NUMBER ONE IN A SERIES OF SOME.
It was 1977. Annie Hall won the best movie oscar, Steven Biko is murdered and Elvis Presley died.
Kenny Daglish
Born Glasgow March 4th 1951.
Bob Paisleys words to John Smith (then LFC chairman) as they left the office of their counterparts in Celtic having signed the King.
"Lets get out of here before they realise what they have done"
At the time of the transfer the two clubs had agreed a then British transfer record of a whopping £440,000.
Liverpool football club had seen somewhat of a golden period since the arrival of Bill Shankly and it had continued and been solidified as a run of some note by the criminaly unrecognised (by the press when talking about great managers) Bob Paisley.
Bob had led the reds to back to back league titles and back to back European titles, and with a strike force of Keegan and Toshack dominating, redmen the world over were confident of continued success.
However Keegan had other plans and at the end of the 76/77 season left to persue a career abroad. Fans of the club where it seems in shock and the departure soon after of Toshack did little to make anyone sleep any easier.
The Chairmans backing of the manager that day in Glasgow would herald a period of almost unparalleled success by any club in any major league in Europe.
THE KING ARRIVES LONG LIVE THE KING.
1977/78
In his first season for Liverpool, Kenny put any fears for the future of our great club to bed scoring 31 goals (20 in the league) and guiding the club to 3 trophies including a second European cup played at wembley in front of 92,000.
His goal tally in this first year is only 2 goals less than the much vaunted pairing of Keegan and Toshack managed combined in the prior year, and kind of puts to bed any theories that amazingly are still bandied about that he wasnt a goal scorer and was more of a provider.
He was of course the creator of some wonderfull goals (most notably for Ian Rush with whom he struck up an astonishing partnership) but an amazing goalscorer in his own right.
1978/79
Another year another trophy, this time we took our league crown back off Nottingham Forest. Kenny again the clubs top scorer with 25 (21 in the league) goals.
In addition for the second season in a row Kenny played every single game we played 62 and 54 respectively.
You dont rotate the King.
1979/80
Into a new decade and the sweetest of all sweets, we pip Manchester United to the League title by 2 points.
Kenny scores his customary 20 plus goals (23 this time but beaten to the top scorer award by David Johnson-more on him later) and another season of playing in every single game this time 60.
We had remained unbeaten at Anfield for two succesive seasons, and claimed an astonishing 12th league crown.
The dissapointment had been in Europe where we had failed to get past the first round for two successive seasons.
And could he play
1980/81
A dissapointing domestic league season (we finished 5th) was made far more pallatable by picking up two trophies.
We won the League cup for the first time after a replay with West Ham(sorry jo) Kenny scoring in extra time in a replay at Villa park after a nil nil draw in front of a 100,000 capacity crowd at Wembley.
Oh yeah, and we won the European cup beating Real Madrid to the crown after knocking Bayern Munich out in the semis.
Kenny managed 18 goals in this season. But missed 8 games to end a three year run of full attendances.
1981/82
We took back our league title from Villa, and won a second successive league cup.
Our man Kenny played in all 62 games and scored 22 goals,but another striker had broken in to the first team and 30 goals in his first full season (more on him later).
Thats a combined total of 52 goals for our front two out of 129 that we scored in the season.
1982/83
We won the league at a stroll and picked up a 3rd league cup trophy (beating Manchester United at Wembley).
We crashed out of Europe early to Widzew Lodz?
The king netted 20 times and missed only 2 games all season long. The partnership wih Rush his year netting another 51 times. 103 goals in 2 years lads, have all our strikers combined got this many in the last 5 years? Thats how good they really were.
1983/84
THE TREBLE! We took the league title, league cup and another European cup in Joe Fagans first year in charge.
As Kenny's age began to catch up with him, he began to play a deeper role, and netted just 12 times this year. He had also missed 17 games due to injury and fatigue.
1984/85
Heysel. 39 people lost their lives.
We didnt win a trophy. Our near neighbours took the league, with Juventus beating us in that ill fated final.
Kenny played 53 games again missing a few to injury and scored a further 6 goals.
1985/86
FA cup winners. How we had won so few to this time is a mystery, but here we were beating Everton at wembley in front of 98,000 scousers sitting together red and blue owning London.
We reclaimed our title off Everton (Gotta think that was a rubbish year to be a toffee)
The King only played 28 games all season but still sored 7 vital goals including the league winner on the last day against Chelsea.
It may also be worth mentioning that our managers name that year was Dalglish. This new apprentice who had served under Paisley and Fagan had won the double in his first season. Did this man do half measures?
1986/87
Kenny the player was past his unparalleled best managing only 16 games all year (but still scored a goal every other game). And realisation perhaps came too late to salvage this season.
We took nothing from it and perhaps the radical transfer steps Kenny took at the end of the year needed taking at the begining (Bringing in the attacking prowess of Aldridge, Barnes, Beardsley and Houghton).
1987/88
Managing just 2 substitute appearances all year, the era of Dalglish the player was done.
