Bill Kenwright ‘kicked out’ Liverpool legends after late winner at Goodison Park.
The late Everton chairman was not too pleased to meet Gary McAllister after another last-minute Liverpool victory over Everton.
Gary McAllister was allegedly ‘kicked out’ of Goodison Park by late Everton chairman Bill Kenwright following Liverpool’s last-minute triumph in the Merseyside derby.
Sadio Mane’s 94th-minute tap-in sealed Jurgen Klopp’s side’s close 1-0 victory at Goodison Park in December 2016. McAllister was in attendance that day, as were Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, both Liverpool legends.
Rush would score 20 goals against Everton for the Reds during his career, ten of which came at Goodison Park, including a legendary four-goal haul in a 5-0 victory in November 1982. Meanwhile, Dalglish scored five goals against the Blues throughout his Liverpool career, two of which came away from home, including a first-minute opener in a famous 3-2 win in September 1985.
McAllister, on the other hand, is well-known for scoring a last-minute winner against Everton at Goodison Park in April 2001, as Liverpool won 3-2. Like Rush’s four-goal haul, Kopites continue to sing about it to this day.
So, stepping into the lounges following the Blues’ 1-0 loss to Liverpool in December 2016, Kenwright didn’t want to see any reminders of Everton’s prior defeats to the Reds. The sight of Dalglish, Rush, and McAllister overwhelmed him.
“We were in (Goodison) after a game once, I think it was when Mane did it as well,” McAllister said at the Forever Reds Christmas meal at Anfield. “He also scored a last-minute winner maybe five or six seasons ago.
“Bill Kenwright walks into the lounge (after the game), and Kenny (Dalglish), Ian (Rush), and I are all standing together.”
“He says ‘Look at you!'” Look at all three of you! You three are the same! Every f*****g time you visit here. Not only Mane. You did it! You did it! You did it! “(Now) Get out!”
McAllister, who won four major honours with the Reds before returning to Coventry City as player-manager on this day in 2002, would also recall his own Merseyside derby victory over Everton, describing how he outwitted Blues goalkeeper Paul Gerrard despite Jamie Carragher’s best attempts.
“How is that fella, by the way? How is Paul Gerrard? “Is he still around?” McAllister joked. “Whenever I have the opportunity, I watch the goal.
“I must admit that I never get tired of viewing it. Every year, when the Reds travel across the road to face Everton, that goal appears, and I just sit there, my smile unwavering.
“Just a minute before taking the free kick from which we scored, we got a free kick in the same exact location. So I throw the ball down 40 or 50 yards from goal and indicate to (Sami) Hyypia, Ryan Babbel, and Emile Heskey that I’m just going to sit the ball up at the back post for them to come crashing in and try to get on the end of it.
“I deliver it, float it up to the far post, and I believe Sami Hyypia sends a header wide.
“A minute has passed, and we’re in stoppage time. We get a free kick in the exact same place, and I can see Paul Gerrard thinking he was going to kill the game by simply taking the cross.
“Because I’m signaling again that I’m going to repeat the free kick I took a minute ago, and hopefully this time we’ll score. Set it up at the back post so Babbel, Heskey, and Hyypia may attack.
“But, just as I’m looking at them, Gerrard begins to crawl. He’s going to try to get the cross.
“Just as I step back two or three yards from the ball, Carra walks up behind me and says, ‘F**k off, Macca lad. Don’t even think about it, lads. He can tell Gerrard is going to try to anticipate the cross.
“So I take another small step back, and it’s one of those beautiful moments for everyone who takes free kicks or penalties. If you notice a goaltender making an early decision and leaving early, you have a single second to change your mind.
“Just as I was going to take the free kick, I noticed Gerrard moving. So I thought, ‘Why not?’
“And then to see Sammy (Lee) and Phil’s (Thompson) expressions when that ball goes in the net, and then the likes of Carra and Steven in the changing room, who simply enjoy thrashing that mob over there.
“Seeing their expressions and then the contrast with the Everton fans, who were absolutely spewing!” “You are doing it for the Scousers!”
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