Long-serving defender and club captain Phil Thompson, midfield dynamo Danny Murphy, and flamboyant keeper Bruce Grobbelaar will be discussing the games, dressing room and training ground stories, managers and fall outs live on www. They will be revealing everything a fan ever wanted to know about playing for Liverpool Football Club. In addition there will be a chance to pose questions to the stars during the evening.
PHIL THOMPSON: 340 league appearances, seven goals
Having stood on The Kop as a boy, Phil achieved his childhood dream when he signed professional contracts for the club as a 17-year-old in 1971, making his first team debut the following year. A serial cup and championship winner, his proudest moment came in 1981 when he lifted the European Cup as captain. Prior to this, in 1973, with Liverpool he won a double haul of trophies—the League Championship and UEFA Cup. The FA Cup followed in 1974 and a League and UEFA Cup double in 1976. In 1977 he earnt a league winner’s medal, but injury denied him a place in The Reds’ European Cup triumph, a cup final he was eventually to feature in – and win – the following season. He regained the league title in 1979 and lifted the league trophy as captain the following year. In addition to the European Cup, Phil also lifted the League Cup in 1981.Capped for England on 42 occasions, six as captain, further title medals followed in 1982 and 1983 before the curtain came down on Phil’s incredible medal-laden Liverpool playing career. Latterly, Thompson became manager Kenny Dalglish’s right-hand-man, eventually filling the same role to Graeme Souness on his arrival as manager in 1991. His departure the following year was not to be his final association with The Reds. When Gérard Houllier was appointed manager in 1998, he returned to the role one last time, taking sole charge while Houllier underwent heart surgery.
DANNY MURPHY: 170 league appearances, 25 goals
Initially having to work hard to establish himself as an Anfield midfield legend – with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Dietmar Hamman for esteemed company during that period of time – Murphy achieved a unique cup treble in 2001: winning the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup. He kicked on to become a key figure for The Reds the following season and has endeared himself to Liverpool fans by scoring the deciding goal in 1 – 0 wins against Manchester United at Old Trafford on no less than three occasions! With nine England caps (including one goal) to his credit and a flourishing TV career as a pundit on both Match of the Day and Sky TV, Danny is never one to hide his undying love for his boyhood club.
BRUCE GROBBELLAAR: 440 league appearances
Between 1981 and 1994 Bruce won six league title medals, three FA Cup winner’s medals, three League Cup winner’s medals and a European Cup winner’s medal. He is remembered for his gymnastic-like ability, unflappable confidence and flamboyant style of play. In the 1984 penalty shootout of the European Cup final against Roma, Grobbelaar’s eccentricity was put to good use – affecting the concentration of the opposition’s penalty takers. For one kick he walked towards the goal smiling confidently at the cameras and proceeded to bite the back of the net, imitating eating spaghetti. For another he wobbled his legs in terror. Both penalty takers missed with Liverpool triumphing 4-2. The following season he famously brought down a pitch invader, allowing the police to handcuff the offending spectator. He was a virtual ever-present from the departure of Ray Clemence at the beginning of the 1990s serving under three of Liverpool’s greatest managers; Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish.
LIVERPOOL EMPIRE – FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY Lime Street, Liverpool L1 1JE
0844 871 3017 atgtickets.com/Liverpool A limited number of VIP tickets are also available. These afford the opportunity for a meet and greet the stars before the show, including a photo opportunity.
