1986–87 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool

1986–87 season
Chairman	John W Smith
Manager	Kenny Dalglish
First Division	2nd
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Runners-up
Super Cup	Winners
FA Charity Shield	Title shared
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Rush (30) All: Ian Rush (40)
Highest home attendance	44,827 (v Everton, League, 25 Apr)
Lowest home attendance	13,498 (v Fulham, League Cup, 23 Sept)
Average home league attendance	36,284
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The 1986–87 season was Liverpool Football Club's 95th season in existence and their 25th consecutive season in the First Division. It was their second season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, and as defending double winners they finished this season only having (jointly) won the FA Charity Shield, coming close to silverware as league runners-up and losing finalists in the League Cup. They finished runners-up in the league nine points behind local rivals Everton, after an eventful title race which had seen them fight out with a resurgent Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as well as face surprise challenges during the season from unfancied sides including Norwich City, Luton Town and newly promoted Wimbledon.

At the end of the season, striker Ian Rush headed to Italy to sign for Juventus. His successor in the Liverpool attack, John Aldridge, had been signed during the season from Oxford United. After the season ended, Dalglish further enhanced Liverpool's forward positions with a move for Newcastle United striker Peter Beardsley and Watford winger John Barnes.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Bruce Grobbelaar
• Mike Hooper

Defenders

• Gary Ablett
• Jim Beglin
• Gary Gillespie
• Alan Hansen
• Mark Lawrenson
• John McGregor
• Steve Nicol
• Steve Staunton
• Barry Venison
• Alex Watson

Midfielders

• Kenny Dalglish
• Craig Johnston
• Sammy Lee
• Kevin MacDonald
• Steve McMahon
• Jan Mølby
• Brian Mooney
• Steve Nicol
• Mark Seagraves
• Nigel Spackman
• John Wark
• Ronnie Whelan

Attackers

• John Aldridge
• John Durnin
• Alan Irvine
• Ian Rush
• Paul Walsh

Transfers

In

Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
DF	Barry Venison	Sunderland	£200,000	31 July 1986
DF	Steve Staunton	Dundalk	£20,000	2 September 1986
FW	Alan Irvine	Falkirk	£75,000	October 1986
FW	John Aldridge	Oxford United	£750,000	27 January 1987
MF	Nigel Spackman	Chelsea	£400,000	24 February 1987

Out

Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
MF	Sammy Lee	QPR	£200,000	August 1986

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Everton (C)	42	26	8	8	76	31	+45	86	Disqualified from the European Cup
2	Liverpool	42	23	8	11	72	42	+30	77	Disqualified from the UEFA Cup
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	21	8	13	68	43	+25	71
4	Arsenal	42	20	10	12	58	35	+23	70
5	Norwich City	42	17	17	8	53	51	+2	68

