Graeme SOUNESS

 A midfield playmaker with a wide range of passing skills and excellent technique, Graeme Souness arrived at Liverpool in January 1978 in a £352, 000 move from Middlesbrough, where he had made 176 League appearances and scored 22 goals. Souness was also a strong tackler and had an eye for goal, his powerful shooting being a deadly weapon. In many ways, he was the complete midfielder and would prove a huge asset to the club in his seven trophy-laden seasons at Anfield. Graeme made his Liverpool debut on January 14, 1978, in a 1-0 League win at West Bromwich Albion (he is pictured above two games later, sliding about in the rain with Coventry's Barry Powell !), and scored his first goal the following month in a 3-1 League win against Manchester United at Anfield, crashing home a 15-yard volley that Liverpool fans later voted as their 'Goal of the Season'. His only other goal in 15 League appearances that season came in a 2-2 home draw with Ipswich Town in April, though his fine performances were one reason why Liverpool ended the campaign with nine wins and three draws in their last 12 League games.

Nevertheless, that was only good enough for a second-place finish as Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side won the championship by a comfortable eight points. But in Europe it was a different story, and Graeme played his part. He made his Euro debut when coming on as a late sub in a European Cup semi-final, 1st leg tie away to Borussia Moenchengladbach in late March. Liverpool lost 2-1 to the West German champions, but gained revenge in the return match, winning easily 3-0 to go through to the final 4-2 on aggregate. Facing the Belgian side FC Bruges in the Wembley showpiece on May 10, Souness helped Liverpool control the game but they could not break through until his clever pass on 65 minutes found Kenny Dalglish and his delicate chip put the Reds 1-0 up. That was the final score and Graeme collected the first winners' medal of his career. Now firmly established in the side, Souness began the 1978-79 League campaign in excellent form, dominating midfield and scoring goals at will. He hit six in the first six games, including braces against both Manchester City, in a 4-1 away win in August 1978, and Birmingham, in a 3-0 away victory in September.

With their star midfielder playing so well, it was no coincidence that Liverpool also made a flying start to the season, winning 10 and drawing one of their first 11 League games to take a vice-like grip on the title race. Graeme could not have been expected to maintain his goal-a-game average for long, but it came as a surprise that he would score only two more League goals all season, in a 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough in November and a 1-0 win against Birmingham City at Anfield in February 1979. More importantly, though, his overall contribution was outstanding and a major factor as Liverpool coasted to League championship glory, finishing eight points ahead of runners-up Nottingham Forest with a 1st Divison record of 68 points (under the system of two points for a win). They also scored 84 goals, averaging exactly two a game, and conceded just 16, a record low for all four divisions of the League. Souness made 41 League appearances that term, scoring those eight goals and creating many more. He also played 12 times in knock-out competitions, including seven in the FA Cup, scoring his only goal in a 3-0 home win against Burnley in a 5th round tie in February 1979. Liverpool lost in the semi-finals of that competition but, with Souness dominant in midfield, had regained their status as the best team in the country by claiming their third League title in four seasons. (Martin Greensill).

Graeme Souness made 59 appearances in all competitions in 1979-80, but surprisingly managed just two goals, one in a 5-0 drubbing of Grimsby Town in a 3rd round FA Cup tie at Anfield in January, the other in a 2-0 home win over Manchester City in a League game in March. His overall contribution was still highly significant and he missed just one League game as Liverpool retained the title to take their fourth championship in five seasons and a record 12th in total. However, the Reds did not enjoy any cup success that season, taking an early exit from the European Cup (beaten 4-2 on aggregate in the 1st round by Dynamo Tbilisi of the Soviet Union) and losing in both the semi-finals of the League Cup (beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Nottingham Forest) and of the FA Cup, Arsenal knocking them out 1-0 in the third replay of a marathon tie.

Liverpool made a sluggish start to their bid for a hat-trick of titles in 1980-81, winning only two of their first five League matches, but a glut of goals from Souness helped to put them back on track. He netted six in eight games in September-October, including a brace in a 4-1 win over Brighton at Anfield on September 27, as the Reds enjoyed a run of 15 league games without defeat. Graeme would not score again in the League that season as Liverpool could only manage 5th position (their worst finish in a decade) but he was prolific in the European Cup, hitting the net six times with two hat-tricks. The first came in a 10-1 hammering of Finnish minnows Oulu Palloseura in a 1st round, 2nd leg tie at Anfield; the second in a 5-1 home win against CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria in a 1st leg quarter-final in early March, all three strikes thundered home in typical style.

