1990–91 Liverpool F.C. season

Events of the season

August

Liverpool's defence of their record 18th top division league title began on 25 August 1990 at Bramall Lane, where they defeated newly promoted Sheffield United 3–1. A visit to Wembley a week earlier for the FA Charity Shield had seen Liverpool share the honour with FA Cup holders Manchester United in a 1–1 draw.

September

September ended with Liverpool top of the First Division, having won all of their seven opening league games, including a 3–2 win at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby in which Peter Beardsley scored twice, and even more impressively a 4–0 demolition of Manchester United at Anfield in which Beardsley hit a hat-trick. Beardsley ended the month as the First Division's top goalscorer with seven goals in as many games.

October

Liverpool's winning start to the season reached an eighth successive game as they triumphed 2–0 at home to struggling Derby County, and in the next game they dropped points for the first time when Norwich City held them to a 1–1 draw at Carrow Road. The month ended in disappointment when Manchester United dumped them out of the Football League Cup with a 3–1 defeat at Old Trafford.

November

Peter Beardsley's excellent form continued as he reached the 10-goal mark in the First Division on 10 November, finding the net in a 4–0 home win over Luton Town. It was also a fine month for Ian Rush, who was on the scoresheet twice against both Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool remained comfortably in the lead at the top of the First Division as November ended.

December

Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season ended after 14 games when they crashed 3–0 to their nearest challengers Arsenal at Highbury on 2 December, but their lead of the First Division remained intact. The month ended with a second defeat at Crystal Palace, slowly emerging as outsiders in the title race, but also included wins over Sheffield United and Southampton.

January

The new year brought two significant signings for Liverpool, in the shape of experienced striker David Speedie from Coventry City and promising 17-year-old midfielder Jamie Redknapp from AFC Bournemouth. There were just three league games for the Reds this month, starting with a 3–0 win over Leeds United at Anfield on New Year's Day, followed by draws against Aston Villa and Wimbledon.

The FA Cup quest got off to a rocky start, with the Reds needing replays to see off Second Division competition in the shape of Blackburn Rovers in the third round and Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth. However, Arsenal had overtaken the Reds as league leaders by the end of the month.

February

Kenny Dalglish stunned the football world on 22 February 1991 by suddenly announcing his resignation as Liverpool manager after nearly six years in charge, during which time he had guided them to three league titles, two FA Cups, and they had never finished lower than runners-up in the league. They were also in contention for the double when he handed in his resignation, having just forced a second replay against Everton in the fifth round following a goalless draw at Anfield and a 4–4 thriller at Goodison Park less than 48 hours before the bombshell was dropped. They had also beaten Everton in the league earlier in the month.

Long-serving coach Ronnie Moran was put in temporary charge of the first team until a permanent successor could be found. However, the month ended with Everton finally getting the better of the Reds in the second replay of the FA Cup fifth round.

March

Arsenal extended their lead over the Reds with a 1–0 win at Anfield on 3 March, but wins in the next three games (including a 7–1 demolition of bottom club Derby County at The Baseball Ground)kept the Reds in contention for a 19th league title.

April

13 goals and three straight wins meant that Liverpool ended the month still capable of catching Arsenal in the race for the league title, giving new manager Graeme Souness every chance of a dream return to the club he served so well as a player.

May

Successive defeats to Chelsea and Nottingham Forest ended Liverpool's hopes of another league title as the championship trophy headed back to Arsenal, who had seized it from Liverpool's grasp with the last kick of the season two years earlier. The last league action of the season was a 2–0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur, and the Reds at least had the consolation of a record 10th successive top two finish.

Much speculation surrounded Anfield at the end of the season regarding who would be joining Liverpool and who might be leaving. The future of Peter Beardsley at Anfield was looking particularly bleak; after an excellent start to the season which saw him hit the back of the net 11 times in the league before the end of November, he had struggled to hold down his place in the first team due to competition from Ronny Rosenthal and then David Speedie for the position as Ian Rush's strike partner. There was also talk that David Speedie could soon be on his way out of Anfield just months after arriving as Souness looked to sign a new striker, with Mo Johnston of Rangers and Dean Saunders of Derby County being two names most strongly linked with a move to Anfield. Following the retirement of Alan Hansen in the centre of defence, Derby County's Mark Wright also became a transfer target. Midfielder Craig Johnston, who had announced his retirement from playing three years earlier in order to care for his sister following a serious accident, was offered the chance of reviving his career by Souness.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• ZIM Bruce Grobbelaar
• ENG Mike Hooper
• ENG Robbie Holcroft

Defenders

• ENG Gary Ablett
• ENG David Burrows
• SCO Gary Gillespie
• ENG Alex Watson
• SWE Glenn Hysén
• SCO Steve Nicol
• IRE Steve Staunton
• ENG Barry Venison
• ENG Nick Tanner

Midfielders

• SCO Don Hutchison
• ENG Steve McMahon
• ENG Steve McManaman
• IRE Ronnie Whelan
• IRE Ray Houghton
• ENG Mike Marsh
• DEN Jan Mølby
• ENG Jamie Redknapp
• ENG Jimmy Carter
• NIR Jim Magilton

Attackers

• ENG Peter Beardsley
• WAL Ian Rush
• SCO David Speedie
• ISR Ronnie Rosenthal
• IRE Tony Cousins
• ENG John Barnes

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

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Top scorers

• WAL Ian Rush 16
• ENG John Barnes 16
• ENG Peter Beardsley 11
• DEN Jan Mølby 9
• IRE Ray Houghton 7
• SCO David Speedie 6
• ISR Ronnie Rosenthal 5

League table

Matches

FA Charity Shield

First Division

Houghton Rush Beardsley Barnes Whelan Barnes McCall Barnes Beardsley Nicol Beardsley Mølby
Beardsley Rosenthal Quinn Dixon Smith Rush Houghton Rosenthal Rush Speedie Dowie Barnes Owers Barnes
Rush
Nicol
Houghton Wegerle Wilson Shutt Mølby Speedie Barnes Houghton Rush Barnes McGoldrick Wise Durie Rosenthal Woan Speedie

FA Cup

Rush Staunton Byrne Byrne Rush Cottee Rush Barnes

Football League Cup

Gillespie Houghton Rush Staunton Hughes Sharpe

Recap

References

References

1. "LIVERWEB - Liverpool Results 1990-91".
2. (May 2020)