Dalglish the manager guided the club to a league title again, starting the season with a then record of 27 unbeaten games. (it still pains me to this day that it was Everton who ended that run).
One other thing worth noting from Kenny's reign in this year is that on the 13th April we tore a brillaint (they finished 3rd) Nottingham forest team apart winning 5-0 and playing possible the best 90 minutes of football we have ever played.
1988/89
15th April - Lest we forget.
We won an emotional FA cup final at wembley (it was a profound and beautiful coincidence that we played Everton in the final and the cup was owned for that year only by the people of Liverpool).
Any trophy that we may or could have won was insignificant this year and all that matters is that we remember the 96 people who lost their lives and the family and friends who lost loved ones.
1989/90
Kenny guided us to our 18th league title in his last full season in charge.
It is important here to remember that even thought the weight of the lost from Hillsborough and Heysel hung heavy over Daglish, who personally (along with all the senior players) attended as many funerals as was possible, he remained in charge for one more year.
As time goes by, it is easy to remember that he left mid season and that we have struggled ever since. But what we must remember is the pressure he had been put under by decades of success.
Our most famous number 7 and greatest player of all time won 3 European cups, 6 league titles, 1 FA cup and 4 league cups. He played 102 times for scotland and 481 times for Liverpool scoring 168 times in a career spanning 12 years.
My thoughts on Kenny Dalglish
I wanted to be Kenny Dalglish. I remember lookin at his powerful legs and thinking if only i can make my thighs look like that i could play like Kenny. I copied again and again the little dink over the onrushing Bruges keeper in the 1978 European cup final.
I wore my tongues hanging out of my boots like Kenny did. I wouldnt let my mum cut my hair any way except like the king.
For those of you unlucky enough not to remember seeing Kenny play, i can say without question that no one will ever play the game the way he did. Small stocky and strong as an ox, he wass unplayable. You couldnt get the ball off him EVER.
And when innevitably you failed to get the ball off him he would rip you apart with a perfectly timed slide rule pass to Rush or take on a man or two and arrow one into the top corner.
It was Bob Paisley who coined the phrase the first 5 yards are in the head, and guess who he was talking about.
I realise that i have gone on a bit, and could wax lyrical all day about the man who Franz Beckenbauer reckons is the greatest footballer of all time, of the man who donated all his medals to the Liverpool club museum. The man who brought us John Barnes. Who scored winning league and cup goals. The man who to this day remains one of the most dignified men in football, and the man who can still fill a ground at the ripe old age of 55.
I wont, i leave you with 3 words
Dalglish-Rush-Goal!
It was 1977. Annie Hall won the best movie oscar, Steven Biko is murdered and Elvis Presley died.
Kenny Daglish
Born Glasgow March 4th 1951.
Bob Paisleys words to John Smith (then LFC chairman) as they left the office of their counterparts in Celtic having signed the King.
"Lets get out of here before they realise what they have done"
At the time of the transfer the two clubs had agreed a then British transfer record of a whopping £440,000.
Liverpool football club had seen somewhat of a golden period since the arrival of Bill Shankly and it had continued and been solidified as a run of some note by the criminaly unrecognised (by the press when talking about great managers) Bob Paisley.
Bob had led the reds to back to back league titles and back to back European titles, and with a strike force of Keegan and Toshack dominating, redmen the world over were confident of continued success.
However Keegan had other plans and at the end of the 76/77 season left to persue a career abroad. Fans of the club where it seems in shock and the departure soon after of Toshack did little to make anyone sleep any easier.
The Chairmans backing of the manager that day in Glasgow would herald a period of almost unparalleled success by any club in any major league in Europe.
THE KING ARRIVES LONG LIVE THE KING.
1977/78
In his first season for Liverpool, Kenny put any fears for the future of our great club to bed scoring 31 goals (20 in the league) and guiding the club to 3 trophies including a second European cup played at wembley in front of 92,000.
His goal tally in this first year is only 2 goals less than the much vaunted pairing of Keegan and Toshack managed combined in the prior year, and kind of puts to bed any theories that amazingly are still bandied about that he wasnt a goal scorer and was more of a provider.
He was of course the creator of some wonderfull goals (most notably for Ian Rush with whom he struck up an astonishing partnership) but an amazing goalscorer in his own right.
1978/79
Another year another trophy, this time we took our league crown back off Nottingham Forest. Kenny again the clubs top scorer with 25 (21 in the league) goals.
In addition for the second season in a row Kenny played every single game we played 62 and 54 respectively.
You dont rotate the King.
1979/80
Into a new decade and the sweetest of all sweets, we pip Manchester United to the League title by 2 points.
Kenny scores his customary 20 plus goals (23 this time but beaten to the top scorer award by David Johnson-more on him later) and another season of playing in every single game this time 60.
We had remained unbeaten at Anfield for two succesive seasons, and claimed an astonishing 12th league crown.
The dissapointment had been in Europe where we had failed to get past the first round for two successive seasons.
And could he play
1980/81
A dissapointing domestic league season (we finished 5th) was made far more pallatable by picking up two trophies.
