1972–73 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1972–73 season was Liverpool Football Club's 81st season in existence and their 11th consecutive season in the First Division. After seven years of not winning any trophies, Liverpool won both the Football League and the UEFA Cup in an extremely successful season, the highlight of Bill Shankly's managerial career. The rebuilding of the team from the one that served so well in the 1960s had been fully realised.

Liverpool F.C.
1972–73 season
ChairmanEngland H.E. Roberts
ManagerScotland Bill Shankly
First DivisionChampions
UEFA CupWinners
FA CupFourth round
League CupFifth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Kevin Keegan (13)
John Toshack (13)

All: Kevin Keegan (22)
Average home league attendance48,103

The league which they came so close to winning the year before, had finally been conquered by winning the title by three points from Arsenal. The signing of Peter Cormack from Nottingham Forest during the summer of 1972 would also be another great signing. On 30 December 1972 Liverpool beat Crystal Palace at Anfield to make it 21 consecutive home wins in the league.[1] This was the longest run in English top-flight history until it was surpassed by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool who made it 22 consecutive home wins in March 2020.[2]

The UEFA Cup would also be the beginning of their dominance of regularly winning European trophies as well, overcoming the previous season's winners Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals and Borussia Mönchengladbach over a two legged final 3-2 on aggregate.

The emergence of Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence in the team would also see them start their international careers, with them both making their England debuts in the World Cup qualifier against Wales on 15 November 1972, alongside Emlyn Hughes already established in the England team.

Squad

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Goalkeepers

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Defenders

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Midfielders

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Attackers

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Squad statistics

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Appearances and goals

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Division 1 FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FW   ENG Phil Boersma 31 13 19+0 7 0+1 0 2+1 2 5+3 4
MF   ENG Ian Callaghan 66 4 42+0 3 4+0 0 8+0 1 12+0 0
GK   ENG Ray Clemence 64 0 41+0 0 4+0 0 7+0 0 12+0 0
MF   SCO Peter Cormack 52 10 30+0 8 4+0 1 8+0 0 10+0 1
MF   SCO Brian Hall 31 3 17+4 2 0+0 0 1+1 0 4+4 1
MF   IRL Steve Heighway 62 10 38+0 6 4+0 0 8+0 2 12+0 2
DF   ENG Emlyn Hughes 65 12 41+0 7 4+0 0 8+0 2 12+0 3
FW   ENG Kevin Keegan 64 22 41+0 13 4+0 0 8+0 5 11+0 4
GK   ENG Frankie Lane 2 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
DF   ENG Chris Lawler 66 4 42+0 3 4+0 0 8+0 0 12+0 1
DF   ENG Alec Lindsay 59 5 37+0 4 4+0 0 7+0 0 11+0 1
DF   ENG Larry Lloyd 66 3 42+0 2 4+0 0 8+0 0 12+0 1
DF   ENG Tommy Smith 49 3 33+0 2 2+0 0 4+0 0 10+0 1
DF   ENG Trevor Storton 10 0 4+0 0 0+0 0 4+0 0 1+1 0
DF   ENG Phil Thompson 20 0 12+2 0 2+0 0 0+1 0 2+1 0
FW   WAL John Toshack 40 17 22+0 13 4+0 2 6+0 1 6+2 1
FW   ENG Jack Whitham 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 25 10 7 72 42 1.714 60 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Arsenal 42 23 11 8 57 43 1.326 57
3 Leeds United 42 21 11 10 71 45 1.578 53 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Ipswich Town 42 17 14 11 55 45 1.222 48
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 18 11 13 66 54 1.222 47
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Results

