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Birthdate:
11.12.1961
Birthplace: Ayrshire, Scotland
Other clubs: Ayr, Notts County, Sheff Wed, WBA (loan), Doncaster, Boston Bulldogs (USA)
Bought from: Ayr
Signed for LFC: £300000 26.10.1981
International debut: 12.09.1984 vs. Yugoslavia
International caps: 27/0 (Last cap on 11.09.1991)
Liverpool debut:
31.08.1982
Last appearance: 05.10.1994
Debut goal: 22.10.1983
Last goal: 18.08.1993
Contract expiry: 20.01.1995
LFC league games/goals: 343 / 36
Total LFC games/goals: 468 / 46
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Player Notes:
Bob Paisley bought 19-year-old Steve Nicol on 26th of October 1981 as an eventual replacement for right-back Phil Neal. He cost £300,000 from Ayr United where he had been a part-time player and an out-of-work building labourer. Nicol got his first taste of the first team three weeks after arriving at Liverpool in a friendly vs an Irish International XI alongside other hopefuls such as Kevin Sheedy and Craig Johnston. He made 26 appearances in the Central League side in his first season and featured in four first team league games in the 1982/83 season.
Nicol emerged as quite a player in the glorious 1983/84 season when Liverpool won the League, European Cup and the Milk Cup. Phil Neal was not to be moved from the back four, but Nicol slotted in at right midfield. In his first full season he started 32 out of 67 games and came second in PFA's vote for the most promising player of the year behind Luton's Paul Walsh. His highlight could have so easily been his lowest point as after coming on as a sub for Craig Johnston he played 47 minutes in the European Cup final in Rome and blazed over Liverpool's first penalty in the shoot-out. Thankfully Nicol ended on the winning side, but he had proved his courage in Liverpool's hour of need.
"Chico" is one of the most versatile players football has ever seen. As well as playing on the right side at the back or further up the wing, the genuinely two-footed Scot did an excellent job on the left and also had a successful spell in the heart of the defence when Alan Hansen was hospitalised for the majority of the 1988/89 season. He was a great defender, but also a superb attacking player. He was quite adept at taking on defenders and an accurate crosser of the ball. He scored some brilliant goals and even lead the goalscoring charts at the beginning of the 1987/88 season, after scoring 6 goals in his first 6 league games, including a superb hat-trick against Newcastle which Bob Paisley described as a "masterpiece." Nicol's importance was officially recognised with a FWA player of the year award in 1988/89, after filling 6 different positions that season.
"When I was switched from the left side to the right of Liverpool back four towards the end of my career, when my knee problems had taken their toll on my running, it made me feel I could light a cigar and read a newspaper to have Steve on the outside. His fitness was astonishing. Dietiticians would be horrified at the amount he ate. He could eat for Britain. He and I and our families once were on a Norwegian cruise together and he probably consumed more than the rest of us put together. It was not unusual for him to go through six or eight packs of crisps in one go. But he never carried any excess weight, hardly missed a tackle and gave the impression of being able to bomb up and down that right touchline of ever. Suffice it to say that after our first match together on the right, I thought, 'Where have you been all my life?'" - Alan Hansen.
Nicol was a regular in Liverpool's first-team for 11 years and retired after 468 matches and 46 goals as a certified club legend. |
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