Liverpool All-Time Draft

Oh Lawro was my next pick as well. It's amazing that all Liverpool fans think alike with their early picks.

 

Gordon Hodgson : Inside Right (1926-1936)
Date of Birth: 16-04-1904
Birthplace: Johannesburg .
Debut : 27th February 1926 v Manchester City (a) Football League Division One: Drew 1-1
1st team games: 378
1st team goals: 240
Other clubs: Transvaal FC (South Africa), Aston Villa, Leeds United, Port Vale (manager)
International caps while with Liverpool: 3 (England)
International goals while with Liverpool:
Honours with Liverpool: none

During an era when Liverpool often found themselves cast in the shadow of their near neighbours from across the park South African inside forward Gordon Hodgson was one of the few shining lights for the Reds.
Liverpool's answer to Everton legend Dixie Dean, Hodgson was a prolific marksman whose achievements in front of goal set new records at Anfield.

Born in South Africa to English parents Hodgson was spotted by Liverpool officials when visiting England with a touring South African side in the early 1920's.

He was signed up in December 1925, along with compatriots Arthur Riley and James Gray, and quickly set about re-writing the club's goalscoring records.

In 1930/31 he set a new Reds record of 36 league goals in a season and it was a feat not surpassed until the emergence of Roger Hunt in the sixties. His record of 17 Liverpool hat-tricks, however, is yet to be broken

A fine all-round sportsman, who won three caps for England, Hodgson also played first-class cricket for Lancashire while at Anfield and also excelled at baseball.

In January 1936 he was transferred to Aston Villa for £3,000 before finishing his career with Leeds United. In the aftermath of the Second World War Hodgson became manager of Port Vale but died prematurely, aged just 47, in June 1951.

 

Yes.

 

Sorry guys...here's my next pick.

 

Bruce David Grobbelaar



(born October 6, 1957 in Durban, South Africa) is a former football goalkeeper for Zimbabwe and a number of clubs, most notably Liverpool F.C. during their dominant 1980s period.

By the time Liverpool FC had completed their research on Grobbelaar, he had returned to Vancouver with his loan spell now over. Liverpool approached Tony Waiters with the idea of taking Grobbelaar to Anfield, and Waiters, who had a working relationship with Liverpool in the 1970s, paved the way for the move. Grobbelaar signed for Liverpool for £250,000 on 17 March 1981 as their reserve goalkeeper, but in the summer of 1981, regular goalkeeper Ray Clemence's surprise departure to Tottenham Hotspur gave Grobbelaar his opportunity.

Grobbelaar made his debut on 28 August 1981 but failed to prevent Wolverhampton Wanderers winning the league fixture 1-0 at Molineux. Also making their debuts were defender Mark Lawrenson and midfielder Craig Johnston. His first clean-sheet came a fortnight later at Anfield on 5 September, Arsenal were the visitors who were beaten by a 2-0 scoreline.

Grobbelaar's early days as No.1 were strewn with errors and the Reds struggled to obtain any sort of consistency, Bruce taking a lot of the blame. By the end of the calendar year Liverpool were quite some distance behind the leagues pacesetters and looked to be out of the running for title honours, especially as they had just lost to Manchester City 3-1 at Anfield in the Boxing Day fixture. The New Year brought a new momentum as Bob Paisley began to get the best out of his players, they began the year in South Wales visiting the Vetch Field to play Swansea City in the FA Cup, Liverpool were in fine form and thumped their hosts 4-0. This set them on their way in the league and dropped just 7 of the 50 available points overhauling the points gap that Ipswich Town had opened on them.

Grobbelaar added the championship medal to the Milk Cup winners medal he had gained at Wembley on 13 March, ironically, the Reds beat Spurs 3-1 who had the former legend Ray Clemence between the posts.

