14th November

Ged takes charge
1998 - Gérard Houllier took sole charge of a reds game for the first time as we lost 3-1 at home to Leeds United. Robbie Fowler’s penalty was cancelled out by three late Leeds goals in front of the Kop, including one from Alan Smith on his debut, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink bagging the first two of his seven strikes past us.

Debutants galore
1970 - John Toshack made his reds bow as we were held to a goalless draw at Anfield by Coventry City, with ex-red Geoff Strong being given a rapturous reception as he led his new side out. Winger Peter Thompson made his 300th League appearance for us.
1925 – Right-back Jimmy ‘Parson’ Jackson debuted in our 2-0 home defeat of West Bromwich Albion, with Cyril Oxley bagging a brace, his first reds goals.
1914 – Half-back Charles Hafekost played his only senior reds game as Middlesbrough held us to a 1-1 top-flight draw at Anfield, with Fred Pagnam on target and George Elliott netting one of his eight strikes against the reds.

1953 - Right-back Don Campbell made his debut as we lost 3-2 at Sunderland, with Sammy Smyth scoring both our goals. Billy Elliott bagged a brace for the home side, with George Aitken also on target.
1931 - We also played a First Division match at Roker Park, with Dave Wright netting twice in our 3-1 win and Gordon Hodgson also on the scoresheet. Bobby Gurney bagged one of his sixteen strikes in just fifteen games against the reds.

Happy birthdays
1956 - Israeli defender Avi Cohen was born in Cairo in Egypt. He only made 24 appearances during his Anfield career after signing for £200,000 from Maccabi Tel-Aviv in July 1979, with his most memorable game coming in May 1980 as we clinched our twelfth League title. He put through his own net before scoring his only reds goal at the same end in the second half, as we beat Aston Villa 4-1.
1937 - Left-back Phil Ferns was born in Liverpool. The local lad struck once in 28 reds games after signing on at Anfield in September 1957. He made enough appearances in 1963/64 to claim a League title medal but moved on to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in August 1965.

1971 – Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe was born in Epsom in Surrey. He left Tottenham Hotspur in November 2012 to move to Melwood as Reserve Team Head Coach.
2002 – French centre-back Billy Koumetio was born in Lyon. He signed as a professional in August 2020, making his senior bow in a UEFA Champions League game at Midtjylland four months later. He only made one further senior appearance before moving on to Dundee in August 2024. On the same day, reds youngster Ryan Wilkie played for Scotland Under-18’s in their 2-0 friendly defeat in Germany.

Good fortune against PNE
1896 - We drew 1-1 at Deepdale with Bill Michael nabbing our goal.
1908 - Robert Robinson and Joe Hewitt struck as we beat Preston North End 2-1 in another top-flight meeting at Anfield. Herbert Danson nabbed one of his four goals against the reds.

Un-fair defeat
1967 - We suffered our first ever defeat in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, going down 2-1 at TSV 1860 München, although we progressed to the Third Round 9-2 on aggregate. Half-back Willie Stevenson became our first ever European substitute, coming on for Tony Hateley in this game. Ian Callaghan grabbed our goal that evening to put us nine ahead on aggregate, with Tommy Smith rattling the bar late on. Wilfried Kohlars netted twice for the home side.

Tommy’s century
1964 – Keeper Tommy Lawrence played his hundredth reds game as we beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Anfield, thanks to goals from Peter Thompson and Roger Hunt.

World Cup goals
1984 - Future red John Barnes netted a brace in England’s 8-0 demolition of Turkey in Istanbul. Fellow future red Mark Wright won his fourth full cap in the same game. On the same day, ex-red Graeme Souness captained Scotland as they beat Spain 3-1 at Hampden Park, with Kenny Dalglish on target with his thirtieth and final international goal, equalling Denis Law’s record. Steve Nicol won his third cap in the same match. Jim Beglin, Mark Lawrenson, Jan Mølby, Ian Rush, future red Glenn Hysén and ex-red Kevin Sheedy also played in qualifiers that same day.
1987 - Hysén captained Sweden in their 2-1 European Championships qualifying defeat in Italy.

