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.

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)