For those that are too young to remember Liverpool’s last title, which came in the 1989-90 season, there’s the ever-increasing danger of that triumph being cast as a footnote to the all-powerful Premier League, which began in 1992-93.
The names of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen will always carry weight around the world, but we get to see their particular brilliance infrequently.
One of the most important pieces of the Liverpool side that won two league titles and two FA Cups between 1987 and 1992 was their left winger, John Barnes. In Liverpool’s title-winning campaign of 1989-90, Barnes scored 22 goals in 34 matches.
Peter Beardsley said that Barnes was “The best player I ever played with, bar none. For three or four years at the end of the ’80s, John was possibly the best player in the world.”
John Barnes. World class in the late 80s. A beautiful chip for Liverpool at Millwall in 1989 #lfc @KemlynRoadStand @AnfieldPulse @AnfieldHQ pic.twitter.com/UHBE1IX67H
— @forgottengoals (@forgottengoals) March 20, 2017
Barnes would score 84 goals in 314 Liverpool appearances, as well as 65 goals for Watford and 6 for Newcastle United.
Born and initially raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Barnes was also the subject of racial abuse from opposing supporters and members of far-right groups.
Speaking about this infamous photograph from Goodison Park, Barnes said, “I had bananas thrown at me and monkey chants at West Ham and Millwall five years before that Everton game but because it was a high-profile match everyone took notice. It had been going on for ages. There wasn’t a game in the Eighties when you didn’t get racial abuse as a black player."
Photo: @Mootaz_LFC | Twitter
Barnes, now 53, collected 79 international appearances for England with his final appearance coming in a 0-0 draw with Colombia at Wembley — the match where Rene Higuita pulled off the Scorpion Kick Save.
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