By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 16 October 07.

In recent years the Merseyside derby has been tainted by bitterness between the two sets of supporters. However it has always been my favourite fixture of the football season. It is consistently the game I look forward to the most every year. Putting aside the race for the title with the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea, the rivalry with Everton will always be the most important one. That’s true for the majority of the people on Merseyside where ‘Reds’ and ‘Blues’ work alongside each other every day & family members are often split with support for both teams. My dad has 5 brothers and 2 of them are Evertonians & the other 3 are Kopites, try telling them that the derby doesn’t mean as much as the more glamorous fixtures.

To get us in the mood for the first derby game of this season I want to share my own personal top five matches between Liverpool and Everton. As always with these types of lists, everybody will have their own favourites. Some of you will agree with my choices and some of you will disagree and prefer other derbies. There have been loads of classic derby games over the years, each with their own share of special moments. The five games that I have chosen for my top five have all given me special and personal memories. As an interesting aside, you may notice that none of my choices took place at Anfield, this is merely a coincidence and not deliberate.

5. Everton 2 Liverpool 3 – August 1985

This was an absolutely superb game, near the start of the 1985/86 season. It’s a game that doesn’t seem to feature very often on Liverpool compilation videos or DVDs, but it really should. I will never forget watching the televised highlights on the Saturday night afterwards and keeping them on tape for years afterwards. In fact I think my dad still has a copy of it.

To coin a cliché this really was a game of two halves. Liverpool raced into a 3 – 0 first half lead before Everton staged a dramatic comeback in the second half. The game started out in incredible fashion with player-manager Kenny Dalglish opening the score after just 20 seconds. It was a spectacular strike from outside the area and the ball seemed to fly in slow motion. The second goal was another belter scored by Steve McMahon. This was McMahon’s first goal for the Reds after signing just one week previously. Ian Rush completed the rout with a typical finish going one on one with Neville Southall. The second half was a totally different story as Graeme Sharp and Gary Lineker struck for Everton and made the scoreline far closer than the fans had imagined at half time.

4. Everton 2 Liverpool 3 – 1989 F.A. Cup Final

The 1989 F.A. Cup Final was a very special game after the Hillsborough disaster. The city deserved another all Merseyside final as both teams players & fans came together united in grief & support for each other. The fans and families of those who died deserved a tremendous game and that’s exactly what they got as both teams fought to the bitter end, with the game going into extra time.

The game was preceded by moving versions of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Abide With Me’ sung by Gerry Marsden on the pitch, accompanied by eighty thousand fans of both Red and Blue. Once the game got going it was John Aldridge who opened the scoring from a terrific Steve McMahon through ball. After that early goal, the game was tense and dramatic as Everton pressed for the equaliser. As the game ticked into the ninetieth minute Everton made a last gasp effort to get the ball into the Liverpool area. Time seemed to stand still as Stuart McCall’s toe poke trickled into the net through the legs of Tony Cottee.

So the game went into extra time. Substitute Ian Rush had come on late in the second half to replace John Aldridge. The substitution from Kenny Dalglish proved to be inspired in the first half of extra time as Rush turned with pace on Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe and fired Liverpool into the lead. However the lead was only to last a few minutes as Everton won a free kick. It was delivered high into the Liverpool area and headed out by Alan Hansen. Unfortunately it fell straight to Stuart McCall who volleyed it first time into the corner of the net giving Bruce Grobbelaar no chance. Then minutes later Rush struck again, this time with a lovely header from a John Barnes cross. It was unbelievable stuff, three goals in less than ten minutes.

This was to be the winning goal and stand in captain Ronnie Whelan got the glory of lifting the famous trophy. The memorable image I remember from this game was the sight of Everton goalkeeper, Neville Southall, sitting alone in the goal for quite some time after the game ended.

3. Everton 2 Liverpool 3 – April 2001

This is the match most remembered for Gary McAllister’s long range free kick in the dying seconds. I remember watching this game with my dad at a neighbour’s home where we had gone for drinks because it was on a long weekend. Incidentally these particular neighbour’s were all rabid Evertonian’s so the atmosphere was great and the banter flowing in a hilarious style that only Scousers do so well.

Liverpool took the lead with Emile Heskey going one on one with Everton keeper Paul Gerrard. Everton equalised soon after through Bluenose hero Duncan Ferguson. Liverpool went back into the lead in the second half with a goal from Marcus Babel. Soon after this Robbie Fowler missed a penalty that surely would have put the game out of Everton’s reach. Everton capitalised on this penalty miss by going up to the other end and winning one of their own. David Unsworth didn’t miss and me and my dad had our heads in our hands wondering how we’d thrown the game away.

