“A final word from The Boss” Vol.2
Dalglish at the Double!
“Dalglish at the Double!” can be found singing and dancing merrily through pages 108 and 111 as well as moonlighting as the 6th and final chapter of Act 2 within my May 2024 self-published book “A final word from The Boss”.
9 Acts cover 500 pages on the 2023–2024 season and Jürgen Klopp’s final bow as manager of the good ship Liverpool. 6 Acts cover the season itself but 3 further elongated Acts of retrospective writing are also sprinkled throughout and mainly covering the League championship winning and League Cup final double winning season of 1981–1982.
Originally penned and published on 3rd July 2022, I have great pleasure in boasting that this article was included last year in Issue 296 of the Liverpool fanzine “Red All Over The Land” and before you get to the article itself, may I also present to you my Youtube channel reading of this very chapter, recorded late last Summer?
I hope you enjoy.
"A final word from The Boss" - link to Amazon
LIVERPOOL 3 (Dalglish 47 and 52, Rush 75)
EVERTON 1 (Ferguson 85)
An all ticket crowd (somewhat of a rarity 41 years ago) of 48,861 were lucky to be present at Anfield for the 125th playing of a league Merseyside Derby, and a first taste of this unique sporting occasion for future Liverpool Red and Everton Blue legends, household names and a name in particular that would become famous in the Blue shirt of my hometown of Portsmouth and not that of Everton and for whom he was substitute on this day.
Merseyside Derby debuts were handed out to both goalkeeping custodians, the Zimbabwean Bruce Grobbelaar in the Liverpool goal and Jim Arnold for the Everton Blues. Liverpool future legends Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan and a fresh faced Welshman by the name of Ian Rush would also make their debuts in this Derby before starring in them for a decade or more to come and on the opposite side of the ball, Everton also gave “Derby Day” debuts to Gary Stevens, Mick Ferguson and Alan Ainscow. Of more interest and note would be future Liverpool Red Steve McMahon a young Blue in their number 7 shirt and substitute Alan Biley wearing the Blue number 12 shirt before becoming a legend for my hometown Blues of Portsmouth in the mid 1980's.
At the start of play, Everton held a 1 point advantage over Liverpool in the 1st Division league table with the teams sitting in 8th and 9th places respectively. By the end of this niggly and often typically foul tempered “Derby” that would see Everton’s Eamonn O’keefe sent off for a violent challenge on Liverpool’s Ronnie Whelan, the Reds would leapfrog their rivals into 7th place whilst seeing them slide into the bottom half of the league after a game that the visitors from Everton didn’t really start, were well beaten by the time they finally did, and after Kenny Dalglish had scored two of my favourite ever Liverpool goals.
A certain young man by the name of Ian Rush would also score his first ever Merseyside Derby goal too.
In truth, Everton barely feature as an attacking team until they’re 3–0 down and attacking out of desperation in the final minutes of the game. Their only real threat in the first half was snuffed out by a spectacular flying catch from Liverpool goalkeeping custodian and future legend Bruce Grobbelaar, and only seemingly because he wanted to be involved in the game! He would do so again, in customary fashion on a couple of occasions, racing from his goal to claim high catches with spectacular, if somewhat unnecessary flair, but aside from this Grobbelaar was barely troubled on his Merseyside debut and should, in truth, have easily saved Mick Ferguson’s consolation goal for Everton with just 5 minutes remaining. But it mattered not as by then his Liverpool team were 3 goals to the good, and another debutant in the Everton goal Jim Arnold could do nothing to stem the red tide swarming toward him.
After thoroughly dominating the first half, the Reds grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with two goals in five early second half minutes and the game was effectively over as a contest. From nowhere, the game was blown wide open and Kenny Dalglish helped himself to two Derby Day goals, and at his beloved Kop End of Anfield too. Following incessant Liverpool pressure they force two corners in quick succession, both of which result in goals for the Scotland forward and Reds legend. A sweeping corner is met brilliantly on the flying volley by Irish International Ronnie Whelan and eerily similar to his world famous goal for his country against Russia in Euro ’88 and fully 7 years after this particular volley. Jim Arnold makes a fine reaction save but Dalglish nips in before any Everton defender can react, and gleefully smashes the loose ball into the Kop End net. 5 minutes later, another corner, this time quickly taken by Dalglish himself who rolls a quick ball to fellow countryman and team mate Graeme Souness. Dalglish continues his run into the penalty area somewhat unattended and from Souness’ lofted pass, Terry McDermott strokes a perfect pass with the outside of his right foot into the continuing run of Dalglish who controls the ball instantly with his left foot before a quick running touch with his right sets up a brilliant cross shot with his left that flies past Jim Arnold in the Everton goal. Dalglish runs headlong toward the massed bank of Reds on the Kop End behind the goal before leaping into the air in celebration.
Kenny Dalglish will forever be my footballing hero and his second goal here is simply poetry in motion. Quick thinking, never stopping running, always eager for the ball, one touch, two touch, running at speed, and a cross shot perfectly into the far corner of the net.
Poetry in motion.
With 15 minutes remaining, the Reds score a deserved third goal albeit it would arrive in a bizarre fashion and be the first of many goals Ian Rush would torment Everton with for well over a decade into the future. First Phil Neal cuts out a possible attacking through ball which Graeme Souness immediately collects before releasing Terry McDermott on the right flank. His immediate square pass to Dalglish is cycled immediately to substitute David Johnson who’s shot is brilliantly saved by Jim Arnold at his near post. Everton defender Gary Stevens tries to hack the loose and bouncing ball clear but only manages to crash it into the continuing run of David Johnson and the ball flicks off Johnson, then off Ian Rush, and the ball balloons off the Welshman and high into the Everton net.
Rush has scored his first ever Merseyside Derby goal, and the 3 points are firmly in the bag for the hosts.
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.