# 1974–75 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1974–75 season was Liverpool Football Club's 83rd season in existence and their 13th consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool had a trophyless first season under the guidance of Bob Paisley, who took over as manager following the retirement of Bill Shankly after nearly 15 years at the helm. They did finish second in the First Division behind champions Derby County, in a record-tight season that saw the top ten teams separated by less than ten points. A defeat in the penultimate round against newcomers Middlesbrough cost Liverpool a ninth league title.
It did however beat the club record for biggest victory, eclipsing Strømsgodset from Norway by 11–0 in the Cup Winners' Cup.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Ray Clemence
* Frank Lane
* Peter McDonnell

### Defenders

* Emlyn Hughes
* Brian Kettle
* Chris Lawler
* Alec Lindsay
* John McLaughlin
* Phil Neal
* Tommy Smith
* Phil Thompson

### Midfielders

* Ian Callaghan
* Jimmy Case
* Peter Cormack
* Brian Hall
* Steve Heighway
* Ray Kennedy
* Terry McDermott
* Peter Spiring
* Max Thompson

### Attackers

* Phil Boersma
* Derek Brownbill
* David Fairclough
* Kevin Keegan
* Kevin Kewley
* John Toshack
* Alan Waddle

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division 1 | Division 1 | FA Cup | FA Cup | Charity Sheild | Charity Sheild | League Cup | League Cup | European CWC | European CWC |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | FW | ENG | Phil Boersma | 29 | 10 | 20+1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 1 | 4+0 | 2 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian Callaghan | 51 | 2 | 41+0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Jimmy Case | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Ray Clemence | 53 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Peter Cormack | 45 | 4 | 33+3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Hall | 45 | 5 | 35+0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Steve Heighway | 46 | 13 | 32+3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 2 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Emlyn Hughes | 53 | 2 | 42+0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin Keegan | 42 | 12 | 33+0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Kennedy | 35 | 10 | 23+2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 3 | 4+0 | 2 |
| | DF | ENG | Chris Lawler | 16 | 0 | 10+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alec Lindsay | 36 | 4 | 25+0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Terry McDermott | 15 | 2 | 14+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | John McLaughlin | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Neal | 25 | 0 | 23+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Tommy Smith | 36 | 2 | 36+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Thompson | 43 | 1 | 32+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | FW | WAL | John Toshack | 25 | 12 | 20+1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Alan Waddle | 5 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 67 | 49 | 1.367 | 53 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Liverpool | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 60 | 39 | 1.538 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 23 | 5 | 14 | 66 | 44 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Everton | 42 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 56 | 42 | 1.333 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Stoke City | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 64 | 48 | 1.333 | 49 | |

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 17 Aug 74 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | Smith 21' Heighway 74' | 21,062 | Report | Report |
| 20 Aug 74 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | | 33,499 | Report | Report |
| 24 Aug 74 | Leicester City | H | 2–1 | Lindsay 1 Pen', 65 Pen' | 49,398 | Report | Report |
| 27 Aug 74 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | Heighway 51' Toshack 56' | 42,449 | Report | Report |
| 31 Aug 74 | Chelsea | A | 3–0 | Kennedy 22' Boersma 34', 76' | 39,461 | Report | Report |
| 07 Sep 74 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 5–2 | Boersma 4', 9', 41' Hughes 71' Kennedy 87' | 47,538 | Report | Report |
| 14 Sep 74 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | | 45,194 | Report | Report |
| 21 Sep 74 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | Own Goal 43' Boersma 45' Heighway 55' | 51,423 | Report | Report |
| 24 Sep 74 | Burnley | H | 0–1 | | 44,639 | Report | Report |
| 28 Sep 74 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | | 29,443 | Report | Report |
| 05 Oct 74 | Carlisle United | A | 1–0 | Kennedy 36' | 20,844 | Report | Report |
| 12 Oct 74 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–0 | Callaghan 57' Keegan 83' | 52,590 | Report | Report |
| 19 Oct 74 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | Hall 6' | 27,392 | Report | Report |
| 26 Oct 74 | Leeds United | H | 1–0 | Heighway 73' | 54,996 | Report | Report |
| 02 Nov 74 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | | 30,564 | Report | Report |
| 09 Nov 74 | Arsenal | H | 1–3 | Kennedy 53' | 43,850 | Report | Report |
| 16 Nov 74 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | 56,797 | Report | Report |
| 23 Nov 74 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | Smith 12' | 46,348 | Report | Report |
| 30 Nov 74 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | Keegan 48' | 23,089 | Report | Report |
| 07 Dec 74 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | Kennedy 18' Heighway 22' | 41,058 | Report | Report |
| 14 Dec 74 | Luton Town | H | 2–0 | Toshack 46' Heighway 85' | 35,151 | Report | Report |
| 21 Dec 74 | Birmingham City | A | 1–3 | Toshack 43' | 23,608 | Report | Report |
| 26 Dec 74 | Manchester City | H | 4–1 | Hall 22', 72' Toshack 25' Heighway 41' | 46,062 | Report | Report |
| 11 Jan 75 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | | 33,463 | Report | Report |
| 18 Jan 75 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | Heighway 35' Keegan 89' | 43,668 | Report | Report |
| 01 Feb 75 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | | 43,028 | Report | Report |
| 08 Feb 75 | Ipswich Town | H | 5–2 | Hall 6' Toshack 9', 65' Lindsay 42' Cormack 87' | 47,421 | Report | Report |
| 12 Feb 75 | Newcastle United | A | 1–4 | Hall 61' | 38,115 | Report | Report |
| 19 Feb 75 | West Ham United | A | 0–0 | | 40,256 | Report | Report |
| 22 Feb 75 | Everton | H | 0–0 | | 55,853 | Report | Report |
| 01 Mar 75 | Chelsea | H | 2–2 | Heighway 40' Cormack 89' | 42,762 | Report | Report |
| 08 Mar 75 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | McDermott 74' | 31,812 | Report | Report |
| 15 Mar 75 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | | 40,862 | Report | Report |
| 19 Mar 75 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | Toshack 35' | 28,012 | Report | Report |
| 22 Mar 75 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–0 | Keegan 46' Cormack 66' | 34,331 | Report | Report |
| 25 Mar 75 | Newcastle United | H | 4–0 | Keegan 7' Toshack 43', 70' McDermott 72' | 41,147 | Report | Report |
| 29 Mar 75 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | Keegan 64 Pen' | 49,454 | Report | Report |
| 31 Mar 75 | Stoke City | A | 0–2 | | 45,954 | Report | Report |
| 05 Apr 75 | Leeds United | A | 2–0 | Keegan 41', 51' | 34,971 | Report | Report |
| 12 Apr 75 | Carlisle United | H | 2–0 | Toshack 64' Keegan 74' | 46,073 | Report | Report |
| 19 Apr 75 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | | 34,027 | Report | Report |
| 26 Apr 75 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–1 | Toshack 16', 85' Keegan 52 Pen' | 42,546 | Report | Report |

