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June 2003 LFCSnumber8 posted a series of posts on the official site forum and has kindly agreed to them being posted on Liverweb Gary McAllister Quite possibly the last in a long and distinguised line of
great Scots to play at Anfield. The name was Gary McAllister, one of my favourite
ever Liverpool players, and I've been around a long time. When we signed him,
the majority viewed it as a poor signing. Why were we signing a 35 year old from
a mediocure outfit when we already had the likes of Redknapp, Hamann and the rapidly
emerging talents of Gerrard and David Thompson. But Gerard Houllier had targeted
experience, he wanted a player who could not only add more maturity to the side,
but also help improve the games of young stars like Gerrard and Danny Murphy.
By the time he arrived at Anfield, Gary Mac had already won a league title at
Elland Road, but was perhaps best known for that penalty miss at Wembley. Due
to that he was discracefully booed whilst representing his country, in spite of
being the only genuinly class player they had. His years at Coventry were good
on a personal level, if not footballing. But in just over a month at Anfield,
Gary McAllister ensured he would be a legend. Starting in the 94th minute of a
Merseyside derby and ending in the complete performance in the sensational victory
over Alaves, McAllister was the figurehead of Liverpool's stampede towards the
treble and the Champions League. His coolness under pressure and magnificent range
of passing inspired his teammates and the fans. A man who had seen the worst possible
start to his Liverpool career with the first dismissal of his career at Higbury,
was the choice of many to become the player of the whole season. This is the tale
of the career of the one season legend! McAllister joined a Leeds side witnessing a revolution under Wilkinson. Players such as Gordon Strachan, John Lukic, Chris Whyte, Chris Kamara and Vinnie Jones were already on the playing staff with Leeds looking to establish themselves as a first division side. McAllister, who had almost denied Leeds promotion the year before, replaced Jones and became the final cog in Wilkinson's midfield. McAllister's skill saw him become the key man in the midfield of Speed, Strachan, Batty and himself, and his passing was again first class. McAllister's and his team mates performances were good as Leeds made an impact in division one. The side made it to the semi's of the league cup, and were involved in the game of the season against the mighty Liverpool. After being 4 nil down at half time, Leeds fought back to lose 5-4, although they had a credible goal from Chapman disallowed to prevent an equilizer, McAllister was again the architect, and it gave Leeds confidence going into the 1991-92 season, one which would be key in their rise! Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge and Rod Wallace joined in the summer, with Leeds looking to become title challengers. Leeds signed Cantona shortly after another victory over Liverpool that made the Elland Road outfit believe anything was possible. Leeds, inspired by the Frenchman and McAllister went on a brilliant run of form that saw them take the title to the wire. On the last day of the season, McAllister's Leeds defeated Sheffield United, with Liverpool defeating Manchester United. Gary had won his first and last ever league championship medal! The next few years were not as successful at Elland Road, with the side breaking up and not being adequately replaced, so McAllister decided it was time to move on, and when Leeds accepted Coventry's £3m bid, McAllister was back in the Midlands! McAllister quickly settled down and became a firm favourite at Coventry. He was the regular free kick, corner and penalty taker, he was for Coventry what Beckham is for England, only slightly more important. Strachan viewed McAllister as his keyman, and it's no small fact that Coventry finally succumbed to relegation the year after McAllister's departure. He was regularly one of the clubs top scorers, and stood out as the best player in a side that featured the likes of Dublin and Huckerby, and later on Hadji and Keane. In the summer of 2000, Gerard Houllier swooped to bring the richly experienced Gary McAllister to Anfield. McAllister joined a Liverpool side that had just missed out on a lucrative champions league spot. His signing was eclipsed by the big money purchase of Nick Barmby from arch-rivals Everton. Many questioned the logic of buying such an old player, surely Liverpool should go for players who could represent the club for years. What was never in doubt, was that McAllister came to Liverpool to play football, not pick up one last paycheck. He stated that it was, 'a dream move!'