- Birthdate: 21 July 1969
- Birthplace: Kirkby, Liverpool, England
- Other clubs: Kirkby Town (1984-87), West Ham United (1993-94), Coventry City (1994-95), Galatasaray (1995), Southend United (1995-97), Barrow (1998-99), Kidderminster Harriers (1999-2000), Southport (2000-01), Boston United (2001-02), Accrington Stanley (2002-03)
- Signed from: Kirkby Town
- Signed for LFC: 21.08.1987
- Liverpool debut: 01.03.1989
- Last appearance: 28.08.1993
- Debut goal: 06.11.1991
- Last goal: 22.08.1993
- Contract expiry: 17.09.1993
- Win ratio: 37.62% W:38 D:33 L:30
- Games/assists ratio: 11.22
- Honours: FA Cup 1992
- Total games/goals opposite LFC: 4 / 0
- League games / goals / assists: 69 / 2 / 6
- Total games / goals / assists: 101 / 6 / 9
Player Profile
Marsh had a similar problem to Vladimir Smicer's as he excelled in training sessions but much too seldom transferred that ability to the Reds' competitive fixtures. He was hardly an internationally-known player like Vladi, but possessed enough skill to make people wonder what might have been. In 1987 Marsh was playing for Kirkby Town and Railway Pub on Sundays, the latter being sponsored by Kirkby-native and Liverpool's reserve-team coach, Phil Thompson. Tommo was advised to take a closer look at Marsh and Liverpool signed him up. Marsh was a reserve at Liverpool for four years, admitting that he felt not worthy of being in such exclusive company. The players had been his heroes one minute and teammates the next. The Kirkby lad finally got his big break in the 1991/92 season, playing in midfield and continued his good form into the following season.
His most memorable moment came in the UEFA Cup second-round tie versus Auxerre on 6 November 1991 at Anfield. Liverpool had lost the first leg 2-0 but Marsh scored Liverpool's second goal in a 3-0 win. Marsh was transferred to West Ham along with David Burrows in a swap deal to bring Julian Dicks to Anfield in September 1993. "I broke into the team at a difficult time," Marsh explained to the Liverpool Echo in 2003. "There were lots of injuries, lots of new players coming in and a new manager. Maybe if I'd broken into a settled side with the likes of Steve McMahon, Ronnie Whelan or Jan Mølby alongside me on a regular basis, things would have gone differently. I ended up playing alongside the likes of Paul Stewart. I actually asked to leave Liverpool. When it came to not getting into the side when I thought I was better than the one who was in, Again, I don't want it to sound as though I'm having a go at someone like Paul Stewart, but I suppose when the manager pays over £2 million for a player he's always going to play him."
Marsh later rejoined his former Liverpool boss, Graeme Souness, at Galatasaray for a couple of months in 1995. A knee injury finally ended his professional career at the age of 28. Marsh accepted an insurance payout which meant he wasn't allowed to play in the Football League again. He won the Conference twice with Kidderminster and Boston but was unable to go up with them into the League. Marsh joined the Liverpool Academy in July 2009 and coached the u-16s and u-18s. In August 2012 he was promoted to Melwood to be a part of the club's first-team coaching set-up. New manager Brendan Rodgers explained : "When I looked at the staff when I came in, Marshy was someone who had come in with the u-18s. He was a terrific young player - he walked out of a pub team into Liverpool, which is an absolutely incredible story. His roots are here at the club, his passion is for the club and he's played for the club. He will help build a bridge between the first team and the Academy."
After being part of Rodgers back room team for three years, Marsh left in the summer of 2015 and joined the England coaching set up, working with the under 17s and 18s.
Appearances per season
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
5 |
442 |
Crystal Palace |
5 |
252 |
Leeds United |
5 |
178 |
Manchester City |
4 |
337 |
QPR |
4 |
314 |
Aston Villa |
4 |
284 |
Sheffield Wednesday |
4 |
278 |
Wimbledon |
4 |
244 |
Tottenham |
4 |
240 |
Sheffield United |
4 |
182 |
Arsenal |
3 |
226 |
Ipswich Town |
3 |
226 |
Southampton |
3 |
224 |
Everton |
3 |
189 |
Nottingham Forest |
3 |
187 |
Norwich City |
2 |
180 |
Coventry City |
2 |
180 |
Blackburn Rovers |
2 |
180 |
Bristol Rovers |
2 |
180 |
Bolton Wanderers |
2 |
180 |
Chesterfield |
2 |
180 |
Notts County |
2 |
180 |
Apollon Limassol |
2 |
180 |
Genoa |
2 |
177 |
Spartak Moscow |
2 |
164 |
West Ham United |
2 |
160 |
Swarovski Tirol |
2 |
136 |
Kuusysi Lahti |
2 |
134 |
Crewe |
2 |
118 |
Port Vale |
2 |
115 |
Manchester United |
2 |
111 |
Chelsea |
2 |
101 |
Auxerre |
2 |
45 |
Charlton Athletic |
1 |
90 |
Middlesbrough |
1 |
90 |
Stoke City |
1 |
90 |
Peterborough United |
1 |
67 |
Luton Town |
1 |
32 |
Oldham Athletic |
1 |
32 |
Portsmouth |
1 |
14 |
Swindon Town |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
70 |
Started |
14 |
On the bench |
31 |
Substitute |
12 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
55 |
Away |
44 |
Home |
2 |
Neutral |
Goals per season
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
01.03.1989 |
Charlton Athletic |
Anfield |
League |
50 |
21.03.1992 |
Tottenham |
Anfield |
League |
100 |
22.08.1993 |
Swindon Town |
County Ground |
League |
Milestone Goals
# |
Minute |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
29 |
06.11.1991 |
Auxerre |
Anfield |
Europe |
Related Articles
An article by CHris Bascombe on Anfield's nearly man, Mike Marsh. Published 19 February 2003.
Match report from The Daily Telegraph on Liverpool - Coventry on 14.03.1995.
Match report from British Soccer Week on Liverpool - Auxerre on 06.11.1991.
Match report from British Soccer Week on Liverpool - Crystal Palace on 28.11.1992.
Related Quotes
"I am delighted with the move. I want to get on to the football pitch and not sit in the stand watching as I have been recently at Liverpool. I thought I did my stuff at Liverpool but I didn't seem to be making progress. Now perhaps I can."
Mike Marsh moves from Souness' Liverpool
Scrapbook
Call for the kids - August 1991
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Kirkby Town |
1984-1987 |
North West Counties League |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
West Ham United |
1993-1994 |
England Premier League |
33 |
1 |
42 |
2 |
West Ham United |
1994-1995 |
England Premier League |
16 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
Coventry City |
1994-1995 |
England Premier League |
15 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
Galatasaray |
1995 |
Turkey 1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
Southend |
1995-1996 |
England First Division |
40 |
5 |
46 |
6 |
Southend |
1996-1997 |
England First Division |
35 |
5 |
38 |
5 |
Southend |
1997-1998 |
England Second Division |
9 |
1 |
13 |
2 |
Barrow |
1998-1999 |
The Conference |
19 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
Kidderminster Harriers |
1999-2000 |
The Conference |
24 |
4 |
24 |
4 |
Southport |
2000-2001 |
The Conference |
41 |
10 |
41 |
10 |
Boston United |
2001-2002 |
The Conference |
7 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
Accrington Stanley |
2002-2003 |
Northern Premier League |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Total |
242 |
29 |
278 |
32 |