Players - Ian Ross

Ian Ross
Birthdate: 26 January 1947
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death: 9 February 2019
Other clubs: Aston Villa (1972-76), Notts County (loan 1976), Northampton Town (loan 1976), Peterborough United (1976-79), Santa Barbara Condors (loan 1977), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1979-82), Hereford United (1982-83), Valur (1984)
Signed from: Local
Signed for LFC: Joined July 1963 - Professional August 1965
Liverpool debut: 14.01.1967
Last appearance: 09.02.1972
Debut goal: 26.12.1969
Last goal: 06.11.1971
Contract expiry: 22.02.1972
Win ratio: 40.58% W:28 D:21 L:20
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 1 / 0
League games / goals / assists: 48 / 2 / 1
Total games / goals / assists: 69 / 4 / 1

Player Profile

Ian Ross will forever be remembered as Der Kaiser’s shadow, when he man-marked Bayern’s Franz Beckenbauer to perfection in a European Fairs Cup game on 18 March 1971 in Munich. He even had the time to score Liverpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw. The Glaswegian signed professional forms for Liverpool in August 1965 when he was 17-years-old. He’d had trials at both Arsenal and Chelsea, but was forced to stay in a hotel in London, but when Liverpool came calling the club put him up with a family and that made all the difference. Ross made his debut at Sheffield Wednesday in the middle of January 1967, coming on for Ian Callaghan, but he didn’t figure in another League match until March 1968. The only season in which he became anything like a regular was 1971/72, when he was sold before the end of the campaign. Ross had been filling in for Tommy Smith and Alec Lindsay in defence as well as Brian Hall in midfield when Shankly decided to drop him which he didn’t agree with and demanded to be sold. Aston Villa, who was then a third division side on the rise, had made inquiries and were willing to pay a club-record fee of £70,000. Villa were promoted in the spring and played in the First Division in Ross’ last season at the club. Ross featured in 175 League matches at Aston Villa from 1972-1976, creating a formidable partnership with Chris Nicholl at the heart of the Villains’ defence and captaining the side as well. 

Ross enjoyed a successful coaching career in Iceland, even playing in his first year for Valur as well as coaching the team, in 1984. After four years he moved from league champions Valur to KR Reykjavik, who were incidentally Liverpool’s first European opponents back in 1964.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 48 10 3 8 0 69
1966-1967 1 0 0 0 0 1
1967-1968 4 2 0 0 0 6
1968-1969 3 0 0 1 0 4
1969-1970 7 5 0 1 0 13
1970-1971 12 0 0 2 0 14
1971-1972 21 3 3 4 0 31
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
4 390 WBA
4 360 Leeds United
4 341 Manchester United
4 207 Tottenham
3 270 Burnley
3 270 Everton
3 270 Bayern Munich
3 270 Coventry City
3 194 Huddersfield Town
3 189 West Ham United
2 180 Nottingham Forest
2 180 Manchester City
2 180 Ipswich Town
2 180 Southampton
2 180 Sheffield United
2 180 Stoke City
2 180 Leicester City
2 180 Arsenal
2 130 Sheffield Wednesday
2 112 Chelsea
2 96 Servette
1 90 Oxford United
1 90 Wolves
1 90 Crystal Palace
1 90 Vitoria Setubal
1 90 Watford
1 90 QPR
1 90 Blackpool
1 90 Newcastle United
1 90 Hull City
1 90 Derby
1 27 Wrexham
1 15 Hibernian
1 10 Athletic Bilbao
Total Started/substitutions
59 Started
31 On the bench
10 Substitute
1 Substituted
Total Venue
43 Away
26 Home
Total Competition
48 League
10 FA Cup
4 European Cup Winners Cup
4 European Fairs Cup
3 League Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
69 28 21 20 40.6% Bill Shankly
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 1 0 1 0 4
1966-1967 0 0 0 0 0 0
1967-1968 0 0 0 0 0 0
1968-1969 0 0 0 0 0 0
1969-1970 1 1 0 0 0 2
1970-1971 0 0 0 1 0 1
1971-1972 1 0 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Opponent
1 Coventry City
1 Burnley
1 Arsenal
1 Bayern Munich
Total Started/substitutions
4 Started
0 Substitute
Total Competition
2 League
1 European Fairs Cup
1 FA Cup
Total Goal minute period
1 16-30 minutes
1 31-45 minutes
1 61-75 minutes
1 76-90 minutes
Total Goal origin
4 Open play
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 1 0 0 0 0 1
1966-1967 0 0 0 0 0 0
1967-1968 0 0 0 0 0 0
1968-1969 0 0 0 0 0 0
1969-1970 0 0 0 0 0 0
1970-1971 0 0 0 0 0 0
1971-1972 1 0 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Total Opponent
1 Sheffield United
Total Competition
1 League
Total For player
1 Kevin Keegan
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 14.01.1967 Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough League
50 20.10.1971 Bayern Munich Anfield Europe
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 26 26.12.1969 Burnley Turf Moor League
Scrapbook
Anfield Spotlight - Liverpool match programme
Anfield Spotlight - Liverpool match programme
Focus on Aston Villa's Ian Ross
Focus on Aston Villa's Ian Ross
In search of the lions
In search of the lions
Ross ends a nightmare - 6 November 1971
Ross ends a nightmare - 6 November 1971
Ross not the biggest name but... - 13 November 1971
Ross not the biggest name but... - 13 November 1971
Ross pops up with a winner - 6 November 1971
Ross pops up with a winner - 6 November 1971
Why I sold Ian Ross, by Bill Shankly - February 1972
Why I sold Ian Ross, by Bill Shankly - February 1972
Young Ross makes it for Shankly boys - 24 March 1971
Young Ross makes it for Shankly boys - 24 March 1971
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Aston Villa 1971-1972 England Third Division 17 1 17 1
Aston Villa 1972-1973 England Second Division 36 0 42 0
Aston Villa 1973-1974 England Second Division 42 0 47 0
Aston Villa 1974-1975 England Second Division 42 2 55 2
Aston Villa 1975-1976 England First Division 38 0 44 0
Notts County 1976-1977 England Second Division 4 1 4 1
Northampton Town 1976-1977 England Third Division 2 0 2 0
Peterborough United 1976-1977 England Third Division 21 0 21 0
Santa Barbara Condors 1977 American Soccer League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Peterborough United 1977-1978 England Third Division 46 0 55 0
Peterborough United 1978-1979 England Third Division 45 1 48 1
Wolves 1979-1982 England First Division 0 0 0 0
Hereford 1982-1983 England Fourth Division 15 0 20 0
Valur 1984 Iceland 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 308 5 355 5