NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.46: Steve McMahon
Years: 1985-1991
Appearances: 277
Goals: 50
Trophies: First Division (1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90), FA Cup (1986, 1989)
No less a figure than Bob Paisley once declared: “When Steve McMahon plays well, I always think that Liverpool will play well.”
High, but thoroughly deserved, praise for a teak-tough and talented midfielder who won three league titles and two FA Cups during six years with the Reds.
A former Everton player, McMahon stopped off at Aston Villa – having balked at the opportunity to cross Stanley Park – before finally making the move to Anfield in September 1985, becoming new player-manager Kenny Dalglish’s first signing.
In a typical piece of football irony, McMahon’s first Liverpool goal was scored at… Goodison Park.
Overall, the Scouser would play in 36 games and score 10 times as a magnificent First Division championship and FA Cup double was secured in his maiden season.
That was an aperitif for what McMahon would bring to the team, not least an intense fighting spirit – “I’d kick my own brother if necessary,” he said. “It’s what being a professional footballer is all about.”
He was top-class on the ball too, though, evidenced by his tally of 50 goals in the Liverpool jersey.
The success of his integration at Anfield was critical, coming at a crucial juncture with the Reds seeking to overcome the void of Graeme Souness after he left in 1984.
McMahon played 99 games, supplied 23 goals and totalled 10 assists across 1986-87 and 1987-88, the latter campaign as part of a truly vintage Liverpool team that blew the competition away in England.
With the No.11 patrolling the midfield in support of an array of attacking riches in front of him, the honours kept rolling in.
McMahon created the opening goal for John Aldridge as the Reds lifted another FA Cup by beating Everton at Wembley in 1989, before his third and the club’s 18th top-flight title was clinched in 1990.
After an injury-affected 1990-91 season in which Dalglish stepped down, McMahon’s memorable time at Liverpool ended when he transferred to Manchester City.
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