# 1968–69 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1968–69 season was Liverpool Football Club's 77th season in existence and their seventh consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool came close to a record eighth league title, as they picked up the same number points that won them their seventh title in 1965–66. However, the team finished second to Don Revie's Leeds United.
An early exit in the Fairs Cup, losing on coin toss to Athletic Bilbao in the opening round was the main disappointment, meaning that Bill Shankly was yet to lead the club to a European trophy.
In both the League Cup and FA Cup they would be knocked out by the eventual runners-up in both tournaments.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Ray Clemence
* Tommy Lawrence

### Defenders

* Gerry Byrne
* Chris Lawler
* John McLaughlin
* Ian Ross
* Tommy Smith
* Geoff Strong
* Peter Wall
* Ron Yeats

### Midfielders

* Ian Callaghan
* Brian Hall
* Emlyn Hughes
* Doug Livermore
* Ian St. John
* Peter Thompson

### Attackers

* Alf Arrowsmith
* Phil Boersma
* Alun Evans
* Bobby Graham
* Tony Hateley
* Roger Hunt

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division 1 | Division 1 | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Fairs Cup | Fairs Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | DF | ENG | Gerry Byrne | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian Callaghan | 51 | 10 | 42+0 | 8 | 4+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Ray Clemence | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Alun Evans | 39 | 7 | 33+0 | 7 | 4+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Graham | 15 | 5 | 11+1 | 5 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Hall | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tony Hateley | 4 | 1 | 4+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Emlyn Hughes | 49 | 5 | 40+0 | 3 | 4+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Roger Hunt | 47 | 17 | 38+0 | 13 | 4+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 2 | 2+0 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Chris Lawler | 51 | 7 | 42+0 | 3 | 4+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 3 | 2+0 | 1 |
| | GK | SCO | Tommy Lawrence | 50 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Ian Ross | 4 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Tommy Smith | 51 | 7 | 42+0 | 6 | 4+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Ian St John | 50 | 4 | 41+0 | 4 | 4+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Geoff Strong | 38 | 2 | 28+3 | 2 | 4+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Peter Thompson | 51 | 9 | 42+0 | 8 | 4+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Peter Wall | 17 | 0 | 13+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Ron Yeats | 48 | 2 | 39+0 | 2 | 4+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Leeds United (C) | 42 | 27 | 13 | 2 | 66 | 26 | 2.538 | 67 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Liverpool | 42 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 63 | 24 | 2.625 | 61 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 3 | Everton | 42 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 77 | 36 | 2.139 | 57 | |
| 4 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 56 | 27 | 2.074 | 56 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 5 | Chelsea | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 73 | 53 | 1.377 | 50 | |
* ↑ Everton were ineligible to participate in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as Liverpool had already qualified. Under the rules of the cup, only one team per city could participate. Arsenal took their place as the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 10-Aug-68 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | Graham 24' Thompson 73' | 51,236 | Report | Report |
| 14-Aug-68 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | | 24,453 | Report | Report |
| 17-Aug-68 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | Hunt 50' | 43,535 | Report | Report |
| 20-Aug-68 | Stoke City | H | 2–1 | Callaghan 63' Own Goal 75' | 46,674 | Report | Report |
| 24-Aug-68 | Sunderland | H | 4–1 | Smith 1' Lawler 16' Callaghan 44' Hateley 66' | 46,547 | Report | Report |
| 27-Aug-68 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | 63,898 | Report | Report |
| 31-Aug-68 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | | 38,929 | Report | Report |
| 07-Sep-68 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | Yeats 43' Graham 55' | 46,025 | Report | Report |
