Peter Beardsley & John Barnes

[Ronnie Whelan]

2 hours ago, Ron B said:

I don’t know if I’d agree with that narrative about Dalglish not being supported towards the end. 
McMahon was being chased by Sampdoria, and Dalglish offered him a new five-year deal. We also pinned Barnesy down to a new contract when various big foreign sides were said to be circling (albeit I don’t know that any of them made a bid). It made sense to let Big Jan go if we had a replacement, as he was only starting to rot on the bench - but not if we couldn’t nail a replacement first, which we didn’t so he stayed put. 
That only leaves Beardsley, with a deal agreed with Marseille for a bonkers sum; he didn’t fancy it though, and that’s one of the more believable reasons why he and Kenny are said to have fallen out. 
We weren’t a particularly commercial operation off the pitch back in the day (I’m sure plenty of folks here have memories of the ramshackle club shop). United were Megatore FC and we laughed at them for doing so whilst never getting close to the title. Then they converted their cash into trophies and we were left chasing shadows. That maybe left Kenny short of Ferguson-levels of cash, but I suspect a bigger issue is that he became a shade too loyal to the team, partly because he’d been with many of them for so long, and partly because they’d all been through Hillsborough together. 

Rushie was probably the last good signing, but fundamentally we spent a lot of money after the summer of 1987 and very little of it improved the first team for more than a few months (or, in the case of some decent youngsters, didn’t improve the team for several years). Here’s a list of Kenny’s final 12 signings from his last two-and-half years - how many made us better?

Tanner, Rush, Burrows, Barry Jones, Hysen, Harkness, Rosenthal, Cousins, Hutchison, Carter, Redknapp and Speedie. 
 

Fair points in there. Football was changing and we were hanging in because of the team we had. I was out in town with a mate who worked with the club one time at the end of one of the seasons in the 80s and he was literally telling us that in the space of a week, the club had got huge offers for McMahon, Barnes, Whelan, Nicol and Houghton. Kenny didn't want to sell, but there was apparently a bit of pressure on him to do so. My mate was saying it was a constant thing from the Italian and Spanish clubs. Ultimately, none of those left on his watch, but that did impact us getting other top notch players in. The price for Pallister was bonkers at the time, but what a good defender he was.

 

I'll be honest, some of those signings had talent. If Kenny had stayed past 1991, a few of them probably would have had decent careers here. 

[Arniepie]

1 hour ago, Dapower said:

Speedie was a mad signing 

Yep..it was a very unusual one.

I'd say the only 2 really poor ones were Carter and tanner.

From memory there was quite a furore when souness sold Hutchison and wasn't harkness still playing under Evans?

Hardly failures.

In a different universe we would have had pallister,mabbut and gazza 

[Ron B]

9 hours ago, Arniepie said:

Rosenthal won us the league in 90

Harkness and Hutchinson were decent players.

Redknapp was hugely rated at the time.

Carter and tanner were shite. 

Never even heard of cousins and Barry Jones so not sure they were huge signings?

Speedie was a strange one.

The too loyal argument is hugely flawed.

When he went ,we were 2nd in the league and still in the cup.

We also had a whole host of young players who would come through in the Next few years.

Aye, Rosenthal was like an Exocet when he arrived on loan - 7 goals in 8 games. And then he was rubbish, with only 14 goals in three-and-a-half years. In hindsight it was a mistake to make his loan signing permanent. 
As for the youngsters? There were some real gems there, but Harkness, Hutchison and Redknapp hadn’t played a competitive game before Kenny left; Bugsy Burrows had a couple of years fighting it out for the left-back spot but his so-so subsequent career suggests he was carried along by the high tide of how good the rest of the team was; and Jones and Cousins just show how easy it is for a promising youngster to disappear between the cracks. 
That leaves Speedie, Carter and Hysen, who all started well and then dropped off. Either Kenny was too loyal to that amazing 87-88 team, or he’d lost his eye for a player and just bought tripe ‘n’ kids. I lean towards the first explanation. 

[Lee909]

I'd put it down to everything that happened. Football was changing and with no European football money was probably tight at the club. Hillsborough then happens and Kenny probably thought the players had earned the right to put everything right again and win tbe league after the 89 title loss. The stress of the disaster likely effected everyone and everything happening at the club and the easiest thing to do was carry on with a winning team. Then money started to move football on and we got left behind 

[matty210]

Geoff twentyman was sacked in 86. I don’t think recruitment ever recovered after that apart from barnes and Beardsley but they were already established players.

[VladimirIlyich]

14 hours ago, Dapower said:

Speedie was a mad signing 

He was also pretty effective in all honesty. He lacked right sort of partner though and wasn't consistent enough.

[Arniepie]

1 hour ago, matty210 said:

Geoff twentyman was sacked in 86. I don’t think recruitment ever recovered after that apart from barnes and Beardsley but they were already established players.

Barnes was considered a huge gamble and Beardsley took a while to come good.

