Bob Paisley v Alex Ferguson

[eastlondonseagull]

No, we actually got a cheque for £999,999.99

Lawrenson was playing for Preston in the lower half of the 2nd division in 1977 when Brighton offered £100,000 for the Irish international. Liverpool bid for him as well. Alan Mullery former Brighton manager, explains the situation: "We outbid Liverpool to get him. I phoned the Preston manager, Harry Catterick, and he told me Liverpool had offered £75,000. Mark was only 19 but when I told Mike he said: 'offer £100,000. Liverpool weren't prepared to up their bid so we got him and four years later we sold him for a million." So if Liverpool had paid a little extra for Lawro they could have got him as early as 1977. Brighton paid a record fee of £112,000 for a player that's still remembered as a Brighton legend. Maybe it wasn't the right time for him to move to a big club as Liverpool and he wouldn't have had as glittering a career.

Brighton were promoted to the old 1st division in 1979 and Lawrenson at last faced Britain's best. Brighton's financial crisis meant Lawrenson was available. Mullery wanted to hold on to his best player: "I didn't want to sell Mark but was told the club needed the money to pay an overdraft. I'd had four or five First Division clubs on the phone most Fridays wanting to know if he was available and when I was told about our money situation I phoned up Ron Atkinson and sold him to Manchester United. The only trouble was Mike sold him to Liverpool which is where he eventually went." Lawrenson was bought for a club record fee and became as well the most expensive defender in Britain.

Interesting stuff, that. I knew he was Britain's most expensive defender at the time, but not that the money went to pay off an overdraft. That's a big old overdraft for those days.

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[Skaville]

Paisley all the way:

Competitions won
1974/75 Charity Shield : First prize of his managerial career
1975/76 League Championship (Division 1) : First major trophy of his managerial career
1975/76 UEFA Cup : His first European trophy and Liverpool's second
1976/77 Charity Shield : His second Charity Shield
1976/77 League Championship (Division 1) : His second league title
1976/77 European Cup : Liverpool's first European Cup - club would have ended season as treble winners had it not been for an FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United
1977/78 Charity Shield Shared : Shared with Manchester United, who beat them in the previous season's cup final
1977/78 European Super Cup : Liverpool's first Super Cup
1977/78 European Cup : Retained European Cup from the previous year
1978/79 League Championship (Division 1) : Third title in four years
1979/80 Charity Shield : His fourth charity shield
1979/80 League Championship (Division 1) : Fourth title in five years
1980/81 League Cup : Liverpool's first ever League Cup
1980/81 European Cup : European Cup number 3
1981/82 League Cup : Retained League Cup
1981/82 League Championship (Division 1) : Fifth title in seven years
1982/83 Charity Shield : Charity shield number 5
1982/83 League Cup : Third successive League Cup
1982/83 League Championship (Division 1) : 19th and final managerial prize

Team From To Games Won Lost Drawn Win %
Liverpool 26-07-1974 23-05-1983 490 275 91 124 56.12

 

[BensGrandad]

No, we actually got a cheque for £999,999.99 QUOTE}

I would dispute that because I was always under the impression that the deal was worth that kind of figure but that Jimmy Case was valued at £440k as part of the deal. This came from somebody extremely close to Alan Mullery.

The actual transfer, and this came from his own mouth, came about as he was going to meet Man Utd at the services just before the M56 but they were stopped on route and told there was a change of plans and they had to go to Hilton Park Services instead, where he met the Liverpool people and the deal was done.