A 6ft 1in forward with good technique and great heading ability, Wales striker John Toshack joined Liverpool in November 1970 for a club record fee of £110, 000 from Cardiff City, where he had scored 75 goals in 162 League games and gained his first caps at senior international level. He was the ideal targetman and would later link up with Kevin Keegan to form one of the most successful strike partnerships in the history of English football. John made his Liverpool debut on November 14, 1970, in a 0-0 draw at home to Coventry City in the League, and scored his first goal a week later in a 3-2 League win against Everton at Anfield, heading home at the Kop end to become an instant hit. He followed up with another League goal, in a 1-1 home draw with Leeds in early December, and then managed three in successive games, a 2-0 win against Arsenal in late January and 1-0 wins over Leeds and West Ham in early February. Five goals in 21 League games was a decent start to Toshack's Anfield career but the season ended in disappointment for both him and the club as Liverpool could only finish 5th in the League and were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the FA Cup Final at Wembley (the photo above is during the game). The arrival of Kevin Keegan in August 1971 not only gave the club a boost but provided 'Tosh' with his ideal strike partner, a fast and skilful goalscorer who could profit from his promptings. Over the next few seasons, many Liverpool goals would result from Toshack finding Keegan, often with his head, though it was a reciprocal arrangement and, despite niggling injuries restricting him to 29 League appearances, the big Welshman finished the club's top League scorer in 1971-72, netting 13 times (to Keegan's nine), including both goals in a 2-0 home win against Sheffield United in February and another brace in a 2-0 home win over Ipswich Town two months later. However, John is probably best remembered that season for a 'goal' he didn't score, his disallowed late effort in the final League game, away to Arsenal on May 8, that would have given Liverpool the title. As it was, they had to settle for a 0-0 draw and a third-place finish, one point behind champions Derby County. Nevertheless, Liverpool were on the up after the sweeping changes to the playing staff manager Bill Shankly had made in the previous two years, and the 1972-73 season was when the new team would come of age. Due to injury and a loss of form that led to him being dropped, Toshack made only 22 League appearances but was still joint top scorer with Keegan on 13, hitting braces in a 2-3 defeat at Leicester City in August and a 3-1 home win against Chelsea in November, and his goals were an important factor as Liverpool won their first League title since 1966 and a record eighth in total. John was less prolific in Liverpool's UEFA Cup campaign, scoring just once in eight ties, in a 3-1 home win in the first leg of the quarter-final against Dynamo Berlin in December 1972, but he made his mark in the first leg of the two-legged final against Borussia Moenchendgladbach at Anfield, where his aerial power proved too much for the West Germans' defence, two of his headers setting up Keegan for a brace of goals as the Reds ran out comfortable 3-0 winners. Liverpool lost the away leg 0-2 but that was enough for a 3-2 aggregate victory and their first ever European trophy. Toshack had won his second medal of a memorable campaign.
John was again bedevilled by injuries and loss of form in the 1973-74 season, with Phil Boersma or Alan Waddle sometimes replacing him up front, and made only 19 League appearances, scoring five goals, including the second in a 2-0 win at Arsenal in November, as Liverpool finished runners-up to Leeds United in an unsuccessful bid for back-to-back titles. In other competitions, Toshack found the net six times in 11 games, three of which came in Liverpool's run to the FA Cup Final. He scored in a 2-0 win at Carlisle United in a 4th round replay in January, before hitting the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win away to Bristol City in a 6th round tie in March. In the semi-final replay with Leicester City at Villa Park, he rounded off Liverpool's 3-1 win by netting the last goal, which helped him retain his place in the team after a spell on the sidelines. After scoring in a 2-2 League draw at West Ham in late April, John got the nod ahead of Phil Boersma to line up in the FA Cup Final against Newcastle United. It proved to be a game of few chances in the first half but Liverpool turned on the style in the second period and, after unluckily having an Alec Lindsay effort chalked off for offside, they opened the scoring through Kevin Keegan (see photo above, Tosh about to catch his airborne strike partner in the post goal celebrations!). Toshack then played his part by heading on for Steve Heighway to drill home the second goal and a further Keegan strike wrapped up a 3-0 victory, meaning Liverpool lifted the famous trophy for only the second time in their 82-year history. The 1974-75 season was definitely one of contrasting fortunes for John Toshack. He played only three of the first 20 League games (scoring once, in a 2-0 home win against Wolves in August) and would have joined Leicester City had he not failed the medical after agreeing terms with the Midlands club. Instead, he returned to Anfield and forced his way back into the Liverpool team, scoring on his return to action, a 2-0 home League win over Luton Town in mid-December. Now enjoying a new lease of life and linking up again with Kevin Keegan, he followed up with goals in the next two games (a 1-3 defeat at Birmingham City and a 4-1 home win over Manchester City) and went to be the club's top scorer in the League with 12 from only 21 appearances, including braces in the home wins against Ipswich (5-2), Newcastle United (4-0) and Queens Park Rangers (3-1) in early 1975. However, despite John's welcome return to form, the season ended in disappointment for the club as Liverpool finished second in the League, just two points behind champions Derby County, and made early exits from all three cup competitions they were involved in.
