# 1975–76 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was Liverpool Football Club's 84th season in existence and their 14th consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool won its ninth Football League title and second UEFA Cup, which were the first trophies won under manager Bob Paisley, in his second season as manager.
Paisley saw his team clinch the league title narrowly ahead of contenders Queens Park Rangers. In a climax to the season, Liverpool needed to either win or secure a low-scoring draw against relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers. With 14 minutes left for play and despite constant pressure in the second half, the Reds trailed to a Steve Kindon strike for Wolves. The title was slipping away from Liverpool but three late goals from Kevin Keegan, John Toshack and Ray Kennedy in front of away support ensured Liverpool's ninth title and Bob Paisley's first trophy.
In the UEFA Cup, Liverpool overcame Barcelona in the semi-finals, to set up a final with Club Brugge. Liverpool won the first leg 3–2 on 28 April after being two-nil down in the first half. Three weeks later, a 1–1 draw in Olympiastadion, Bruges, saw them lift the cup for the second time.
The emergence of Phil Neal, Phil Thompson and Ray Kennedy in the Liverpool side saw them make their England debuts in the Welsh FA Centenary International against Wales on 24 March 1976. Also in the England side were Ray Clemence and, captaining England for the first time, Kevin Keegan, and those five would go on to play for England for many years to come.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Ray Clemence
* Frank Lane
* Peter McDonnell

### Defenders

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

### Midfielders

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

### Attackers

* Phil Boersma
* 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 | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | FW | ENG | Phil Boersma | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian Callaghan | 57 | 4 | 40+0 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 12+0 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Jimmy Case | 39 | 12 | 27+0 | 6 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 7+2 | 5 |
| | GK | ENG | Ray Clemence | 59 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 12+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Peter Cormack | 24 | 1 | 16+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | David Fairclough | 19 | 8 | 5+9 | 7 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+3 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Hall | 25 | 2 | 12+1 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 6+3 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Steve Heighway | 54 | 6 | 39+0 | 4 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 11+0 | 2 |
| | DF | ENG | Emlyn Hughes | 57 | 2 | 41+0 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 11+0 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Joey Jones | 14 | 0 | 13+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin Keegan | 57 | 16 | 41+0 | 12 | 2+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 11+0 | 3 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Kennedy | 43 | 10 | 29+1 | 6 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 10+0 | 4 |
| | DF | ENG | Brian Kettle | 2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Chris Lawler | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alec Lindsay | 11 | 1 | 6+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Terry McDermott | 10 | 1 | 7+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Neal | 59 | 7 | 42+0 | 6 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 12+0 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Tommy Smith | 35 | 0 | 24+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 9+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Max Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Thompson | 57 | 2 | 41+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 11+0 | 2 |
| | FW | WAL | John Toshack | 51 | 23 | 35+0 | 16 | 2+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 | 12+0 | 6 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 66 | 31 | 2.129 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 67 | 33 | 2.030 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Manchester United | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 68 | 42 | 1.619 | 56 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 75 | 58 | 1.293 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 46 | 1.413 | 51 | |

