Liverpool FC Season 1989–90. And it was all going swimmingly until the “Chocolate Man” turned up to play.
The smile of a King with some valuable silverware, May 1990.
Welcome to Part 3 of my scrapbooking odyssey on the football team my dear old Mum “persuaded” me to follow when just a small boy and around the mercurial times of Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish, winnings cups in May and seemingly always holding that beautiful gleaming trophy with the “Big Ears”.
I attended my first Liverpool game as a 10 year old on 8th August 1982 when the Reds formed a “triangle” of pre-season friendlies with Coventry City and Ipswich Town and all hosted by my hometown club of Portsmouth. I was already a Red as far back as 1980 and I have no idea how my Mother achieved such a feat but she bought me the “Hitachi” home shirt and one I proudly wore as an 8 year old to a very stuffy, best bib and tucker occasion at Portsmouth Guildhall as I met the Lord Mayor after winning a painting competition with my entry, naturally entitled, “The Football Match”. So of course I was going to attend this Gala event as an 8 year old in my Liverpool shirt. What self respecting Red at that age wouldn’t?
So I’m not a Scouser (though I envy those with that particular birthplace) and I’m an “out of towner”. But please allow me to very briefly give you some bona fides as to the veracity of my support for this wonderful football club.
My first game was 1982 and my last was 2012. In the 30 years in between I have followed the Reds at over 55 league grounds in England and Wales as well as 7 European grounds and I’ve probably travelled to see them 300+ times. Not an idyll boast, nor is it overly ground breaking. I’ve been incredibly lucky as well as being incredibly skint watching the Reds! I became a season ticket holder in the season before the first lock down after being on the waiting list since 1998 . I had the crest tattooed on my arm as a 15 year old, I’ve sat on a cold coach for days going to Switzerland for a 2nd Round Cup Winners Cup tie, I watched *that* goal in *that* 1996 FA Cup Final on a tiny Casio TV outside “our” end of Wembley without a ticket. Well, I had a ticket, but that’s a whole other story for another day.
So I’m a Southern born Red with a lot of scrapbook cuttings to share and maybe the occasional commentary to go along with them too. I hope you enjoy sharing them with me.
Allez! Allez! Allez!
Disclaimer — All pictures contained within this blog will be almost certainly from the “main” UK publications of the day but more importantly perhaps, wholly contained within some loved, if dusty, scrapbooks of a 30 year vintage and placed here purely for enjoyment purposes and I hope that this disclaimer meets everyone’s needs. If not, thank you www.guardian.comwww.dailymail.co.ukwww.thetimes.co.ukwww.mirror.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.ukwww.liverpoolecho.co.uk et al for entertaining this Pritt Stick and scissors wielding young child/spotty teen/tall and gangly late teenager and young adult who should’ve stopped ripping and cutting up newspapers long before he hung up his scissors! All programmes shown here are from my personal collection.
Disclaimer II — This is far from a fully comprehensive review of the season and purely the contents and selected pages from my scrapbooks and boxes of football programmes. I was nicknamed by my Liverpool match going pal as “The Cutter” in reference to an Echo and the Bunnymen song and so hence, here are my cuttings.
Disclaimer III — There will be images from a certain reviled newspaper that I will not name and I only include them (where available) as they represent the cuttings at that time. I have left out large chunks of cuttings but have left in the ones that require the narrative flow. I despise that “newspaper” and when I used to “go the match” I always wore my Hillsborough Support Group scarf and a white sticker imploring everyone not to buy that unnamed “newspaper”.
So onto the good stuff! I have 10+ seasons of cuttings to share and I hope these scraps from my books jog a memory of the match concerned or the era, the city in general or your life at that time.
Human memories are a precious commodity. I hope you enjoy.
Arsenal (0) Liverpool (1), FA Charity Shield at Wembley, 12th August 1989. Attendance 63,149.
More from the curtain raiser to the English football season, the annual Charity Shield, now more commonly known as the Community Shield. Match ticket is missing, as are the memories or notable events from the day. Aside from Alan Hansen lifting the shield which is and was far more important.
Liverpool (NINE) Crystal Palace (0), 12th September 1989. Attendance at Anfield 35,779. Following the success in the Charity Shield, the Reds had played 4 games in the league prior to this momentous and record breaking game, winning 2 and drawing 2. But this night signified all sorts of records and only Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen and David Burrows didn’t score. John Aldridge certainly did, coming on as a substitute to score a penalty at the Kop End as a farewell to the fans and the club he adores.
John Aldridge swaps the all Red for the white and blue stripes of Real Sociedad, September 1989.
