Liverpool 0–1 Everton: Grobbelaar’s own goal settles the Charity Shield
An unfortunate own goal decided the Wembley meeting, but Everton’s midfield performance gave Joe Fagan more to consider.
Liverpool · Season reference
1984–85
A historical reference entry. Original long-form writing appears in Articles.
- Manager
- Joe Fagan
- League / division
- First Division
- League finish
- 2nd
- Top scorer
- John Wark · 27 goalsAll competitive first-team matches
- Trophies won
- None
Season overview
The season ended with the Heysel disaster. Before the European Cup final against Juventus in Brussels on 29 May 1985, 39 people, mostly Juventus supporters, died after a wall collapsed following a charge by Liverpool supporters. The final went ahead and Liverpool lost 1–0. English clubs were subsequently banned from European competition.
Liverpool finished second in the First Division, 13 points behind Everton, and lost their FA Cup semi-final replay to Manchester United. Tottenham ended their League Cup run in the third round. There were also defeats by Everton in the Charity Shield, Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup and Juventus in the European Super Cup.
John Wark was leading scorer with 27 competitive goals. Graeme Souness had left for Sampdoria, while Paul Walsh and Jan Mølby joined from Luton and Ajax. Joe Fagan retired at the end of the season; his decision to step down had been made before Heysel.
Match reports
Explore 8 published reports from 1984–85, in match order.
Liverpool 0–1 Everton: Sharp’s volley ends the Anfield wait
Graeme Sharp’s early second-half volley gave Everton their first Anfield victory for 14 years and left Liverpool seventeenth.
Liverpool 3–1 Benfica: Rush restores the advantage
Ian Rush scored his first European hat-trick, twice striking after Benfica’s equaliser to give Liverpool a two-goal lead for Lisbon.
Benfica 1–0 Liverpool: ten men protect the aggregate lead
An early penalty and Kenny Dalglish’s dismissal complicated the return in Lisbon, but Liverpool advanced 3–2 on aggregate.
Liverpool 4–1 Austria Vienna: Walsh scores twice in quarter-final win
Paul Walsh scored twice and missed a penalty as Liverpool beat Austria Vienna 4–1, reaching the semi-finals 5–2 on aggregate.
Liverpool 4–0 Panathinaikos: Rush’s double opens the way to Athens
Two quick Ian Rush goals after half-time turned Liverpool’s narrow lead into a four-goal advantage for the return leg.
Liverpool 2–2 Manchester United: two late equalisers force a replay
Ronnie Whelan rescued Liverpool in normal time before substitute Paul Walsh did so again near the end of extra-time.
Liverpool 1–2 Manchester United: Robson turns the replay
Liverpool led at half-time through a Paul McGrath own goal, but Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes sent Manchester United to Wembley.
Domestic cups
- FA Cup
- Semi-final — lost 2–1 to Manchester United in a replay after a 2–2 draw.
- League Cup
- Third round — lost 1–0 away to Tottenham Hotspur.
Europe
- European Cup
- Runners-up — lost 1–0 to Juventus at Heysel.
- European Super Cup
- Runners-up — lost 2–0 to Juventus in Turin.
Other major competitions
- Charity Shield
- Runners-up — lost 1–0 to Everton.
- Intercontinental Cup
- Runners-up — lost 1–0 to Independiente in Tokyo.
Key players
- John Wark
- Ian Rush
- Alan Hansen
- Phil Neal
- Bruce Grobbelaar
- Ronnie Whelan
- Kenny Dalglish
- Mark Lawrenson
- Steve Nicol
Transfers
Significant senior moves. Fees are included only where established reliably; summer arrivals are grouped with the campaign they joined.
Transfers in
- Paul WalshFrom Luton TownPermanent transfer
May 1984 signing, allocated to the incoming campaign.
- Jan MølbyFrom AjaxPermanent transfer
Joined in August 1984.
- Kevin MacDonaldFrom Leicester CityPermanent transfer
Joined in November 1984.
Transfers out
- Graeme SounessTo SampdoriaPermanent transfer
Left in June 1984.
- David HodgsonTo SunderlandPermanent transfer
Left in August 1984.
- Michael RobinsonTo Queens Park RangersPermanent transfer
Left in December 1984.
- Phil ThompsonTo Sheffield UnitedFree transfer
Left in March 1985.
Important connections
Related seasons
1983–84Sources & historical notes
Researched and checked 13 September 2026. These sources support this season’s statistics, transfers and historical account. Key players are an editorial selection.
- Liverpool FC: Joe Fagan Manager in 1984–85; had already decided to retire before Heysel.
- RSSSF: Football League 1984-85 Final division, position, points, goals and league record; title margins calculated from the table.
- LFChistory: 1984-85 games Competitive fixtures, dates, scores, venues and cup stages; aggregate scores calculated from legs.
- LFChistory: 1984-85 goalscorers All-competitive scoring, including the Shield, Super Cup and Centenary Trophy where played; excludes friendlies and shoot-outs.
- LFChistory: 1984-85 transfers Dated selected senior arrivals and departures; summer allocation explained in notes.
- LFChistory: 1984-85 appearances Competitive involvement supporting key-player selections.
- Liverpool FC: Heysel memorial 39 people, mostly Juventus supporters, died before the European Cup final in Brussels on 29 May 1985.
- Reuters: Liverpool unveil new Heysel memorial 39 deaths after a wall collapsed following a charge by Liverpool supporters; English clubs subsequently banned from Europe.
- Liverpool FC: John Wark Leading scorer with 27 goals in his first full season, 1984–85.
- LFChistory: 1983–84 transfers Paul Walsh joined from Luton Town on 17 May 1984, allocated to the incoming season.
Notes on the record
Overview evidence: paragraph 1 — lfc-heysel, reuters-heysel and lfch-games; paragraph 2 — rsssf-league and lfch-games; paragraph 3 — lfch-scorers, lfc-wark, lfch-transfers, lfch-prior-transfers and lfc-manager.
The January 1985 European Super Cup was a single match in Turin. Walsh’s May 1984 arrival is included here, as promised in the preceding season audit. No transfer date is inferred from the compressed chronology in Fagan’s profile.