Jimmy CASE

Jimmy Case joined Liverpool from local non-league side South Liverpool in May 1973, the Reds paying a nominal fee of £500 as he was signed on an amateur basis. He turned professional the following year and made his debut in a 3-1 defeat of Queens Park Rangers in a League game at Anfield on April 26, 1975. A tough tackling midfielder with a fierce shot, Jimmy would play an important role on the right-hand side of Liverpool's midfield for six trophy-laden seasons. He described himself as 'a bread and butter player, a fetcher and carrier to fill in the spaces on the right hand side and work hard.' Tough in the tackle, he was adept at breaking up opponents' moves and then passing the ball to flair players, such as Kenny Dalglish or Terry McDermott.

Case scored his debut goal for Liverpool in his first game of the 1975-76 season, a 3-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on August 23, and followed this up by netting in League wins at Anfield against Aston Villa (3-0 in September) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (2-0 in October). However, he appeared in only five of Liverpool's first 19 League games and did not establish his place in the side until ousting Brian Hall from his midfield berth in December. He played in the next 21 games, scoring three goals, including the second in a 2-0 home win over Newcastle United in February 1976. In total, he made 27 League appearances that season, scoring a handy six goals, and picked up the first winners' medal of his career as Liverpool won the League championship for a record ninth time.

Jimmy also proved his value to the side in Europe, scoring five times in nine UEFA Cup ties, including a hat-trick in a 3-0 3rd round 2nd leg win over Polish side Slask Wroclaw at Anfield. He also scored in the first leg of the two-legged final (after coming on as a half-time substitute for John Toshack), as Liverpool staged a thrilling comeback, overturning a 0-2 deficit to beat FC Bruges of Belgium 3-2 at Anfield in late April. A 1-1 draw in the return leg three weeks later meant Liverpool had triumphed 4-3 on aggregate, completing a second League-UEFA Cup double in four seasons. It also meant that Case had collected his second major medal in the space of three weeks. Jimmy featured regularly in Liverpool's bid for a unique League-FA Cup-European Cup treble in the unforgettable season of 1976-77, one in which he made 42 appearances in all competitions and scored seven goals. Surprisingly, just one of these came in the League, the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at QPR on May 7, 1977, part of an unbeaten 11-match run towards the end of the campaign that gave Liverpool back-to-back titles and saw Case pick up his second championship medal in two seasons.

He was more prolific in cup competitions, however, scoring four times in seven FA Cup ties, including both games of the semi-final against Everton, the Reds overcoming their city rivals 3-0 in a replay on April 27 after a 2-2 draw four days earlier (both games being played at Manchester City's Maine Road ground). He also scored Liverpool's goal in the final itself at Wembley, cracking home a spectacular shot from outside the box to draw Liverpool level, but the club's dreams of the Treble were ended by a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. That left the European Cup to play for, Case having helped Liverpool's progress to the final by scoring a brace in a 3-0 semi-final second leg win against FC Zurich at Anfield. They won that tie 6-1 on aggregate and, in their first appearance in the final of Europe's top club competition, defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 in Rome's Olympic Stadium. Jimmy failed to get on the scoresheet that night but played his part in a historic triumph with a typically battling display on the right side of midfield. He had now won four major medals in just two seasons. (Martin Greensill)

Jimmy Case made 33 appearances in the League in the 1977-78 campaign, scoring five goals, including a brace in a 2-1 win at Leeds United in October and the opener in a 3-1 win at Wolverhampton in March 1978. The Reds ended the season with an unbeaten run of 12 League games but were unable to complete a hat-trick of League titles, finishing runners-up by eight points to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side. Jimmy made 18 appearances in other competitions, including eight in the League Cup, scoring twice, another trophy in which Forest had denied Liverpool, beating them 1-0 in the replayed final at Old Trafford on March 22. He also made nine appearances in the European Cup, finding the net four times, two of which came in a 5-1 drubbing of Dynamo Dresden in a European Cup 2nd round 1st leg tie at Anfield in October 1977. More importantly, he scored the opener in a 2-1 win away to Benfica in a first leg quarter-final tie in March and the third goal in a 3-0 semi-final second leg victory against old rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach, Liverpool progressing to the final 4-2 on aggregate.