It looked to be heading for a 2 – 2 draw when we got a free kick in the dying seconds. Surely this was to be our last chance to snatch the victory. Everyone in the room was expecting McAllister to float the ball in to the box because it was so far away from the goal. However I saw the look in his eye as he put the ball down and said; “he’s going to hit this”. My prediction was correct as it sailed straight into the bottom corner of the Everton goal. The Liverpool fans, the bench and the players went absolutely berserk and my dad and I matched them well as we trampled over the Bluenose’s furniture wagging our fingers in their faces! This was an extremely crucial win as we needed every point we could get on our chase for that crucial third Champions League place. This victory, and that goal, gave us that extra bit of confidence we needed for the exciting climax to the treble season.

2. Everton 4 Liverpool 4 – February, 1991

Even if this game had finished 0 – 0 it would still have been memorable simply for the fact that it was Kenny Dalglish’s last as Liverpool manager. This is also the first time I can recall a game (that wasn’t a cup final) being so amazing that it was released on video soon afterwards.

It was the fifth round of the F.A. Cup and it was an incredible game. Liverpool took the lead four times through Ian Rush, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley and Everton kept coming back. Steve Nicol messed up for one of Evertons goals from Graeme Sharp. Sharp scored again to take the game into extra time. Liverpool went 3 – 2 up and then Everton substitute Tony Cottee equalised. Barnes scored one of the best ever Liverpool goals to make it 4 – 3 before Cottee equalised again in dramatic fashion.

Unfortunately this amazing game was overshadowed by the resignation of Kenny Dalglish almost immediately afterwards. I remember it was during the half term holidays from school so I was watching the lunchtime news on television when I heard the news. At first I thought I refused to believe the news, thinking it was either a lie or a rumour, but when I saw my dad’s face when he got home from work that night I knew it was true. Liverpool lost the replay 1 – 0 with a goal from Dave Watson.

1. Everton 1 Liverpool 3 – 1986 F.A. Cup Final

This is my favourite football match of all time. It was a massive game in which Liverpool where going for their first ever ‘double’ & Everton were looking for revenge for the league. Anybody who lived in Liverpool at the time will know just how truly massive this game really was. I remember the day before at school, the day was devoted to the game &andwe all wore Liverpool or Everton colours. We had a special assembly were we sung ‘Abide With Me’ & then we had a Liverpool V Everton game of our own on the school field in the afternoon. The day of the game there were many areas that had ‘street parties’ including where my family lived in Bootle. Decorating tables were laid out along the street & filled with buffet food & there were streamers & flags hanging from the lampposts & people had posters & flags in their windows. An absolutely brilliant day & something I think could only ever of happened in Liverpool.

I still think that was the best FA Cup Final ever and I don’t even think the 2006 final can better it. Apart from the fact it was Liverpool V Everton when both teams were the best in England it really was a tremendously exciting game played at a great tempo. It had plenty of goals & memorable moments such as the Bruce Grobbelaar save from Sharp’s header & the little row he had with Jim Beglin.

Gary Lineker put Everton into a first half lead and by half time the Blues had the game well under control. Liverpool scored three times through Ian Rush with two and Craig Johnston. The second half was a totally different story. Jan Molby put in a career best performance as he dominated midfield. He ran the second half setting up the first and second goals and then having an important hand in the third goal too with a sublime blind pass to Ronnie Whelan who chipped it over the defence to Ian Rush. He almost scored himself when he went one on one with the Everton keeper Bobby Mimms, but unfortunately he hit his shot straight at Mimms.

Liverpool took home the trophy that day but the entire city of Merseyside were winners that day. It still excites me when I watch that game and reminisce about the days before bitterness took over and spoilt the atmosphere of the derby.

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 15 October 07.

Paul Walsh was a popular and talented striker for Liverpool in the mid eighties and one of my favourite players when I was a kid. His Liverpool career was often spoilt by injuries that always seemed to strike when he was hitting top form, most notably during the double season in 1985/86. Despite him being injury prone he was always extremely popular with Reds fans due to his positive attitude and his obvious joy whenever he was playing. His boyish good looks and long blonde hair made him popular with the female fans too.

Paul was born in Plumstead, London, in October 1962. He began his football career for Charlton Athletic in the Second Division making nine appearances in the 1979/80 season. He made his first team debut at just sixteen years old against Shrewsbury Town. Charlton were relegated at the end of Paul’s first season but were promoted back up the following year. Paul played well in his third season, scoring thirteen goals and helping Charlton to finish in mid table.

