David Fairclough
| David Fairclough | ||
|
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| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | David Fairclough | |
| birthday | 5th January 1957 | |
| place of birth | Liverpool , England | |
| position | striker | |
| Juniors | ||
| Years | station | |
| Liverpool FC | ||
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| 1974-1983 | Liverpool FC | 98 (34) |
| 1982 | Toronto Blizzard | 20 ( 4) |
| 1983-1985 | FC Luzern | 40 ( 8) |
| 1985 | Norwich City | 2 ( 0) |
| 1985-1986 | Oldham Athletic | 17 ( 1) |
| 1986-1989 | KSK Beveren | 70 (14) |
| 1989 | Rochdale AFC | |
| 1989-1990 | Tranmere Rovers | 14 ( 1) |
| 1990-1991 | Wigan Athletic | 7 ( 1) |
| Knowsley United | ||
| National team | ||
| Years | selection | Games (goals) |
| 1977 | England U21 | 1 (0) |
| 1 Only league games are given. | ||
David Fairclough (born January 5, 1957 in Liverpool ) is a former English football player . The red-haired striker made a name for himself at Liverpool FC towards the end of the 1970s , primarily because of his scoring qualities as a “joker” and was nicknamed “Supersub”, which has since been used in English for accurate substitute players. Since he rarely got beyond this role, he left the "Reds" after a few years and played in Canada, Switzerland and Belgium.
Athletic career
Liverpool FC
After Fairclough had started playing football at an early age at Liverpool FC, he made his debut on the professional team on November 1, 1975 at the age of 18. Just three days after beating Middlesbrough FC 1-0 at Ayresome Park , he scored his first goal in a UEFA Cup match when the Reds at Anfield in the second-round second leg took Spanish representatives Real Sociedad San Sebastián 6-0 home sent. Overall, Fairclough scored seven goals in only 14 competitive games, with nine games coming on later. Despite this promising career start, the newcomer remained only number 4 in the "pecking order" of the Liverpool attacker hierarchy, as in addition to long-time striker partners Kevin Keegan and John Toshack from the 1976/77 season the center forward and England international David Johnson was one of the high-profile competitors. It was only when Toshack sustained a number of injuries that the fast-moving striker returned to more frequent appearances as a substitute.
With his goal on March 16, 1977 in the quarter-finals of the European Cup , he secured his entry in the club's history at the age of 20. After the Liverpool team lost the first leg at AS Saint-Étienne 0-1, they were 2-1 ahead in the second leg shortly before the end, but this would have meant elimination due to the away goals rule . Fairclough, who had only been substituted on by coach Bob Paisley in the last 20 minutes , received a through pass in the 84th minute of the game, prevailed against two defenders and turned into the game-winning goal. The goal, which ITV reporter Gerald Sinstadt commented with the famous words "Supersub strikes again!", Is still considered to be one of the most famous moments in Liverpool European Cup history and paved the way for the first ever European Cup win in the same year. In addition, Fairclough won his second English championship in a row after 1976 and received further inserts in 29 league games in the subsequent 1977/78 season . When the Reds won the European championship competition again in 1978 , Fairclough was even in the starting line-up in the 1-0 final win over Club Bruges at Wembley Stadium .
It would be one of the final highlights of Fairclough's time at Liverpool FC. In the five years that followed until the end of the 1982/83 season he was in the starting line-up in only 21 league games and he was only able to prove his scoring potential in the reserve team and in a guest appearance in the North American NASL at the Toronto Blizzards . In the first team, it was Kenny Dalglish and later Ian Rush who were in the coach's favor and who blocked Fairclough's path to the main line-up due to the low susceptibility to injury. Increasingly annoyed by the lack of perspective and his permanent image as a "super sub", he left his home club after 153 games and 55 goals. He remained one of the most popular players among supporters of the “Reds”, which was reflected in his 18th place in the “100 Players Who Shook The Kop” poll - so he was well ahead of John Toshack and David Johnson, who were awarded to him Player times were usually brought forward.
The time after Liverpool
After two years in Switzerland with FC Luzern , he returned to England in March 1985 and played for the second division Norwich City . After only two missions, he left the "canaries" in August of the same year and joined Oldham Athletic - at that time also active in the Second Division .
Between 1986 and 1989 he played for the Belgian club KSK Beveren for a long time before he ended his active career at smaller English clubs - the AFC Rochdale , the Tranmere Rovers , Wigan Athletic and most recently at the amateur club Knowsley United.
After his playing career, Fairclough became increasingly active as an expert in the local media and also regularly writes columns for the official website of Liverpool FC.
successes
- European Champion's Cup: 1977, 1978
- UEFA Cup Winner: 1976
- European Supercup winner: 1977
- English champion: 1976, 1977, 1980
- Charity Shield Winner: 1977 (title shared)
Web links
- Biography Liverpoolfc.tv (Engl.)
- Biography lfchistory.net (Engl.)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fairclough, David |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5th January 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool |