11th May

Forward departures
1997 - John Barnes played his 407th and final reds game as we drew 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday, with Jamie Redknapp netting our goal late on. This point ensured we finished ‘fourth in a two-horse race’ on goal difference. Stan Collymore was also making his final appearance for the club, his 81st.
1991 - Peter Beardsley played his 175th and last reds game, coming on as a substitute as we beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Anfield, thanks to goals from Ian Rush and David Speedie, who netted in his fourteenth and final appearance.

Gary Mac’s farewell
2002 - Both Nicolas Anelka and Gary McAllister made their final reds appearances, with Nic scoring in our 5-0 rout of Ipswich Town at Anfield. John Arne Riise bagged a brace, with Michael Owen and Vladimír Šmicer scoring the other goals. Sami Hyypiä captained the reds for the hundredth time, with the result confirming the Tractor boys’ relegation, and our second-placed League finish.

Gary Mac said, “I will never forget today and I want to thank all the fans who gave me such a great ovation. I thought I would get a decent reception but that surpassed all my wildest dreams. That sort of ovation is normally reserved for players who have won European Cups for a club. It was a brilliant day and it was nice to hear the Kop’s humour at its best again when they were telling me to go back to Coventry.”

White suits and red faces
1996 - A huge disappointment came when we lost the FA Cup Final to Manchester United through a late Eric Cantona strike, the last of his five past us. The uninspiring game is perhaps best remembered for Liverpool’s white Armani suits. Ian Rush made his 660th and final reds appearance on this occasion.

Most recently
2016 - Christian Benteke headed in his tenth and last reds goal, an injury time equaliser as we were held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield by Chelsea. Eden Hazard had given the Blues a half-time lead, one of his seven strikes past us.

2014 - We beat Newcastle United 2-1 at Anfield as we ended the season in second place as Manchester City won their game played at the same time to clinch the title. Martin Škrtel put through his own net as we went in a goal down at the break, an all-Premier League record fourth own goal in a season. Daniel Agger equalised while playing his 232nd and last reds game before Daniel Sturridge scored in a club record twentieth different Premier League game in a single campaign as we reached a top-flight club record of 101 goals. Shola Ameobi and substitute Paul Dummett were both then sent off for the visitors, although the latter card was later rescinded. Luis Suárez played his 133rd and final game for the club, with loanee left-back Aly Cissokho also turning out for the last time.

Nando again
2008 - Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin were on target in a 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur. This was the first ever English top-flight match between two teams managed by Spaniards, while Torres struck his 24th League goal of the season in our final fixture, to break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for an overseas player in his first English campaign. Meanwhile, this was Voronin’s sixth and final reds goal and Steve Finnan’s 217th and last game for the club.

Derailed at the Bridge
2003 - We lost 2-1 at Chelsea, to be pipped to a place in the Champions League qualifiers by the home side. Sami Hyypiä opened the scoring, but Marcel Desailly and Jesper Grønkjær both also struck in the first half. Patrik Berger came on from the bench, to make his 196th and final reds appearance, while Steven Gerrard was dismissed late on for a wild challenge in our final game of the season.

In comes Lucas
2007 - Young Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva signed from Grêmio for a reported £5m. He appeared 346 times, notching just seven times, moving on to S.S. Lazio for £5m in July 2017.

Other arrivals
1954 - Wing-half Bobby Campbell signed on as a professional. He struck twice in 25 first-team appearances before moving to Portsmouth in 1961, later going on to a successful managerial career.
1984 - Campbell was sacked as Pompey boss after two years, despite leading them to the old Third Division title in his first season in charge, keeping them up the following season.

1903 – Inside-forward Fred Buck arrived from West Bromwich Albion. He struck once in thirteen senior outings before joining Plymouth Argyle in April 1904.
1929 – South African half-back Charlie Thompson signed from Wallsend. He only made six senior appearances without scoring, moving on to Blackpool in May 1931.
1955 – Forward Bobby Murdoch signed as an amateur, turning pro two years later. He struck seven times in nineteen reds games as we struggled in the Second Division. He moved on to Barrow in September 1959.
2021 – Forward Layton Stewart signed a new contract, having been with the reds since the age of seven. He only made one senior appearance, in our League Cup Third Round encounter with Derby County at Anfield in November 2022, moving on to Preston North End in July 2023.
2022 – Forward Max Woltman signed a new contract, having been with the Academy since the age of seven. He played two first-team games before joining Oxford United in August 2023.

Farewell to a manager
1915 - The funeral of Tom Watson took place. He had led Sunderland to the League title three times, and won two more championships during his time at Anfield, in 1901 and 1906, as well as taking us to our first FA Cup Final in 1914. He managed us for nineteen years in all, until his death.
2009 – It was announced that Academy Technical Manager Piet Hamberg was leaving at the end of the season.

Reds trebles
1968 - Tony Hateley claimed a hat-trick in our 6-1 Anfield trouncing of Nottingham Forest, his second treble of the season. Roger Hunt added a brace, with Ian St. John also on target and Joe Baker nabbing the last of his four goals past us.
1940 - South African outside-right Berry Nieuwenhuys netted three times as we beat Stockport County 4-3 in a Wartime League game at Anfield. Harman van den Berg was also on target.

