LiverpoolFCMagazineMay2020

BACK-TO-BACK TITLES

prompted to respond: “Having watched what they call their
‘Hitachi kit’ in eight games, I can reassure the doubters that
you aren’t aware of the advertising after a couple of matches.
“The letters become so unobtrusive you don’t notice them.
That may not please Hitachi, who are paying Liverpool a lot of
money to advertise their name, but it is a visual fact.”
Another problem for Liverpool was a TV ban on shirt
advertising meant they couldn’t wear the Hitachi logo in
televised matches.
However at the press-conference to announce the deal
Reds chairman John Smith said: “We are talking about an
industry that is desperately short of money and we are fighting
for our existence. In terms of commerce and industry we, at
Liverpool, are broke but in football terms we are wealthy.
“From a turnover of £2.4 million last year, Liverpool’s profit
at the end of the day was a meagre £71,000....this for one of
the leading clubs in Europe.
“I think other clubs will follow our lead. We are taking up the
cudgels and I believe we will see the day when shirt advertising
is allowed in televised games and UEFA competitions.”
On the pitch Liverpool made a fairly average start to the
season, winning just two of their opening seven games before
hitting their stride with a run of ten wins from 11 matches
either side of Christmas to put the defending champions back
in pole position.
But as the Seventies turned into the Eighties, the Reds
started the new decade slowly. Their first league games of the

1980 saw them held 1-1 by Southampton at Anfield before

losing for the third time in the league when they went down

1-0 to Coventry City at Highfield Road.

Liverpool still held a two-point advantage over United but

the drop-off in form continued when they were beaten 1-0

at new rivals Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the League

Cup semi-final three days later, their nemesis John Robertson

converting a late penalty.

The Reds responded by returning to the City Ground the

following weekend and putting Brian Clough’s men out of

another competition as goals from Kenny Dalglish and Terry

McDermott secured a 2-0 victory in the FA Cup fourth round.

The return to Division One action brought a trip to Carrow

Road to face Norwich City. It would prove to be one of the

best games of the entire campaign, and it deserves a thorough

appraisal, a David Fairclough hat-trick and Justin Fashanu’s

goal of the season the defining memories of Liverpool’s

astonishing 5-3 victory.

There was only a minute on the clock when Martin Peters

headed the hosts ahead but Fairclough slotted home Sammy

Lee’s through-ball to make it 1-1 in the fourth minute. The

ginger-haired attacker then put Liverpool ahead 14 minutes

later after a superb 60-yard run and pass from Alan Hansen

teed him up.

Kevin Reeves headed home in the 33rd minute to make it

2-2 at the interval and it stayed that way until 75 minutes when

Fairclough completed his only hat-trick as a Liverpool player.

However Norwich equalised again when Fashanu scored a

stunner six minutes later. Controlling the ball with his back to

Thommo, Razor, Souey and Sir Terence of McDermott

Hitachi: visible but unobtrusive

Kenny: “See ya”