1988–89 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1988–89 season was the 97th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and was their 27th consecutive year in the First Division, and covers the period from 20 August 1988 to 26 May 1989.

Liverpool

1988–89 season
Chairman	John Smith
Manager	Kenny Dalglish
First Division	2nd
FA Cup	Winners
League Cup	Fourth round
FA Charity Shield	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: John Aldridge (21) All: John Aldridge (31)
Average home league attendance	38,713
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The season was overshadowed by the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989. 94 of the club's fans died that day in a crush on the terraces in the semi-final of the FA Cup; a 95th fan died three days later. The death toll reached 96 and 97 when another fan died nearly four years later, never regaining consciousness, and when Andrew Devine died in 2021 after suffering from severe and irreversible brain damage from the incident.

Liverpool won the rescheduled FA Cup semi-final and went on to win the trophy by beating Everton 3–2 in the final, but were then denied the double for the second season running in even more dramatic fashion than the previous season, when a last minute Arsenal goal gave the visitors a 2–0 win at Anfield and sent the league title to Highbury on goals scored. They had spent much of the season on the fringes of the title race, frequently led by Arsenal and underdogs including Norwich City, Coventry City and newly promoted Millwall, but a late surge in form had seen them cruise back to the top of the league by the time of the penultimate league game.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Bruce Grobbelaar
• Mike Hooper

Defenders

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

Midfielders

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

Attackers

• John Aldridge
• Peter Beardsley
• John Durnin
• Ian Rush

Transfers

In

Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
DF	Nick Tanner	Bristol Rovers	£20,000	01-08-1988
FW	Ian Rush	Juventus	£2,800,000	18-08-1988
DF	David Burrows	West Bromwich Albion	£550,000	20-10-1988
DF	Barry Jones	Prescot Cables	£500	19-01-1989

Out

Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
MF	Nigel Spackman	Queens Park Rangers	£500,000	02-02-1989
FW	John Durnin	Oxford United	£250,000	10-02-1989

Diary of the season

August

After an unhappy season in Italy with Juventus, Ian Rush returned to Anfield on 18 August in a £2.8million deal - a record fee paid by a British club, and the third time in three weeks the national record had been broken. However, the Reds were not alone in signing a top striker to prepare for a title challenge - their close neighbours Everton had paid the previous national record of £2.1million a few days earlier for West Ham United striker Tony Cottee. The challenge from a resurgent Manchester United was likely to be stronger as well following their £1.8million recapture of Mark Hughes.

The season began on 20 August with a 2–1 win over Wimbledon, who had shocked them with a 1–0 win in the FA Cup final the previous May, in the FA Charity Shield. John Aldridge scored both of Liverpool's goals, and rather than relegate Aldridge to the bench on Rush's return, manager Kenny Dalglish altered the 4-4-2 formation to 4-3-3 in order for Rush, Aldridge and Beardsley to feature alongside each other in what was undoubtedly the finest attacking line-up in English football, complemented by wingers John Barnes and Ray Houghton.

Aldridge was on target again on the opening day of the season (27 August) as Liverpool triumphed 3–0 over Charlton Athletic at Selhurst Park and Aldridge grabbed all three goals.

September

September was a slightly disappointing month for the Reds, who began it well with a 1–0 home win over Manchester United at Anfield and finished it with an impressive 3–1 win at Southampton, but in between they were held to 1-1 draws by Aston Villa at Villa Park and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. After five league games, they were second in the league behind Norwich City.

As September ended, the Football League Cup quest began for Liverpool in the second round with a 1–0 home win over Walsall.

October

October brought more frustration for a Liverpool side who lost 2–1 at home to struggling Newcastle United at the beginning of the month, and were also beaten by Luton Town and Nottingham Forest before the month was out. On the positive side, they did manage a league win - 2–0 away to West Ham United at the end of the month - and also managed to eliminate Walsall in the League Cup. However, they had slipped to fourth in the First Division which was still being led by Norwich City, who had an eight-point lead over Liverpool and a six-point lead over second placed Arsenal. Millwall, in their first season in the top flight, were springing many surprises as they occupied third place, while regular contenders Nottingham Forest completed the top five. However, the much anticipated title challenge from Manchester United and Everton was not yet transpiring, as both clubs were in the bottom half of the table.

Midfielder Jan Mølby was jailed for three months on a drink-driving charge on 17 October.

November

November was another month of underachievement for Liverpool, who were unbeaten in four games but only managed to win two of them, and ended the month still only fourth in the league, though they had managed to cut the gap between themselves and leaders Norwich City to six points. Arsenal and Millwall were still second and third respectively. After managing to eliminate Arsenal in the League Cup third round, Liverpool's quest for the trophy ended in the fourth round when they were thrashed 4–1 by relegation threatened West Ham United at Upton Park.