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

Matches

First Division

Main article: 1986–87 Football League § First Division

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
23-Aug-86	Newcastle United	A	2–0	Rush 5', 83'	33,306	Report	Report
25-Aug-86	Manchester City	H	0–0		39,989	Report	Report
30-Aug-86	Arsenal	H	2–1	Mølby pen 19' Rush 57'	38,637	Report	Report
03-Sep-86	Leicester City	A	1–2	Dalglish 85'	16,344	Report	Report
06-Sep-86	West Ham United	A	5–2	Whelan 24' Johnston 51' Dalglish 66', 90' Rush 70'	29,807	Report	Report
13-Sep-86	Charlton Athletic	H	2–0	Mølby pen 56' Rush 80'	37,413	Report	Report
20-Sep-86	Southampton	A	1–2	McMahon 62'	20,452	Report	Report
27-Sep-86	Aston Villa	H	3–3	Wark pen 24', 43' McMahon 79'	38,298	Report	Report
04-Oct-86	Wimbledon	A	3–1	Mølby 50' Rush 56', 90'	15,978	Report	Report
11-Oct-86	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–1		43,139	Report	Report
18-Oct-86	Oxford United	H	4–0	Rush 29', 89' Dalglish 33' Mølby pen 53'	34,512	Report	Report
25-Oct-86	Luton Town	A	1–4	Mølby pen 81'	13,140	Report	Report
01-Nov-86	Norwich City	H	6–2	Nicol 15' Walsh 30', 58', 75' Rush 48', 70'	36,915	Report	Report
08-Nov-86	Queens Park Rangers	A	3–1	Rush 9' Nicol 15' Johnston 76'	24,045	Report	Report
16-Nov-86	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–1	Rush 58'	28,020	Report	Report
23-Nov-86	Everton	A	0–0		48,247	Report	Report
29-Nov-86	Coventry City	H	2–0	Mølby pen 24' Wark 90'	31,614	Report	Report
06-Dec-86	Watford	A	0–2		23,954	Report	Report
14-Dec-86	Chelsea	H	3–0	Whelan 31' Rush 51' Nicol 78'	25,856	Report	Report
20-Dec-86	Charlton Athletic	A	0–0		16,564	Report	Report
26-Dec-86	Manchester United	H	0–1		40,663	Report	Report
27-Dec-86	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–0	Rush 64'	40,959	Report	Report
01-Jan-87	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	Rush 88'	32,854	Report	Report
03-Jan-87	West Ham United	H	1–0	McMahon 86'	41,286	Report	Report
17-Jan-87	Manchester City	A	1–0	Rush 72'	35,336	Report	Report
24-Jan-87	Newcastle United	H	2–0	Walsh 53' Rush 79'	38,054	Report	Report
14-Feb-87	Leicester City	H	4–3	Rush 29', 47', 86' Walsh 30'	34,259	Report	Report
21-Feb-87	Aston Villa	A	2–2	Johnston 1' Walsh 62'	32,093	Report	Report
28-Feb-87	Southampton	H	1–0	Aldridge 60'	33,133	Report	Report
07-Mar-87	Luton Town	H	2–0	Mølby pen 17' Own goal 39'	32,433	Report	Report
10-Mar-87	Arsenal	A	1–0	Rush 20'	47,777	Report	Report
14-Mar-87	Oxford United	A	3–1	Wark 35', 63' Rush 53'	14,211	Report	Report
18-Mar-87	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–1	Rush 18', 71'	28,988	Report	Report
22-Mar-87	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1		32,763	Report	Report
28-Mar-87	Wimbledon	H	1–2	Dalglish 47'	36,409	Report	Report
11-Apr-87	Norwich City	A	1–2	Rush 36'	22,879	Report	Report
18-Apr-87	Nottingham Forest	H	3–0	Dalglish 34' Whelan 51' Ablett 68'	37,359	Report	Report
20-Apr-87	Manchester United	A	0–1		54,103	Report	Report
25-Apr-87	Everton	H	3–1	McMahon 9' Rush 45', 85'	44,827	Report	Report
02-May-87	Coventry City	A	0–1		26,709	Report	Report
04-May-87	Watford	H	1–0	Rush 82'	40,150	Report	Report
09-May-87	Chelsea	A	3–3	Rush 9' McMahon 77' Aldridge 84'	29,245	Report	Report

FA Charity Shield

Main article: 1986 FA Charity Shield

16 August 1986

15:00

Liverpool	1–1	Everton
Rush 88'	Report	Heath 80'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 88,231

Referee: Neil Midgley (Salford)

Liverpool

Everton

1 Bruce Grobbelaar  57' 2 Barry Venison 3 Jim Beglin 4 Mark Lawrenson 5 Ronnie Whelan 6 Alan Hansen (c) 7 Steve McMahon 8 Craig Johnston 9 Ian Rush 10 Jan Mølby 11 Kevin MacDonald  65' Substitutes: 17 Mike Hooper  57' 12 Kenny Dalglish  65' Manager: Kenny Dalglish

1 Bobby Mimms 2 Alan Harper 3 Paul Power 4 Kevin Ratcliffe (c) 5 Ian Marshall 6 Kevin Langley 7 Trevor Steven 8 Adrian Heath 9 Graeme Sharp 10 Kevin Richardson 11 Kevin Sheedy  57' Substitutes: 14 Neil Adams  57'  84' 12 Paul Wilkinson  84' Manager: Howard Kendall

FA Cup

Main article: 1986–87 FA Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
11-Jan-87	Luton Town	A	0–0		11,085	Report	Report
26-Jan-87	Luton Town	H	0–0		34,822	Report	Report
28-Jan-87	Luton Town	A	0–3		14,687	Report	Report

