Wednesday 27 November 2013

Ashton Gate Eight





You may have thought that clubs getting into financial difficulty was a recent phenomenon.  The plight of Portsmouth, Luton, Chester City and Halifax Town are well documented as well as many other clubs who have entered administration over recent years, including Southampton, Swansea, Crystal Palace and Derby County.  But this is not a new feature of a post Premier League English football industry, as the circumstances surrounding Bristol City in the early 80’s, illustrates.

In 1975-76 the club finished second to Sunderland in the old Second Division to earn promotion to the First Division for the first time in over 60 years.  They engineered an amazing escape from the jaws of relegation in their first season.  By 1979 they had their best league finish since the First World War when they ended 13th.  But the story after that was one sorry tale after another as the club fell alarmingly into freefall.  Three successive relegations followed and soon the debts mounted up.  But these were days when clubs’ finances weren’t common knowledge.  The board tried desperately to put on a brave face but eventually it became too much and the cracks started to show.  One aspect which was undeniable was the falling attendances.  Their final home game of the 1976-77 season saw a record 38,688 turned up to watch the newly-crowned champions, Liverpool.  Two weeks before, 23,587 witnessed the visit of Leeds United.  But barely 5 years later and there was just 6,586 turning up to see a game against Doncaster and even the arrival of a local rival, Plymouth Argyle could only encourage 7,471 to turn up.  It was clear the club would not be able to maintain the spending of their First Division days.  During their time at English football’s top table, the PFA announced a change which would have disastrous consequences for City.

In 1978 the PFA announced that a player’s right to move at the end of his contract would be fully recognised and a proper, more efficient procedure was put in place to accentuate this.  Clubs like City, relied heavily on the transfer income some of their best players would command.  But the prospect of losing a player who they couldn’t convince to sign a new contract, sent shockwaves through many clubs the size of City.

The club was desperately trying to make the most of their playing squad.  In 1979 one of their most promising defenders, Gary Collier, moved to Coventry for peanuts and this deal infuriated manager, Alan Dicks.  Collier, the club’s Player of the Year in 1975, had already won England honours at Under-23 level and was touted as a good prospect capable of playing for a big First Division club.  As Coventry had escaped relegation on the same day City had in 1977, they were a long way from being the sort of club many people saw Collier potentially playing for.  Bristol City were annoyed they hadn’t been able to cash in on a young player they’d invested much time in, when a season or two before they had more control over the player’s destination.  The shockwaves forced Dicks to make some decisions which almost sent the club into oblivion.  They didn’t realise it at the time, of course, but the consequences were fatal, but they lead to a famous incident in the club’s history where several players sacrificed their own careers to save the club.

Dicks, determined not to have another ‘Collier-effect’ signed six of the club’s best players onto eleven year contracts.  His reasoning was that this would give the club complete control over these players and if they still decided to sell them, then they would no longer run the risk of missing out on a fat transfer fee.  It must be remembered that these were pre-Bosman days

At the end of the 1979-80 season the club’s flirt with the First Division was over




Once they dropped out of the First Division, the man who had masterminded their rise to the top, Alan Dicks, was dispensed with.  They drew the first three games of the new season, then lost the next six and so Dicks had to go.  Enter Roy Hodgson.  Hodgson was working in Sweden alongside Bobby Houghton who had taken Malmo to the European Cup Final in 1979 where they lost to Nottingham Forest.  Houghton was brought back to England by the City board and he asked Hodgson to help him.  Hodgson had been considering an offer from Dallas but decided on City where he, rather ironically, claimed

“I had to decide whether to stay on in Sweden or not.  Bristol City seems well organised so I hope to able to concentrate on the coaching side with Bob”. 

Unfortunately, in hindsight these words seem incredibly naive but perhaps they’re a measure of how much the City board were able to hide the problems inside.  Houghton and Hodgson were confident in their own ability, but just didn’t have enough magic to halt the slide and further relegations ensued. Houghton seemed rather oblivious to the parlous state of the club’s finances and the critical effect large long term contracts could have in years to come. 

The two enthusiastic coaches were keen to talk a good game.  They’d transformed Swedish football during their 5 years there and firmly believed they could resurrect City.  1980-81 saw a second successive relegation. 