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First Division

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Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
12-Aug-72 Manchester City H 2–0 Hall   3' Callaghan   84' 55,383 Report Report
15-Aug-72 Manchester United H 2–0 Toshack   12' Heighway   20' 54,779 Report Report
19-Aug-72 Crystal Palace A 1–1 Hughes   75' 30,054 Report Report
23-Aug-72 Chelsea A 2–1 Toshack   3' Callaghan   13' 35,375 Report Report
26-Aug-72 West Ham United H 3–2 Toshack   44' Own Goal   62' Hughes   64' 50,491 Report Report
30-Aug-72 Leicester City A 2–3 Toshack   8', 16' 28,694 Report Report
02-Sep-72 Derby County A 1–2 Toshack   16' 32,524 Report Report
09-Sep-72 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 4–2 Hughes   28' Cormack   76' Smith   80 Pen' Keegan   84' 43,386 Report Report
16-Sep-72 Arsenal A 0–0 47,597 Report Report
23-Sep-72 Sheffield United H 5–0 Boersma   28' Lindsay   31' Heighway   33' Cormack   51' Keegan   54 Pen' 42,940 Report Report
30-Sep-72 Leeds United A 2–1 Lloyd   40' Boersma   65' 46,648 Report Report
07-Oct-72 Everton H 1–0 Cormack   77' 55,975 Report Report
14-Oct-72 Southampton A 1–1 Lawler   40' 24,110 Report Report
21-Oct-72 Stoke City H 2–1 Hughes   66' Callaghan   90' 45,604 Report Report
28-Oct-72 Norwich City A 1–1 Cormack   18' 36,625 Report Report
04-Nov-72 Chelsea H 3–1 Toshack   33', 55' Keegan   50' 48,392 Report Report
11-Nov-72 Manchester United A 0–2 53,944 Report Report
18-Nov-72 Newcastle United H 3–2 Cormack   5' Lindsay   35' Toshack   48' 46,153 Report Report
25-Nov-72 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 Heighway   28' Keegan   40' 45,399 Report Report
02-Dec-72 Birmingham City H 4–3 Lindsay   32', 55' Cormack   44' Toshack   77' 45,407 Report Report
09-Dec-72 West Bromwich Albion A 1–1 Boersma   21' 27,213 Report Report
16-Dec-72 Ipswich Town A 1–1 Heighway   24' 25,693 Report Report
23-Dec-72 Coventry City H 2–0 Toshack   6', 22' 41,550 Report Report
26-Dec-72 Sheffield United A 3–0 Boersma   27' Lawler   50' Heighway   81' 34,040 Report Report
30-Dec-72 Crystal Palace H 1–0 Cormack   66' 50,862 Report Report
06-Jan-73 West Ham United A 1–0 Keegan   75' 34,480 Report Report
20-Jan-73 Derby County H 1–1 Toshack   23' 45,996 Report Report
27-Jan-73 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–2 Keegan   17' 32,957 Report Report
10-Feb-73 Arsenal H 0–2 49,898 Report Report
17-Feb-73 Manchester City A 1–1 Boersma   77' 40,528 Report Report
24-Feb-73 Ipswich Town H 2–1 Heighway   67' Keegan   80' 43,875 Report Report
03-Mar-73 Everton A 2–0 Hughes   80', 88' 54,269 Report Report
10-Mar-73 Southampton H 3–2 Lloyd   37' Keegan   37', 87' 41,674 Report Report
17-Mar-73 Stoke City A 1–0 Mahoney(og)   65' 33,540 Report Report
24-Mar-73 Norwich City H 3–1 Lawler   50' Hughes   55' Hall   88' 42,995 Report Report
31-Mar-73 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–1 Keegan   70' 48,477 Report Report
07-Apr-73 Birmingham City A 1–2 Smith   60' 48,114 Report Report
14-Apr-73 West Bromwich Albion H 1–0 Keegan   14 Pen' 43,853 Report Report
17-Apr-73 Coventry City A 2–1 Boersma   36', 60' 27,280 Report Report
21-Apr-73 Newcastle United A 1–2 Keegan   24' 37,240 Report Report
23-Apr-73 Leeds United H 2–0 Cormack   47' Keegan   85' 55,738 Report Report
28-Apr-73 Leicester City H 0–0 56,202 Report Report

Football League Cup

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Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
05-Sep-72 Carlisle United A 1–1 Keegan   42' 16,257 Report Report
19-Sep-72 Carlisle United H 5–1 Keegan   37' Boersma   39', 82' Lawler   73' Heighway   86' 22,128 Report Report
03-Oct-72 West Bromwich Albion A 1–1 Heighway   86' 17,756 Report Report
10-Oct-72 West Bromwich Albion H 2–1 Hughes   62' Keegan   120' 26,461 Report Report
31-Oct-72 Leeds United H 2–2 Keegan   31' Toshack   80' 44,609 Report Report
22-Nov-72 Leeds United A 1–0 Keegan   90' 34,856 Report Report
04-Dec-72 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–1 Hughes   78' 48,677 Report Report
06-Dec-72 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–3 Callaghan   85' 34,565 Report Report