In 1982 he signed for First Division new boys Luton Town for £400,000. In his first season for The Hatters, they barely survived relegation by winning away at Man City on the final day of the season. The finish to the game remains one of the most famous and parodied moments in English football when Luton manager David Pleat ran onto the pitch waving his arms and dancing with joy. During the 1982/83 season Paul played for the England Under 21 side, scoring four goals in four games. Walsh was absolutely sensational in the following season. His pace, goals and an ability to create something out of nothing led to him being awarded the ‘PFA Young Player of the Year’ for 1983/1984.

His performances that season also earned him the first of five full England caps. Bobby Robson picked him in his squad for a three match tour in Australia in June 1984. Paul made his debut in a 0 - 0 draw in Sydney and in the following game, played in Brisbane, he scored his first and only England goal in a 1 - 0 victory.

At the end of his second season at Luton Town, the ‘young player of the year’ had attracted the advances of two big teams, Liverpool and Man Utd. With Liverpool coming off an amazing treble, the lure of playing for the Reds proved too much to resist. In May 1984, Liverpool manager Joe Fagan pulled off a great coup by signing Paul Walsh for £700,000.

Ian Rush was injured for the first ten games of the 1984/85 season so Paul was thrown straight into the side alongside Kenny Dalglish. In his third game, his Anfield debut, Paul took just fourteen seconds to win the hearts of all Liverpool supporters with his first goal for the Reds in a 3 – 0 win over West Ham Utd. Ironically in his tenth game, Paul was injured just as Rushie was returning to the side. However his performances had already won over everybody at Anfield and he would remain an important part of the first team squad for the remainder of the season. He would often play as a third striker just behind Dalglish and Rush and he finished the season with thirteen goals.

Paul scored some important goals during the latter stages of the European Cup competition as Liverpool were seeking to retain the trophy. He had an incredible game in the second leg of the quarter final against Austria Vienna. He scored two quality goals and almost bagged hat-trick when he had a penalty saved. Paul was rewarded for a terrific first season with Liverpool with a place in the starting lineup for the 1985 European Cup Final against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Unfortunately we all know what happened next and what should have been the greatest night of his life turned into complete disaster with the loss of 39 people.

Kenny Dalglish was installed as player manager after the Heysel disaster. His first season in charge, 1985/86, was a momentus success as Liverpool won their first League and F.A. Cup double. This season also contained Paul Walsh’s best run in the Liverpool side when he scored an amazing eighteen goals in twenty five games. He was absolutely sensational during this run, not only did he score plenty of goals he also created loads too. During this run Liverpool went on a fourteen game unbeaten streak with Paul scoring eleven goals in eleven games. What makes these statistics even more impressive is that Paul was often a victim of Kenny Dalglish’s rotation system as he chopped and changed the side on a regular basis.

In one of those cruel moments of fate, Paul severely damaged his ankle ligaments against Man Utd in early February 1986 and he missed the majority of the rest of the season, playing in only three more games. He had played enough games to be awarded his first league championship medal but missed out on the classic F.A. Cup Final against Everton. The injury to Paul Walsh led indirectly to Kenny Dalglish putting himself back in the side after he had not played too often. Kenny picking himself for the remainder of the season has often been described as a major reason why Liverpool ended up winning the league title. With only a handfull of games remaining, Everton were leading the First Division by miles. When Everton won 2 – 0 at Anfield the title race seemed all but over. Then Liverpool went on an amazing run of eleven wins and one draw in the last twlve games. With King Kenny back in the side Liverpool started to gain momentum as Everton started to collapse. When Everton lost away to lowly Oxford Utd destiny was in Liverpool’s own hands as they just needed to beat Chelsea away in the final game to take the title. In fairytale fashion Kenny Dalglish was to score the goal that clinched Liverpool’s sixteenth league title.

During pre-season in 1986/87 Paul damaged his ankle again and missed the first twelve games of the season. When he returned from injury he was given an extended run in the side as Dalglish began to finally wind down his playing career. I’ll never forget the superb hat-trick Paul scored against Norwich City just a week after he returned to the side. By Liverpool’s standards this was a poor season that finished with the Reds winning no silverware. We did reach the League Cup Final in 1987 but lost 2 – 1 to Arsenal in the the first game we ever lost when Ian Rush scored. Paul played in the final but was dropped afterwards when John Aldridge was signed. This proved to be the beginning of the end for Paul’s Liverpool career.