The club was in freefall and the fans stayed away in their droves.  Only 4,832 turned up to watch a home defeat to Burnley in November 1981 which left the club 6th from bottom in Division Three  This was the lowest attendance since the War at Ashton Gate and a sign that things were going hopelessly wrong.  But Houghton and Hodgson seemed intent to paint a positive picture and in some way they were probably guilty of either being duped by the board or simply choosing not to face facts.  Hodgson would later admit.

“When we came the club was rock bottom and the first thing we had to do was sell players.  We ended up with a junior team playing in a league of men.  We were not made aware of the situation before we arrived.  The club had only just been relegated from the old First Division.  We thought it can’t be that bad, we’ll get them promoted.  We were very confident in our coaching ability and thought we could turn the club around”.

Further evidence of the board’s efforts to paper over the cracks was the signing of Mick Harford in August 1981.  Harford, a big traditional centre-forward had made his name at Lincoln City, earning him a big money move to Newcastle, who were in the Second Division, at the beginning of 1981.  After just 8 months Harford moved to Bristol City for £160,000.  It was a strange move for the player, who left a Second Division club to join a club who’d just been relegated to the Third.  Moreover, it was a suicidal move for City themselves, although no one really knew it at the time.  Yet around this time one or two people started to ask questions.

Local journalist, Peter Godsiff, had started to make noises about the fact the club had been spending far more than they were bringing in and he even reckoned the operating costs were probably five times the money earned at the gate.  In October 1981 two local businessmen, Ken Sage and Deryn Coller, got together to find out more about the club’s finances.  They attended an AGM and asked enough questions to eventually persuade the board to conduct an independent financial report.  Actually, Coller had managed to have a quiet word with Chairman, Archie Gooch, and he agreed Coller and Sage would pay for the report.  The club had targeted gates of 8,000 to pay their way but they were struggling to get anywhere near that.  In October they sold young striker, Kevin Mabbutt (Gary’s brother) to Crystal Palace for £100,000.  This was a big blow for the club as they had pinned their hopes on the Mabbutt/Harford partnership.  Clive Whitehead was then sold to West Brom for £100,000.  Whitehead had been an instrumental part of the promotion side of 75-76 and the subsequent First Division years.

The club finally admitted their plight telling shareholders they’d made a loss of £400,000 the previous year.  In November, Gooch wrote in the programme appealing for help.  1981 ended with a defeat at bitter rivals, Bristol Rovers and City were 4th from bottom having won just 5 out of 16 matches..  In January 1982 the bottom club, Wimbledon, turned up at Ashton Gate and promptly came away with a 3-1 win.  That was the last straw for Houghton who resigned, and Hodgson took overall management control. 

Off the pitch the financial report had identified the huge debt the club had and suggested various options open to them to deal with it, including unloading the biggest liabilities, do a deal with creditors, do a deal with the Football League, do a deal with the old company on the sale of the ground and do a deal with the eight players who were on the biggest contracts and comprised the largest part of the liability.  It must be said the Football League were unused to this sort of situation.  Clubs had gone bust before this, but they had generally fallen out of the league first.  Bristol City was a club who just 18 months before had been competing in the First Division.  Now oblivion beckoned.

Hodgson’s first match in charge was a trip to Peterborough in the FA Cup Third Round.  They won 1-0.  His first two League matches were creditable draws at home to Huddersfield and away at Newport County.  In between those two matches, they played host to Aston Villa in the FA Cup.  Over 20,000 turned up for the game, a crowd not seen at Ashton Gate since the glory days.  Gary Shaw scored the only goal of the game to knock City out, but attention soon reverted to their league plight. 




At the end of January 1982, City were still in the bottom four, 2pts from safety when it all came crashing down around their ears.  The Football League imposed a selling ban on the club, mainly due to the fact they still owed Newcastle £100,000 for the Harford deal.  At this point the club announced that eight players had to leave for the club to continue.  These eight players became known as the Ashton Gate Eight.

They were Geoff Merrick, Gerry Sweeney, Trevor Tainton, Julian Marshall, Peter Aitken, Chris Garland, David Rodgers, Jimmy Mann. 