December

December brought yet more frustration for the Reds, who managed a 1–0 win at Derby County on Boxing Day, but could only manage 1–1 draws with Everton and Arsenal, and suffered a 1–0 home defeat to Norwich City. However, they were now standing third in the league, with new leaders Arsenal six points ahead of Liverpool and a point ahead of second placed Norwich City. Millwall's surprise challenge was continuing as they ended 1988 in fourth place, while Everton's resurgence had taken them to fifth place.

On a more positive note, Jan Molby was available for selection again at the beginning of the month after serving half of his prison sentence for drink-driving.

January

1989 began on a disappointing note for Liverpool, who were beaten 3–1 by Manchester United on New Year's Day at Old Trafford in a game dominated by 19-year-old United midfielder Russell Beardsmore. This left Liverpool fifth in the table and just one point and one place ahead of Alex Ferguson's improving side. They were now nine points behind leaders Arsenal and second placed Norwich City, and two points behind Millwall and Everton.

The FA Cup quest began at Brunton Park on 7 January, when Liverpool eliminated Fourth Division Carlisle United 3–0. Three weeks later they met Millwall in the fourth round at The Den and won 2–0, but their dreams of a unique second double were still looking doubtful as a less than brilliant month, including a 2–2 draw away at relegation threatened Sheffield Wednesday after being 2–0 down, meant they were still fourth in the league and nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal, who had a game in hand. Norwich City were still second and Coventry City had now leapfrogged them to occupy third place, though Everton had suffered another setback and now stood ninth.

February

February was a quiet month at Anfield, as bad weather restricted them to just two first team games. The first, at St James' Park in the league, saw them draw 2–2 with struggling Newcastle United and fail to improve on their fifth place standing. The second, however, gave more cause for celebration as Liverpool took on Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round at Boothferry Park and came away as 3–2 winners.

March

March saw what were arguably Liverpool's finest performances of the season yet. They were victors in all six league games, the best game being a 5–0 home win over Luton Town on 14 March, and a 1–0 home win over Derby County on 29 March meant that they ended the month in third place - five points behind leaders Arsenal and with a game in hand. Norwich City were still second, but the Reds were just two points behind them. Millwall and Nottingham Forest completed the top five, while Manchester United and Everton were heading for mid table mediocrity after giving the Reds a serious run for their money earlier in the season.

The FA Cup quarter-final on 18 March saw the Reds take on Third Division underdogs Brentford at Anfield, and any talk of a giant killing feat was quickly silenced as the Reds triumphed 4–0. This gave them a semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough on 15 April.

April

The events at the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough on 15 April overshadowed Liverpool's season - and in general the whole English football season - as it became the worst tragedy to hit English sport and the worst day of Liverpool's history. A crush of Liverpool fans in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium as the game kicked off turned into a scene of carnage as it became apparent that people were being injured, and after six minutes the match was cancelled. It was soon clear that people were dying, while those lucky enough to survive managed to escape by climbing over the security fences (against which many of the dead and injured were crushed) and others managed to haul themselves to safety in the seated area above the behind-goal standing zone. Within a couple of hours, there was talk of more than 30 deaths, and by the evening it was clear that the death toll was well over double that number. 94 fans died that day - 93 at the stadium and a 94th on their way to hospital. The death toll reached 95 on 19 April when 14-year-old Lee Nichol died in hospital from his injuries. A 96th fan - Tony Bland - died in March 1993 after being in a coma for nearly four years. For a while, it looked as though the 1988–89 FA Cup would be cancelled in memory of the victims, but it was soon decided that the competition would continue.

In the league, the Reds managed comfortable wins over Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall to go top of the table above Arsenal on goal difference. However, there was no league action that month after the Hillsborough tragedy.

May

Liverpool's first competitive game after the tragedy at Hillsborough finally came on 3 May, when they drew 0–0 with Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. By now, Arsenal had overtaken them and built up a five-point lead with four games remaining, though Liverpool had a game in hand. However, the next four league games were all won by Liverpool and they entered the final game of the season with a three-point lead over Arsenal. Their opponents in the final game of the season were Arsenal at Anfield, and only a win with a margin of two or more goals would see Arsenal prise the league title away from Liverpool. As 90 minutes loomed, Arsenal had a 1–0 lead but if it stayed that way Liverpool would seal the title by a single goal. However, Arsenal midfielder Michael Thomas scored with the last kick of the game and Arsenal sealed the league title by the narrowest possible margin.

Due to the Hillsborough tragedy, the English league season had been extended by two weeks and this meant that several clubs - including Liverpool - played twice after the FA Cup final.

