Kevin KEEGAN

Kevin Keegan, who joined Liverpool in May 1971 from Scunthorpe United for £35,000, was a key figure in the rebuilding process that manager Bill Shankly was undertaking in the early 1970s. He would prove an inspired signing, leading the club into the most glorious period in its history and becoming a Liverpool legend after six memorable seasons at Anfield. Fast and skilful, with great movement and an eye for goal, Keegan made an immediate impact by scoring after just 12 minutes of his debut, a 3-1 League win at home to Nottingham Forest on August 14, 1971. Linking up in attack with the much taller John Toshack, he formed part of a 'Little and Large' act that was to terrorise opposing defences over the next few seasons. Not surprisingly after his sparkling debut, Kevin kept his place in the side and scored League goals against both Newcastle and Leicester later that month, but a barren spell followed, and he only managed one more League goal (in a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United in October 1971) in the next five months.

Aged only 20 and fresh from Fourth Division football, he was probably still adjusting to life in the top bracket. A brace in a 3-0 FA Cup win at Oxford in January seemed to relight his fire and he went on to start the last 23 League games of the season, making a total of 35 League appearances and scoring nine goals (four behind top scorer Toshack). However, after run of 13 wins and a draw in 14 games between January and April, Liverpool's challenge for the title faltered as they took only one point from their last two matches and finished third, a single point behind champions Derby County. It was clear that Shankly's rebuilding was on the right track. Season 1972-73 was when the new-look Liverpool side would come of age, and Keegan was to prove its inspiration and talisman. More a provider than a goalscorer early in the League season, Kevin didn't score his first goal until early September, in a 4-2 home win against Wolves, and then netted another a fortnight later in a 5-0 crushing of Sheffield United at Anfield. That win put Liverpool on top of the table, a position they would not relinquish until a defeat at Wolves four months later. Keegan's winner in a 2-1 home victory over Ipswich in late February '73 put the Reds back on top and he added seven more goals in the last 12 League games to help Liverpool to their first title since 1966. Kevin ended the season as the club's joint top League scorer with 13 goals, the same as his strike partner Toshack.

With the League title sewn up, Liverpool could now concentrate on the two-legged UEFA Cup Final against Borussia Moenchengladbach. In the first leg at Anfield, it was two early goals from Keegan that put the Reds in control and although he later missed a penalty, Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners to put themselves in the driving seat. A 2-0 defeat in the second leg in Germany meant Liverpool won the tie 3-2 on aggregate and collected their first ever European trophy. Keegan fully deserved his second medal of the season after playing some outstanding football and scoring 22 goals from 64 appearances in all competitions. Apart from being memorable at club level, the 1972-73 season also saw Kevin make his international debut for the senior England side. His appearance in England's 1-0 win over Wales in a World Cup qualifying game in November 1972 would be the start of a long and successful international career. (Martin Greensill)

 Kevin Kevin was again heavily involved in the 1973-74 campaign, playing in all 42 League games plus another 19 in cup competitions. He was the clubs top scorer in the League with 13 goals, including a hat-trick in a 4-2 home win over Ipswich in November and a brace in a 3-2 win against Birmingham in January. But recurrent injuries for his strike partner John Toshack were one reason Liverpool often found goalscoring difficult, especially away from home. A total of 52 goals was never going to be enough to retain the championship and, despite a solid defence (only 31 conceded), they finished runners-up to Leeds by six points. The FA Cup, however, was a different story and Keegan was to play a pivotal role here. He scored twice against his hometown club Doncaster Rovers in a 2-2 draw at Anfield in a 3rd round tie in January 1974 (Liverpool won the replay 2-0), sparing the Reds' blushes after the Fourth Division side had taken a shock 2-1 lead. After netting once in a 2-0 home win over Ipswich in the 5th round, Kevin struck again in a semi-final replay in April against Leicester City at Villa Park, where his cheeky lob over England keeper Peter Shilton helped the Reds to a 3-1 win. Keegan then excelled in the Wembley final, opening the scoring with a brilliant 25-yard volley before adding a late tap-in, as Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-0, to lift the trophy for only the second time in their history. With six goals in the competition and a superb performance in the final, he fully deserved his winners' medal, his third major gong in just two seasons. The FA Cup win rounded off a successful season in which Kevin made a total of 61 appearances and scored 19 goals.