Merrick, Sweeney, Tainton and Mann had been in the promotion side of 75-76 and throughout the First Division years.  Garland had been the inspiration for their great escape in their first season in the top flight and Rodgers had been the replacement for Collier, whose transfer to Coventry was possibly the precursor to many of the problems.

The choice was clear.  The eight players must leave or the club goes bankrupt.  For a player such as Merrick this must have been a desperate position.  A local boy who’d only ever played for the club.  He was club captain in their greatest post-war years, yet here he was now being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the club he loved.  Goodness only knows what went through his mind when he first discovered the plight of the club.  He had turned down lucrative moves in previous years out of loyalty for the club and the players he’d grown up with.

Interestingly it was the PFA who intervened to help rather than the Football League or The FA.  The negotiations resulted in The Eight ripping up their contracts and thereby dissolving their debt from the club.  Management now passed to a new company, Bristol City (1982) Ltd and this ensured the jobs of other PFA members and those employed by Bristol City were protected.  During the longest week in the club’s history there were daily updates in the local press and on the radio.  Many supporters have spoken of the stress and pressure of never knowing whether there would be a club to go and watch at the weekend.  The players came under increasing pressure too.  Merrick later spoke of being bitter about his loyalty towards the club.  “Loyalty is a complete and utter waste of time.  Loyalty is a dirty word”, he said.  The Eight were making the ultimate sacrifice in football terms, yet some of them received abusive phone calls and many fans accused them of holding the club to ransom. 

It’s true you could argue they would’ve received nothing anyway as the club had nothing, but they would still have had a debt against the club and this would’ve caused the new company problems when they were trying to move on.  According to Coller, The Eight walked away with £10,000 but they were unemployed and for a player of Merrick’s age he would never find another professional contract.  Many of the other creditors had to accept much lower settlements just to make sure the whole deal went through with some of them taking as little as 10% of the amount they were due.  But then had they refused that, then the club would’ve gone bankrupt and they would’ve got nothing.

The club began a massive advertising campaign to get people to invest in a share issue which would purchase the ground.  They needed to raise £600,000 and everywhere around the city you could see stickers “Support Bristol City Football Club, Now or Never”.

Coller revealed

“at one minute past 12 on Wednesday 3rd February the club was going into liquidation if the players had not signed that document”

Coller and Sage found two other people willing to raise £12,500 each to come up with the £50,000 needed to set up the new plc.  Coller later spoke of the stress he was under too, as he nearly lost his house and his wife who thought all the hours he was spending in meetings were actually being spent with another woman.  At the beginning of February 1982 the new BCFC (1982) Ltd was incorporated and set about buying the ground, making the club the tenant.  They had to act fast as there were rumours flying around of other interested parties who would buy the ground and not necessarily for the benefit, or future of the club.  The directors kept putting in money to get the project up and running and Coller admitted to funding the club to a personal total of £70,000 for the first six months.  A sum which was all he had in the world.

6th February 1982 and the first match at Ashton Gate for the new club.  Fulham were the visitors, who were sitting in 2nd place in the table behind Chesterfield on goal difference.  Bristol City were a much changed side from the previous match.





30th January 1982 away to Newport County – Moller, Stevens,Williams, Aitken, Boyle, Sweeney, Tainton, Mann, Chandler, Harford, Musker
Next match at home to Fulham – Moller, Stevens, Hay, Newman, Williams, Nicholls, Musker, Bray, Chandler, Harford, Economou, sub: Smith

In a strange coincidence the Fulham side that day contained Sean O’Driscoll, who is the current manager of Bristol City.  It also contained Ray Lewington, who now works alongside Roy Hodgson with England, and of course Hodgson was the Bristol City boss that day.

Hodgson’s programme notes for that game are particularly revealing

“Last Saturday’s match at Newport came at the end of one of the most traumatic weeks in the history of Bristol City.  The events off the field overshadowed the normal week’s training.
Everyone at the club was uncertain about the future and the game at Newport was played under the shadow of redundancies and closure of the club.
It was hardly ideal preparation and I must admit I was a little worried about how the players would react as we were going across the Severn Bridge.”