The rescheduled FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest was staged at Old Trafford on 7 May, and Liverpool won 3–1. This booked them their second all-Merseyside final with Everton in four seasons. John Aldridge, Liverpool's leading scorer that season, opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Everton failed to respond until the 89th minute when Stuart McCall jabbed in a late equaliser to force extra time. Aldridge had come off in the 73rd minute to be replaced by Ian Rush, who restored Liverpool's lead in the 95th minute, only for Stuart McCall to respond with his second goal in the 102nd minute to equaliser once again. However, Rush scored the winner two minutes later, meaning that he had scored twice in both of the all-Merseyside FA Cup finals.

Had Liverpool won the league title as well, they would have become the first team to repeat the double. But as had happened the previous season (when they had won the league title but been pipped to the FA Cup in the final) they were beaten to this unique honour at the final hurdle.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Arsenal (C)	38	22	10	6	73	36	+37	76	Disqualified from the European Cup
2	Liverpool	38	22	10	6	65	28	+37	76	Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup
3	Nottingham Forest	38	17	13	8	64	43	+21	64	Disqualified from the UEFA Cup
4	Norwich City	38	17	11	10	48	45	+3	62
5	Derby County	38	17	7	14	40	38	+2	58

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

Matches

First Division

Main article: 1988–89 Football League § First Division

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
27-Aug-88	Charlton Athletic	A	3–0	Aldridge 23', 52', 54'	21,389	Report	Report
03-Sep-88	Manchester United	H	1–0	Mølby pen 38'	42,026	Report	Report
10-Sep-88	Aston Villa	A	1–1	Houghton 64'	41,409	Report	Report
17-Sep-88	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–1	Beardsley 78'	40,929	Report	Report
24-Sep-88	Southampton	A	3–1	Aldridge 31' Beardsley 47' Mølby pen 84'	21,046	Report	Report
01-Oct-88	Newcastle United	H	1–2	Gillespie 3'	39,139	Report	Report
08-Oct-88	Luton Town	A	0–1		12,117	Report	Report
22-Oct-88	Coventry City	H	0–0		38,742	Report	Report
26-Oct-88	Nottingham Forest	A	1–2	Rush 58'	29,755	Report	Report
29-Oct-88	West Ham United	A	2–0	Rush 69' Beardsley 80'	30,198	Report	Report
05-Nov-88	Middlesbrough	H	3–0	Rush 44' Aldridge 75' Beardsley 87'	39,489	Report	Report
12-Nov-88	Millwall	H	1–1	Nicol 15'	41,966	Report	Report
19-Nov-88	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–0	Aldridge 28'	20,063	Report	Report
26-Nov-88	Wimbledon	H	1–1	Houghton 63'	36,188	Report	Report
04-Dec-88	Arsenal	A	1–1	Barnes 46'	31,863	Report	Report
11-Dec-88	Everton	H	1–1	Houghton 30'	42,372	Report	Report
17-Dec-88	Norwich City	H	0–1		34,225	Report	Report
26-Dec-88	Derby County	A	1–0	Rush 17'	25,213	Report	Report
01-Jan-89	Manchester United	A	1–3	Barnes 70'	44,745	Report	Report
03-Jan-89	Aston Villa	H	1–0	Whelan 66'	39,014	Report	Report
14-Jan-89	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–2	Nicol 76' Aldridge 77'	31,524	Report	Report
21-Jan-89	Southampton	H	2–0	Aldridge 73' Rush 78'	35,565	Report	Report
04-Feb-89	Newcastle United	A	2–2	Aldridge 15' Rush 50'	30,966	Report	Report
01-Mar-89	Charlton Athletic	H	2–0	Beardsley 14' Aldridge pen 88'	30,283	Report	Report
11-Mar-89	Middlesbrough	A	4–0	Beardsley 19' Houghton 37' Aldridge 79' McMahon 88'	25,197	Report	Report
14-Mar-89	Luton Town	H	5–0	Aldridge 34', pen 42', 76' Beardsley 69' McMahon 74'	31,447	Report	Report
22-Mar-89	Coventry City	A	3–1	Barnes 11' Aldridge 28' Whelan 56'	23,807	Report	Report
26-Mar-89	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–1	Aldridge pen 50' Beardsley 64'	30,012	Report	Report
29-Mar-89	Derby County	H	1–0	Barnes 2'	42,518	Report	Report
01-Apr-89	Norwich City	A	1–0	Whelan 21'	26,338	Report	Report
08-Apr-89	Sheffield Wednesday	H	5–1	McMahon 8' Beardsley 42', 66' Houghton 57' Barnes 80'	39,672	Report	Report
11-Apr-89	Millwall	A	2–1	Barnes 21' Aldridge 41'	22,130	Report	Report
03-May-89	Everton	A	0–0		45,994	Report	Report
10-May-89	Nottingham Forest	H	1–0	Aldridge pen 81'	39,793	Report	Report
13-May-89	Wimbledon	A	2–1	Aldridge 59' Barnes 73'	14,730	Report	Report
16-May-89	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–0	Aldridge 45' Whelan 57'	38,368	Report	Report
23-May-89	West Ham United	H	5–1	Aldridge 20' Houghton 63', 80' Rush 84' Barnes 90'	41,855	Report	Report
26-May-89	Arsenal	H	0–2		41,718	Report	Report

