With Leicester City coming to Anfield this week we have a look at one of those strange unwritten laws of football which cannot be explained - the 'bogey team'.
From as far back as the 1960's, next Tuesday's opponents Leicester City were considered Liverpool’s bogey team. They won on three consecutive visits to Anfield between 1963-65 – when Bill Shankly’s first great team was at its peak – and have continued to claim notable wins over the Merseysiders ever since. In fact Bill Shankly’s side lost six out of seven against them, including an FA Cup semi-final, after winning promotion in 1962, were beaten in another FA Cup game in 1969 and in 1981 they ended Bob Paisley’s run of 85 consecutive games at Anfield without defeat.
One player who seemed to enjoy these encounters was their winger Mike Stringfellow. He was a brave, tall energetic left-winger bought from Mansfield and one of the Club’s all-time great players who scored the only goal in the famous 1963 Hillsborough semi-final victory over Liverpool. One press report of the game enthused: “What a stimulus to Leicester City this dynamic Mike Stringfellow is!”
In August 1997 the Foxes came to Anfield for the opening home game of the season.With a young Michael Owen was just bursting onto the scene, a new captain in Paul Ince and the Anfield Road End was under construction, optimism was high.
Leicester were a standard mid-table team there for the taking but low-and-behold, they left the pitch with a well-deserved 2-1 victory. Matt Elliott and Graham Fenton the scorers.
The following season revenge was in the air. What happened? Well, they beat Liverpool home and away with Ian Marshall netting a last minute winner at Anfield. Surely it couldn't happen 3 seasons in a row? The 1999/2000 campaign saw Liverpool pushing for Champions League qualification and Leicester were next at Anfield. What happened? Liverpool lost again, 2-0 — this time Tony Cottee and Phil Gilchrist the culprits.
We wait and see what happens.
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