Steve McMahon

McMahon was placed in 42nd position in the '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' poll, which asked Red supporters to name the best 100 Liverpool players of all time.

He also played for Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City, playing in the Premier League for the latter.

He was capped 17 times by England.

After his playing career ended, he began his coaching and managing career with Swindon Town, and later managed Blackpool, winning promotion with both of these clubs.

He later had a brief spell as manager of Perth Glory in Australia.

Halewood-born McMahon started his career at Everton, playing for them as a teenager after appearing at Goodison Park as a ball boy.

McMahon's 42nd-minute strike turned out to be the winner as the Reds triumphed 3 to 2.

He played a crucial role in Liverpool's "double" winning side of that season.

However, his joy at winning a League championship medal was tempered slightly by his omission from the side for the FA Cup final which again was ironically against rivals and former club Everton, the first all Merseyside FA Cup final.

However, he was more fortunate than the other players left out by Dalglish as McMahon was given the substitute's role and ended up with a winners' medal when Liverpool won 3–1, though he did not get on to the pitch.

The following year, McMahon this time started at Wembley when Liverpool contested the League Cup final against Arsenal.

He set up the opening goal for Ian Rush but they ultimately lost the match 2–1.

He had earlier scored four goals in Liverpool's record 10–0 victory over Fulham in the same competition.

McMahon had also missed a penalty in the same game, which would have made him the only Liverpool player to score five goals in a competitive game that season but scored another hat-trick in the following round against Leicester.

In total, he scored nine goals in the League Cup that season, as well as five in the league, totaling 14 in all competitions, although Liverpool endured their second trophyless season in more than a decade.

Dalglish reshaped the side the following season, incorporating new signings John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge and Ray Houghton but McMahon remained in the side.

By now his reputation as one of the best hardmen in the game was established.

Though his tackling was often subjected to scrutiny by the football authorities and criticism from opposing players and managers, there was no doubt that his skills as a footballer were of the highest order.

Stephen Joseph McMahon (born 20 August 1961) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and current television pundit.

As a player, he was a midfielder from 1979 to 1998, most notably playing for Liverpool in the late 1980s.

He made his league debut on 16 August 1980 in the 3–1 defeat to Sunderland at Roker Park, and he went on to be voted the supporters player of the year by the end of the 1980/81 season.

His commanding presence in the Toffees midfield earned him the captaincy of the club.

After 4 seasons, including 100 league appearances and 11 league goals McMahon moved to Aston Villa.

He joined Aston Villa on 20 May 1983 for £175,000, he made his league debut on 27 August 1983 in the 4–3 derby win over West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park.

McMahon settled quickly and established himself in the heart of the Villans midfield.

The following season, 1984/85, ended up worse than the previous one as Villa finished in 10th spot again, only this time Everton won the title.

McMahon agreed to join Liverpool on 12 September 1985 for £350,000 thus becoming the first signing to be made by new manager Kenny Dalglish, and filling the void left by Graeme Souness over a year earlier.

McMahon frequently scored for a man in his position as Liverpool won the 1988 League title.

Memorable strikes included a 30-yard shot against Manchester United and the opener in a crucial Merseyside derby against Everton, although Liverpool only won the latter of those two games.

When Liverpool reached the FA Cup final again, McMahon was one of the team's two Scousers (along with Aldridge) obliged to perform a localised rap on the official FA Cup final song Anfield Rap, written in a trend-encapsulating rap and house music style by teammate Craig Johnston.

The song got to No. 3 in the UK charts, but Liverpool lost the final at Wembley to Wimbledon.

McMahon was afforded the ultimate respect by Vinnie Jones, who said that if he could stop McMahon, then Wimbledon could stop Liverpool.

Jones and Mcmahon locked horns early on, and Jones fouled McMahon aggressively early on in the game with a two footed tackle.

In Jones's autobiography he recounted that he wanted to "take out their top man" and McMahon actually managed to smash Jones in the eye with his elbow on the way down from the tackle, which led to a cut and scar on his face that remained on his face for a while.

McMahon clashed with John Fashanu and Dennis Wise frequently throughout the match, although Liverpool lost on the day.

McMahon was voted second place in the PFA Player Of the Year Awards, the winner being his colleague John Barnes.

Later in 1988, McMahon won his first of 17 caps for England.

However Villa finished 10th in his first season, while his previous club, Everton, finished 3 places above them in 7th spot.

He made his debut 2 days later on the 14th in the 2–2 league draw with Oxford United at the Manor Ground.

He didn't have to wait long for his first goal either, it came a week later on 21 September against his former club, Everton.