City fans have spoken about their team being “full of kids”, yet they received a rapturous welcome from a relieved home crowd of just over 9,000.  The game was a goalless draw which, given the circumstances leading up to it, was a great achievement for City.  In the week they were beaten at Plymouth but then travelled to Walsall, who were 6th, and came away with a 1-0 victory.  It was their first win in the league since early November (9 matches) and was the start of a run of 3 wins in 4 matches.  But the optimism didn’t last and they went through March and April without another win, a run of 12 games where they picked up just 2pts.  They lost 6 games in a row, scoring just once.  Mick Harford was sold to Birmingham City and goalkeeper, Jan Moller, had moved to Toronto Blizzard.  When City lost at Chesterfield towards the end of March they only had 12 available players.  By then City were 2nd from bottom and another relegation seemed on the cards.  4th May 1982 they went to Huddersfield and were thumped 0-5 and this consigned them to a third successive relegation, which was a record at the time.  



15th May 1982 at their final home game of the season, 1,034 turned up to see City beat Chester City 1-0.  Hodgson was sacked and went back to Sweden.  His replacement was Terry Cooper, who had been part of ‘the great’ Leeds side of the 60’s and 70’s and had recently been player-manager at Bristol Rovers.  Cooper is credited by City fans as reviving the club by working miracles in finding youth players, doing loan deals and scouring free transfers to keep the club going on a shoestring.

The following season (1982-83) got worse before things began to improve.  They lost 6 of their opening 10 matches, including a 7-1 hammering at Northampton.  They finally won a game when they beat Wimbledon, 4-2 at home yet there was only one club below them in the whole League .  Having only won 2 matches in the first half of the season, they turned things round and finished a worthy 14th.  The following season they had something to cheer about at last as they won promotion from Division Four.

It was a nightmare ride and one which few clubs have ever experienced.  It was the first and only deal of its kind as the Football League changed the rules afterwards.  Whether you believe The Ashton Gate Eight held the club to ransom, what cannot be denied is that they sacrificed their careers and home lives to make sure the club continued. Had they not done so then people under the age of 30 today may never have heard of Bristol City.  Think about the recent incidents at Portsmouth or Glasgow Rangers and consider whether those players were prepared to rip up their contracts.  In addition to the Eight, the four directors are also worthy of remembering as they worked tirelessly, regardless of personal cost both financially and mentally, to keep the club going.  Deryn Coller, Ken Sage, Les Kew and Ivor Williams

What Happened Next

Geoff Merrick (aged 30) – Never played professional football again, but had a brief spell at Gloucester City.
Gerry Sweeney (aged 36) – Moved down a division to York City but only made 12 appearances before playing non-league football at Gloucester City.  Later managed City in 1997
Trevor Tainton (aged 33) – Moved down a division to Torquay, but made just 19 appearances and dropped out of league football at Trowbridge in 1983.
Jimmy Mann  (aged 29) – Moved up a division to Barnsley then brief spells at Scunthorpe and Doncaster before dropping out of League football at end of 1983 at his hometown club, Goole Town.
David Rodgers (aged 30) – Moved down a division to Torquay, playing just 5 times before an even briefer spell at Lincoln and then to non-league with Forest Green Rovers.
Chris Garland (aged 32) – Was re-employed by City for one more season, before dropping out of league football with Gloucester City and Minehead.
Julian Marshall (aged 24) – Moved up a division to Blackburn Rovers but never played for the first team.  Joined Worcester City in 1983
Peter Aitken (aged 27) – Moved down a division to York City, but at the end of the season left league football to move to Bath City then Trowbridge Town and Forest Green Rovers.

And what of the players who came in for that historic game against Fulham;

Allan Hay (aged 23) - Joined in 1979 had already played several games during 1981-82 season.  Left in August 1982 for York City
Rob Newman (aged 18) - Signed as an apprentice in October 1981, became club captain. sold to Norwich in 1991, played in team which finished 3rd in Premier League and beat Bayern Munich
Alan Nicholls (aged 18) - Made his debut in this game. Broke his leg a year later and retired only 22
Wayne Bray (aged 17) - Only spent 2 years at the club before moving to Bath City
Jon Economou (aged 20) - aged 20 for this game, promising midfield player left in 1983.
Russell Musker (aged 19) – Started at the club as an apprentice.  Moved to Gillingham in 1984