Mixed fortunes in World Cup play-offs
2001 - Future red Milan Baroš was sent off late on as the Czech Republic lost 1-0 to Belgium in Prague, as they fell at the final hurdle in qualifying for the World Cup in the far east. Vladimír Šmicer also played, while there was better news as Baroš had now played enough international games to make his work permit application to join the reds likely to succeed. Dietmar Hamann and ex-red Christian Ziege were more fortunate, as Germany beat the Ukraine 4-1 in Dortmund to reach the Finals. Meanwhile, ex-red Rigobert Song and future red Fernando Morientes both featured in friendlies.
1999 – Hamann and future red Ziege also played for Germany in their 1-0 friendly win in Norway, with Vegard Heggem, future red Markus Babbel and ex-red Øyvind Leonhardsen all also featuring.

Red farewells
1959 – We lost a Second Division encounter 4-2 at Lincoln City with Dave Hickson and Roger Hunt on the scoresheet. Andy Graver bagged the last two of his five goals against the reds, with Bert Linnecor grabbing one of his five and John McClelland also scoring. This was Phil Taylor’s last game as Manager before resigning, with keeper Doug Rudham appearing for the 66th and final time.

Jack’s treble
1942 - Jack Balmer bagged a hat-trick as we beat Chester 5-1 at their Moss Road Ground in a Wartime League fixture. Len Carney and Willie Fagan were also on target.

Unlucky thirteen
1990 - Gary Gillespie won his thirteenth and final international cap in Scotland’s 1-1 European Championships qualifying draw in Bulgaria. Future red Gary McAllister won his sixth cap in the same game. On the same day, Ian Rush struck the only goal of Wales’ Euro ’92 qualifier in Luxembourg, playing up front alongside future red Dean Saunders. Future red Øyvind Leonhardsen also featured in another qualifier.

First and last caps
1990 - Steve McMahon and Jan Mølby both also made their final international appearances. McMahon won his seventeenth cap in England’s 1-1 Euro ’92 qualifying draw in the Republic of Ireland, with Ray Houghton, Steve Staunton, Ronnie Whelan, ex-red John Aldridge and future red Mark Wright all also playing. On the same day, Mølby won his 33rd cap as Denmark lost 2-0 in another qualifier against Yugoslavia in Copenhagen.
2012 – Mario Balotelli won his last cap as a Manchester City player as Italy lost 2-1 to France in a friendly in Parma, with future red Mamadou Sakho on the winning side. Future red Christian Benteke scored as Belgium lost a friendly 2-1 in Romania, with Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet also featuring. Nuri Şahin won his last cap as a reds player in Turkey’s 1-1 draw with Denmark in Istanbul.

2013 – Keeper Simon Mignolet won his first cap as a reds player in Belgium’s 2-0 friendly defeat by Colombia in Brussels. On the same day, Jordon Ibe, Raheem Sterling and ex-red Tom Ince represented England at junior levels, with future reds Christian Benteke and Mohamed Salah also in action.
1951 – Future red Sammy Smyth won his ninth and last cap for Ireland, and only one as a Stoke City player, as they lost 2-0 to England in the British International Championships at Villa Park. Billy Liddell played for the Scots in the same competition that day, as they lost 1-0 to Wales at Hampden Park.

2017 – Philippe Coutinho won his last cap as a reds player as England and Brazil shared a goalless draw at Wembley, with Dominic Solanke making his senior bow from the bench, his only appearance while on our books. Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez and future red Alisson Becker all also featured. On the same day, Alberto Moreno won his only cap as a reds player as Spain drew 3-3 with Russia in Saint Petersburg, with ex-red Suso making his senior international debut, while keeper Kamil Grabara made his bow for Poland Under-21’s and future reds custodian Jakub Ojrzyński debuted for Poland Under-15’s. Meanwhile, Javier Mascherano won his last cap while with Barcelona as they lost 4-2 to Nigeria in a friendly in Russia.

Virgil van Dijk played for the Netherlands for the last time before leaving Southampton, with Ryan Babel scoring his first goal as a Beşiktaş J.K. player. Meanwhile, Emre Can and Danny Ward both also played for their countries for the last time while at Anfield, with Marko Grujić, Simon Mignolet, Divock Origi, Corey Whelan, Harry Wilson, Ben Woodburn, future reds Thiago Alcântara and Dominik Szoboszlai, and ex-red Carl Medjani and Krisztián Németh also in action.

Ged against Jari
1992 - Gérard Houllier’s France beat Finland 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier at the Parc des Princes. Future red Jari Litmanen was on the losing side that day. Jari’s clubmate Sami Hyypiä played for Finland Under-21’s as they faced their French counterparts in Rouen on the same day.

