An A-Z of Liverpool F.C.

Part 3 - E-G

E

European Cup

Talk about a special relationship. The European Cup, later the Champions League, has long been the Holy Grail for Reds fans, and holds a special palce in our hearts. Nothing quite matches the atmosphere of a big European night at Anfield - Europe’s premier competition has spawned some memorable, magical Anfield nights, most notably St Etienne in 1977, Chelsea in 2005 and 2007, Man City in 2018, Barcelona in 2019, as well as that Inter Milan game in 1965.

Ever since the first excursion in 1964 - the first game in Reykjavik, the epic but ultimately unsuccessful semi-final against Inter Milan - it became the pinnacle we had to climb. We had been champions of England ten times before we finally also became champions of Europe, on that magical night in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on May 25th 1977.

So, let’s talk about six baby:

Rome 1977

Wembley 1978

Paris 1981

Rome 1984

Istanbul 2005

Madrid 2019.

The managers who’ve lifted it: Paisley (3) Fagan Benítez Klopp.

The captains: Hughes (2)Thompson Souness Gerrard Henderson.

We lost a few too - Heysel, Athens, Kyiv, Paris.

Roy Evans

In a continuation of the Boot Room tradition, Bootle-born Roy Evans became Liverpool manager in 1994 following the sacking of Graeme Souness. He had been at the club for 28 years, first as a 17-year-old left-back when he made only 11 appearances for the first team, then as trainer of the club’s reserve side during Paisley’s reign. When first appointed in August 1974, chairman John Smith predicted:

"We have not made an appointment for today but for the future. One day, Roy Evans will be our manager."

And so it was. Roy inherited a decent squad of players, including the exciting emerging talents of Fowler and McManaman. He went on to sign Stan Collymore before the start of the 1995-96 season, and he joined Fowler in a thrilling partnership up front. Evans’ teams certainly played some exciting football, including the two memorable 4-3 victories over Newcastle at Anfield in successive seasons, but seemed to lack a little steel and grit. That reflected some of the criticism of the manager, that he was too nice to be a manager. His teams were inconsistent, fleetingly scintillating but then under par. Lots of promise kept evaporating in failure and disappointment. It was sometimes suggested that didn’t have full control of some of his players, at a time of “Spice Boys” and Wembley white suits, and that some players were not behaving professionally off the pitch either, and even showed a lack of respect towards their manager.

For a club that had in the recent past been so successful, the pressure and expectation surrounding it was mountainous. It revealed the very thin line between success and failure sometimes. Eventually, in the summer of 1998, the club announced that managerial responsibility would be shared between Evans and Gérard Houllier, an ill-fated decision that did not last long.

In all, Roy Evans managed Liverpool for 226 games and led them to the League Cup in 1995 and the FA Cup final in 1996.

Alun Evans

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