This week we asked you again to share what you'd like us to write about and our user Peter Dunn suggested: "Phil Neal. the most medal-winning captain in LFC's history."
Sounds great as we love to write about our legendary players. So, let's take a trip to the great era of Bob Paisley when Phil Neal blossomed at right-back!
- When Bob met Phil
You mention Phil, you remember Bob - it just happens every time. No wonder at all as Phil Neal was Bob Paisley's first signing at Liverpool and left the club two years after Bob's retirement.
Neal began his playing career at Wellingborough Town and then registered around 200 appearances for Northampton Town before joining Liverpool.
Funnily, when Bob Paisley and Liverpool director Sidney Reaks travelled to Northampton to see how good Neal was at right-back, Phil actually spent most of the 90 minutes... in goal.
Later Neal recalled that game: "Paisley often used to pay to go through the terraces and talk to people about the players like: 'What's that Phil Neal like?'.
"When Bob Paisley saw me for the last time at Northampton he brought a Liverpool director with him, Mr Sidney Reaks. For the first twenty minutes I played at right-back but rest of the game I played in goal.
"Bob said: 'We came all that way to see you for the last time. I wanted to show my director what good right-back you were. The keeper got carried off and you put the green jersey on.'"
Anyway, on October 9, 1974, Liverpool signed 23-year-old Phil Neal from the Cobblers for just £66,000, funny money by today's standards.
The great era began.
- First game: walking all the way to Goodison
Phil Neal first appearance for Liverpool was the Merseyside Derby a month after he signed. Interestingly, he had no clue he was going to play and didn't even travel to Goodison Park with the first team, walking across Stanley Park instead.
Neal started at left-back in the 0-0 draw.
"I was marking John Connelly on the day so this was one of those days, you thought, come on, this is one of those days you start to come of age," Phil told LFChistory.net.
"I was 23, not a teenager. I remember towards the second half I actually had a shot that whistled over and I thought I can handle this. That was that spirit that kept me through that game that really got me into the team lock, stock and barrel. They saw that I could play."
They did see that but Paisley sidelined Neal for the next three games nonetheless. However, after that, Neal became a regular starter and two years after, he registered a new club record, not missing a single match between October 24, 1976 and September 23, 1983: 417 appearances in a row!
"There were two occasions when I could have missed a game," Neal recalled. "One was when I got a fractured cheekbone. Roger Davis the centre forward at Derby gave me an elbow [in 1976]. I had my cheekbone lifted in line with the rest of my face to put my face back in shape.
"I chose to play against the specialist's wishes who said that I shouldn't play for a month. I got away with it.
"I got over a broken toe, but I had to play for 6 weeks with size 8.5 on one foot and size 7 on the other. Ronnie Moran made me a plaster cast on the little toe I had broken. It was uncomfortable with my normal size shoes. I had to find some way to be still able to kick a ball, tackle and maybe have a little injection to keep the pain away for 90 minutes."
- Why Zico?
During his Liverpool days, Phil Neal had two nicknames, Mr Consistency and Zico. The first one is easy to explain: he was one of the most consistent performers at Bob Paisley's trophy-winning side.
But why did Neal's teammates liken him to the Brazil legend, given Phil was a full-back and Zico played at attack-mid?
59 goals in 650 outings across all competitions for Liverpool explain it. To a certain extent, Phil Neal was a modern-day full-back who was never shy of going forward and contributing to his team's attacking efforts.
Liverpool goalkeeper and Neal's close friend Ray Clemence said in 1977: "Phil adds an extra dimension to the team with his ability to surge forward and set things up.
"It’s easy to see when you’re playing with him, that he’s got a tremendous awareness of every other player in the side and what their job is. Phil has so much skill on the ground that I don’t think he’d be lost in midfield."
A lot of his goals came from penalties which Neal converted in cold blood and even today a lot of Reds' fans name him as the club's best penalty taker.
One of the most remarkable spot-kicks came in the 1977 European Cup final against Borussia Monchengladbach. In the 82nd minute, Berti Vogts brought Kevin Keegan down and Phil Neal stepped up.
"As I ran up to the ball I then did something I never did and which you should never do – I changed my mind," Neal recalled.
"Instead, I hit it low to the other side of the keeper but it went in and up came Cally [Ian Callaghan] in delight. I still get a tingle when I see the videos of Bob Paisley and Ronnie Moran and the lads leaping up off the bench with joy."
- Honours, trophies, titles and medals
Overall, Phil Neal boasts 18 major trophies:
- League Championship 1975/76, 1976/77, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1985/86
- League Cup 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
- European Cup 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984
- UEFA Cup 1976
- European Super Cup 1977
With Phil on the pitch, Liverpool won 372 games, drew 164 and lost 114 matches.
- Bitter ending and sweet memories
Phil Neal's last days at Liverpool were quite a contrast to his years under Paisley. When Bob retired from management, Joe Fagan took over and Neal still was a regular but his prime days were gone.
Unsurprisingly, when Kenny Dalglish became the manager in 1985, he replaced Neal with Steve Nicol at right-back.
Neal's disappointment was even bigger because he expected to be appointed the boss ahead of King Kenny and claimed he was 'promised' the job which could easily be one of the scenarios the Reds' chiefs considered.
However, we, Reds fans, will always remember Phil Neal for what he was best at: runs, crosses, spot-kicks and undisputed dedication and loyalty to the Liverpool colours.