During the period 1981 - 1994, Grobbelaar played 627 first team games for Liverpool, becoming known for his eccentric and flamboyant style. In 1984, the European Cup final between Liverpool and A.S. Roma finished 1-1 after extra time, and went to penalty shootout. As Roma's Bruno Conti prepared to take his kick, Grobbelaar walked towards the goal smiling confidently at the cameras lined-up behind, then proceeded to bite the back of the net, in imitation of eating spaghetti. Conti sent his spot kick over the bar. Grobbelaar then produced a similar performance before Francesco Graziani took his kick, famously wobbling his legs in mock terror. Graziani duly missed and Liverpool went on to win the shootout 4-2, making Grobbelaar the first African (Coluna, Eusébio, Santana, Costa Pereira and Águas were all born in Africa but Mozambique and Angola were under Portuguese rule and played for the Portuguese national team) to win a European Cup/Champions League winner's medal.

Whilst criticism is often aimed at him[attribution needed] for his sometimes erratic performances, Grobbelaar was retained by three of Liverpool's greatest managers; Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish, over a period of 13 years. They all recognised that beneath the showbiz, there was one of the outstanding goalkeepers of his generation: he defended his eccentricity by claiming that, having fought in a civil war in Zimbabwe, he could appreciate that football is not as important as some people would suggest. His strengths were his gymnastic-like agility, and an unflappable confidence; even if he made a mistake, he would always want to be involved. He was never afraid to be seen to berate his defenders if he thought they had given easy opportunities to the opposition, most famously in his verbal assault on Jim Beglin in the first all Merseyside FA Cup final against Everton in 1986. Over the course of his Liverpool career he won more medals than any of his contemporaries.

Although there were occasional challenges to his position as Liverpool's number 1, Grobbelaar was a virtual ever-present from Clemence's departure to the start of the 1990's, when the club itself also started to slide, culminating in Kenny Dalglish's resignation in February 1991. It was the signing of David James from Watford in the summer of 1992 that spelt the beginning of the end for Grobbelaar. Although James struggled to impress at first, Grobbelaar's insistence on playing for Zimbabwe gave James chances; Grobbelaar only played 6 times for Liverpool during 1992-93,and even spent a period on loan at Stoke City. James' uncertainty allowed Grobbelaar to regain his place in the first team at the start of the 1993-94 season, in which his performance, like the team's, started well but fell away badly. He was ever-present until he was injured in the final minute of a 2-0 defeat at Leeds United on 19 February 1994. It turned out to be his final appearance for the club.

 

Current squad by position

GK: Clemence, Grobbelaar
RB: Neal
LB: Hughes, A.Kennedy
CB: Hansen, Smith, Carragher, Phil Thompson, Yeats, Lawrenson
RM: Liddell, Callaghan, McManaman, McDermott
LM: Barnes, Liddell, R.Kennedy, Whelan, Heighway, Peter Thompson
CM: Gerrard, Souness, Mølby
FW: Dalglish, Rush, Fowler, Keegan, Hunt, Owen, Beardsley, Hodgson, Case

Anyone want to nominate some full-backs or central midfielders whose spots are looking a bit lighter than, eg; the forard category

 

Ian St. John

Date of Birth: June 7, 1983
Place of Birth: Motherwell, Scotland

First Team Club Appearances: 426
First Team Club Goals: 118

First Team Country Appearances: 21
First Team Country Goals: 9

Club Honours
Second Division Championship: 1961/1962
First Division Championship: 1963/1964, 1965/1966
FA Cup: 1965
Charity Shield: 1965, 1966

One of two landmark Scottish captures by Bill Shankly in the summer of 1961, the other being Ron Yeats, who figured massively in Liverpool's climb from the Second Division. St John cost a then club record £37,500 from Motherwell and this ebullient, crew-cut raider became an instant hero of Liverpool fans by scoring a debut hat trick against Everton in the Liverpool Senior Cup Final.

A wonderful competitor, whose timing in the air overcame his lack of height at 5ft 7½ins he was a majestic header of the ball and with compatriots Yeats and goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence, formed the team's 'spine' that Shankly rated so crucial and which took them to League championship glory and onto the European stage.

St John swiftly became a folk hero and inspired the Kop to adopt "When The Saints Go Marching In" as their sixties song. His darting, all-action style perfectly complemented his attack partner Roger Hunt in what was a bludgeon and rapier combination.

