Liverpool 1 Manchester City 3
Retro Series Vol.17 and the infamous Boxing Day defeat that led to glory!
Retro Series Vol.17 and the infamous Boxing Day defeat that led to glory!
Growing up a Liverpool Red and veraciously consuming the history of the past as the present was being written in front of my still disbelieving eyes, I was fully aware of what a Zeitgeist moment this was and, through the apocryphal stories over fully four decades later, still is. How can a 3–1 home defeat at Christmas in 1981 turn out to be the catalyst of an unbelievable run of victories that would lead ultimately to glory, and the snagging of two trophies in this failing season? That must come later in our tale but first, and returning to that infamous Boxing Day of 1981, considering the vaunted places these two teams now hold in not just English but World football, who would have believed that four decades ago, this would be a middle of the table battle (Liverpool 12th and Manchester City 8th) and that today’s Christmas victors would finish the season in mid-table 10th whilst the losers would romp to the 1st Division League Title by 4 clear points?
As 1981 faded in a drunken fug into a new year of 1982, this was a mid-table battle of the European Cup holders and the beaten finalists from the FA Cup Final, a thoroughbred team of European Champions versus yet another of Manchester City’s brave new dawns. Four decades later, this fixture has now usurped their individual tussles with Manchester United as THE defining match in their schedule. Over the past four seasons alone these two north west football clubs have been separated at the end of the season by just 1 point (and a handful of goals), TWICE, as well as each romping to the Title by a handsome margin when the other struggled. It’s been a 2 horse race and with mere days to go before the start of the 2022/2023 season it’s already over, the 9 footballing months ahead immaterial, and the only subject up for debate is the minor points margin that will separate these two teams come May 2023.
But all of this is for the future and for now, we’re returning to the past. I’ve grown up with tales of this 3–1 defeat being a nadir (it was) but also a heavily outplayed and dismal performance from the Reds (it wasn’t). Before we continue with this journey down footballing memory lane, a respectful thanks for the www.youtube.com channel who fires these retrospective trips into a bygone age:
Dave Waller
This channel is about a football team - the greatest team you've ever seen. A team that played total football, won the…www.youtube.com
On a typically white pockmarked and bumpy winter Anfield pitch, the European Cup holders and hosts were still bedding in a number of changes to their team and throughout the spine of their team. Veterans of past triumphs such as Phil Neal, Phil Thompson and Alan Hansen now had new signing Mark Lawrenson in defence at an unfamiliar left back position, whilst Ronnie Whelan, Craig Johnston and Ian Rush were all trying to nail down permanent positions alongside older stagers such as locally born Sammy Lee and the Scotland greats of Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish. On the other side of the ball, Manchester City were only missing Paul Power and Steve MacKenzie from their Wembley FA Cup Final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur seven months prior. England’s Joe Corrigan remained a stalwart in their goal, Kevin Bond and Tommy Caton marshalled the centre of their defence and whilst Steve Kinsey was playing just his second game for the first XI, new signing Trevor Francis assisted with an attacking trio of Asa Hartford, Kevin Reeves and Tommy Hutchinson.
Although the opening ten minutes was all Liverpool Red (and Craig Johnston in particular providing the attacking thrust and energy), the Blues of Manchester City would strike twice with their only chances of a dour first half, but only one goal would actually count. On 8 minutes, Steve Kinsey burst down the Liverpool defensive left before curling a perfect cross onto the forward running head of Asa Hartford. His looping header beat Bruce Grobbelaar in the Liverpool goal but for some reason, and on an afternoon of strange referring decisions, referee Richardson disallowed a perfectly good goal. But mere seconds later, it mattered not. Kinsey was again involved, this time his sharp cross should have been cleared by Liverpool captain Phil Thompson but as he dithered on the ball, Asa Hartford stole in and quickly scored past Grobbelaar at his near post. It would be an infamous day to forget for the Liverpool captain, the defence he controlled, as well as his Zimbabwean born goalkeeper, but at 1–0 down after just 9 minutes, his team would press, if a little unconvincingly, for an equaliser.