Testimonials
1981 - A testimonial match for Steve Heighway was staged. A ‘Liverpool Past And Present’ side drew 2-2 with a similar Everton team at Anfield.
1993 - We took part in a testimonial for Joey Jones as our meeting with Wrexham ended 2-2 at the Racecourse Ground. Ian Rush and Don Hutchison netted for the reds.

Rushie’s farewell
1987 - Ian Rush played for the final time in his first spell as a reds player as we lost 3-0 to the Israeli national side in the Ramat-Gan Stadium.

200 up for the king
1982 - Kenny Dalglish played his 200th League game for the reds as we drew 1-1 at Arsenal in a match originally postponed four months earlier, with Ian Rush scoring our first goal in this fixture for five seasons. Alan Sunderland equalised for the Gunners shortly after the break with the last of his six strikes against us.

Mighty Mouse on target for England
Kevin Keegan struck for England on this day in consecutive years.
1974 - He netted as they beat Wales 2-0 in a friendly in Cardiff with England being skippered by Emlyn Hughes for the first of 23 times.
1975 - He bagged the only goal as Cyprus were beaten in a European Championships qualifier in Limassol. Fellow reds Ray Clemence and Emlyn Hughes both also played.

1976 - Ray Clemence, Kevin Keegan, Ray Kennedy and Phil Thompson all represented England as they beat Northern Ireland 4-0 in a British International Championships game at Wembley.

Final caps
1930 - Ex-red Billy Lacey won his final cap, for his third country, as the Republic of Ireland beat Belgium 3-1 in Brussels. This was his third cap for the south, following eighteen caps he had won for Ireland and another eight for Northern Ireland.
2019 – Future red Jakub Ojrzyński featured for Poland Under-16’s for the fifth and last time in their goalless draw with Norway in Romania. Meanwhile, future red Melkamu Frauendorf won his second and final Under-15’s cap as Germany beat the Netherlands 2-0.
2022 – Frauendorf played his third and last game for the Under-18’s, netting his only goal as Germany won a friendly 4-0 in Belgium.

Dismissed!
1999 - Milan Baroš was sent off while winning his tenth cap for the Czech Republic Under-18’s as they lost 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Georgia. On the same day, fellow future red John Arne Riise played for Norway Under-19’s for the only time in their 1-1 friendly draw with Spain.
2016 – Galatasaray’s Ozan Kabak won his fifteenth and last cap for Turkey Under-16’s, but was dismissed in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Belgium in Portugal.

Reds birthdays
1922 – Centre-forward Arthur Shepherd was born. He was on our books in the late 1940’s at the same time as his brothers Joseph and right-back Bill. He struck twelve times in eleven wartime games, but never appeared for the reds in peacetime.
1974 - Former reserves keeper Tony Warner was born in Liverpool. He never made the first team, despite sitting on the bench 121 times.

Award winners
2006 - Steven Gerrard was named the Barclays Premiership Player of the Month for April, with Pepe Reina claiming the ‘Golden Glove’ award for most Premiership clean sheets in the season, having kept twenty shut-outs.

Reds managers in opposition
1940 - Future Liverpool bosses Bill Shankly and Don Welsh faced each other in a Wartime International at Hampden Park, with Scotland and England drawing 1-1.

First caps
2004 - Alberto Aquilani won his final cap while on loan at Unione Sportiva Triestina, making his Under-21’s debut as Italy beat Poland 3-1.
2006 - Future reds keeper Nikolaj Mihajlov made his senior international debut as a substitute, winning his only cap as a PFC Levski Sofia player as Bulgaria were thumped 5-1 by Scotland in the Kirin Cup in Japan.

Anfield final
1959 – Everton beat Tranmere Rovers in the Liverpool Senior Cup Final at Anfield.

Other games on this day
1985 – We beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Anfield, with Ronnie Whelan and Ian Rush both scoring in a two-minute spell, before Paul Birch scored a consolation.
1979 – We won 1-0 at Middlesbrough thanks to a David Johnson header, having already clinched the League title.
1963 – We shared a goalless draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Also in international action
1929 – Future reds Ernie Blenkinsop and Tom Cooper both played as England thumped Belgium 5-1 in a friendly in Brussels.
1950 – Right-winger Jimmy Payne played in a B international as England were trounced 5-0 by Italy in Milan.
1994 – Future red Rigobert Song featured for Cameron in their 1-1 draw with Bolivia in the Greece Tournament.

2005 – Future reds loanee Nuri Şahin featured as Turkey Under-17’s beat Croatia 3-1 in their European Championships Semi-final in Italy.
2012 – Future red Mohamed Salah played as Egypt won a friendly 4-1 in Lebanon.
2018 – Future red Ryan Gravenberch appeared for the Durch Under-17’s as they beat Serbia 2-0 in a European Championships Finals group game in Loughborough.