Billy Liddell
| Billy Liddell | ||
|
||
| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | William Beveridge Liddell | |
| birthday | January 10, 1922 | |
| place of birth | Townhill , Scotland | |
| date of death | July 3, 2001 | |
| position | Winger | |
| Juniors | ||
| Years | station | |
| Kingseat juvenlies | ||
| Lochgelly Violet | ||
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| 1939-1961 | Liverpool FC | 494 (216) |
| National team | ||
| Years | selection | Games (goals) |
| 1946-1955 | Scotland | 28 (6) |
| 1947-1955 | Great Britain | 2 (0) |
| 1 Only league games are given. | ||
William Beveridge "Billy" Liddell (born January 10, 1922 in Townhill , † July 3, 2001 ) was a Scottish football player . The winger was active for many years for both Liverpool FC and the Scottish national team in the 1940s and 1950s and won his only English championship with Liverpool FC in 1947.
Athletic career
Club career
Born in the small village of Townhill - near the Scottish town of Dunfermline - the son of a miner , Billy Liddell played for Lochgelly Violet before he was discovered at the age of 15 by Matt Busby , who was then a player for Liverpool FC. Busby recommended a transfer to Hamilton Academical , but when local coach Willie McAndrew Liddell could not simultaneously offer a part-time job, which his father insisted on, he moved to Liverpool instead. There he was supposed to complete his entire professional career as a player, although initially he only trained two days a week, as he - according to his father's wishes - was still doing a regular job at the same time.
During World War II , Liddell served as a bomber pilot and pathfinder in the British Royal Air Force . At that time he acted as a "guest players" for the Chelsea FC , the FC Linfield , Cambridge Town, Toronto Scottish and Dunfermline Athletic . He was also in a Scottish selection, which defeated the English national team in a so-called "Wartime international" with 5: 4 in Hampden Park .
After the war he returned to Liverpool and gave the club on January 5, 1946 in the first leg of the third round of the FA Cup at Chester City his debut. In the 2-0 win - by the way, another debutant was the later master coach Bob Paisley - Liddell also scored his first goal. In the first post-war championship round in 1946/47 he became a central player on the team's offensive, played 34 of 42 games, scored seven times in the opposing goal and thus helped his club to the first English championship since 1923.
As a rule, Liddell, equipped with above-average speed, acted as the left winger , but could also fill the position on the opposite side or the center forward - both in the "front line" and a little behind. Led by Liddell, Liverpool moved into the final of the FA Cup in the 1949/50 season and lost 2-0 in their first appearance at Wembley Stadium against Arsenal . Liddell had been in formation in all seven cup games and scored two goals.
At the beginning of the 1950s, however, Liverpool found themselves in the relegation battle more and more often and, not least, the performance of Billy Liddell ensured that relegation could still be ensured for the time being (during this time the club got the due to the exceptional player in its ranks Nickname "Liddellpool"). In the 1953/54 season , Liverpool FC had to enter the second-rate Second Division as bottom of the table . Liddell was henceforth used in central midfield and also received the office of team captain . The resurgence was not granted to him until the end of his active career at the age of 39 until 1961 and so he completed his career as a second division player. In a total of 537 competitive games, Liddell scored 229 goals, the rate of one goal in each 2⅓ games for a footballer who played mainly in midfield was comparatively high.
National team career
On May 10, 1947 Liddell defeated with a British selection at the side of Stanley Matthews a rest of Europe ensemble in Hampden Park 6-1. A little over eight years later, a second game followed on the occasion of the English Football Association's 75th birthday , which the continental Europeans in turn won 4-1 at Windsor Park in Belfast .
In addition to these two special games Liddell played between October 19, 1946 (1: 3 against Wales ) and October 8, 1955 (1: 2 against Northern Ireland ) 28 official internationals for the Scottish national team . He scored six goals.
After football
After Liddell was qualified as a Justice of the Peace in 1958, he worked after the end of his active football career as treasurer for the University of Liverpool .
In 2001 Liddell died of Alzheimer's disease . On November 4, 2004, Liverpool FC honored their former player with a plaque in Anfield . To this day, many Liverpool FC supporters consider Liddell to be the club's best player of all time. This appreciation was expressed in the survey “100 Players Who Shook The Kop” on September 29, 2006. There Liddell took sixth place in the list of the most influential Liverpool players.
successes
- English champion: 1947
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Liddell, Billy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Liddell, William Beveridge |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | scottish soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 10, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Townhill |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 3, 2001 |