| 14-Sep-68 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | Graham 48' St. John 89' | 24,514 | Report | Report |
| 21-Sep-68 | Leicester City | H | 4–0 | Yeats 2' Smith 4 pen' Evans 10' Callaghan 12' | 48,375 | Report | Report |
| 28-Sep-68 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 6–0 | Hunt 15', 74' Thompson 25', 80' Evans 30', 63' | 39,310 | Report | Report |
| 05-Oct-68 | Burnley | A | 4–0 | Hunt 20', 35' Thompson 62' Strong 87' | 26,238 | Report | Report |
| 08-Oct-68 | Everton | H | 1–1 | Smith 75' | 54,496 | Report | Report |
| 12-Oct-68 | Manchester United | H | 2–0 | St. John 14' Evans 82' | 53,392 | Report | Report |
| 19-Oct-68 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–2 | Hunt 37' | 44,122 | Report | Report |
| 26-Oct-68 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | Evans 23' Thompson 85' | 45,323 | Report | Report |
| 02-Nov-68 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–0 | | 34,600 | Report | Report |
| 09-Nov-68 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | Callaghan 25' Smith 28 pen' | 47,248 | Report | Report |
| 16-Nov-68 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–1 | Lawler 28' Callaghan 71' | 31,245 | Report | Report |
| 23-Nov-68 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | Strong 36' Callaghan 83' | 44,820 | Report | Report |
| 30-Nov-68 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–0 | Hunt 24' | 25,175 | Report | Report |
| 03-Dec-68 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | Callaghan 14' | 45,527 | Report | Report |
| 07-Dec-68 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | Hughes 44' Thompson 47' | 48,632 | Report | Report |
| 14-Dec-68 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | | 59,000 | Report | Report |
| 21-Dec-68 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | Hughes 70' | 43,843 | Report | Report |
| 26-Dec-68 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | Lawler 43' | 52,515 | Report | Report |
| 11-Jan-69 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | Thompson 83' | 47,587 | Report | Report |
| 18-Jan-69 | Chelsea | A | 2–1 | Hunt 65' Evans 72' | 51,872 | Report | Report |
| 01-Feb-69 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | Hunt 65' | 45,406 | Report | Report |
| 15-Feb-69 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | | 42,359 | Report | Report |
| 22-Feb-69 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | Hunt 51' | 36,498 | Report | Report |
| 15-Mar-69 | Sunderland | A | 2–0 | St. John 39' Evans 62' | 17,855 | Report | Report |
| 29-Mar-69 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | Smith 28 pen' Strong 78' | 16,792 | Report | Report |
| 31-Mar-69 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | Smith 52 pen' | 44,843 | Report | Report |
| 05-Apr-69 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | Hunt 20' | 45,399 | Report | Report |
| 07-Apr-69 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | | 27,389 | Report | Report |
| 12-Apr-69 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | Hughes 30' Callaghan 56' | 28,671 | Report | Report |
| 19-Apr-69 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–0 | Thompson 13' Graham 40', 66' St. John 90' | 40,449 | Report | Report |
| 22-Apr-69 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | | 35,106 | Report | Report |
| 28-Apr-69 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | | 53,750 | Report | Report |
| 12-May-69 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | | 28,309 | Report | Report |
| 17-May-69 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | Hunt 68' | 34,910 | Report | Report |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 04-Sep-68 | Sheffield United | H | 4–0 | Hunt 54' Lawler 71' Callaghan 75' Thompson 83' | 32,358 | Report | Report |
| 25-Sep-68 | Swansea Town | H | 2–0 | Lawler 52' Hunt 85' | 31,051 | Report | Report |
| 15-Oct-68 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | Lawler 75' | 39,299 | Report | Report |

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 04-Jan-69 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–0 | Hunt 70' Callaghan 84' | 48,330 | Report | Report |
| 25-Jan-69 | Burnley | H | 2–1 | Smith 13 pen' Hughes 23' | 53,677 | Report | Report |
| 01-Mar-69 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | | 42,002 | Report | Report |
| 03-Mar-69 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | | 54,666 | Report | Report |

### Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 18-Sep-68 | Athletic Bilbao | A | 1–2 | Hunt 67' | 28,004 | Report | Report |
| 02-Oct-68 | Athletic Bilbao | H | 2–1 | Lawler 78' Hughes 87' | 49,567 | Report | Report |