bobpaisley.com - Billy Liddell: Match Reports, by Wooltonian

Billy Liddell
Match Reports

by Wooltonian

Legendary figures in the game of football are few and far between. Some stories about Liddell are hard to prove as they are not documented. But if you believe in every story about Liddell, passed down through the ages by word of mouth, the man should have been canonised not knighted for what he did for Liverpool.

He was never knighted, but he was "Footballer of the Year" in 1959 while playing second division football, not a thing that had ever happened before or likely to again.

Stories in my possession about Liddell that I could not find evidence of include ;

A shot from the half way line, that hit the back of the net down the kop end, which had the fans ducking.

A shot that hit the bar from 30yds out that rebounded as far as the half way line.

A headed goal from 45yds.

Breaking a keeper's arm from a penalty.

Knocking a centre half unconscious with a free kick.

Being kicked by everyone in the opposition's side and still playing the whole 90 minutes.

Some people say Liddell was made of granite. Perhaps when the club do reward the man with a statue, they will consider having it made of the stuff.

My recent trip to Lochgelly proved fruitless, not only is there nothing to celebrate the great man, the library had never heard of him, and the town hall thought I'd lost me marbles travelling up from Norfolk in search of a memorial.

It's time to put the record straight.

When it comes to Legendary players LIDDELL is the only one. At a recent visit to the Liverpool academy, I had the pleasure of talking to a member of staff who still swears, that Liddell was better than any that preceded him and that has followed him. I nominated King Kenny, my lifetime hero, he just laughed and said
"Not even close son."

If that's true, I for one am very sad I never saw him play at his peak.

If you have enjoyed reading this, please consider making a donation to any of the following ;

The Hillsborough Justice Campaign
Alzheimer's disease charities, in memory of Billy and Bob. Parkinson's
disease, for Ray Kennedy and other sufferers.

I have selected four of Liddell's games where he scored a hat-trick on each occasion.

The basis of each game was taken from the Liverpool echo. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

Spurs v Liverpool, 1st December 1951
Liverpool v Fulham, 18th December 1954 ( not yet online )
Liverpool v Notts Forest, 17th December 1955 ( not yet online )
Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool, 22nd February 1958 ( not yet online )

The Billy Liddell Pages
Billy Liddell - The Original Exocet Missile
The Billy Liddell Story - Part One
The Billy Liddell Story - Part Two
Billy Liddell - A Week In The Life
Billy Liddell - Match Reports