DAVID SPEEDIE BIO
The fiery Scotsman was a surprising purchase by Kenny Dalglish, arriving only three weeks before King Kenny announced his resignation on 22 February 1991. Liverpool was Speedie's fifth Football League club where had enjoyed most success with Chelsea winning the second division and finishing sixth in two consecutive seasons in the first division. He formed a lethal partnership with Kerry Dixon at Stamford Bridge and netted 47 goals in 162 League games from 1982 - 1987 Speedie left for Coventry City where he continued to impress in the top division. Speedie thought that his chance to join a top club had passed him by but grabbed the opportunity with both hands. "It was third time Kenny had tried to buy me," Speedie revealed. "He had tried before when I was at Chelsea and Coventry. I nearly joined in 86/87." Chelsea Chairman, Ken Bates, didn't want to let Speedie go at the time, but a second chance had presented itself four seasons later.
Speedie started his Anfield career in explosive fashion. He scored an equalizer at Manchester United on his debut and gained immense popularity by scoring twice in four minutes in the Merseyside derby on his home debut a week later. His brief career at Liverpool can hardly be called a failure because he scored in every other League game, a total of six in 12 League matches from the time of his signing until the final day of the 1990/91 season. Speedie was one of numerous casualties of the early days of the Graeme Souness era. After hurtling a few expletives in Souness' direction Speedie's Liverpool career was most definitely over.
Before 1991 was over, Speedie had moved to Blackburn Rovers. Dalglish followed a few months later becoming Speedie's boss for the second time. Speedie's single season was a fantastic success, scoring 23 goals in 36 League games as Rovers were promoted to the Premier League. But the long list of Football League clubs who had Speedie as a registered player would continue to grow. After leaving Leicester at the end of the 1993/94 season, Speedie featured for a number of non-League clubs before retiring as a player to work as a football agent where his most notable client was Steve Simonsen. He quit his profession after he divorced his wife, giving her his license, later claiming it was the biggest mistake of his life. Speedie played for Harworth Colliery Institute in 2007 and amazingly took out his boots again in 2011 featuring for Francis AFC in the third division of the Dublin's United Churches League. In addition to his apparent wanderlust, he also had problems with his temperament, which frequently drew him into confrontation with opponents, teammates and officials.
MIKE HOOPER BIO
After impressing with fourth division Wrexham, as well as receiving a degree in English Literature at Swansea University, Hooper joined Liverpool in 1985 as a reserve to Bruce Grobbelaar who hadn't missed a game for four years. Ten months later in the Charity Shield at Wembley against Everton Grobbelaar got injured and Hooper made eight appearances in his absence. Hooper's longest spell in goal was for 25 consecutive games from September 1988 until January 1989. Hooper had initially come into the side as Grobbelaar had meningitis but when he was ready again in November, Dalglish was happy enough to keep Hooper in goal until shaky performances resulted in him losing his place. Souness preferred him as well to Grobbelaar and James from November to January in the 1992/93 season, adding 15 games to his tally. Hooper was an able understudy although not competent enough to become Liverpool's first-choice 'keeper for good. Hooper signed for Kevin Keegan's Newcastle in September 1993, after being on bench duty at Liverpool for eight solid months, and suffered a similar fate at the Magpies as inconsistency crept in when given a proper chance. Hooper dropped out of the game for good in the summer of 1996 at only 32. He has since had various jobs, including as a nightclub bouncer and courier.
A little known fact about Hooper is that he is a bird enthusiast as noted by Paul Lake in his autobiography "I'm Not Really Here". "Lilleshall's vast gardens were a haven for wildlife - rabbits, foxes and badgers were a frequent sight but it was our feathered friends that held the biggest novelty value for me," Lake wrote. "I was used to the occasional tweeting sparrow or screeching starling in Manchester, but never had heard anything remotely like the stereophonic Shropshire birdsong that greeted me every morning. Mike Hooper, the Liverpool goalkeeper and fellow Lilleshall inmate, was a keen birdwatcher who never tired of reminding us that we were in a twitcher's paradise. Whenever he heard an unusual chirrup he would stop in his tracks, even if it was slap-bang in a middle of a training session. 'Sshhhh, that's a lesser-crested house-warbler' he'd say with a whisper, cupping his ears to listen as the ball flew past him into the top corner. 'Yeah, and there's a great tit between the posts,' was one memorable riposte."
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