1989–90 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool

1989–90 season
Manager	Kenny Dalglish
First Division	Champions
FA Cup	Semi-finals
League Cup	Third round
FA Charity Shield	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: John Barnes (22) All: John Barnes (28)
Highest home attendance	38,730 (vs. Everton, League, 3 February)
Lowest home attendance	19,231 (vs. Wigan Athletic, League Cup, 19 September)
Average home league attendance	36,690
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The 1989–90 season was the 98th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and their 28th consecutive year in the top flight. This article covers the period from 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1990.

Liverpool finished the season as league champions for the 18th time, and looked on course for another double, only to be knocked off course in the final stages of the FA Cup for the third season running – this time by a dramatic 4–3 semi-final defeat against a Crystal Palace side they had beaten 9–0 in the league earlier in the season. They did finish the season nine points ahead of runners-up Aston Villa in the league, but had faced a stiff challenge from Villa for much of the season and earlier in the season from neighbouring Everton. This would be Liverpool's last title for 30 years, until the 2019-20 season.

The autumn of 1989 saw the departure of striker John Aldridge to Spain. Aldridge had lost his place in the starting line-up to a resurgent Ian Rush, who had returned to the club a year earlier after an unhappy season in Italy. Injury-plagued defender Jim Beglin was transferred to Leeds United just before the start of the season, with the defence being bolstered by the arrival of Swedish star Glenn Hysén.

Pre-season friendlies

Liverpool's entered the four-team Makita International Tournament, played at Wembley Stadium, where they lost against Arsenal in the final, having beaten Dinamo Kiev. This was followed by a tour of Scandinavia which saw wins against Malmö FF and Halmstads BK and draws with Vasalunds IF and HJK Helsinki.

Regular season

August

As FA Cup holders, Liverpool entered the Charity Shield, facing league champions Arsenal, in a rematch of the last game of the previous season when Arsenal had won the title at Anfield in dramatic circumstances. Liverpool gained some small revenge with a 1–0 win, thanks to a Peter Beardsley goal. The league campaign began with a 3–1 win over Manchester City, followed by away draws against Luton Town and Aston Villa. The month ended with a trip to Spain with a friendly against Real Madrid for the Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu. The Reds lost 2–0.

The month ended with Liverpool fifth in the table, with newly promoted Chelsea top of the league, Millwall (in only their second top flight campaign) second, local rivals Everton third and Coventry City fourth.

September

September began with a third consecutive away game, this time a 3–0 win at Derby County, followed by a 9–0 hammering of Crystal Palace at Anfield. Eight different players scored in this game, which was also notable as John Aldridge's last game for the club. Aldridge, who was leaving to join Real Sociedad, came off the bench to convert a penalty, and threw his boots and kit into the Kop at the end of the game. Aldridge had remained a first-choice player in 1988–89 after Rush's return, either playing in a three-man attack alongside Rush and Beardsley or alongside Beardsley in a two-man attack in the 14 league games that Rush was unfit for, but for 1989–90 Dalglish had decided to stick with a two-man attack of Rush and Beardsley, and Aldridge knew that leaving Anfield would be his best chance of regular first team action.

After a 0–0 home draw with Norwich City, Wigan Athletic were defeated 5–2 in the League Cup, before the first Merseyside derby of the season. Just as in the previous season's FA Cup final, and in so many derbies before, Ian Rush was the match winner, as the Reds won 3–1 at Goodison Park.

October

First up in October were Wigan in the so-called "away" leg (played at Anfield because Wigan's pitch was unplayable) of the League Cup second round. Liverpool won 3–0, with substitute Steve Staunton scoring a hat-trick to secure an 8–2 aggregate victory. Back in the league, Wimbledon were beaten 2–1 at Plough Lane before Southampton dealt the Reds a 4–1 hammering at The Dell. The misery was to continue four days later, as Arsenal ended Liverpool's League Cup campaign with a 1–0 win at Highbury. The league campaign resumed with a 1–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, which saw Liverpool reclaim their lead of the First Division from Everton, who seemed to be re-emerging as a top club after two slightly less successful seasons under the management of Colin Harvey, since Howard Kendall's departure. Chelsea and Arsenal were still giving the two Merseyside clubs a serious run for their money, while a surprise challenge was also starting to mount from Southampton, Norwich and Aston Villa. After a generally very disappointing September, Manchester United had started to improve and were just seven points (though 10 places) behind Liverpool. The challenge from Millwall and Coventry, however, appeared to have ended as both clubs were now some way down the table.

