 AFTER the Lord Mayor's Show! To be fair, Rome in 1977 was always going to be a tough act to follow. Maybe a 5-0 defeat of Real Madrid may have done it, but not much else. There were compensations, though. For a start, the arch Anfield critics in the southern press had been saying now you've won it go and prove yourself by doing it again. Of course, in a way they were right. Winning the thing once may not mean that much. After all, look at Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United! A winner in the last minute after being played off the park for the previous 89! Not exactly the stuff of real champions, as subsequent events have proved. No, the boys did their stuff, albeit making somewhat heavy weather of it against a difficult Bruges side. Just about the only memorable moment of the match was the winner, a sublime piece of vision by Graeme Souness (younger readers... think Xabi Alonso with a Harry Enfield Scouser 'tache) matched by an equally exquisite deft finish by Kenny Dalglish. And that was about it. Oh, that and the roar that went up right around the ground. Being at Wembley, otherwise known in those days as Anfield South, there was a fair old turnout, and it seemed like 95,000 of the 100,000-strong crowd were wearing red. The Tatty Towers fairly shook! To put the game in perspective, this was the first really big outing for Bob Paisley's new, improved, Mark II Liverpool. The passing style that was to become a trademark was on show. Given the present team's Jekyll and Hyde performances, you sometimes wonder how the 1970s model simultaneously managed to beat the cream of Europe and still tough it out in the league against the likes of, well, Everton. I can only conclude that as well as the skill, they could also leave the foot in with the best of them. Obviously Souness did, but Dalglish never seemed to exactly get booted off the pitch either. And that midfield also had Jimmy Case and Ray Kennedy. Ouch! | 