Craig Johnston again was at the heart of everything positive from Liverpool and their one true highlight yet again in this, his first full season for the Reds. As the first half wore on he became more and more influential as Liverpool seemingly came closer and closer to an equaliser. First Johnston’s flick header from a Grobbelaar goal kick found Ian Rush bursting into the Manchester City penalty area. Rush’s tame shot beats Corrigan in the City goal but not a retreating Tommy Caton who deflects the ball behind for a corner. Both Caton and his defensive teammate Ray Ranson are booked in a tempestuous first half where their team mount no serious pressure on the Liverpool goal and are happy with their 1–0 lead. Another long kick from Grobbelaar sees an impromptu game of “head tennis” in the centre circle before yet another clever flicked header from Craig Johnston releases Kenny Dalglish. The Scotsman easily outfoxes a retreating Tommy Caton with a neat body swerve but screws his left footed shot way wide of the Manchester City goal. Dalglish would be central to another baffling piece of refereeing that sees the Reds awarded a free-kick on the edge of the City penalty area and with Joe Corrigan completely beaten, Dalglish smashes a brilliantly curling free-kick against the crossbar of his goal and away to safety. The rest of the first half would see a portent of things to come: a Graeme Souness shot inches wide from equalising the scores on the cusp of half-time, and a flapping, irrational and skittish performance from Bruce Grobbelaar in the Liverpool goal.
The second half begins in a tidal wave of Liverpool attacks but no cutting edge or clinical precision in front of goal. Right from the second half kick-off the Reds swarm forward with a great move involving Sammy Lee and Kenny Dalglish seeing a rasping drive from Graeme Souness forcing a fantastic save from Joe Corrigan and from the resultant corner, another save, this time from a Sammy Lee header that forces the England International goalkeeper to concede yet another corner. With the game now stretched mid-way through the contest a long header upfield from Alan Hansen finds Ian Rush in acres of space down the Liverpool attacking left. His square ball to Craig Johnston beats a retreating and panicked Manchester City defence but the Australian International takes one touch too many, allowing Corrigan to race from his line and smother a tame shot that should have resulted in an equalising goal rather than yet another corner.
Then the wheels fell off for Bruce Grobbelaar on this infamous Boxing Day afternoon he’s no doubt long since forgotten. First he came rushing from his goal (as Brucie often did!) and flapped at a cross he should have easily gathered and with Steve Kinsey’s goal bound effort punched over the bar by Phil Thompson, a penalty was awarded and dispatched in the corner of Grobbelaar’s goal by an ecstatic Tommy Caton. With a minute to go, Manchester City left their very best to last. Tommy Hutchinson was coolness personified on the ball in midfield before releasing Ray Ranson on the right of midfield who swiftly moved the ball with the outside of his right foot to the marauding and impressive Steve Kinsey. His near post cross was deftly touched goalward by Kevin Reeves but without any real power, however the ball seems to squirm past Grobbelaar, against his near post, back against the prone goalkeeper, and inside his near post. This would give rise to the iconic commentary of the time from BBC commentator Alan Parry who remarked:
“And Grobbelaar’s misery is complete”.
In between these displays of high jinks and typical rash behaviour from Grobbelaar, Ronnie Whelan would pull a goal back on 85 minutes to reduce the deficit to 2–1 down, but Reeves clinching goal said everything about this Liverpool team at the end of 1981.
This defeat left the Reds in 12th place in the 1st Division league table, 1 place and 1 point behind their city neighbours Everton, and 9 points behind table topping Swansea City. Their first game of 1982 set the tone for the next 34 games they would play in all competitions. They would travel to pacesetters Swansea City and defeat them 4–0 (in the FA Cup, not 1st Division), and from these 35 total games in the second half of the 1981–1982 season they would lose only 4 games (2 league and 2 cup games), draw 5 and win a remarkable 26 games in all competitions including the League Cup Final at Wembley and win their 13th 1st Division Championship title by 4 points from Ipswich Town in second place. The Reds final league defeat of the season came in a shock 1–0 reversal at home to Brighton and Hove Albion in March when they were still in a distant 6th place. From there, they would win 11 league games in a row and then draw 3 and win 2 of their final 5 league games to be crowned Champions with a game to spare!
This is why history teaches us not to give in, give up or in today’s vernacular “concede” a League Title at Christmas, especially if you’re lucky enough to be bathed in the Red faith of Liverpool.
Thanks for reading. I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into a bygone era and if so, please consider the previous volumes recently published within this series:
Liverpool 0 Flamengo 3
The Retro Series Vol.16 “Zico The Destroyer!”medium.com
Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1
Retro Series Vol.15: Jimmy Greenoff sends United to Wembley.medium.com
Liverpool 2 Manchester United 2
Retro Series Vol.14: FA Cup Semi-Final thriller at Maine Roadmedium.com