November

November was a miserable month for Liverpool. It began with a 1–0 home defeat against Coventry City, which was compounded by a 3–2 loss at QPR. Wins at Millwall and at home to Arsenal followed, before an away game at Sheffield Wednesday. This was Liverpool's first game at Hillsborough after the tragedy of seven months earlier, and it ended in a 2–0 defeat. However, they ended the month top of the league with 27 points – bracketed together on goal difference with Arsenal, Villa and Chelsea. Southampton and Coventry were both just four points behind the leading pack, but Everton's title hopes were fading fast as they had slumped from top place to 12th within a few short weeks. Manchester United's steady improvement had continued as they had continued to narrow the gap between themselves and Liverpool – now standing at nine places but just six points.

December

December was a better month for Liverpool, who began it with an impressive 4–1 win at Manchester City (now managed by former Everton boss Howard Kendall). A 1–1 home draw with Villa followed, before a superb 5–2 win over fellow title contenders Chelsea on 16 December. A goalless draw with Manchester United came at Anfield on 23 December, with Liverpool's great rivals now enduring another run of bad form and effectively out of the title race. The next two games – against Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic – were both won, and so Liverpool ended the 1980s as First Division leaders. They had a four-point lead over their nearest rivals Aston Villa and a four-point lead over Arsenal. The challenge from the likes of Southampton, Chelsea and Norwich was becoming more distant, though a threat from North London was emerging in the shape of a Tottenham Hotspur side spearheaded by two of England's finest players – Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. The challenge from Everton was now looking well and truly over, as Colin Harvey's men were now 10th in the league and 13 points adrift of Liverpool, though with a game in hand. Any hopes that Manchester United might have had of beating Liverpool to the title were now almost completely dead, as Alex Ferguson's team now stood 15th in the league and were just two points above the relegation zone.

January

A new year and a new decade began with a 2–2 draw for Liverpool at Nottingham Forest on New Year's Day. Then came an FA Cup third round clash with Swansea City at Vetch Field. The Swans were now in the Third Division and the run for their money that they had given Liverpool eight years earlier was now very much a distant memory, but the Swans gave Liverpool a scare by holding them to a goalless draw. However, Liverpool blew Swansea to pieces in the replay at Anfield three days later by winning 8–0. Their FA Cup action (a fourth round clash with Norwich ending in a 3–1 replay win at Anfield after a goalless draw in the first game at Carrow Road) meant that there would be just two more league games that month – the first a 2–2 home draw with Luton, the second a 2–0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. However, Liverpool remained top of the league – level on points with Aston Villa with Arsenal as the only other serious contenders, though Nottingham Forest had now climbed into fourth place and were starting to raise a few eyebrows among observers in the title race.

February

Liverpool remained on course for a unique second double as they beat Southampton 3–0 in the fifth round at Anfield on 17 February. Bad weather meant that there were just two league games for Liverpool that month, the first a 2–1 Merseyside derby win over Everton at Anfield, the second a goalless draw at Norwich.

March

Liverpool moved closer to a second double on 14 March when they beat QPR 1–0 in the quarter-final replay at Anfield, three days after drawing the first match 2–2 at Loftus Road. In the league, they defeated Millwall, Manchester United and Southampton but lost to Tottenham Hotspur. They were still top of the league, on goal difference ahead of Aston Villa and with a game in hand. Arsenal were now the only other team looking like a serious threat to the Reds, and, although Everton's recent revival had seen them climb to fifth place, it was now almost certainly too late for them to pip Liverpool to the league title.

22 March saw the arrival at Anfield of 26-year-old Israeli striker Ronny Rosenthal on loan from Belgian club Standard Liège.

April

April was a very mixed month for Liverpool. They finally clinched the league title on 28 April with two games to spare, thanks to a 2–1 home win over QPR, but 8 April saw their "double double" hopes ended in dramatic fashion for the third season running, this time in the shape of an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace (the team they had beaten 9–0 in the league seven months earlier) where the South Londoners had beaten them 4–3 in extra time to book a Wembley date with Manchester United in the final. Liverpool had now been champions of England on no fewer than 18 occasions – more than any other side at the time.

May

The Reds proved themselves as worthy champions by winning both of their final two games: a slender 1–0 home win over Derby followed by a 6–1 hammering of Coventry at Highfield Road on the final day of the season.