St John's most famous Liverpool goal was his header from Ian Callaghan's cross at Wembley in 1965 to bring the FA Cup to Anfield for the first time. He joined Coventry in 1971, later moving into coaching, management and the media.

[youtube]_nj09ShmU38[/youtube]

Now back in 1965
When great Bill Shankly was alive
We're playing Leeds, the score's 1-1
When it fell to the head of Ian St John

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Team Right Now

----------------------Keeper------------------------
RB----------CB------------------CB--------------LB
Callaghan-----Gerrard--------Molby--------Hughes
----------------Beardsley-----St. John--------------

How many subs are we going to do? And are we going to do managers?

 

I was really looking forward to getting Jimmy Case, but speaking of fullbacks and people playing multiple positions...


Steve Nicol

Date of Birth: 11/12/61
Birthplace: Irvine (Scotland)
Debut : 31st August 1982 v Birmingham City (A) Football League Division One
1st team games: 466
1st team goals: 46

Honours with Liverpool: First Division Championship 1983/84, 1985/86, 1987/88 and 1989/90, FA Cup 1986, 1989 & 1992, Charity Shield 1989

Profile from LFC.tv
One of the most versatile players in Liverpool history, Scotland international Nicol could fill any role in defence or midfield with equal skill and dexterity. His value as a utility man was incalculable and the £300,000 Bob Paisley paid Ayr United to bring him to Anfield in October 1981 proved one of the bargain deals of all time.

He made his senior debut in August 1982 but had to wait until 1983-84 under new boss Joe Fagan for a sustained run in the side. He ended that campaign with a League title and European Cup winners medal, the latter gained despite his spot kick failure in the penalty shoot-out with Roma.

At size 11, Nicol's feet were among the biggest in football and his boots were a full size bigger than any other in the Liverpool squad of that era. But the talent within them was underlined by his election as Footballer of the Year in 1989 by the nation's soccer writers.

Nicol played for five Liverpool managers - Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Roy Evans were the others - and made 466 appearances, scoring 46 goals. Overall he won four League titles and three FA Cup winners medals before becoming a player coach at Notts County in 1995. He later played for Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster before becoming caretaker coach of American club New England Revolution, and then head coach of Boston Bulldogs.

[youtube]DQiqaorsFNQ[/youtube]

 

TOMMY LAWRENCE



Personal Details

Full name: Thomas Johnstone Lawrence
Nicknames: The Flying Pig, The Sweeper Keeper
DOB: 14 May 1940
Age: 67
Birth place: Ayrshire, England
Position: Goalkeeper
Strengths: agility, playing as a sweeper
Liverpool Debut: 27 October 1962
International Debut: 3 June 1963 vs Republic of Ireland (Dalymount Park), Friendly: lost 1-0

Playing Career

Liverpool - all comps
Liverpool (1957-71) - 390

National team
Scotland (1963-69) - 3

Other clubs
Tranmere Rovers (1971-74)

Transfers

Transferred from Liverpool to Tranmere Rovers, 10/11/1971

Honours

Liverpool

League Championship (1963/64, 1965/76)
FA Cup (1965)
Charity Shield (1964 (shared), 1965 (shared), 1966)

Scotland
1963-1969 3 caps

Individual
#80 in the poll "100 Players Who Shook The Kop"

Info

A stockly built Scotsman who was Shanks' keeper. Lawrence had been at Anfield for five years, until October 1962, when he got his opportunity in Liverpool's first season in the top flight for 8 years. Jim Furnell got injured 13 games into the season and Lawrence grabbed his chance with both hands and typically didn't let go of the shirt for the next 8 years, missing only 4 games between 1962 and 1970.

In 1968-69 he set a new record for the old First Division by conceding only 24 goals in 42 games which stood until his successor, Ray Clemence was beaten only 16 times a decade later. Clemence had to wait over 2 years to get the number 1 shirt off him.