To understand the emotions which went through the club and its supporters at that time, here is the view of BBC commentator, Jonathan Pearce

“This week in 1982 I saw the club I worshipped as boy, Bristol City, climb through legal and financial loopholes to survive. The 'Ashton Gate Eight' affair went into football infamy. The Robins had been bobbin' along nicely in the old First Division, but they seriously over-extended. Players were signed on staggering 10-year contracts, the big slide came and it was a record for English football.
From the top flight to the bottom in successive seasons, it was Milton's 'Paradise Lost' in football terms. Bankruptcy loomed and a survival plan was dreamed up. The old club would be wound up and a new company would take over the club's title and fixtures. The League approved but it could only happen if eight players agreed to tear up their contracts.
The professional careers and the home lives of those eight heroes, many of whom I'd known since the age of 12, were the acceptable collateral damage for the suited boardroom money men who'd allowed the chaos to loom in the first place.
My dad, who worked for the club, continued on for a couple of years for a pittance. His love affair had turned sordid.”

But Bristol City survived, although they have yet to make it back to the First Division/Premier League they reached the League Cup Semi-Finals in 1988-89 and have won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy twice, in 1986 and 2003 and have been beaten finalists in 1987 and 2000.

Bristol City has never forgotten ‘The Eight’ and the Supporters Club has erected a plaque in their honour.  On 24th March 1982 there was a special match at Ashton Gate between Ipswich Town and Southampton where a crowd of 6,020 turned up to help raise money for them.  At the time both clubs were in the top five in First Division.  The players concerned have since spoken about their experience and have all said they were completely unaware of the financial state of the club, although Peter Aitken said he ‘was not surprised’ given the falling attendances and salaries of some of the players.  There is clearly some bitterness amongst The Eight who feel they still receive bad press from some quarters.  Given only Garland played much league football after 1982, the whole business was clearly something they never got over.


Sources - Deryn Coller Story 1982 http://www.bcfc3lions.co.uk/page106.html
Marxism Today April 1982 http://www.amielandmelburn.org.uk/collections/mt/pdf/82_04_02b.pdf
Bristol City Fans Forum (otib.co.uk)
bbc.co.uk/sport
My wife for programmes and memories 

Thursday 21 November 2013

Five Favourite Wins Against - Everton away



Continuing the series where I look back at my five favourite wins against Liverpool’s next opponents.  This weekend Liverpool travel across Stanley Park for the Merseyside derby to meet Everton and here are my five favourite wins from past encounters.


27th March 1982
EVERTON   (1)   1   (Sharp 24)
LIVERPOOL   (1)   3   (Whelan 21, Souness 57, Johnston 81)

EVERTON: Southall; Borrows, Higgins, Wright, Ratcliffe; Irvine, McMahon, Ross, Richardson; Heath, Sharp

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Lawrenson, Thompson, Kennedy; Lee, Johnston, Souness, Whelan; Rush, Dalglish


Liverpool arrived at Goodison Park in March 1982 having suffered defeat in the League there only once since 1971.  As defending League Champions they were sitting well placed in the League, 4pts behind the leaders, Southampton but with 4 games in hand.  Everton were back in 12th and on a run of 1 defeat in their last 6 league games, although they’d also only won 1 of those matches too.  Liverpool had won the derby 3-1 at Anfield in November and were in good form having won 4 of their last 5 league games, conceding just twice. 

The game was played at a typically frenetic pace, with tackles flying in everywhere in an era when challenges like that were still allowed.  20 minutes in and Liverpool attacked with Johnston’s header coming back off the bar.  Rush was unable to convert the chance but it fell to Ronnie Whelan to hit a shot through a crowd of players and past Southall for the opening goal.  Everton were determined to get back into the game immediately and their pressure forced a corner taken on the left by Kevin Richardson.  Grobbelaar’s punch failed to clear the danger and Graeme Sharp stabbed the ball home for the equaliser barely 3 minutes after Whelan’s goal.  Adrian Heath then had a chance he should’ve hit the target with and then a good move on the right from Liverpool, saw Dalglish and Whelan combine to give Phil Neal a chance to convert but the England right-back was reluctant to use his left foot and his shot went wide.  Rush finished off the chances in the first half after a good bustling run from Alan Kennedy, but he dragged his shot wide of the post.