Anfield legend Ian St John commented: 'If Graeme plays until he's 100, he'll never hit three more perfect shots in one match.' Souness was influential in both the semi-final win over Bayern Munich and in the final, Liverpool regaining the European Cup (their third win in five seasons) with a 1-0 victory against Real Madrid in Paris on May 27, full-back Alan Kennedy scoring the only goal of the game. That completed a cup double as Liverpool had already beaten West Ham 2-1 in a replay at Villa Park to win the League Cup for the first time in their history. Graeme made a total of 55 appearances that term, scoring 13 goals, and was now firmly established as the best midfield player in Britain. (Martin Greensill)

Liverpool made a slow start to the 1981-82 season, winning only three of their first 11 League games, and Souness did not get on the scoresheet until late October, in a 4-1 home win over Sunderland. After ending the year in mid-table following a 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Boxing Day, 1981, manager Bob Paisley made the controversial decision to replace Phil Thompson as captain, choosing Graeme to take over the armband. But it proved an inspired move as he led Liverpool to an impressive 4-0 win at Swansea - a team above them in the League table - in a 3rd round FA Cup tie on January 2, and then drove them on to a great run of League form, the Reds winning 20 and drawing three of their last 25 games of the season to wrap up a record 13th title. Apart from linking up well with the prolific new strike partnership of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, Graeme scored four times in six games in February-March 1982, most importantly in away wins at Leeds (2-0) and Everton (3-1).

He made 35 appearances in the League (scoring five goals) and 19 in other competitions, including nine in the League Cup (scoring once, in a 3-1 win at Barnsley) as Liverpool retained the trophy with a 3-1 victory over Tottenham at Wembley. In a very impressive start to his new role as captain, Souness had lifted two trophies in less than five months. Liverpool started the following season brightly, going unbeaten in their first seven matches, and Souness enjoyed a run of three goals in four games, including one in a 5-0 home pasting of Southampton in late September that put the Reds top of the table. Playing in his usual holding role, he was now the senior figure in a multinational four-man midfield that usually featured three promising youngsters: Irishman Ronnie Whelan on the left; Englishman Sammy Lee on the right; and Australian Craig Johnston pushing forward. Graeme's next goal came in a 3-1 defeat at West Ham in October, but he then went nearly three months before finding the net again, in a 3-1 home win against Arsenal in early January.

The other scorers in the Arsenal game were Dalglish and Rush, and with their partnership now in full flow (they hit 18 and 24 League goals, respectively) and the new-look midfield working a treat, Liverpool retained their title easily. The Reds banged in 87 League goals that season and Souness joined in the 'feeding frenzy' with nine from 41 appearances, his best return in a red shirt. He also scored twice in the League Cup, including the opener in a 3-0 home win against Burnley in the first leg of the semi-final, as Liverpool won the trophy for the third season in a row, beating Manchester United 2-1 at Wembley. They failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals of either the European Cup or the FA Cup but having collected two more trophies, it was still another successful season. (Martin Greensill).

Graeme Souness continued as captain in the 1983-84 campaign, but it had been an eventful summer at the club with the retirement of Bob Paisley after nine glorious seasons as manager and his replacement by Joe Fagan, a fellow member of the famous Anfield boot room. Fagan took to the job like a duck to water and with his captain leading by example on the field, the 83-84 season would turn out to be Liverpool's most successful ever. Going for a hat-trick of League titles, the Reds won only two of their first seven games but took over at the top in early November and held their lead until the end of the season, becoming the first side to win three successive Division One championships since Arsenal in the early thirties. Souness chipped in with seven goals including two braces: in a 5-1 win over Notts County in December and in a 6-0 thumping of West Ham in April.

He had also scored the only goal of the game, a 25-yard piledriver, as Liverpool beat Everton 1-0 on March 28, (in a replay at Maine Road after a goalless draw at Wembley) to win the Milk Cup, the new name for the League Cup they had now won four times in a row. With two trophies in the bag, Liverpool had the chance to complete a historic League-European Cup-League Cup treble, but in the final of Europe's premier competition on May 30, they faced AS Roma on, bizarrely, the Italian side's home ground, the Olympic Stadium in Rome. However, with Souness the dominant figure, as he had been throughout the side's run to the final, Liverpool drew 1-1 after extra-time (right-back Phil Neal popping up with a rare goal) and then won 4-2 in the penalty shootout, left-back Alan Kennedy scoring the decisive spot-kick to clinch a hat-trick of trophies and the Reds' fourth European Cup in seven seasons (see photo above, a delighted Graeme holding aloft the famous trophy).

One of the scorers in the shootout, it was a fitting way for Souness to leave the club he had served so well, making a total of 359 appearances and scoring 55 goals. Having already decided to test himself abroad, he moved to Italian side Sampdoria for £650,000 in June 1984. He would enjoy two successful seasons in Serie A, before returning to British football in summer 1986 as player/manager of Rangers. Graeme's later spell as Liverpool manager (1991-94) ended in failure, but this cannot detract from his immense contribution as a player. He was the midfield general of the most successful side in the club's history and, in just seven seasons, helped Liverpool win 12 major trophies, including five championships and three European Cups. He established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe and is a must for any All-Time Liverpool XI. (Martin Greensill).