Lawrence won two championships, an FA Cup winners medal and three Scotland caps.


http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=353

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/lawrence/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lawrence

Video - Tommy Lawrence, 100 Players Who Shook The Kop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzDKK5IUQHw

 

CHRIS LAWLER




Personal Details

Full name: Christopher Lawler
Nickname: The Ghost, The Silent King
DOB: 20 October 1943
Age: 64
Birth place: Liverpool, England
Position: Right full-back
Strengths: anticipation, getting forward, durability
Liverpool League Debut (at centre-half): 20 March 1963 v West Brom (Anfield), Football League Division One: drew 2-2
International debut: 12 May 1971 v Malta (Wembley)

Playing Career

Liverpool - all comps
Liverpool (1960-75) - 549 (61)

National team
England (1971-72) - 4 (1)

Other clubs
Portsmouth (1975-77)
Stockport (1977-78)

Honours

Liverpool

League championship (1965/66 and 1972/73)
FA Cup (1965 and 1974)
Charity Shield (1965 (shared) and 1966)
UEFA Cup (1973)

England
1971-1972 4 caps 1 goals

Individual
#51 in the poll "100 Players Who Shook The Kop"

Info

A local lad and a great right-back who held down a regular place in the team between 1965-1973. A goalscoring defender if there ever was one. An astonishing record of 61 goals in 549 games, especially considering he was not the club's penalty kick-taker or a free-kick specialist. His stealth at gliding forward from a defensive position into a scoring situation was a potent weapon for the Liverpool side of the 1960's which deploying Lawler at right back partnered by Gerry Byrne on the left, marched to Championship and FA Cup glory.

Lawler’s timing and anticipation of turning up in the right place at the right time to score vital goals earned him the nickname ‘The Ghost’.

Chris played in 32 consecutive First Division games in the 1964/65 season. He was also a proud member of the Liverpool team that won the FA cup for the first time in the club's history. He then missed just THREE of the next 336 league games, a quite remarkable 'attendance record', helping his side win the championship in 1966, reach the Cup winners' cup final the same year and another FA cup final in 1971.

Even approaching his 30th birthday, he still retained the fitness and stamina to play in every single one of the 66 competitive games the club played in four different competitions during the 1972-73 season, his reward being further winners' medals in the championship and UEFA cup.

http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=352

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/lawler/

Video - Chris Lawler, 100 Players Who Shook The Kop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE7I_VfpyAY

 

Couldve made the GK choice harder ...Clemence, Grobbelaar, Lawrence, Reina...bloody awesome GK's.

 

Sami Sami Sami Sami Hyypia

Date of Birth: 07/10/1973
1st team games: 429
1st team goals: 32
International caps: 90
International goals: 5

Profile From LFC.TV
Sami Hyypia was signed from Dutch outfit Willem II for a fee of about £2.5million in May 1999.

The towering Finn's consistent performances through the Houllier and Benitez eras have established him as one of Europe's best centre-backs.

He is a legend not only at Anfield but also in his homeland, where he has been crowned footballer of the year six times.

Hyypia started his professional career in 1992 with MyPa, where he spent three years and won two Finnish Cups.

His form earned him an international debut against Tunisia on November 7, 1992. Fifteen years on, he's well on his way to 100 caps.

In 1995, Hyypia enjoyed a trial at Kevin Keegan's Newcastle, but it'd be another four years before he would grace the Premiership.

Instead he joined Dutch side Willem II, where he was soon installed as captain.

The big man's final act before heading to Merseyside in 1999 was to help Willem secure Champions League qualification.

After making his Reds debut against Sheffield Wednesday on August 7, 1999, Hyypia quickly established a watertight partnership with Stephane Henchoz, providing the foundation for a historic treble in 2000-01.

The centre-half wore the captain's armband through much of this momentous campaign in the absence of the injured Jamie Redknapp. He jointly lifted both the UEFA and FA Cups.

Following the departure of Redknapp in April 2002, Gerard Houllier handed his trusty defender the captaincy on a permanent basis, though he'd be replaced by the emerging Steven Gerrard in October 2003.

With the arrival of new boss Rafa Benitez in 2004 came numerous personnel changes, though it was clear Hyypia was going nowhere.

However, he did have a new central-defensive partner in Jamie Carragher, who was at last given a regular slot in his preferred position. Within 12 months they were regarded as one of the most formidable pairings on the continent following Liverpool's Champions League triumph in the Ataturk.

