Liverpool legend Steve McMahon was a player who hated his hard man tag despite being feared by VInnie Jones
In fact, you could argue they have already gone the way of the dodo, in a somewhat overlooked sign of the changing state of the game in recent years.
Two of the finest midfielders of their respective eras, it is telling that their lasting legacy to the YouTube generation is their infamous near-assaults on Iosif Rotariu and Alf-Inge Haaland.Before Keane’s legendary on-pitch duels with Patrick Vieira engrossed fans, there was Steve McMahon vs Vinnie Jones.
Yet lasting images from his Reds career come from two Liverpool lowlights rather than those successes. “I’d watched a video and [Alan] Hansen or someone would knock the ball to [McMahon] who'd then let it come across him to open up so he could play it out the other side,” Jones told TalkSPORT in 2018.
“In my view, has a more intimidating mouth than tackle. When he was at Wimbledon he was the king of the verbals. “Unfortunately for us, he had the last laugh because he finished on the winning side. That’s our fault, collectively.” "Nobody actually got the true story, even some of the players I played with didn’t know the true story," he told TalkSPORT in 2018."But if that was the way it was, then they should have come out and said so rather than make me the villain of the piece because that didn’t help me for two or three years."
"And I told them that for personal reasons and family reasons I think it’s best I don’t sign for Liverpool. “The truth is Kenny had that style of play of shielding the ball and backing into an opponent. In my view I was fouled, but the referee booked me! Later on I was in a tussle with Souness and, as I kicked the ball away, he kicked me in the shin with his studs showing. I squared up to him and was sent off.
And he even snubbed a move to Manchester United in favour of biding his time amid reported interest from the Reds. “When the opportunity arose to sign for Liverpool, I took it and it was the best decision of my career.” McMahon helped Liverpool respond in the best way possible, however, in 1987/88 as the signings of John Barnes and Peter Beardsley took the Reds to new heights as they enjoyed a record 29-match unbeaten start to the season and finished as champions with just two defeats from 40 league games, though they were unable to clinch a second league and FA Cup double.
“I have a hunger for success… that’s what I thrive on,” he wrote. “But I consider myself as far more than just the kicker that, no doubt, rival fans may see me as and some of my critics describe me as. And it was around this time England manager Bobby Robson finally relented and handed McMahon an international call-up following continued media pressure, with team-mate Craig Johnston even referencing the midfielder’s Three Lions absence when penning the lyrics for the Anfield Rap, with ITV commentator Brian Moore rapping: "Well Steve McMahon sure can rap, it's about time he had an England cap; so come on Bobby Robson, he's your man; 'cause if anyone can, Macca...
“The biggest problem was trying to get the damn armband on! It is tricky to secure it during the game with your attention elsewhere. I wouldn’t have been very popular if I had concentrated on securing the armband and QPR had scored. Ronnie Moran shouted from the bench, ‘just leave it’. Although he didn’t know it at the time, that First Division title would prove to be the last trophy of McMahon’s Liverpool career.
Souness actually wrote the foreword for McMahon’s autobiography and would surely relish managing a player who resembled himself. Yet 16 months after taking over as Liverpool manager and Souness had sold the now 30-year-old ‘world class footballer’ to Manchester City despite starting him regularly during the first half of the season, with the Scot suggesting McMahon wanted to leave.
Signing for Man City, McMahon spent three years at Maine Road but ultimately struggled to accept the drop-off in quality around him compared to his experiences at Anfield, with team-mate Niall Quinn saying the midfielder reminded him of Roy Keane in his intensity and will to win in his own autobiography.
The Tangerines bounced back under his stewardship to win promotion via the play-offs and twice win the Football League Trophy before he twice resigned over a lack of funds in 2004, first interrupting a press conference to withdraw his resignation following a talk with chairman Karl Oyston, before calling it quits at the end of the season, and later enjoying his final managerial stint with a brief spell with Perth Glory in the inaugural Australian A-League in 2005.
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