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.
1972–73 season | |||
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Chairman | ![]() | ||
Manager | ![]() | ||
First Division | Champions | ||
UEFA Cup | Winners | ||
FA Cup | Fourth round | ||
League Cup | Fifth round | ||
Top goalscorer | League: Kevin Keegan (13) John Toshack (13) All: Kevin Keegan (22) | ||
Average home league attendance | 48,103 | ||
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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
editGoalkeepers
editDefenders
edit- Steve Arnold
- Roy Evans
- Chris Lawler
- Alec Lindsay
- Larry Lloyd
- John McLaughlin
- Ian Ross
- Tommy Smith
- Trevor Storton
- John Webb
Midfielders
edit- Ian Callaghan
- Peter Cormack
- Brian Hall
- Steve Heighway
- Emlyn Hughes
- Hughie McAuley
- Phil Thompson
- Peter Thompson
Attackers
editSquad statistics
editAppearances and goals
editNo. | 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
editPos | 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 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Results
editFirst Division
editFootball League Cup
editDate | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
05-Sep-72 | Carlisle United | A | 1–1 | Keegan 42' | 16,257 | Bericht | Bericht |
19-Sep-72 | Carlisle United | H | 5–1 | Keegan 37' Boersma 39', 82' Lawler 73' Heighway 86' | 22,128 | Bericht | Bericht |
03-Oct-72 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | Heighway 86' | 17,756 | Bericht | Bericht |
10-Oct-72 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | Hughes 62' Keegan 120' | 26,461 | Bericht | Bericht |
31-Oct-72 | Leeds United | H | 2–2 | Keegan 31' Toshack 80' | 44,609 | Bericht | Bericht |
22-Nov-72 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | Keegan 90' | 34,856 | Bericht | Bericht |
04-Dec-72 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–1 | Hughes 78' | 48,677 | Bericht | Bericht |
06-Dec-72 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | Callaghan 85' | 34,565 | Bericht | Bericht |
FA Cup
editDate | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13-Jan-73 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | 35,730 | Bericht | Bericht | |
16-Jan-73 | Burnley | H | 3–0 | Toshack 31', 49' Cormack 47' | 56,124 | Bericht | Bericht |
03-Feb-73 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 | 56,296 | Bericht | Bericht | |
07-Feb-73 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | 49,572 | Bericht | Bericht |
UEFA Cup
editDate | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-Sep-72 | Eintracht Frankfurt | H | 2–0 | Keegan 12' Hughes 75' | 33,380 | Bericht | Bericht |
26-Sep-72 | Eintracht Frankfurt | A | 0–0 | 17,500 | Bericht | Bericht | |
24-Oct-72 | AEK Athens | H | 3–0 | Boersma 9' Cormack 28' Smith 78 Pen' | 31,906 | Bericht | Bericht |
07-Nov-72 | AEK Athens | A | 3–1 | Hughes 18', 44' Boersma 87' | 19,412 | Bericht | Bericht |
29-Nov-72 | BFC Dynamo | A | 0–0 | 15,835-20,000[3] | Bericht | Bericht | |
13-Dec-72 | BFC Dynamo | H | 3–1 | Boersma 1' Heighway 25' Toshack 56' | 34,140 | Bericht | Bericht |
07-Mar-73 | Dynamo Dresden | H | 2–0 | Hall 25' Boersma 60' | 33,270 | Bericht | Bericht |
21-Mar-73 | Dynamo Dresden | A | 1–0 | Keegan 53' | 33,634 | Bericht | Bericht |
10-Apr-73 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | Lindsay 17' | 42,174 | Bericht | Bericht |
25-Apr-73 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | Heighway 55' | 46,919 | Bericht | Bericht |
Final
First Leg
Liverpool
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Borussia Mönchengladbach
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Second Leg
Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2–0 | Liverpool |
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Heynckes 29', 40' | Report Report |
Borussia Mönchengladbach
|
Liverpool
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References
edit- ^ "In numbers: How Klopp and Shankly won 21 home games in a row". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Salah and Milner reaction: 'We showed our mentality to win'". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ^ 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.