In the Wembley showpiece on May 10, the Reds overcame another old foe, FC Bruges, by a 1-0 margin, Kenny Dalglish scoring the only goal of the game with a delightful chip. Jimmy was substituted (by Steve Heighway) in the 64th minute but still added another medal to his growing collection. The European Cup triumph was the climax of a season in which he had made a total of 51 appearances and scored 11 goals. Jimmy played a prominent role as Liverpool sought to regain the League title in the 1978-79 campaign; his hat-trick in a 3-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers in September was part of a brilliant start to the season which saw the Reds win 10 and draw one of their first eleven League games. This fine run of form gave Liverpool a healthy lead in the race for the championship and they never relented, heading the table throughout the season and claiming a record 11th title.

They racked up a top flight record of 68 points (under the two points for a win system) and conceded just 16 goals, a record for all four divisions of the Football League. Case made 37 League appearances, scoring seven goals, his most important strike in the latter half of the season being the opener in a 3-0 win against Arsenal at Anfield in April. He also found the net twice in 11 other games (in a 3-1 Super Cup defeat by Anderlecht and in a 3-0 home win over Southend United in a FA Cup 3rd round replay). However, Liverpool failed to reach the final of any of the three knockout competitions they contested, suffering early exits from the European and League Cups and losing in the semi-finals of the FA Cup (1-0 to Manchester United in a replay). (Martin Greensill)

Jimmy made a total of 52 appearances in the 1979-80 campaign, scoring five goals. He continued his excellent strike rate in Europe with his 13th goal in 30 matches as Liverpool beat Dynamo Tiblisi 2-1 in a European Cup 1st round 1st leg tie at Anfield in October, though a 3-0 defeat in the return leg in the Soviet Union saw the Reds crash out of the competition 4-2 on aggregate. In the League, Case again made 37 appearances, this time scoring just three goals. These came in the home wins over Coventry City (4-0 in September) and Crystal Palace (3-0 in December) and a 5-3 win at Norwich City in February. Nevertheless, with fellow midfielders Terry McDermott and Ray Kennedy scoring 20 goals between them, there was no lack of firepower from the centre of the park. Liverpool hit a total of 81 goals in the League and retained the title, giving Jimmy his fourth League championship medal in five seasons.

However, his long term future at the club was put in doubt after he lost his place in the side in April, youth product Sammy Lee taking over on the right side of midfield for the final eight games of the season (five of which were in the League). Jimmy started four of the first five League games of the following campaign but was replaced by Lee for the home match with West Browwich Albion in September, a game Liverpool won 4-0. This victory signalled an upturn in form, the Reds winning for only the second time in six games and going on to enjoy a 15-match unbeaten run. With Lee playing well, Case was consigned to the occasional appearance from the substitutes' bench, though in one of these he managed to salvage the team a point, scoring the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town in December.

That proved to be his only League goal of the season, a campaign in which he made 24 appearances, including ten as a sub. His only other goal that term came in a 2-1 defeat at Everton in a 4th round FA Cup tie in January 1981, after he had replaced Kenny Dalglish at half-time. However, despite no longer being a first team regular (and Liverpool only finishing 5th in the League), Jimmy still managed to pick up two more major medals that season. An injury to Graeme Souness meant that he started in the League Cup final win against West Ham United (2-1 in a replay) and he then came on as a late sub for Dalglish in a 1-0 European Cup final triumph over Real Madrid. That famous win in Paris turned out to be Jimmy's last game in a red shirt and in August 1981 he was sold to Brighton and Hove Albion for £350, 000, bringing to an end an eight-year Anfield career in which he had made 269 appearances in all competitions, scoring 46 goals, and won eight major medals. (Martin Greensill)