We won the League cup for the first time after a replay with West Ham(sorry jo) Kenny scoring in extra time in a replay at Villa park after a nil nil draw in front of a 100,000 capacity crowd at Wembley.
Oh yeah, and we won the European cup beating Real Madrid to the crown after knocking Bayern Munich out in the semis.
Kenny managed 18 goals in this season. But missed 8 games to end a three year run of full attendances.
1981/82
We took back our league title from Villa, and won a second successive league cup.
Our man Kenny played in all 62 games and scored 22 goals,but another striker had broken in to the first team and 30 goals in his first full season (more on him later).
Thats a combined total of 52 goals for our front two out of 129 that we scored in the season.
1982/83
We won the league at a stroll and picked up a 3rd league cup trophy (beating Manchester United at Wembley).
We crashed out of Europe early to Widzew Lodz?
The king netted 20 times and missed only 2 games all season long. The partnership wih Rush his year netting another 51 times. 103 goals in 2 years lads, have all our strikers combined got this many in the last 5 years? Thats how good they really were.
1983/84
THE TREBLE! We took the league title, league cup and another European cup in Joe Fagans first year in charge.
As Kenny's age began to catch up with him, he began to play a deeper role, and netted just 12 times this year. He had also missed 17 games due to injury and fatigue.
1984/85
Heysel. 39 people lost their lives.
We didnt win a trophy. Our near neighbours took the league, with Juventus beating us in that ill fated final.
Kenny played 53 games again missing a few to injury and scored a further 6 goals.
1985/86
FA cup winners. How we had won so few to this time is a mystery, but here we were beating Everton at wembley in front of 98,000 scousers sitting together red and blue owning London.
We reclaimed our title off Everton (Gotta think that was a rubbish year to be a toffee)
The King only played 28 games all season but still sored 7 vital goals including the league winner on the last day against Chelsea.
It may also be worth mentioning that our managers name that year was Dalglish. This new apprentice who had served under Paisley and Fagan had won the double in his first season. Did this man do half measures?
1986/87
Kenny the player was past his unparalleled best managing only 16 games all year (but still scored a goal every other game). And realisation perhaps came too late to salvage this season.
We took nothing from it and perhaps the radical transfer steps Kenny took at the end of the year needed taking at the begining (Bringing in the attacking prowess of Aldridge, Barnes, Beardsley and Houghton).
1987/88
Managing just 2 substitute appearances all year, the era of Dalglish the player was done.
Dalglish the manager guided the club to a league title again, starting the season with a then record of 27 unbeaten games. (it still pains me to this day that it was Everton who ended that run).
One other thing worth noting from Kenny's reign in this year is that on the 13th April we tore a brillaint (they finished 3rd) Nottingham forest team apart winning 5-0 and playing possible the best 90 minutes of football we have ever played.
1988/89
15th April - Lest we forget.
We won an emotional FA cup final at wembley (it was a profound and beautiful coincidence that we played Everton in the final and the cup was owned for that year only by the people of Liverpool).
Any trophy that we may or could have won was insignificant this year and all that matters is that we remember the 96 people who lost their lives and the family and friends who lost loved ones.
1989/90
Kenny guided us to our 18th league title in his last full season in charge.
It is important here to remember that even thought the weight of the lost from Hillsborough and Heysel hung heavy over Daglish, who personally (along with all the senior players) attended as many funerals as was possible, he remained in charge for one more year.
As time goes by, it is easy to remember that he left mid season and that we have struggled ever since. But what we must remember is the pressure he had been put under by decades of success.
Our most famous number 7 and greatest player of all time won 3 European cups, 6 league titles, 1 FA cup and 4 league cups. He played 102 times for scotland and 481 times for Liverpool scoring 168 times in a career spanning 12 years.
My thoughts on Kenny Dalglish
I wanted to be Kenny Dalglish. I remember lookin at his powerful legs and thinking if only i can make my thighs look like that i could play like Kenny. I copied again and again the little dink over the onrushing Bruges keeper in the 1978 European cup final.
I wore my tongues hanging out of my boots like Kenny did. I wouldnt let my mum cut my hair any way except like the king.
For those of you unlucky enough not to remember seeing Kenny play, i can say without question that no one will ever play the game the way he did. Small stocky and strong as an ox, he wass unplayable. You couldnt get the ball off him EVER.
And when innevitably you failed to get the ball off him he would rip you apart with a perfectly timed slide rule pass to Rush or take on a man or two and arrow one into the top corner.
It was Bob Paisley who coined the phrase the first 5 yards are in the head, and guess who he was talking about.
I realise that i have gone on a bit, and could wax lyrical all day about the man who Franz Beckenbauer reckons is the greatest footballer of all time, of the man who donated all his medals to the Liverpool club museum. The man who brought us John Barnes. Who scored winning league and cup goals. The man who to this day remains one of the most dignified men in football, and the man who can still fill a ground at the ripe old age of 55.
I wont, i leave you with 3 words
Dalglish-Rush-Goal!