FA Cup

Main article: 1988-89 FA Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
07-Jan-89	Carlisle United	A	3–0	Barnes 33' McMahon 65', 84'	18,556	Report	Report
29-Jan-89	Millwall	A	2–0	Aldridge 57' Rush 63'	23,615	Report	Report
18-Feb-89	Hull City	A	3–2	Barnes 15' Aldridge 52', 53'	20,058	Report	Report
18-Mar-89	Brentford	H	4–0	McMahon 15' Barnes 62' Beardsley 79', 82'	42,376	Report	Report
07-May-89	Nottingham Forest	N	3–1	Aldridge 3', 58' Own Goal 72'	38,000	Report	Report

Final

Main article: 1989 FA Cup Final

20 May 1989

15:00 BST

Liverpool	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Everton
Aldridge 4' Rush 95', 104'	Report Report	McCall 89', 102'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 82,800

Referee: Joe Worrall (Cheshire)

Liverpool

Everton

GK 1 Bruce Grobbelaar CB 2 Gary Ablett LB 3 Steve Staunton  90' RB 4 Steve Nicol CM 5 Ronnie Whelan (c) CB 6 Alan Hansen CF 7 Peter Beardsley CF 8 John Aldridge  73' RM 9 Ray Houghton LM 10 John Barnes CM 11 Steve McMahon Substitutes: DF 12 Barry Venison  90' FW 14 Ian Rush  73' Manager: Kenny Dalglish

GK 1 Neville Southall RB 2 Neil McDonald LB 3 Pat Van Den Hauwe CB 4 Kevin Ratcliffe (c) CB 5 Dave Watson CM 6 Paul Bracewell  59' RM 7 Pat Nevin CM 8 Trevor Steven CF 9 Graeme Sharp CF 10 Tony Cottee LM 11 Kevin Sheedy  78' Substitutes: MF 12 Ian Wilson  78' MF 14 Stuart McCall  59' Manager: Colin Harvey

Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Replay if scores still level Two named substitutes Maximum of two substitutions

League Cup

Main article: 1988–89 Football League Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
28-Sep-88	Walsall	H	1–0	Gillespie 44'	13,924	Report	Report
12-Oct-88	Walsall	A	3–1	Barnes 30' Rush 72' Mølby pen 83'	28,994	Report	Report
02-Nov-88	Arsenal	H	1–1	Barnes 66'	44,071	Report	Report
09-Nov-88	Arsenal	A	0–0		54,029	Report	Report
23-Nov-88	Arsenal	A	2–1	McMahon 61' Aldridge 87'	21,708	Report	Report
30-Nov-88	West Ham United	A	1–4	Aldridge pen 34'	26,971	Report	Report

FA Charity Shield

Main article: 1988 FA Charity Shield

20 August 1988

15:00

Liverpool	2–1	Wimbledon
Aldridge 23', 69'	Report Report	Fashanu 17'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 54,887

Referee: J Martin

Liverpool

Wimbledon

GK 1 Bruce Grobbelaar CB 2 Gary Gillespie LB 3 Barry Venison RB 4 Gary Ablett CM 5 Ronnie Whelan CB 6 Alex Watson CF 7 Peter Beardsley CF 8 John Aldridge RM 9 Ray Houghton LM 10 John Barnes CM 11 Steve McMahon Substitutes: DF 12 Charlie Boyd DF 14 Steve Staunton MF 15 Jan Molby MF 16 Nigel Spackman GK 17 Mike Hooper Manager: Kenny Dalglish

GK 1 Simon Tracey RB 2 John Scales LB 3 Terry Phelan MF 4 Vaughan Ryan CB 5 Eric Young CB 6 Peter Cawley FW 7 Terry Gibson MF 8 Carlton Fairweather FW 9 John Fashanu CM 10 Lawrie Sanchez (c) MF 11 Dennis Wise Substitutes: DF Andy Clement MF Alan Cork FW Robbie Turner Manager: Bobby Gould

Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy

Main article: Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
29-Aug-88	Nottingham Forest	A	4–1	Venison 50' Molby pen 70' Houghton 75' Barnes 84'	20,141	Report	Report
20-Sep-88	Arsenal	A	1–2	Staunton 80'	29,135	Report	Report

Dubai Champions Cup

Main article: Dubai Champions Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
6-Apr-89	Celtic	N	1–1 (Celtic win 4–2 on pens)	Aldridge 74'	15,000	Report

References

• LFC History.net – Games for the 1988–89 season
• Liverweb - Games for the 1988–89 season