His partnership with Keegan now re-established following his impressive end to the 1974-75 campaign, Tosh was to enjoy the most productive season of his Anfield career in '75-76. Free of the niggling injuries and dips in from that had hampered him over the previous five seasons, John made 50 appearances in this campaign (10 more than in any other), scoring 16 times in 35 League games, including hat-tricks in a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa in September and a 4-0 stroll at West Ham United in January '76. He also found the net in the crucial last game of the season, as Liverpool won 3-1 at Wolves on May 4, to clinch a record ninth First Division championship. John made 15 appearances in other competitions, scoring seven times, all but one of these goals coming in the UEFA Cup, where he was an important figure in Liverpool's run to the final. His strikes included a hat-trick of headers in a 3-1 win over Hibernian in a 1st round, second leg tie at Anfield in September and, most famously, the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat the great Barcelona side (Cruyff, Neeskens and co) 1-0 a semi-final, first leg tie in the Nou Camp in late March. Liverpool drew the return leg at Anfield 1-1 to go through 2-1 on aggregate to the two-legged final, where they defeated FC Bruges of Belgium 4-3 on aggregate to complete their second League-UEFA Cup double in four seasons. Tosh was substituted in both legs of the final but overall he had enjoyed a very successful campaign, having collected two more winners' medals and been the club's top scorer with 23 goals from 50 games in all competitions.
The following season was to prove even more memorable as Liverpool chased a historic League-European Cup-FA Cup treble, but it would be one of mixed emotions for Toshack himself. The big Welshman had scored 10 goals in 22 League games by mid-March 1977, including a brace in a 4-1 home win against Birmingham City the previous month, but his season came to an abrupt end when he limped off in the second half of the epic European Cup quarter-final, second leg tie with French champions St Etienne at Anfield, a game Liverpool won 3-1 to go through 3-2 on aggregate, Tosh's replacement, 'Supersub' David Fairclough, scoring the decisive goal. John could only watch from the sidelines as Liverpool won the League for a record tenth time and the European Cup for the first time (beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 in Rome) but lost the FA Cup Final (Manchester United defeating them 2-1 at Wembley). He had to be content with his third championship medal in five seasons and second spot in the club's goalscoring charts (behind Keegan) with 13 goals from 30 appearances in all competitions. John didn't return to action until the 11th League game of the of the 1977-78 campaign, coming on as a sub in a 2-1 win at Leeds in mid-October. He then started a 0-0 draw at home to Everton a week later, but a 1-1 draw in another League game, at home to Bristol City in November, marked his last outing in a red shirt. With a history of injury problems and the departure of his former strike partner, Keegan, to SV Hamburg the previous summer, his future at Anfield had been in doubt for several months, and he had now fallen behind the two Davids, Fairclough and Johnson, in the pecking order to play alongside Keegan's replacement, Kenny Dalglish. After making 246 appearances in all competitions, scoring 96 goals, Toshack was granted a free transfer and joined Swansea City as player-manager in February 1978. He won six major honours in seven seasons at Anfield and is fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for his highly successful partnership with Kevin Keegan.
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