FA Cup

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Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
13-Jan-73 Burnley A 0–0 35,730 Report Report
16-Jan-73 Burnley H 3–0 Toshack   31', 49' Cormack   47' 56,124 Report Report
03-Feb-73 Manchester City H 0–0 56,296 Report Report
07-Feb-73 Manchester City A 0–2 49,572 Report Report

UEFA Cup

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Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
12-Sep-72 Eintracht Frankfurt H 2–0 Keegan   12' Hughes   75' 33,380 Report Report
26-Sep-72 Eintracht Frankfurt A 0–0 17,500 Report Report
24-Oct-72 AEK Athens H 3–0 Boersma   9' Cormack   28' Smith   78 Pen' 31,906 Report Report
07-Nov-72 AEK Athens A 3–1 Hughes   18', 44' Boersma   87' 19,412 Report Report
29-Nov-72 BFC Dynamo A 0–0 15,835-20,000[3] Report Report
13-Dec-72 BFC Dynamo H 3–1 Boersma   1' Heighway   25' Toshack   56' 34,140 Report Report
07-Mar-73 Dynamo Dresden H 2–0 Hall   25' Boersma   60' 33,270 Report Report
21-Mar-73 Dynamo Dresden A 1–0 Keegan   53' 33,634 Report Report
10-Apr-73 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 Lindsay   17' 42,174 Report Report
25-Apr-73 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–2 Heighway   55' 46,919 Report Report

Final

First Leg

Liverpool  3–0  Borussia Mönchengladbach
Keegan   21', 32'
Lloyd   61'
Report
Report
Attendance: 41,169
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liverpool
 
 
 
 
 
 
Borussia Mönchengladbach
GK 1   Ray Clemence
RB 2   Chris Lawler
LB 3   Alec Lindsay
CM 4   Tommy Smith (c)
CB 5   Larry Lloyd
CB 6   Emlyn Hughes
ST 7   Kevin Keegan
CM 8   Peter Cormack
ST 9   John Toshack
LW 10   Steve Heighway   83'
RW 11   Ian Callaghan
Substitutes:
MF 12   Brian Hall   83'
GK 13   Frankie Lane
DF 14   Trevor Storton
DF 15   Phil Thompson
FW 16   Phil Boersma
Manager:
  Bill Shankly
GK 1   Wolfgang Kleff
RB 2   Heinz Michallik
CB 3   Günter Netzer
CB 4   Rainer Bonhof
LB 5   Berti Vogts (c)
MF 6   Herbert Wimmer
MF 7   Dietmar Danner
MF 8   Christian Kulik
FW 9   Henning Jensen
FW 10   Bernd Rupp   82'
FW 11   Jupp Heynckes
Substitutes:
FW 12   Allan Simonsen   82'
Manager:
  Hennes Weisweiler

Second Leg

 
 
 
 
 
 
Borussia Mönchengladbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liverpool
GK 1   Wolfgang Kleff
RB 2   Ulrich Surau
CB 3   Günter Netzer
CB 4   Rainer Bonhof
LB 5   Berti Vogts (c)
MF 6   Herbert Wimmer
MF 7   Dietmar Danner
MF 8   Christian Kulik
FW 9   Henning Jensen
FW 10   Bernd Rupp
FW 11   Jupp Heynckes
Substitutes:
FW 12   Allan Simonsen
DF 13   Heinz Michallik
DF 14   Klaus-Dieter Sieloff
GK 15   Bernd Schrage
Manager:
  Hennes Weisweiler
GK 1   Ray Clemence
RB 2   Chris Lawler
LB 3   Alec Lindsay
CM 4   Tommy Smith (c)
CB 5   Larry Lloyd
CB 6   Emlyn Hughes
ST 7   Kevin Keegan
CM 8   Peter Cormack
ST 9   John Toshack
LW 10   Steve Heighway   77'
RW 11   Ian Callaghan
Substitutes:
MF 12   Brian Hall
GK 13   Frankie Lane
DF 14   Trevor Storton
DF 15   Phil Thompson
FW 16   Phil Boersma   77'
Manager:
  Bill Shankly

References

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  1. ^ "In numbers: How Klopp and Shankly won 21 home games in a row". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Salah and Milner reaction: 'We showed our mentality to win'". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. ^ Schaefer, Otto (5 December 1972). "BFC Dynamo mit zuviel Respekt vor dem Wiederpart" (PDF). Die neue Fußballwoche (FuWo) (De) (in German). Vol. 1972, no. 49. Berlin: DFV der DDR. p. 9. ISSN 0323-8407. Retrieved 10 April 2022.