. His Liverpool debut just encouraged his many doubters, and the red card ensured a slow start to his Liverpool career. It's fair to say Gary's first few months at Liverpool weren't a complete success. Although he began to win over the fans with some outstanding performances, and a good goal against Coventry. But, in all fairness, it wasn't all that was on his mind, and the fact he actually played during this time was a testament to his remarkable strength of character. At this time, his wife Denise McAllister was diagnosed with breast cancer. She turned down chemotherapy as it carried a risk to the couples unborn child. She thankfully began to recover when she began the treatment after the birth of their baby. McAllister's form picked up, and he was rewarded with a new one year contract shortly after scoring a penalty in the Worthington Cup shoot-out win. His best moment in a Liverpool shirt was about to come. Shortly after a week which had seen Liverpool draw at Ipswich and lose at home to Leeds, both of whom were realistic challengers to the clubs Champions League aims, Liverpool faced Everton in a huge derby encounter. After some discraceful behaviour by Everton fans, it was a bad tempered encounter, with two debatable penalties and a red card to Liverpool's Igor Biscan. With the score locked at 2-2, it seemed likely that the Champions League was going to be a bridge too far for Liverpool. Then, in the 94th minute, referee Jeff Winter gave Liverpool a free kick 44 yards out. With Sami Hyypia and Emile Heskey lurking in the area, McAllister went for goal, and then the roof was blown off Goodison. The ball nestled firmly in the back of the net, Westerveld joined in the celebrations, Gerard Houllier's mouth was wider than the Mersey tunnel and most importantly, Liverpool got their belief back. From that point on, McAllister and Liverpool went from strength to strength. He scored a penalty to carry Liverpool through one of their finest European nights against Barcelona and into the UEFA Cup Final. He then scored a crucial penalty against Spurs in a game at Anfield that looked destined to remain goalless. The week after saw a McAllister free kick put the final nail in Coventry's coffin, before his excellent free kick against Bradford just 72 hours later saw him score his 5th goal in as many games. McAllister was again brilliant over the next few games, but had to settle for a place on the bench in the cup final. After he did come on, it was from his free kick that Micheal Owen volleyed home a Babbel knockdown to equilize, and with Owen's goal a few minutes later, Liverpool were going to win the cup. On the wednesday, McAllister was again the inspirational figure in the classic 5-4 UEFA Cup victory over Alaves. His cooly taken penalty and the decisive free kick which saw Geli score a golden own goal with just seconds remaining were just two examples of his brilliant all round performances. After Liverpool beat Charlton to clinch a Champions League Spot, all the counties phone in's were declaring one man as the fans player of the season. Yep, you guessed it, it was Gary McAllister. In just one season he had become a legend. The following season didn't herald quite as much success for McAllister, although he did score a penalty after less than a minute to help Liverpool to win the Charity Shield. He struggled to maintain his form and with Gerard Houllier's illness the main topic of conversation, McAllister's absence from the team was barely mentioned. Nevertheless he remained an inspiration off the pitch, although his last penalty for Liverpool was saved by Carlo Cudicini in a dismal 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. His final game for Liverpool was as a sub in the 5-0 victory over Ipswich. Every touch he made was greeted with a cheer, and his name was chanted for long after the final whistle. These were the words of McAllister after the final whistle, "That sort of reception is only given to legends here, maybe I made a bigger impact than I thought!" And he had, he had become a legendary figure! Since leaving Liverpool, McAllister, who was awarded the MBE for services to football in December 2001, has been put in an impossible situation at Coventry. With no money to spend and dressing room splits Coventry fell away after an early push for promotion, with injuries to to key men such as Partridge and McAllister himself not helping matters. In spite of this, I wouldn't be suprised if Gary McAllister was the manager of Liverpool in a few years time. In spite of his harsh treatment from naive Scotland supporters, McAllister was loved by the fans wherever he went. He never gave up in the face of enormous challenges. If ever one man could typify to attitude of a club it would be McAllister and Liverpool. Even when he won the MBE, he chose to give the credit to all his colleagues in football, with particular reference to Houllier. Nobody has a bad word to say about McAllister. He is a legend at no less than 4 clubs in Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester and Coventry. I can't praise him enough, a genuine nice guy and a great footballer. Surely when great Scottish footballers at Anfield are mentioned, Gary Mac deserves a mention alongside Dalglish, Souness, Liddell, Nicol and co. So that is my tribute to Gary McAllister, the one year legend! |