Youngsters on target
1995 - Robbie Fowler scored for England Under-21’s as they beat Austria 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Middlesbrough, with future red Alex Manninger on the losing side.
2001 - Djibril Cissé bagged a brace as France Under-21’s beat Romania 4-0 in the second leg of their European Championships qualifying play-off against Romania in Brest to progress to the Finals 5-0 on aggregate.

2011 – Martin Kelly scored for England Under-21’s as they lost 2-1 to Belgium in a European Championships qualifier in Mons, with Jordan Henderson skippering the side and Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also in action as Nathaniel Clyne won his second and last cap at this level as a Crystal Palace player.  Future red Virgil van Dijk debuted for the Dutch at this level, with future red Thiago Alcântara converting a penalty for Spain and Lucas Leiva and Danny Wilson both also featuring for their countries that day. On the same day, Lucas was named the Premier League Player of the Year at the MBNA Northwest Football Awards at Lancashire Cricket Club in Manchester.

2017 – Bobby Duncan bagged a brace as England Under-17’s beat Germany 2-1 in a friendly in Rotherham, with Curtis Jones also featuring as ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper took charge. Future red Diogo Jota captained his country and netted as Portugal Under-21’s beat Switzerland 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Paços de Ferreira. Meanwhile, Bernard Diomède managed France Under-19’s to a 1-1 draw with Georgia in another qualifier in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
2018 – Sepp van den Berg scored his first goal for the Dutch Under-19’s as they won a friendly 4-0 in Armenia, with fellow future red Ryan Gravenberch also featuring. Future red Harvey Elliott, Rafael Camacho and Xherdan Shaqiri also played for their countries that day, with Steve Cooper again managing England Under-17’s.
2019 – Cody Gakpo bagged a brace as the Dutch Under-21’s thumped Gibraltar 6-0 in a European Championships qualifier, with fellow future red appearing for the Under-19’s as they were held to a 3-3 friendly draw by the Czech Republic in Katwijk aan Zee.

Management joy
2008 - Rafael Benítez was named Barclays Manager of the Month for October, having led us to four League wins out of four that month, as well as a victory and a draw in the Champions League. On the same day, Mark Wright was appointed Manager of Chester City for the third time. He could not save the club from relegation from the Football League and resigned the following June.

Starting out
2019 – Future red Diogo Jota made his senior international bow as Portugal thumped Lithuania 6-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Faro. Sepp van den Berg won his tenth and last cap for the Durch Under-19’s on the same day as they drew a friendly 3-3 with the Czech Republic in Katwijk aan Zee, with future red Ryan Gravenberch also featuring.
2012 – Raheem Sterling made his senior England bow in Roy Hodgson’s side’s 4-2 friendly defeat in Sweden, to celebrate the opening of the Friends Arena in Solna. Steven Gerrard won his hundredth cap while skippering a team that also included Glen Johnson, while Daniel Sturridge won his last cap as a Chelsea player, with ex-red Alexander Kačaniklić on the winning side. Luis Suárez netted as Uruguay beat Poland 3-1 in Gdansk. Future red Loris Karius won his only cap for Germany Under-20’s in their 2-1 defeat in Poland. Also in international action were future reds John Heitinga, Joël Matip, Mohamed Salah and Kolo Touré, and ex-reds Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano, Carl Medjani, Krisztián Németh and Daniel Sjölund.
2000 - Future red Andrea Dossena won his first Under-20’s cap as Italy beat Romania 3-1.

Other international reds on the scoresheet
2019 - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bagged his first goal for England as a reds player in their 7-0 trouncing of Montenegro at Wembley. Takumi Minamino scored in his fifth consecutive game for Japan, winning his last cap as a Red Bull Salzburg player as they won a World Cup qualifier 2-0 in Kyrgyzstan with Wataru Endō appearing for the final time while with Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging. Meanwhile, Naby Keïta captained Guinea and scored his first goal as a red in their 2-2 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw in Mali. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and ex-red Brad Smith also played for their countries that day, with Rigobert Song taking charge of Cameroon Under-23’s.