### FA Charity Shield

| Liverpool | Leeds United |
Ray Clemence :
| RB | 2 | Tommy Smith |
| LB | 3 | Alec Lindsay |
| CB | 4 | Phil Thompson |
| CM | 5 | Peter Cormack |
| CB | 6 | Emlyn Hughes |
| CF | 7 | Kevin Keegan | 60' |
| CM | 8 | Brian Hall |
| LM | 9 | Steve Heighway |
| CF | 10 | Phil Boersma |
| RM | 11 | Ian Callaghan |
| Substitutes: ||||
| GK | 13 | Peter McDonnell |
| DF | 12 | Brian Kettle |
| MF | 14 | John McLaughlin |
| DF | 15 | Max Thompson |
| MF | 16 | Peter Spiring |
| Manager: |||
| Bob Paisley ||||
David Harvey :
| RB | 2 | Paul Reaney |
| LB | 3 | Trevor Cherry |
| CM | 4 | Billy Bremner | 60' |
| CB | 5 | Gordon McQueen |
| CB | 6 | Norman Hunter |
| CM | 7 | Peter Lorimer |
| CF | 8 | Allan Clarke | |
| CF | 9 | Joe Jordan |
| RM | 10 | John Giles |
| LM | 11 | Eddie Gray |
| Substitutes: ||||
| MF | 12 | Duncan McKenzie | |
| Manager: |||
| Brian Clough ||||

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 04 Jan 75 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | Heighway 78' Keegan 89' | 32,363 | Report | Report |
| 25 Jan 75 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | | 38,200 | Report | Report |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 10 Sep 74 | Brentford | H | 2–1 | Kennedy 30' Boersma 44' | 21,413 | Report | Report |
| 08 Oct 74 | Bristol City | A | 0–0 | | 25,573 | Report | Report |
| 16 Oct 74 | Bristol City | H | 4–0 | Heighway 38', 75' Kennedy 48', 82' | 23,694 | Report | Report |
| 12 Nov 74 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | | 24,906 | Report | Report |

### European Cup Winners' Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 17 Sep 74 | Strømsgodset | H | 11–0 | Lindsay 3' (p.) Boersma 13', 40' P. Thompson 30', 74' Heighway 42' Cormack 65' Hughes 76' Smith 85' Callaghan 87' Kennedy 88' | 21,413 | Report | Report |
| 01 Oct 74 | Strømsgodset | A | 1–0 | Kennedy 17' | 25,573 | Report | Report |
| 23 Oct 74 | Ferencváros | H | 1–1 | Kevin Keegan 36' | 23,694 | Report | Report |
| 05 Nov 74 | Ferencváros | A | 0–0 | | 24,906 | Report | Report |