Geoff Strong

Geoff Strong was an experienced professional when he arrived at Anfield in November 1964, having scored 69 times in 125 League matches for Arsenal. He had already played at Anfield and scored for Arsenal on the opening day of the 1964/65 season and in November 1964 Shankly brought him in to replace the seriously injured forward Alf Arrowsmith. Strong had been all set to join Aston VIlla a week previously, but couldn't agree on personal terms. Shankly used Strong to great effect in many different positions and his versatility was a key part of Liverpool's continued domination of domestic football in the mid 1960's. Ron Yeats was happy with his arrival as he didn't have to deal with him anymore: 'I wasn't surprised Bill Shankly signed him because he used to give me a lot of problems', Yeats said. A few days after experiencing Shankly's training regime Strong was physically sick and complained: 'What have I joined here, a bloody commando course!' He was in and out of the side during the first half of the season but he did pick up an FA Cup winners' medal when the unlucky left-half Gordon Milne missed the final through injury and featured as well in the dramatic European Cup semi-finals against Inter Milan. How Liverpool couldn't find a forward spot for a player who had scored 31 goals in 46 matches for Arsenal in the previous campaign is a testament to Liverpool's strength in-depth up front.

Strong wasn't much more of a regular the following season either, starting exactly half of the 42 League matches filling in mostly for Milne again but also up front in Roger Hunt's absence. He produced a moment to remember in the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup against Celtic at Anfield when, despite being badly affected by a leg injury, he climbed to meet Ian Callaghan's right-wing centre and headed the ball past Ronnie Simpson for the goal which took Liverpool through to the final; "the cripple has scored" being perhaps Kenneth Wolstenholme's second most-famous utterance as a commentator. Strong only missed six League matches in 1966/67 as he found a firm place at outside-left, scoring 12 goals. Despite his success he was more in the role of a "seat-filler" in the following campaign. Gerry Byrne's injuries had caught up with him in 1968 which opened the door initially for Peter Wall but Strong made the left-back position his own his last two years at Anfield. Strong was one of the casualties of the dreadful FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Watford in February 1970 and only represented the club on five more occasions, the last being a home defeat to champions-elect Everton exactly a month after the cup defeat. Even though he was more of a squad player than a regular in the Liverpool side, Strong was a very popular player and when he led his new team, Coventry City, out at Anfield in November 1970 he received a wonderful ovation from the Liverpool crowd as a tribute to the service he had given the club for nearly six years.