Early in the second half Graeme Souness had a shot from outside the area go just over the bar after Brian Borrows had failed to clear a Dalglish cross.  But then as the hour approached, Lee found Dalglish on the right edge of the area and his customary shielding of the ball allowed Souness to fire a right foot shot into the Everton net to restore the visitors lead.  The game was still being played at a blistering pace and in one moment, Liverpool turned defence into attack with three great passes from Kennedy to Dalglish to Rush, who put Johnston through but his shot went over.  Everton were trying to force their way back into the game as Grobbelaar was called upon to save well from Trevor Ross and then Graeme Sharp, who both had long range efforts denied.  Then as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Souness played Rush in on the left of the area and his ball into the area was turned in by Craig Johnston who floated his shot over Southall’s despairing outstretched left hand.  That effectively killed off any threat the home side could muster and Liverpool had done the double over their nearest rivals.  This game became the 3rd in a run of 11 straight wins as Liverpool powered their way to another title.  Everton ended 8th as Howard Kendall was beginning to have the makings of a side which would become dominant in English football in years to come.




6th November 1982
EVERTON   (0)   0
LIVERPOOL   (1)   5   (Rush 11, 51, 71, 85, Lawrenson 55)

EVERTON: Southall; Borrows, Wright, Keeley, Bailey; King, McMahon, Sheedy; Heath, Johnson (Richardson), Sharp

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Thompson, Hansen, Kennedy; Lee, Lawrenson, Souness, Johnston; Rush, Dalglish (Hodgson)

The following November, Liverpool were at Goodison Park having just knocked HJK Helsinki out of the European Cup in midweek.  Their League form had seen them beaten just twice in 12 matches, whereas Everton had suffered 5 such setbacks already.  Everton were unbeaten at home, though, winning 4 of their 6 matches at Goodison.  Over 52,000 packed into the ground and witnessed a goalscoring masterclass.

On a windy Saturday in November, Billy Wright should’ve given the home side the lead when he failed to keep his header down, despite being unchallenged.  Just after 10 minutes gone and Alan Hansen intercepted a pass from Andy King in midfield and started out on a familiar charge forward.  He slipped one challenge in the centre circle and then played a perfectly weighted pass for Ian Rush to run onto and he calmly slotted the ball past Southall to give the visitors the lead.  Within minutes a ball forward on the right from Sammy Lee found Rush clear of the defence again, but his shot hit the bar.  Everton were getting torn apart by the sheer pace of Rush.  Southall was being let down by his defence and one such chance saw him pull off a great reaction save from a Dalglish header.  A ball cleared out of defence was again clumsily dealt with by Glenn Keeley, allowing Rush to put Dalglish in but his shot narrowly went over.  The game was not yet at the halfway mark and yet Liverpool could’ve had 5.  In a controversial moment, Dalglish headed Liverpool further in front only to find the linesman had put his flag up for offside.  The referee initially ignored it but Everton’s protests were enough to persuade him to consult his assistant and the goal was chalked off.  Back then replays weren’t shown from all angles, but looking at the footage again the flag was definitely down when the ball was played.  Soon after, Hansen’s ball from the back saw Dalglish get clear of Keeley but the Everton defender, on loan from Blackburn, pulled him back and gave the referee no option but to send him off.  It was Keeley’s first appearance for the Blues and he’d now left his side completely in the lurch.  From the resulting free-kick, Sammy Lee’s shot hit the wall but as it bounced around he had another go and hit the bar with the ball bouncing back off Southall, agonizingly wide of the post.  Liverpool were relentless and even Mark Lawrenson got in on the act but his header was just wide.  The pace had again been frenetic and somehow there was only 1 goal in it at half-time although Everton looked shell-shocked.

Early in the second period Hansen again brought the ball out from the back and found Rush, about 30 yards out.  He ran forward and then hit a shot which got deflected, leaving Southall stranded.  Finally Liverpool had doubled their lead.  Lawrenson, playing in midfield, then charged forward releasing Rush on the left.  His looping cross was headed just wide by Dalglish.  But it wasn’t long before another goal came.  Lee took a quick throw on the right and Everton were caught sleeping, as Dalglish was clear.  His ball across the face of the goal was turned in at the far post by Lawrenson.  Ten minutes later and a wonderful quick passing move involving Souness, Dalglish and Rush ended with the Welshman converting the chance, only to see the linesman had raised his flag for offside.  Dalglish was orchestrating things and during one move he played a ball out to Rush on the right from the centre-circle, and was then on hand to receive it back on the edge of the area only to find his shot was straight at Southall.