In the summer of 1987, Ian Rush moved to Juventus and Kenny Dalglish spent big money bringing in John Barnes and Peter Beardsley. Aldridge and Beardsley formed an unstoppable partnership as Liverpool went unbeaten in the opening 29 games of the 1987/88 season, playing sensational football. Paul was confined to the bench for the majority of the season and was sold to Tottenham Hotspur in February 1988 for £500,000. He later revealed that he turned down a place as an attacking midfielder, preferring to stay as a striker, this was a decision he regretted. Had he stayed in this new position I think he would have been sensational. Paul returned to Anfield for the first time on the day that Liverpool clinched the league title. He was given an emotional standing ovation from the crowd which sang; “There’s only one Paul Walsh”.

He spent four years at Spurs, at first forming a decent partnership with Paul Stewart in his first season. In his second year he lost his place to Gary Lineker and spent most of the season on the bench. After missing out in 1986 he finally added an F.A. Cup winners medal to his collection as Spurs defeated Nottingham Forest in the 1991 final.

In 1992 he moved to Portsmouth for £400,000, where he became a cult hero. His scoring exploits on the South Coast took Pompey to third place in the newly named First Division and they missed out on promotion to the Premiership on goal difference in 1992/93. Paul was so popular with Portsmouth fans that he was voted the fans player of the year despite Guy Whittingham breaking the clubs goal scoring record. His finest game for Portsmouth came in a League Cup game away at Man Utd in January 1994. Portsmouth were massive underdogs and Paul scored both goals in a thrilling 2 – 2 draw.

In March 1994 he was sold to Man City for £750,000. Portsmouth fans were extremely upset but at the time this was too much money to turn down for a player nearing the end of his career. He scored six times in the last ten games of the season to help Man City escape the relegation zone and finish in sixteenth place. During the 1994/95 season Paul was a big hit with the City fans thanks to his all action displays and some memorable goals. Unfortunately for Man City they ended the season in seventeenth place and new manager Alan Ball swapped Paul for Portsmouth striker Gerry Creaney in the summer of 1995. He was made the club captain for his second spell at Portsmouth and he managed twenty one appearences before a serious knee injury forced him to retire in 1996.

Since retiring Paul has carved out a decent career for himself in the media. He regularly works as a pundit and can be heard most weeks around the world providing colour commentary on English Premier League matches. He also plays often for the Liverpool Past Masters team who regularly dominate in indoor tournaments.

It was at one of these veterans indoor tournaments that I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Walsh. It was in Vancouver, Canada in March 2006 at an event called ‘The Legends of Soccer’. It was an indoor competition made up of four teams of former professionals representing, England, Scotland and Canadian cities Vancouver and Calgary. Two other ex Liverpool legends were playing that night as part of the Scotland side. They were Gary Gillespie and John Wark, both of whom I also got to meet afterwards. The ex players were all nice guys and as the other ‘fans’ lining up for autographs were all kids, I think they enjoyed having some banter with someone who remembered them from their playing days. I was so pleased to have been given the chance to shake the hands of Walsh, Wark and Gillespie and thank them for giving me many great memories. Paul Walsh was always one of my dad’s favourite players and I was really happy to have been able to get Paul to write a personal note to to him.

Despite only playing at Anfield for three seasons, most of which was spent injured or on the bench, Paul Walsh remains one of Liverpools most popular ex players. This was displayed when he was voted number 71 in the ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’.

Video clip of Paul Walsh:

100PWSTK – 71

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

Standings as of 18 October 07.

Rank	Member	Points
1	Dennis	16
2	Pat	13
3	Ste	12
4	Kevin	9
5	Dan	6
6	Mark	3
6	Richard	3
8	Keith	2
8	Glenn	2
10	Andy	1
10	Luvdeep	1

To enter the members contest see the rules below.

RULES:

• Only open to paid LFC Vancouver Members.
• You list the names of the players you think will start the next LFC match.
• You must submit your list to lfcvancouver [at] gmail.com at least 12 hours before kick-off.
• This contest will include every match that LFC plays this season.
• The member(s) that correctly guess the starting XI will be awarded 5 points.
• At the end of the season the player with the most points will win the prize.
• What is the prize? It is a surprise!
• The standings will be included in each week’s newsletter.

Scoring System:

• 11 Correct picks = 5 points.
• 10 Correct picks = 3 points.
• 9 Correct picks = 1 point.
• 0-8 Correct picks = 0 points.

YNWA/JFT 96,

Andy Neumann