a 3-1 win over Everton. Liverpool was drawn against Everton in the FA Cup at Anfield. The teams drew 1-1. Football expert Jimmy Hill wasn’t impressed: “They aren’t showing stability. The great technical players that used to be in the Liverpool midfield are probably turning in their graves seeing this average players of today.”
Everywhere Dalglish turned there was criticism. Three days later 37,000 attended Goodison Park to see the second leg. The game was a treat to the fans but agonising for Dalglish. Liverpool took the lead four times but Everton equalised every time, 4-4 draw the result. The Liverpool dressing room wasn’t a joyful place to be in after the game. Ronnie Moran told the players off like only he could do and the players argued among themselves. The outfield players told off the defence and you could hear the yelling out in the hallway. One man on the other hand stood there quiet by the dressing room wall and stared straigth ahead. The next morning Dalglish attended a meeting that was held every month with Chairman Noel White and Chief Executive Peter Robinson. Twenty minutes into the meeting Dalglish looked up and said: “I’m going to resign as Liverpool manager.” White and Robinson stared at each other and thought that they had misheard but Dalglish was certain. He complained about being tired and the stress he felt before games was becoming unbearable and he felt like his head was exploding. He often had headaches and was getting rashes all over his body. He had thought about quitting at the end of the previous season, but decided to continue in spite of obvious signs of stress. “I want to leave now, today.” Dalglish wanted out and nobody could talk him out of it.
22 February 1991 turned out to be a day to remember in the history of Liverpool. At 11 o’clock in the morning there was a press conference at Anfield. Most thought that John Barnes was on his way to Italy since there had been a persistent rumour about it in the press for weeks. Others thought that Liverpool might have bought some star player and one reporter joked Dalglish was probably going to resign after the 4-4 draw. Noel White, Peter Robinson, John Smith and two board members entered and then finally Kenny Dalglish, looking pale. Noel White started speaking right away: “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m going to read a short statement: With great regret I have to say that Kenny Dalglish has requested to the board of Liverpool to resign as manager.” Silence in the room. Nobody seemed to understand what he had just said. Everyone turned to the Scot. Dalglish spoke: “This is the first time since I came to the club that I take the interest of Kenny Dalglish over Liverpool Football Club. This is not a sudden decision. The worst I could have done was not to decide. One could argue that this decision hadn’t come at a good time but there is no good time in cases like this. The main problem is the pressure I put on myself because of my strong desire to succeed. The stress that comes right before and after games has got the better of me. Some might have difficulty understanding my decision but this decision stands. I would be betraying everyone if I wouldn’t let them know there is something wrong. I have been involved with football since I was 17. Twenty years with the two most successful teams in Britain, Celtic and Liverpool. I’ve been at the front all these years and it time to end it.”
Liverpool was in turmoil this day, the news spread quickly, people in the street thought the press was playing a joke on them when they stopped them in the street and told them the news. Everyone thought about the reason for him resigning. Liverpool were at the top of the League and still in the Cup and nothing seemed to be wrong with the team. At the Lime Street train station in Liverpool the announcer read the typical announcements about the delays of the train but this day he did things a bit differently and said: “Kenny Dalglish has resigned as Liverpool manager, I just thought you’d like to know that,” he then said apologetically. This reminded some of when Shankly had resigned in 1974 where the announcement came unexpected. Another Liverpool legend had gone from Anfield.
Top professional
Dalglish had always been a role model as a player. Sean Fallon who told Celtic about the boy listed Dalglish’s main qualities:
1) He was equally at ease with his left and right foot.
2) He had incredible confidence.
3) He had good balance. He jumped out of tackles and kept the ball.
4) He was always positive.
5) Competitive.
6) A model professional. He took good care of himself, didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, went to bed early and pushed himself in practice.
Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley both consider King Kenny to be the best player that has ever worn the Liverpool shirt. Paisley said: “Of all the players I have played alongside, managed and coached in more than forty years at Anfield, he is the most talented. When Kenny shines, the whole team is illuminated.”
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