Of Liverpool's signings in the summer of 2000, Gerard Houllier's first
in sole charge of team affairs, Gary McAllister was perhaps the
best-known to English football fans. Yet his move to Anfield ranks as
one of the most unexpected in Premiership history. McAllister served his
three previous English clubs - Leicester City, Leeds United and
Coventry City - with distinction, and was one of the most respected
professionals in the English game at the time. Most observers, however,
felt his time in the sun had passed, as indeed did the management at
Coventry, who were happy to allow the 36-year-old's contract to expire.
Houllier, on the lookout for Premiership experience to augment the more
untried players he aimed to import from his native France and elsewhere,
quickly stepped in.
At a time when most players are entering their
dotage, McAllister made possibly the biggest move of his career, to wear
the red of Liverpool. The doubters were many, but they were quickly won
over by the part the man affectionately known on the Kop as 'Gary Mac'
played in the side's headlong rush towards the three trophies that were
to make 2000-2001 a season to live long in the memory of Liverpool fans.
McAllister's performances in midfield were a crucial factor in
Liverpool's successes that season. In fact, with hindsight it could well
be said that the failure to suitably replace his graceful, composed
presence in the centre of the park proved ultimately to be the downfall
of the Houllier regime. So often in his first season was McAllister an
oasis of calm, his experience and know-how the perfect complement to the
rapidly-flowering, but youthfully naïve, talents of Steven Gerrard.
The
first part of the treble came with success over Birmingham City in the
Worthington Cup final, Gary appearing as a sub for Gerrard and slotting
home the first penalty of the shoot-out to put Liverpool on the way to a
5-4 victory. The FA Cup was then won - albeit rather fortuitously -
with a 2-1 win against Arsenal thanks to two late Michael Owen goals,
Gary coming on as sub for Didi Hamann, and McAllister then played a key
role in the UEFA Cup final, scoring a penalty and creating three of
Liverpool's other goals that night in Dortmund as the Reds beat Spanish
side Alaves in a 5-4 thriller.
Of course, were it not for all his other
achievements in the red shirt, McAllister would remain a cult hero to
Liverpool fans for one reason alone - his 94th minute winner in the
Merseyside derby, a daisycutting free kick struck from 44 yards to
deceive Paul Gerrard in the Everton goal and leave a packed Goodison
Park heartbroken. Gary played on through the 2001-2002 season, but time
increasingly caught up with him, and he left Anfield for a
player-coaching role back at Coventry. His final appearance was in a 5-0
win over Ipswich on the final day of the season, a game after which
McAllister was rightly acclaimed as a hero by the Anfield crowd, many of
whom had once questioned the wisdom of his signing. (Steve Graves) |