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 16-Aug-75 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | | 27,113 | Report | Report |
| 19-Aug-75 | West Ham United | H | 2–2 | Callaghan 24' Toshack 81' | 40,564 | Report | Report |
| 23-Aug-75 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–2 | Keegan 54 Pen' Case 68' Heighway 72' | 42,729 | Report | Report |
| 26-Aug-75 | Leeds United | A | 3–0 | Kennedy 26' Callaghan 84', 88' | 36,186 | Report | Report |
| 30-Aug-75 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | Keegan 50' | 25,008 | Report | Report |
| 06-Sep-75 | Sheffield United | H | 1–0 | Kennedy 78' | 37,340 | Report | Report |
| 13-Sep-75 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | | 28,132 | Report | Report |
| 20-Sep-75 | Aston Villa | H | 3–0 | Toshack 62' Keegan 77' Case 86' | 42,779 | Report | Report |
| 27-Sep-75 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | 55,570 | Report | Report |
| 04-Oct-75 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | Hall 60' Case 86' | 36,391 | Report | Report |
| 11-Oct-75 | Birmingham City | H | 3–1 | Toshack 13', 59', 86' | 36,532 | Report | Report |
| 18-Oct-75 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | | 20,695 | Report | Report |
| 25-Oct-75 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | Toshack 27' | 46,324 | Report | Report |
| 01-Nov-75 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | McDermott 71' | 30,952 | Report | Report |
| 08-Nov-75 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | Heighway 12' Toshack 46' Keegan 78' | 49,136 | Report | Report |
| 15-Nov-75 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | Hall 41' R. Kennedy 88' | 39,686 | Report | Report |
| 22-Nov-75 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | Toshack 28' | 36,929 | Report | Report |
| 29-Nov-75 | Norwich City | H | 1–3 | Hughes 87' | 34,780 | Report | Report |
| 02-Dec-75 | Arsenal | H | 2–2 | Neal 23 Pen', 59 Pen' | 27,447 | Report | Report |
| 06-Dec-75 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | | 18,426 | Report | Report |
| 13-Dec-75 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 4–0 | Keegan 43' Case 54' Neal 74' Heighway 86' | 29,891 | Report | Report |
| 20-Dec-75 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | Toshack 22' Neal 75 Pen' | 39,182 | Report | Report |
| 26-Dec-75 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | Toshack 8' | 32,092 | Report | Report |
| 27-Dec-75 | Manchester City | H | 1–0 | Cormack 61' | 53,386 | Report | Report |
| 10-Jan-76 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–3 | Keegan 13', 33' Case 78' | 40,547 | Report | Report |
| 17-Jan-76 | Sheffield United | A | 0–0 | | 31,255 | Report | Report |
| 31-Jan-76 | West Ham United | A | 4–0 | Toshack 63', 75', 81' Keegan 88' | 26,741 | Report | Report |
| 07-Feb-76 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | Keegan 40' Toshack 71' | 54,525 | Report | Report |
| 18-Feb-76 | Manchester United | A | 0–0 | | 59,709 | Report | Report |
| 21-Feb-76 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | Keegan 26' Case 51' | 43,404 | Report | Report |
| 24-Feb-76 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | | 36,127 | Report | Report |
| 28-Feb-76 | Derby County | A | 1–1 | Kennedy 86' | 32,800 | Report | Report |
| 06-Mar-76 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–2 | | 41,391 | Report | Report |
| 13-Mar-76 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | Neal 83 Pen' | 31,397 | Report | Report |
| 20-Mar-76 | Norwich City | A | 1–0 | Fairclough 59' | 29,013 | Report | Report |
| 27-Mar-76 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | Fairclough 39', 61' | 36,708 | Report | Report |
| 03-Apr-76 | Everton | H | 1–0 | Fairclough 88' | 54,632 | Report | Report |
| 06-Apr-76 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | Keegan 58' | 36,290 | Report | Report |
| 10-Apr-76 | Aston Villa | A | 0–0 | | 44,250 | Report | Report |
| 17-Apr-76 | Stoke City | H | 5–3 | Neal 37 Pen' Toshack 43' Kennedy 51' Hughes 73' Fairclough 78' | 44,069 | Report | Report |
| 19-Apr-76 | Manchester City | A | 3–0 | Heighway 73' Fairclough 88', 89' | 50,439 | Report | Report |
| 04-May-76 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 3–1 | Keegan 76' Toshack 85' Kennedy 89' | 48,900 | Report | Report |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 10-Sep-75 | York City | A | 1–0 | Lindsay 88 Pen' | 9.421 | Report | Report |
| 07-Oct-75 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | Case 81' | 24,607 | Report | Report |
| 14-Oct-75 | Burnley | A | 0–1 | | 19,857 | Report | Report |

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 03-Jan-76 | West Ham United | A | 2–0 | Keegan 37' Toshack 82' | 32,363 | Report | Report |
| 24-Jan-76 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | | 38,200 | Report | Report |