With 20 minutes still remaining, Dalglish again put Rush through and he was clear of the defence, but his shot hit the post.  As it came back Rush had time to fire the rebound back in past Southall for his hat-trick, the first in a Merseyside derby since 1935 (thanks Motty!).  With 5 minutes to go the game resembled a training ground outing as Lee was given too much time in midfield and as he watched for the runs ahead of him, he picked out Rush and yet again he was clear of the defence and he neatly pushed the ball past Southall and then passed it into the net for his 4th goal.  It was a horror show for the home side but Rush hit the headlines on a day when Liverpool could’ve hit double figures.

In Paisley’s final year as manager they picked up the League again and the League Cup again.  Everton finished 7th in the League, denying another double for Liverpool with a 0-0 draw at Anfield.



23rd September 1989
EVERTON   (1)   1   (Newell 18)
LIVERPOOL   (1)   3   (Barnes 33, Rush 62, 64)

EVERTON: Southall; Snodin, Ratcliffe, Watson, Pointon (McDonald); Nevin, McCall, Sheedy; Newell, Sharp, Whiteside (Rehn)

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Nicol, Hysen, Hansen, Burrows; Venison, McMahon, Whelan; Beardsley, Rush, Barnes


For the first Merseyside derby in the 1989-90 season, Everton were top of the table with Liverpool in second.  Liverpool were unbeaten in the League having recently put 9 past Crystal Palace, with Everton having won 4 of their last 5.

In front of 41,000, Everton were really up for this one.  Sheedy had a shot from a free-kick saved by Grobbelaar and then a ball through by Nevin found Newell in on goal and he managed to squirt it past the Liverpool keeper to give the home side the lead.  Liverpool then hit back as Venison’s ball into the area was headed against the post by Rush.  Meanwhile, down at the other end, Sheedy’s free-kick from the right was headed against the bar by Sharp as both sides threatened to increase the scoring.  Then just after the half hour, good work on the right by Beardsley saw his find some space to cross and John Barnes headed the equaliser.  The game was poised level at half-time with the home side having the better of the first half exchanges, but midway through the second period Liverpool pounced and put the game beyond them.

Beardsley was again the instigator as he swept the play from right to left to find Barnes on the wing.  He skinned Snodin and then his low cross was turned in by Ian Rush.  Before Everton had managed to re-group, Beardsley was again on the ball and waited until the right moment to put Rush away again.  His shot bounced up off Southall and Rush was able to bundle it over the line for his second in two minutes and Liverpool were now 3-1 up.  Southall was called upon to deny Rush yet another hat-trick but Liverpool were comfortable winners in the end.  Liverpool were again Champions that season, winning the title by 9pts.  Everton finished 6th as Liverpool once again did the double over their nearest rivals.



16th April 2001
EVERTON   (1)   2   (Ferguson 42, Unsworth pen 83)
LIVERPOOL   (1)   3   (Heskey 5, Babbel 58, McAllister 90)

EVERTON: Gerrard; Watson (Pistone), Gough (Alexandersson), Weir, Unsworth, Ball; Xavier, Nyarko, Gemmill; Campbell, Ferguson
LIVERPOOL: Westerveld; Babbel, Hyypia, Henchoz, Carragher; Smicer, Hamann, Biscan, McAllister; Heskey, Fowler (Vignal)

When Liverpool turned up at Goodison Park in 2001 they were chasing honours on three front.  They had already picked up the Worthington Cup beating Birmingham on penalties, and were still in the UEFA and FA Cups.  They were also chasing a top four finish for Champions League qualification.  Everton were back in 15th and desperate for points to continue their Premier League status.  The fixture pile-up was such for Liverpool that they were embarking on 5 games in 12 days.  They’d have a UEFA Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg against Barcelona coming up three days after this clash.

