30 YEARS OF HURT NEVER STOPPED THEM DREAMING
When you’ve been an unparalleled leading actor for decades, it’s hard to play a bit-part role in someone else’s Hollywood ending.
A proto-“Agueroooo” moment a week before Sergio’s first birthday, Arsenal’s title-sealing 2-0 victory at Anfield on Friday May 26, 1989 formed the emotional peak of Nick Hornby’s seminal book Fever Pitch and its film adaptation. For Liverpool, though, this was not in the script.
For once, the overdogs here had sympathy: the Reds were meant to win the league and help their city to overcome the searing pain of Hillsborough, six weeks earlier. But George Graham’s Gunners were no one’s patsies, and Michael Thomas’ stoppage-time goal snatched them the title on goals scored.
“In the changing room afterwards, it was hard to comprehend the loss,” ex-Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton tells FourFourTwo. “The dressing room was devastated,” adds right-back Barry Venison. “You still didn’t really know what had happened. There were strong words in there... a lot of shouting.”
But there was also a lot of experience. The club had won nine of the previous 13 league titles. Manager Kenny Dalglish and captain Alan Hansen had been present for seven of them; coaching staff such as Roy Evans and teak-tough Ronnie Moran, for decades. They always took the long view. “That night was difficult,” says John Barnes, the team’s chief dangerman. “But it was forgotten about the day after, to raise ourselves and go again.”
Due to Everton’s title triumphs in 1985 and ’87, the trophy hadn’t left the city since 1981. Just as 23 years later, when an eight-year arrangement between Manchester United and Chelsea was interrupted by some noisy neighbours, the emergence of a new rival focused minds and increased determination.
“The quality in the squad was obvious and the mentality that the players carried was unbelievable,” reflects Houghton. “They all believed they were the best, simple as that.”
“Liverpool were just a winning machine,” concludes Venison. “They would never say, ‘We expect to win the title’ – Kenny would never utter those words – but
