Liverpool FC's Great Striking Partnerships, No.4

John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley

Liverpool’s last great strike pair had the current manager in it, as featured in the last episode in this series here. This time, Dalglish set about creating a new partnership as part of wider wholesale changes to a team that had won the League and FA Cup double in 1985/6 but surrendered their title to Everton and was looking jaded and in need of a reset. But nobody quite foresaw how brilliant this new model would be - and for the first time it was Sir Kenny’s own team.

The imminent departure of Ian Rush to Juventus created a gaping hole up front that needed filling somehow. The then- 28-year old Aldridge had an impressive goalscoring record for Oxford United and previous club Newport County, but replacing Liverpool’s all-time record goalscorer’s prolific output was a challenge of a vastly different magnitude, the toughest of acts to follow.

That he made such a good job of it is testimony to the job he did at Anfield, although he would be the first to admit he benefited hugely from the staggering creativity of Ray Houghton, Steve McMahon, Ronnie Whelan and particularly John Barnes and who was to become Aldridge’s strike partner, Peter Beardsley. Aldridge even physically resembled the legendary Welshman, right down to the dark hair and pencil moustache!

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