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Midfielder Nigel Spackman joined Liverpool in a £400,000 deal from
Chelsea on February 24, 1987 and made his debut the following night in a
3-0 League Cup win at home to Southampton, coming on as a sub for Mark
Lawrenson. A versatile player, comfortable in defence as well as his
usual midfield role, Nigel was bought to strengthen the squad as
Liverpool chased back-to-back League championships in the 1986-87
season. Spackman showed this versatility by filling in at right back for
Lawrenson, who had moved into central defence to replace the injured
Gary Gillespie, and kept his place for the next seven League games, five
of which Liverpool won, and then against Arsenal in the League Cup
Final at Wembley, a game they lost 2-1 despite taking the lead with a
first-half goal from Ian Rush.
Nigel started the last five League games
of the season, but Liverpool won only two of these and were beaten to
the title by Merseyside rivals Everton. The first half of the 1987-88
campaign saw Nigel struggling to hold down a first team place. Though
often a sub, he started only three League games as Liverpool's superb
form made breaking into the side very difficult. However, an injury to
midfielder Ronnie Whelan in January 1988 gave Nigel the opportunity to
return to the team in his favoured position.
His first start came in a
2-0 FA Cup win at Aston Villa and he held his place for the remaining 20
games of the season, providing defensive cover whenever fellow central
midfielder Steve McMahon surged forward. Spackman helped Liverpool
complete a run of 29 League games unbeaten from the start of the season,
equalling the record set by Leeds in 1973-74, a run that finally came
to and end on March 20, 1988 with a 1-0 defeat at Everton.
Nigel's
personal highlight in this period was an outstanding display in a 5-0
thrashing of Nottingham Forest in a League match at Anfield; such was
Liverpool's dominance they could have easily reached double figures. His
27 League appearances (19+8) earned him a deserved Championship medal
as Liverpool eased to their 17th title, but he also tasted bitter
disappointment in another major final as Wimbledon shocked Liverpool 1-0
in the FA Cup Final at Wembley, depriving the Reds of their second
double in three seasons.
Ronnie Whelan's return from injury meant
Spackman was limited to eight League starts in the first half of the
1988-89 campaign, though he again showed his versatility by appearing in
both midfield and defence. He was outstanding in midfield in a 1-0 win
over Manchester United at Anfield, a game in which he came closest to
breaking his scoring duck in a red shirt, twice hitting a post.
In and
out of the side, a substitute appearance in a 1-0 League defeat at home
to Norwich on December 17, 1988 marked the end of his Liverpool career.
Unhappy at being only a squad player, Nigel decided to move away from
Anfield in search of regular first team football and was transferred to
Queen's Park Rangers for £500,000 in February 1989. He played a total
of 63 games for Liverpool, 51 of those in the League, twelve of which
came in his final season at Anfield - enough to have earned him a League
Championship medal had Liverpool not suffered the heartbreak of that
infamous late Michael Thomas strike. (Martin Greensill)
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