### UEFA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 17-Sep-75 | Hibernian | A | 0–1 | | 19,219 | Report | Report |
| 30-Sep-75 | Hibernian | H | 3–1 | Toshack 21', 53', 64' | 29,963 | Report | Report |
| 22-Oct-75 | Real Sociedad | A | 3–1 | Heighway 20' Callaghan 61' P. Thompson 82' | 16,256 | Report | Report |
| 04-Nov-75 | Real Sociedad | H | 6–0 | Toshack 14' Kennedy 30', 75' Fairclough 72' Heighway 77' Neal 79' | 23,796 | Report | Report |
| 26-Nov-75 | Śląsk Wrocław | A | 2–1 | Kennedy 61' Toshack 75' | 40,000 | Report | Report |
| 10-Dec-75 | Śląsk Wrocław | H | 3–0 | Case 22', 30', 46' | 17,886 | Report | Report |
| 03-Mar-76 | Dynamo Dresden | A | 0–0 | | 32,182 | Report | Report |
| 17-Mar-76 | Dynamo Dresden | H | 2–1 | Case 24' Keegan 47' | 39,300 | Report | Report |
| 30-Mar-76 | Barcelona | A | 1–0 | Toshack 13' | 70,000 | Report | Report |
| 14-Apr-76 | Barcelona | H | 1–1 | P. Thompson 50' | 55,104 | Report | Report |

### First leg

| Liverpool | Club Brugge |
Ray Clemence :
| RB | 2 | Phil Neal |
| LB | 3 | Tommy Smith |
| CB | 4 | Phil Thompson |
| LM | 5 | Ray Kennedy |
| CB | 6 | Emlyn Hughes (c) |
| ST | 7 | Kevin Keegan |
| ST | 8 | David Fairclough |
| RM | 9 | Steve Heighway |
| ST | 10 | John Toshack | 46' |
| CM | 11 | Ian Callaghan |
| Substitutes: |||
| MF | 12 | Jimmy Case | 46' |
| GK | 13 | Peter McDonnell |
| DF | 14 | Joey Jones |
| MF | 15 | Brian Hall |
| MF | 16 | Terry McDermott |
| Manager: |||
| Bob Paisley ||||
Birger Jensen :
| RB | 2 | Fons Bastijns (c) |
| CB | 3 | Eddie Krieger |
| CB | 4 | Georges Leekens |
| LB | 5 | Jos Volders |
| MF | 6 | Julien Cools |
| MF | 7 | René Vandereycken |
| MF | 8 | Daniël de Cubber |
| FW | 9 | Roger van Gool |
| FW | 10 | Raoul Lambert |
| FW | 11 | Ulrik le Fevre |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 12 | Hugo Pieters |
| RB | 13 | Norbert De Naeghel |
| MF | 14 | Dirk Sanders |
| FW | 15 | Konrad Holenstein |
| FW | 16 | Dirk Hinderyckx |
| Manager: |||
| Ernst Happel ||||

### Second leg

| Club Bruges | Liverpool |
Birger Jensen :
| RB | 2 | Fons Bastijns (c) |
| CB | 3 | Eddie Krieger |
| CB | 4 | Georges Leekens |
| LB | 5 | Jos Volders |
| MF | 6 | Julien Cools |
| MF | 7 | René Vandereycken |
| MF | 8 | Daniël de Cubber | 68' |
| FW | 9 | Roger van Gool |
| FW | 10 | Raoul Lambert | 75' |
| FW | 11 | Ulrik le Fevre |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 12 | Hugo Pieters |
| RB | 13 | Norbert De Naeghel |
| FW | 14 | Dirk Hinderyckx | 68' |
| MF | 15 | Dirk Sanders | 75' |
| Manager: |||
| Ernst Happel ||||
Ray Clemence :
| RB | 2 | Phil Neal |
| LB | 3 | Tommy Smith |
| CB | 4 | Phil Thompson |
| LM | 5 | Ray Kennedy |
| CB | 6 | Emlyn Hughes (c) |
| ST | 7 | Kevin Keegan |
| CM | 8 | Jimmy Case |
| RM | 9 | Steve Heighway |
| ST | 10 | John Toshack | 62' |
| CM | 11 | Ian Callaghan |
| Substitutes: |||
| FW | 12 | David Fairclough | 62' |
| GK | 13 | Peter McDonnell |
| DF | 14 | Joey Jones |
| MF | 15 | Brian Hall |
| MF | 16 | Terry McDermott |
| Manager: |||
| Bob Paisley ||||