4th January

In comes Jari
2001 - Jari Litmanen finally signed from Barcelona on a free transfer, having turned us down prior to his move to the Catalan giants. He bagged nine goals in 43 reds games in his nineteen months on Merseyside before returning to his spiritual home at Ajax in August 2002.

Happy birthday James
1986 - James Milner was born in Wortley, Leeds. The midfielder arrived on a free transfer from Manchester City in July 2015, so far netting three times in twenty outings as well as regularly skippering the side in the absence of Jordan Henderson.

Wark walks
1988 - John Wark was sold to Second Division Ipswich Town for £100,000 after 42 goals in 108 reds games. He scored 25 goals in 105 games in this second spell at Portman Road before joining Middlesbrough in August 1990.
1962 – Inside-left Willie Fagan left Anfield to sign for Belfast Distillery. He had signed from Preston North End for £8,000 in October 1937, a record deal for a teenager, netting 57 goals in 182 reds games that helped fire us to the League title in 1947 and the FA Cup Final three years later.

Anfield comeback against the Mancs
1994 - We fought back from three goals down in the opening 23 minutes to claim a 3-3 draw against Manchester United, thanks to goals from Steve Bruce, the first of Ryan Giggs’ five strikes past us and Denis Irwin. Nigel Clough popped up to offer a glimmer of hope when he pulled a goal back and on 35 minutes he grabbed a second. With the Kop roaring the team on in the second half, we poured forward in search of an equaliser and it finally came with ten minutes to go, as Neil Ruddock rose above the United defence to power a header past a helpless Peter Schmeichel and complete an amazing comeback. A certain tabloid rag later alleged that Bruce Grobbelaar had lost £125,000 on this game after ‘accidentally’ saving a late United winner.

A double century at Yeovil
2004 - We won 2-0 at Third Division Yeovil Town in the Third Round of the FA Cup on a foggy day, thanks to an Emile Heskey strike, who was playing his 200th reds game, and a penalty from Danny Murphy. This was our 200th victory in the FA Cup.

Five for McGuigan
1902 - Inside-left Andy McGuigan became the first red to score five goals in a League game as we trounced Stoke 7-0 at Anfield, with Sam Raybould adding a brace. To be fair to the Potters their side was reportedly ravaged by food poisoning from eating dodgy fish. They could field only nine players and at one stage during the match they were down to just seven!
1975 - We also entertained Stoke City, as they were by then known. Steve Heighway and Kevin Keegan struck late on as we won this FA Cup Third Round tie 2-0, although we lost at Ipswich Town in the next match. Both teams lined up to applaud Ian Callaghan, who had been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

Three, four
1896 - George Allan scored a hat-trick as we won 5-0 at Rotherham Town in a Second Division fixture. Jimmy Ross and Harry Bradshaw bagged the others. This was one of four trebles that Allan netted that season.
1964 - Alf Arrowsmith scored four goals as we beat Derby County 5-0 in an FA Cup Third Round tie at Anfield. This was the second consecutive game in which a red had bagged four goals, following Roger Hunt’s similar feat against Stoke City in the League, who added the fifth on this occasion.

Carra’s milestone
2003 - Jamie Carragher played his 250th reds game as we won 1-0 at Manchester City in another FA Cup Third Round tie, with Danny Murphy on target from the spot in our final ever trip to Maine Road.

Back to the East End
2013 - Joe Cole left Anfield to return to West Ham United on a free transfer. He had signed for free from Chelsea in July 2010, notching just five times in 42 reds outings. On the same day, centre-forward Adam Morgan joined Rotherham United on loan. He only made two senior appearances for the Millers, without scoring.

Swapping right backs
2006 - Josemi joined Villarreal in exchange for Jan Kromkamp. Josemi was Rafael Benítez’s first signing, joining us from Málaga for £2m in July 2004, but made just 35 reds appearances. Kromkamp only stayed with the club for eight months, playing eighteen times, including a substitute appearance as we won the FA Cup later that year. Meanwhile, Zak Whitbread’s loan spell with Millwall was extended until the end of the season.

Awards for Sami and Gérard
2002 - Sami Hyypiä was named in Europe’s Team of the Year, voted for by users of UEFA.com. Gérard Houllier was the overwhelming choice of the voters as Coach of the Year, receiving fifty percent of the vote.

Cup of joy
1986 - We bounced back from a six-match winless streak to thump Norwich City 5-0 in the FA Cup Third Round at Anfield. Kevin MacDonald, Paul Walsh, Steve McMahon, Ronnie Whelan and John Wark all scored in what was our 300th match in the competition.

Toffees felled by Rushie again
1998 - Ian Rush netted his final ever goal as a professional footballer, the only goal of the game as Newcastle United beat Everton in an FA Cup Third Round tie at Goodison. This took his total of goals against the Blues to 26.

Derby disappointment
1941 - We lost 2-1 at home to Everton in a game that counted for both the Wartime League and the Lancashire Senior Cup. Bob Paisley netted our consolation.
We have also twice crossed Stanley Park for First Division matches on this day, returning with a share of the spoils on each occasion.
1930 - Dick Edmed, Archie McPherson and Jimmy McDougall netted as we drew 3-3. Dixie Dean netted two of his nineteen derby goals, with Ted Critchley also on target for the Blues.
1936 - The game ended goalless.

Stan on the way up
1991 - Stan Collymore joined Crystal Palace from Stafford Rangers for £100,000. He only bagged two goals in 25 appearances for the Eagles, mostly from the bench, before joining Southend United in November 1992.

Also on the move
2005 - Jamie Redknapp signed for Southampton on a free transfer from Tottenham Hotspur. He went on to play seventeen times for the Saints, under his dad Harry, scoring just once, in their FA Cup Third Round win at Northampton Town. However, they were relegated from the top flight where they had been since 1978. Meanwhile, Bjørn Tore Kvarme left Bastia. He later returned to his native Norway with Rosenborg BK, retiring from the game in June 2008.
2014 – Ex-reserves midfielder Craig Roddan joined Accrington Stanley on loan, but this was cut short due to injury, although he returned later in the year after being released by the reds.

Ronnie the Belgian
1989 - Ronnie Rosenthal won his first cap as a Standard de Liège player, and eighteenth in total, as Israel were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands in a friendly in Tel-Aviv.