Just 5 minutes into the game a ball knocked forward by Hamann saw Heskey able to run clear of the defence and as Gerrard came out, Heskey finished in style for the opening goal of the game.  Both sides has chances to add to the scoring but it took until just before half-time when Ferguson headed on a long ball from midfield and as Hyypia and Henchoz combined to stop Scott Gemmill, the ball broke for Ferguson to drill it home for the equaliser.  1-1 at the break and the game was getting tense.  Midway through the second half, Everton had a free-kick which Liverpool kept out and the ball dropped to Hamann who turned and sent Fowler away down the left and his ball into the box was missed by Smicer and there was Markus Babbel up from right back to fire the ball home to put the visitors back in front.  Liverpool had just been beaten by Leeds United to find themselves 6pts behind them in the chase for 4th place and they were desperate for the points.

Liverpool attacked again on the hour and Smicer tried to play Fowler in, but he appeared to be impeded by Gough.  Referee Jeff Winter pointed to the spot, for what appeared to be a dubious penalty.  Fowler took responsibility for the kick but hit the post.  Everton pressed forward as they needed the points too, and as one cross came in, Hyypia was penalised for holding Ferguson and Winter again pointed to the spot.  There were just 7 minutes left and David Unsworth made no mistake from the spot and Liverpool were looking like they’d thrown it away.  Liverpool were desperate for a way to force a win but chance after chance went begging.  Deep into injury time, Gregory Vignal surged forward to be held back by Alexandersson and Liverpool were awarded a free-kick about 45 yards out.  McAllister elected to take it as the players grouped around the edge of the box on the right-hand side.  McAllister looked for all the world like he would float a ball into the area, and with the Everton keeper, Gerrard, expecting just that, he hit a dipping shot straight inside the keeper’s right-hand post for a dramatic winner in the 4th minute of stoppage time.

It was a spiteful game with Everton having 6 players booked and Liverpool had Biscan receive his marching orders after 78 minutes.  But the points were crucial as Liverpool went onto the claim 3rd place, as well as win the FA Cup and UEFA Cup in a memorable season.  Everton ended two places above the relegation zone although their margin of 8pts gave them more comfort than the position would suggest.


30th August 2003
EVERTON   (0)   0
LIVERPOOL   (1)   3   (Owen 38, 52, Kewell 79)

EVERTON: Wright; Pistone, Stubbs, Unsworth (Gravesen), Yobo; Watson, Pembridge, Linderoth (Ferguson), Naysmith; Rooney, Radzinski
LIVERPOOL: Dudek; Biscan, Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan; Smicer, Gerrard, Kewell; Diouf, Owen, Baros

The 2003-04 season was only two weeks old when these two heavyweights clashed at Goodison.  Liverpool had yet to register a win in their three league outings so far this season.  Everton had a win, loss and draw under their belts.

Everton could consider themselves unlucky in this game although Liverpool’s finishing was far more clinical and ultimately, that’s what made the difference.  Steven Gerrard was immense in this game, driving his side forward and encouraging Smicer, Kewell and Diouf to have their better performances in a red shirt.  Rooney had chances for the home side but was probably short of match fitness to make a telling contribution.

Seven minutes before half-time and Michael Owen finally broke the deadlock.  Kewell played a through ball for Owen to run onto and he deftly touched it past Simonsen and then rolled it in off a post.  That gave the visitors a half-time lead and then seven minutes into the second half and Owen had doubled his, and his side’s, lead.  Baros was involved this time and Owen finished in style to grab his second when he’d hardly had more chances up to that point.

Rooney had chances immediately after each of Owen’s strikes and Ferguson curled a free-kick against the underside of the bar to frustrate the home fans further.  Then as the game moved towards its final 10 minutes, Simonsen came out to try and thwart Owen but the England striker’s cross found Kewell who drove past the despairing Naysmith on the line.  It was Kewell’s first goal for Liverpool and crowned a fine win.  Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier became the first Liverpool manager to win four times in a row at Goodison Park.

Liverpool ended the season 4th with Everton struggling again down in 17th.


HEAD TO HEAD at Goodison Park

Matches: 108
Liverpool win: 39
Everton win: 40
Draws: 29

Liverpool goals: 132
Everton goals: 136