Over the decades, elite football has evolved from a game focused primarily on the starting eleven to one built on increasingly deep squads, in part to allow clubs and players to handle increasingly busy fixture lists.
From no substitutes in the earliest days to very limited substitutions strictly to replace injured players to the tactical tool today allowing as many as five in three windows, substitution rules have changed radically, and with it there has been an increasing willingness to acknowledge the contributions of squad players.
That hasn’t always been the case, though, and in the past plenty of players have been deprived of winner’s medals—medals they would qualify for in the present day—for their contributions to title and trophy winning sides.
This week, Liverpool sought to rectify that, acknowledging the contributions of past squad players in the club’s storied history and awarding medals—sourced to match the originals—to fourteen former League Winners who didn’t receive them at the time.
From the 1980s this included League Winners medals for Ronny Rosenthal for his eight appearances in 1989-90, Jan Molby (seven appearances) and Paul Walsh (eight) for 1987-88, Alan Kennedy (eight) and John Wark (nine) for 1985-86, David Hodgson (five) and John Wark (again with nine) for 1983-84, and David Fairclough (eight) for 1982-83.
For the 1970s, the club gave medals to Sammy Lee (seven appearances), Colin Irwin (eight), and Steven Heighway (nine) for 1979-80, and then Alec Lindsay (six), Terry McDermott (nine), and a posthumous medal for Joey Jones (13) for 1975-76.
The medals were given out at a ceremony at Anfield on Wednesday evening by Kenny Dalglish, with the final medal given to Chris Lawler, who made six appearances in Liverpool’s 1963-64 league winning season.
It may have taken a while, but especially in light of current rules that have rightly and significantly expanded who qualifies to receive a League Winner’s medal, it’s good to see all of these former Reds formally—if belatedly—acknowledged for their contributions to the club’s history.