Ronny Rosenthal's loan deal became permanent at the end of the season when Liverpool paid Standard Liège £1 million for his services, which had already seen him net seven goals in just eight league games – including a hat-trick in the 4–0 away win over relegation-bound Charlton.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Bruce Grobbelaar
• Mike Hooper

Defenders

• Gary Ablett
• David Burrows
• Gary Gillespie
• Alan Hansen
• Glenn Hysén
• Steve Nicol
• Steve Staunton
• Nick Tanner
• Barry Venison
• Alex Watson

Midfielders

• John Barnes
• Ray Houghton
• Steve McMahon
• Jim Magilton
• Mike Marsh
• Jan Mølby
• Nigel Spackman
• Ronnie Whelan

Attackers

• John Aldridge
• Peter Beardsley
• Ronny Rosenthal
• Ian Rush
• Kenny Dalglish

Transfers

In

Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
DF	Glenn Hysén	Fiorentina	£600,000	1 June 1989
DF	Steve Harkness	Carlisle United	£75,000	17 July 1989

Out

Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
DF	Jim Beglin	Leeds United	Free	06-1989
FW	John Aldridge	Real Sociedad	£1,250,000	13 September 1989

Loaned In

Pos	Player	From	Start	End
FW	Ronnie Rosenthal	Standard Liège	22 March 1990	26 June 1990

League table

Matches

Pre-Season Friendlies

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2	Competition
29-Jul-89	Dynamo Kiev	N	2–0	Barnes pen' Aldridge	20,374	Report	Report	Makita Tournament
30-Jul-89	Arsenal	N	0–1		23,026	Report	Report	Makita Tournament
01-Aug-89	Malmö FF	A	2–1	Rush Hysén	17,239	Report	Report
03-Aug-89	Vasalunds IF	A	1–1	Aldridge	9,115	Report	Report
05-Aug-89	Halmstads BK	A	1–0	Beardsley	8,676	Report	Report
07-Aug-89	HJK Helsinki	A	0–0		10,820	Report	Report
30-Aug-89	Real Madrid	A	0–2		45,000	Report	Report	Bernabeu Trophy

FA Charity Shield

12 August 1989

15:00 BST

Arsenal	0–1	Liverpool
		Beardsley 32'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 63,149

Referee: Allan Gunn (Sussex)

Arsenal

Liverpool

GK 1 John Lukic RB 2 Lee Dixon LB 3 Nigel Winterburn CM 4 Michael Thomas CB 5 David O'Leary CB 6 Tony Adams (c) RM 7 David Rocastle CM 8 Kevin Richardson CF 9 Alan Smith  76' CB 10 Gus Caesar  58' LM 11 Paul Merson Substitutes: MF Brian Marwood  58' FW Niall Quinn  76' Manager: George Graham

GK 1 Bruce Grobbelaar CB 2 Glenn Hysén LB 3 David Burrows RM 4 Steve Nicol CM 5 Ronnie Whelan CB 6 Alan Hansen (c) CF 7 Peter Beardsley RB 8 Barry Venison CF 9 Ian Rush LM 10 John Barnes CM 11 Steve McMahon Substitutes: GK 12 Mike Hooper DF 14 Gary Ablett MF 15 Jan Molby FW 16 John Aldridge Manager: Kenny Dalglish