Hyypia scored one of the most memorable goals en route to Istanbul, an unstoppable volley to open the scoring against Juve in the quarter-finals.

Incredibly, he played every minute of 57 consecutive European games for the Reds from November 2001 to February 2006.

The arrival of young centre-half Daniel Agger in January 2006 provided competition for places at the back, but despite sometimes missing out, Hyypia continued to climb the club's all-time appearance table. In January 2007 he overtook Ray Kennedy to enter the top 25.

History will undoubtedly judge the big Finn to be one of Gerard Houllier's shrewdest pieces of business. His collection of winner's medals is now in double figures and in 2006 fans voted him 38th in Liverpoolfc.tv's 100 Players Who Shook The Kop.

[youtube]twzQr20z04w[/youtube]

 

Elisha Scott

Goalkeeper

Place of Birth: August 24, 1894
Date of Birth: Belfast, Ireland

First Team Club Appearances: 467

First Team Country (Ireland) Appearances: 5
First Team Country (N. Ireland) Appearances: 22

Team Honours
First Division Championship: 1921/1922, 1922/1923

The legend of Elisha Scott will live forever in Liverpool folklore. Arguably the greatest goalkeeper to keep goal for the Reds, Scott remains one of the most famous figures to have represented the club, despite playing his last game way back in 1934.

Born in Belfast, he followed in the footsteps of his elder brother Billy, who was a goalkeeper with Everton and Ireland. Scott junior signed for Linfield at just 14 years of age but was soon moved on to junior club Broadway United where he learnt his trade before Billy recommended him to his peers at Goodison.

Fortunately for Liverpool, Everton deemed him to be too young and when Billy then mentioned Elisha to Anfield chairman John McKenna, the Reds did not hesitate in swooping to sign the rookie 17-year old.

With the experienced Kenny Campbell still keeping goal for Liverpool, young Scott was considered one for the future. But it was not long before he made an impression.

Making his first team debut against Newcastle United on New Years Day 1913, he kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw and, so accomplished was his performance at St James Park that afternoon, opponents Newcastle offered 1,000 for his signature immediately afterwards.

Scott was only informed of the bid on the way back to Liverpool and believing that Campbell would be difficult to dislodge, he thought it might have been in his best interests if he was allowed to go. Liverpool's secretary/manager Tom Watson, though, wisely refused and reassured Scott that his future lay at Anfield.

He was right. Towards the end of the 1914/15 season Scott enjoyed an extended run as Liverpool's first choice keeper and, although the advent of World War One interrupted his progress, as the 1920's dawned he quickly earned a reputation as one of the finest custodians around.

One reporter wrote of him, 'He has the eye of an eagle, the swift movement of a panther when flinging himself at a shot and the clutch of a vice when gripping the ball.'

In 1920 he won the first of his 27 international caps and in 1921/22 missed just three games as the Reds won their first league title for 16 years. The following season he was an ever-present between the sticks as the championship was retained. Scott was by now a firm favourite of the Anfield crowd and the adulation he received was unprecedented. In 1924, after pulling off a stunning save at home to Blackburn Rovers, one fan ran onto the pitch and kissed him!

The years that followed the back-to-back title triumphs may have been barren in terms of honours won but Scott's popularity never once waned. In 1934 the unthinkable almost occurred when Everton offered 250 for his services. He was coming to end of his career and Liverpool were ready to accept the offer until supporters flooded the local newspaper with letters of protest.

On February 21, 1934 Scott played his 467th and final game for Liverpool - it was a record that stood until Billy Liddell surpassed it in 1957.

Anfield's favourite son requested a move back to Ireland to take up the post of player/manager at Belfast Celtic and on the occasion of Liverpool's final home game of that season hardened Kopites were rumoured to have shed tears when their hero made an emotional farewell speech from the directors' box.

He finally retired from the game in at the age of 42 in 1936 and continued to manage the Belfast club until it folded in 1949. Ten years later the legendary Elisha Scott died. Gone, but never forgotten.

[youtube]JZVnzxbAR28[/youtube]