We sold rush who cost buttons and with the money built arguably one of the greatest sides ever.

Shite.

[Arniepie]

34 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

He was also pretty effective in all honesty. He lacked right sort of partner though and wasn't consistent enough.

He just seemed like a very odd buy at the time.

It's easy to say in hindsight but I would have kept also and not brought rush back

 

[Mook]

16 hours ago, Arniepie said:

Rosenthal won us the league in 90

Harkness and Hutchinson were decent players.

Redknapp was hugely rated at the time.

Carter and tanner were shite. 

Never even heard of cousins and Barry Jones so not sure they were huge signings?

Speedie was a strange one.

The too loyal argument is hugely flawed.

When he went ,we were 2nd in the league and still in the cup.

We also had a whole host of young players who would come through in the Next few years.

 

I'm pretty sure we were top of the league when Kenny resigned.

[Arniepie]

5 minutes ago, Mook said:

 

I'm pretty sure we were top of the league when Kenny resigned.

2nd I think?

We had a bit of an inconsistent start..I remember us getting walloped at Highbury.

[Dapower]

1 hour ago, matty210 said:

Geoff twentyman was sacked in 86. I don’t think recruitment ever recovered after that apart from barnes and Beardsley but they were already established players.

Then Ron Yeats came in

[Dapower]

1 hour ago, VladimirIlyich said:

He was also pretty effective in all honesty. He lacked right sort of partner though and wasn't consistent enough.

Always remember him goading the bitters at Anfield and still to this day never lets anybody say a word against us 

[matty210]

1 hour ago, Arniepie said:

Barnes was considered a huge gamble and Beardsley took a while to come good.

We sold rush who cost buttons and with the money built arguably one of the greatest sides ever.

Shite.

Ok

[Red74]

On 24/03/2024 at 00:41, Lee909 said:

 

Never knew we tried to gey McAllister at that point. Shame, was a great player

I don’t remember us ever being interested in him but do remember him making all the noises about wanting to come to us before he went to Leeds. I’m sure he was playing for Leicester who were in the old division 2 at the time so would have been an expensive risk. He was great for Leeds as well. We should have been all over him when he was allowed to go to Coventry. 

[Code]

2 hours ago, Arniepie said:

2nd I think?

We had a bit of an inconsistent start..I remember us getting walloped at Highbury.

 

https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/abdication-of-the-king-when-kenny-dalglish-quit-liverpool-on-this-day-in-1991

 

Kenny talking about the last game against Everton.

«Remembering that momentous night some years later Dalglish revealed his inner thought process during that infamous final game in charge and looking back now it seems incredible that the genuine reasons for his departure weren’t more obvious to everyone.

“After we took the lead for the final time, I knew I had to make a change to shore things up at the back,” he said. “I could see what had to be done, and what would happen if I didn’t, but I did not act on it. That was the moment I knew I was shattered. I needed to get out and away from the pressure.”

 

We were top of the league when Kenny resigned on the 22nd of February, then we lost 3-1 away to Luton the next day and Arsenal got ahead on goal difference. 
 

 

[VladimirIlyich]

1 hour ago, Dapower said:

Always remember him goading the bitters at Anfield and still to this day never lets anybody say a word against us 

He actually scored a hat trick in the Derby match but didn't get given the other goal he should have.

[Denny Crane]

Liverpool  4 Manchester United 0 September  1990. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trumo]

Imagine if Barnesy hadn't shown up for the recording of 'World in Motion'? Either there'd have been no rap, or maybe Beardo would have done it!

[Dapower]

52 minutes ago, Denny Crane said:

Liverpool  4 Manchester United 0 September  1990. 

 

 

 

 

 

That was a better Utd team than what they have now

[Arniepie]

3 hours ago, Code said:

 

https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/abdication-of-the-king-when-kenny-dalglish-quit-liverpool-on-this-day-in-1991

 

Kenny talking about the last game against Everton.

«Remembering that momentous night some years later Dalglish revealed his inner thought process during that infamous final game in charge and looking back now it seems incredible that the genuine reasons for his departure weren’t more obvious to everyone.

“After we took the lead for the final time, I knew I had to make a change to shore things up at the back,” he said. “I could see what had to be done, and what would happen if I didn’t, but I did not act on it. That was the moment I knew I was shattered. I needed to get out and away from the pressure.”

 

We were top of the league when Kenny resigned on the 22nd of February, then we lost 3-1 away to Luton the next day and Arsenal got ahead on goal difference. 
 

 

Ah fair enough..thought we were 2nd

There is a boss book called the antomony of Liverpool which looks at key games, and the 4 all was in there 

Looking back,after everything he went though,it was amazing he lasted as long as he did.

He looked utter hunted on that Friday.

[Arniepie]

There was also that phase where he kept on dropping Beardsley for key games and there were loads of bullshit rumours flying around.

And when he did bring him back,the 4 all,he was brilliant