First Division

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
19-Aug-89	Manchester City	H	3–1	Barnes pen 7' Beardsley 60' Nicol 90'	37,628	Report	Report
23-Aug-89	Aston Villa	A	1–1	Barnes 24'	35,796	Report	Report
26-Aug-89	Luton Town	A	0–0		11,124	Report	Report
09-Sep-89	Derby County	A	3–0	Rush 50' Barnes pen 82' Beardsley 90'	20,034	Report	Report
12-Sep-89	Crystal Palace	H	9–0	Nicol 7', 90' McMahon 15' Rush 45' Gillespie 56' Beardsley 61' Aldridge pen 67' Barnes 79' Hysén 82'	35,779	Report	Report
16-Sep-89	Norwich City	H	0–0		36,885	Report	Report
23-Sep-89	Everton	A	3–1	Barnes 33' Rush 62', 64'	42,453	Report	Report
14-Oct-89	Wimbledon	A	2–1	Beardsley 3' Whelan 55'	13,510	Report	Report
21-Oct-89	Southampton	A	1–4	Beardsley pen 57'	20,501	Report	Report
29-Oct-89	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–0	Barnes 25'	36,550	Report	Report
04-Nov-89	Coventry City	H	0–1		36,433	Report	Report
11-Nov-89	Queens Park Rangers	A	2–3	Barnes pen 32', 58'	18,804	Report	Report
19-Nov-89	Millwall	A	2–1	Barnes 36' Rush 70'	13,547	Report	Report
26-Nov-89	Arsenal	H	2–1	McMahon 30' Barnes 65'	35,983	Report	Report
29-Nov-89	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0–2		32,732	Report	Report
02-Dec-89	Manchester City	A	4–1	Rush 9', 88' Beardsley 48' McMahon 58'	31,641	Report	Report
09-Dec-89	Aston Villa	H	1–1	Beardsley 64'	37,435	Report	Report
16-Dec-89	Chelsea	A	5–2	Beardsley 3' Rush 5', 79' Houghton 23' McMahon 51'	31,005	Report	Report
23-Dec-89	Manchester United	H	0–0		37,426	Report	Report
26-Dec-89	Sheffield Wednesday	H	2–1	Mølby 2' Rush 84'	37,488	Report	Report
30-Dec-89	Charlton Athletic	H	1–0	Barnes 17'	36,678	Report	Report
01-Jan-90	Nottingham Forest	A	2–2	Rush 13', 38'	24,518	Report	Report
13-Jan-90	Luton Town	H	2–2	Barnes 32' Nicol 75'	35,312	Report	Report
20-Jan-90	Crystal Palace	A	2–0	Rush 9' Beardsley 62'	29,807	Report	Report
03-Feb-90	Everton	H	2–1	Barnes 10' Beardsley pen 29'	38,730	Report	Report
10-Feb-90	Norwich City	A	0–0		20,210	Report	Report
03-Mar-90	Millwall	H	1–0	Gillespie 83'	36,427	Report	Report
18-Mar-90	Manchester United	A	2–1	Barnes pen 15', 55'	46,629	Report	Report
21-Mar-90	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1		25,656	Report	Report
31-Mar-90	Southampton	H	3–2	Barnes 15' Own Goal 73' Rush 82'	37,027	Report	Report
03-Apr-90	Wimbledon	H	2–1	Rush 10' Gillespie 44'	33,319	Report	Report
11-Apr-90	Charlton Athletic	A	4–0	Rosenthal 26', 50', 62' Barnes 87'	13,982	Report	Report
14-Apr-90	Nottingham Forest	H	2–2	Rosenthal 12' McMahon 15'	37,265	Report	Report
18-Apr-90	Arsenal	A	1–1	Barnes 86'	33,395	Report	Report
21-Apr-90	Chelsea	H	4–1	Rosenthal 25' Nicol 36', 80' Rush 82'	38,431	Report	Report
28-Apr-90	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–1	Rush 40' Barnes pen 63'	37,758	Report	Report
01-May-90	Derby County	H	1–0	Gillespie 81'	38,038	Report	Report
05-May-90	Coventry City	A	6–1	Rush 16' Barnes 37', 39', 61' Rosenthal 50', 69'	23,204	Report	Report

FA Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
06-Jan-90	Swansea City	A	0–0		16,098	Report	Report
09-Jan-90	Swansea City	H	8–0	Barnes 21', 43' Whelan 40' Rush 53', 77', 83' Beardsley 54' Nicol 86'	29,194	Report	Report
28-Jan-90	Norwich City	A	0–0		23,152	Report	Report
31-Jan-90	Norwich City	H	3–1	Nicol 17' Barnes 56' Beardsley pen 64'	29,339	Report	Report
17-Feb-90	Southampton	H	3–0	Rush 39' Beardsley 64' Nicol 77'	35,961	Report	Report
11-Mar-90	Queens Park Rangers	A	2–2	Barnes 55' Rush 80'	21,057	Report	Report
14-Mar-90	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–0	Beardsley 4'	38,090	Report	Report
08-Apr-90	Crystal Palace	N	3–4	Rush 14' McMahon 81' Barnes pen 83'	38,389	Report	Report

League Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
19-Sep-89	Wigan Athletic	H	5–2	Hysén 4' Rush 64', 66' Beardsley 81' Barnes 88'	19,231	Report	Report
04-Oct-89	Wigan Athletic	A	3–0	Staunton 59', 72', 88'	17,954	Report	Report
25-Oct-89	Arsenal	A	0–1		40,814	Report	Report

Notes

References

• "Games for the 1989–90 season". LFC History.net. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
• "Games for the 1989–90 season". Liverweb. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2023.