The 1974-75 term started badly, however, after he and Leeds captain Billy Bremner were sent off for fighting in the Charity Shield game at Wembley on August 10, 1974, the pair becoming the first British players ever to be sent off at the home of football. Liverpool won 7-6 on penalties in a bad-tempered match that was an ill-fitting end to Bill Shankly's legendary reign at the club, but Keegan received a three-match ban (to eight for Bremner, the main culprit), which he served after the first League game of the season, a 2-1 win at Luton Town. After completing his ban, Kevin returned to the side on October 1, in a 1-0 win away to Norwegian side Stromsgodset in the 1st round of the European Cup Winners' Cup, and went on to start the remaining 32 League games, scoring 10 goals, including both goals in a 2-0 win at Leeds in early April that gave Liverpool hope of regaining the championship. Keegan was back to his best, scoring seven times in Liverpool's last eight games as they mounted a determined challenge for the title. However, a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on April 19 proved fatal as they just fell short, finishing runners-up by two points to champions Derby. That narrow failure completed a disappointing season as Liverpool had also made early exits from all three cup competitions they were involved in. Kevin found some personal consolation, however, when he was named the Football Writers' Footballer of the Year. (Martin Greensill)

Kevin Keegan was to play an instrumental role in the memorable 1975-76 season, scoring some vital goals and linking up superbly with his 'partner in crime', John Toshack, who made a welcome return to fitness after missing half the League games the previous term. The League campaign started badly with a 2-0 defeat at QPR, but a run of only two defeats in 20 games saw Liverpool top the table at Christmas 1975. Keegan only scored five times during that run, acting more as a provider as Toshack found the net more regularly, but bagged a brace in a 3-3 draw with Ipswich in January and ended the season with 10 League goals (two behind Toshack), his most important coming in the decisive game at Wolves on May 4, 1976. Needing a win or a low-scoring draw to wrap up the League championship, Liverpool trailed 1-0 at half-time but an equaliser from Kevin revived spirits and set them on the way to a 3-1 victory, ensuring their second title in four seasons. The Reds now had the chance to complete a quickfire double as they faced FC Bruges in the return match of the two-legged UEFA Cup final. The first leg at Anfield on April 28 had been a memorable game, Bruges leading 2-0 after 15 minutes but Liverpool roaring back after half-time to win 3-2, with Keegan scoring the winner from the penalty spot. Kevin again made the difference in the return leg in Belgium, drilling home a low free kick in the 15th minute to equalise the home side's early goal. The match ended 1-1, so Liverpool won the final 4-3 on aggregate to repeat their League-UEFA Cup double of three years earlier.

Keegan therefore added two more winners' medals to his burgeoning collection after an eventful season in which he made 57 appearances in all competitions and scored 16 goals. Kevin was to be in the forefront of Liverpool's bid for a unique League-FA Cup-European Cup treble in the unforgettable season of 1976-77, one in which he again made 57 appearances in all competitions and scored 20 goals. Twelve of these came in the League (he was top scorer again), his most important being the winner in a crucial 2-1 victory over title rivals Ipswich at Anfield in April '77, part of an unbeaten 11-match run that gave Liverpool back-to-back titles and saw Kevin pick up his third championship medal in only five seasons. Keegan also scored four times in each knockout competition as the Reds progressed to finals of both the FA and the European Cups, but his hopes of another medal and the club's dream of the treble were shattered by a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

Liverpool had only four days to recover before the European Cup Final in Rome against Borussia Moenchengladbach but, with Kevin in outstanding form and tormenting his marker, West Germany full-back Berti Vogts, with his pace and trickery, they produced a superb performance on the famous night of May 25, 1977, to run out 3-1 winners and collect Europe's most prestigious club trophy for the first time in the club's history. Keegan didn't find the net himself but earnt the penalty, scored by Phil Neal, which sealed victory after Vogts could only end his surge into the area by fouling him. In the last of his 323 appearances for the club - he had already agreed to join SV Hamburg for a UK record fee of £500, 000 - attaining European Cup glory was the perfect way for Kevin to bring the curtain down on a golden spell at Anfield. He had collected seven major medals in only six seasons with Liverpool, scoring exactly 100 goals, and established himself as one of the outstanding footballers in Europe. He is rightly regarded as an Anfield legend and one of the best players ever to have worn the famous red shirt. (Martin Greensill)