League Cup

Main article: 1986–87 Football League Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
23-Sep-86	Fulham	H	10–0	Rush 8', 76' Wark 10', 63' Whelan 28' McMahon 44', 66', 71', 79' Nicol 83'	13,498	Report	Report
07-Oct-86	Fulham	A	3–2	McMahon 2' Own goal 6' Mølby pen 43'	7,864	Report	Report
29-Oct-86	Leicester City	H	4–1	McMahon 5', 7', 60' Dalglish 30'	20,248	Report	Report
19-Nov-86	Coventry City	A	0–0		26,385	Report	Report
26-Nov-86	Coventry City	H	3–1	Mølby pen 4', pen 39', pen 72'	19,179	Report	Report
21-Jan-87	Everton	A	1–0	Rush 83'	53,323	Report	Report
11-Feb-87	Southampton	A	0–0		22,818	Report	Report
25-Feb-87	Southampton	H	3–0	Whelan 67' Dalglish 75' Mølby 85'	38,481	Report	Report

Final

Main article: 1987 Football League Cup Final

5 April 1987

15:15 BST

Arsenal	2–1	Liverpool
Nicholas 30', 83'	Report Report	Rush 23'

Wembley, London

Attendance: 96,000

Referee: Lester Shapter (Devon)

Arsenal

Liverpool

GK 1 John Lukic RB 2 Viv Anderson LB 3 Kenny Sansom (Captain) CM 4 Steve Williams CB 5 David O'Leary CB 6 Tony Adams RM 7 David Rocastle CM 8 Paul Davis CF 9 Niall Quinn CF 10 Charlie Nicholas LM 11 Martin Hayes Substitutes: MF 12 Perry Groves  Quinn' MF 14 Michael Thomas  Hayes' Manager: George Graham

GK 1 Bruce Grobbelaar RB 2 Gary Gillespie LB 3 Barry Venison CM 4 Nigel Spackman LM 5 Ronnie Whelan CB 6 Alan Hansen (Captain) CF 7 Paul Walsh  73' RM 8 Craig Johnston CF 9 Ian Rush CM 10 Jan Molby CM 11 Steve McMahon  87' Substitutes: FW 12 Kenny Dalglish  73' MF 14 John Wark  87' Player / Manager: Kenny Dalglish

Super Cup

Main article: Super Cup (English football)

Final First Leg

16 September 1986

Liverpool	3–1	Everton
Rush 6', 65' McMahon 56'	Report Report	Sheedy 40'

Anfield, Liverpool

Attendance: 20,660

Liverpool

Everton

LIVERPOOL: GK 1 Mike Hooper RB 2 Barry Venison LB 3 Jim Beglin CB 4 Mark Lawrenson LM 5 Ronnie Whelan CB 6 Gary Gillespie SS 7 Kenny Dalglish RM 8 Steve Nicol CF 9 Ian Rush CM 10 Kevin MacDonald CM 11 Steve McMahon Substitute: MF 12 John Wark MF 14 Jan Mølby Player/Manager: Kenny Dalglish

EVERTON: GK 1 Bobby Mimms RB 2 Peter Billing LB 3 Paul Power CB 4 Kevin Ratcliffe (c) CB 5 Ian Marshall CM 6 Kevin Langley RM 7 Neil Adams ST 8 Paul Wilkinson ST 9 Graeme Sharp CM 10 Trevor Steven LM 11 Kevin Sheedy Substitute: MF Warren Aspinall Manager: Howard Kendall

Second leg

30 September 1986

Everton	1–4	Liverpool
Sharp 30'	Report Report	Rush 10', 27', 84' Nicol 62'

Goodison Park, Liverpool

Attendance: 26,068

Everton

Liverpool

EVERTON: GK 1 Bobby Mimms RB 2 Peter Billing LB 3 Paul Power CB 4 Kevin Ratcliffe (c) CB 5 Derek Mountfield CM 6 Trevor Steven RM 7 Neil Adams CM 8 Adrian Heath ST 9 Graeme Sharp ST 10 Paul Wilkinson LM 11 Kevin Sheedy Substitute: MF Warren Aspinall DF Neil Pointon Manager: Howard Kendall

LIVERPOOL: GK 1 Bruce Grobbelaar RB 2 Gary Gillespie LB 3 Jim Beglin CB 4 Mark Lawrenson LM 5 Ronnie Whelan CB 6 Alan Hansen (c) SS 7 John Wark RM 8 Steve Nicol CF 9 Ian Rush CM 10 Jan Mølby CM 11 Steve McMahon Substitute: FW 12 Paul Walsh DF 14 Barry Venison Player/Manager: Kenny Dalglish

Liverpool won 7–2 on aggregate

Dubai Super Cup

Main article: Dubai Super Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
9-Dec-86	Celtic	N	1–1 (Liverpool win 4–2 on pens)	Hansen 89'	15,000	Report

References

• LFC History.net – Games for the 1986-87 season
• Liverweb – Games for the 1986–87 season