2012 - Lazar Marković scored his first goal for Serbia, and only one as a Partizan player, as they beat Chile 3-1 in a friendly in Switzerland. Meanwhile, future red Xherdan Shaqiri scored in Switzerland’s 2-1 friendly win in Tunisia while Sadio Mané scored his first goal as a Red Bull Salzburg player as Senegal drew a friendly 1-1 in Niger.
2014 – Marković also played as Serbia were beaten 3-1 by Denmark in a European Championships qualifier in Belgrade. Kolo Touré bagged his last goal for his country and only one as a reds player as the Ivory Coast thumped Sierra Leone 5-1 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Abidjan. Harry Wilson and future reds Diogo Jota and Andy Robertson were also in international action that day.

2006 - Craig Bellamy notched for John Toshack’s Wales as they thumped Liechtenstein 4-0 in a friendly in Wrexham. Meanwhile, Adam Hammill was on target for England Under-19’s as they beat Switzerland 3-2 in a friendly at Gresty Road, with Paul Anderson and Craig Lindfield both also featuring. Ex-red John Welsh won his eighth and final Under-21’s cap as they beat the Netherlands 1-0 under the caretaker charge of Sammy Lee in Alkmaar. Scott Carson, Darren Potter and future red James Milner also represented their countries.

2009 – Xabi Alonso bagged a brace that included a penalty, his first goals as a Real Madrid player, as Spain beat Argentina 2-1 in a friendly at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina and future red Maxi Rodríguez also featured, while keeper Iker Casillas won his hundredth cap for Spain. Ex-red Nicolas Anelka netted the only goal of France’s World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, with ex-reds Alou Diarra and Robbie Keane also in action. Ryan Babel, Philipp Degen, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Dirk Kuyt, Martin Škrtel, future reds Joe Allen, Andy Carroll, John Heitinga, Milan Jovanović, Ragnar Klavan, Dejan Lovren, Raul Meireles, James Milner, Christian Poulsen and Luis Suárez and ex-reds Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise and Rigobert Song also represented their countries that day, with John Toshack taking charge of Wales.

Reds skippers
2015 - Ex-reds Daniel Agger and Carl Medjani both captained their countries, with Denmark losing 2-1 in Sweden in the first leg of their Euro 2016 Play-off, while Algeria drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Tanzania.

Spiring sold
1974 – Winger Peter Spiring left Anfield to sign for Luton Town. He had signed from Bristol City for £60,000 in March 1973, but only made it as far as the first-team bench on two occasions, without making it onto the field. He later established himself at Hereford United.

Other reds games
1962 – Roger Hunt netted before Ronnie Moran converted a penalty as we beat Arsenal 2-1 at Anfield, with future red Geoff Strong on target for the visitors.
1936 – We drew 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday in L4 as Fred Howe struck twice.
1903 – Fred Priest opened the scoring as we lost 2-1 at Sheffield United before George Fleming had a penalty saved by the Blades’ Billy Foulke. Arthur Brown extended the home side’s lead before Arthur Goddard scored from the spot.

Red dads
2006 – Ex-reds keeper Chris Kirkland became a father, to Lucy.
1994 – Future red Nick Barmby became a dad for the first time, to Jack, who has gone on to a playing career in the lower leagues.

More international reds
1973 – Emlyn Hughes and future red Kenny Dalglish both featured in friendlies.
1989 – Ex-red Mike Newell and future red Michael Thomas both played for England B as they drew 1-1 with Italy Under-21’s in Brighton, while future red Øyvind Leonhardsen featured for Norway Under-21’s in their 2-0 defeat in a European Championships qualifier in Scotland. On the same day, future reds goalkeeping coach Cláudio Taffarel played as Brazil were held to a home goalless draw by Yugoslavia.
1993 – Future reds keeper Brad Friedel played in the USA’s 8-1 thumping of the Cayman Islands in a friendly in California.

2003 – Future reds Andy Lonergan, James Milner and Gary O’Neil all played for England Under-20’s as they beat Wales 2-0 in Stoke, with Roy Hodgson taking charge of the United Arab Emirates in their 3-1 AFC Asian Cup qualifying defeat of Syria in Al-Ain.
2016 - Bernard Diomède managed France Under-18’s to a goalless draw with England in Peterborough, although the French won a penalty shoot-out.
2020 – Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri both played in UEFA Nations League group games as Portugal lost 1-0 to France in Lisbon and Switzerland drew 1-1 with Spain in Basel.
2021 – Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas and ex-red Dejan Lovren all played in World Cup qualifiers.