Wimbledon (1) Liverpool (2), 14th October 1989. Attendance at Plough Lane 13,510. Another trip to Wimbledon. Another 3 points taken from the “Crazy Gang”.
Southampton (4) Liverpool (1), 21st October 1989. Attendance at The Dell 20,501. After 11 unbeaten games in all competitions (8 wins and 3 draws) it all went horribly wrong in front of my disbelieving eyes. I was one of the hardy souls behind the goal that ex Everton striker Paul Rideout is scoring into (top right picture). A short journey home at the time but zero consolation.
Millwall (1) Liverpool (2), 19th October 1989. Attendance at Cold Blow Lane 13,547. Please excuse the ever recurring commentary in red pen from my younger self!
Liverpool (2) Arsenal (1), 26th November 1989. Attendance at Anfield 35,983. Another rare “Live TV” game. Another special (very special) John Barnes free kick. Cue Brian Moore: “Barnes, curled, BRILLIANTLY!”.
Chelsea (2) Liverpool (5), 16th December 1989. Attendance at Stamford Bridge just 31,005 to witness an incredible performance from the Reds. 2–0 up within 5 minutes and 3–1 up 20 minutes later, they were 5–1 up and cruising with 10 minutes to go.
L to R: Another shot of Peter Beardsley’s opening goal at Chelsea and a single picture glued in place for the 2–0 away win at Crystal Palace and tabloids will be tabloids.
Liverpool (0) Manchester United (0). No festive cheer for either side with this scoreless draw two days before Christmas, 1989.
L to R: More action from the 0–0 with Manchester United on 23rd December and the 2–1 win over Sheffield Wednesday 3 days later on Boxing Day. As Christmas turned into the New Year of 1990, the Reds were battling for the League Championship with Arsenal yet again.
9th January to 3rd February 1990. The Reds demolish Swansea City 8–0 and almost a month later Barnes and Beardsley secure all three points in the Merseyside Derby with Everton in front of 38,730. In the 4 games in between, the Reds win 2 and draw 2 and are unbeaten since the end of November.
Liverpool (3) Southampton (0), 17th February 1990, and the Reds progress easily into the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.
After a 2–2 draw at Loftus Road with Queens Park Rangers in the Quarter Final of the FA Cup, 3 days later the Reds despatch the Londoners 1–0 in a replay and are in yet another FA Cup Semi-Final.
Manchester United (1) Liverpool (2), 18th March 1990. Attendance at Old Trafford 46,629. The Reds score all three goals with John Barnes netting both for the Reds and a crazy Ronnie Whelan own goal with 8 minutes to go made for an interesting last few minutes but the Reds held out.
Left: a 3–2 home win over Southampton on 31st March and Right: a 2–2 draw with Nottingham Forest on 14th April. In between these games, something crazy happened.
Crystal Palace (4) Liverpool (3), FA Cup Semi-Final at Villa Park, 8th April 1990. Attendance 38,389. 1–0 up and cruising at Half-Time and immediately 1–1 after the resumption and quickly 2–1 down before a screamer from Steve McMahon makes it 2–2 and a John Barnes penalty with 7 minutes to go surely seals the Reds spot in the FA Cup Final for the third season in a row and fourth in five years? Andy Gray equalised with a minute to go to make it 3–3 and in extra time Alan Pardew, “Chocolate Man” himself pops up to score *that* scruffy goal above. I call Pardew the chocolate man as given half the chance he’d eat himself! And I still haven’t forgiven him for reducing this 18 year old teenager to raging tears in a public park as the world continued to turn around him.
Liverpool (2) Queens Park Rangers (1), 28th April 1990. And with two games to go this victory over QPR the League Championship is assured and 37,758 were there to see the title sealed. I don’t have a programme from this game and I didn’t go (can’t remember why) but I’m certain my mates Marc and Roger went, so why no programme Marc?
The most beautiful smile in football. May your God bless you Kenny.
The final two matchday programmes from this season in my collection. This season was a meagre return on the programmes front.
23 Wins. 10 Draws. 5 Defeats. Goal Difference of +41. Points 79. The Reds finished 9 points ahead of their nearest rivals who weren’t Arsenal (who faded badly) but a resurgent Aston Villa, with Tottenham in 3rd and Arsenal a point behind in 4th.
I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed this wander along “Scrapbook Lane” (Alan “Chocolate Man” Pardew aside, obviously!). If you have indeed been entertained, smiled, had a wry memory of a game, life, the city or football generally as a result of this ramble, please consider the 2 previously published accounts of seasons 1987/88 and 1988/89. All in scrapbook pictorial form:
