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One of the most imposing defenders ever to pull on a shirt, the six foot plus Larry Lloyd formed one half of a genuinely hard defensive partnership when Bill Shankly placed him alongside Tommy Smith at Liverpool. In 1971, with Jack Charlton and Brian Labone out of the picture, England coach Alf Ramsey was seeking a new stopper at the back and Lloyd, in good form with a Liverpool side which had reached that year's FA Cup final, was given his debut in a bore draw against Wales at Wembley, alongside his Liverpool skipper Smith.
Tommie was never brought back, but Lloyd got more exposure to international strikeforces when England drew 1-1 with Switzerland at Wembley six months later. His third cap was in the infamous defeat to Northern Ireland at Wembley the following summer and Ramsey decided thereafter to keep faith with derby's Roy McFarland as his main defensive lynchpin. Lloyd's subsequent downgrading to Coventry to ply his trade seemingly put paid to any further international honours, but after Brian Clough revived his career at Nottingham Forest, to the extent of one European Cup triumph and a second one just days away, Ron Greenwood called him up for the 1980 Home Internationals and a 31 year old Lloyd - fully eight years after his last international outing - partnered his former Liverpool colleague Phil Thompson in a calamitous 4-1 reversal against Wales (see photo above) at Wrexham.
There was always little chance of Lloyd making that summer's European Championship squad as he had to miss the remaining three pre-tournament friendlies due to Forest's involvement in the European Cup final, but their successful retention of the trophy was a good way to sacrifice belated international ambition. (Matthew Rudd) Larry Lloyd died on 28th March 2024 aged 75.
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