Derby debut danger?
As Rafa contemplates throwing Dirk Kuyt into the cauldron of the Merseyside derby for his full debut, he might consider looking back at how other Reds have faired in the same circumstances on enemy turf.
The last two players to be baptised at Goodison were Øyvind Leonhardsen in 1997 and Julian Dicks in 1993, with both ending up on the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat. The results proved an accurate portend for their Liverpool careers really. Taking the time machine back to 1974 sees two legends battle it out in a 0-0 draw: Phil Neal and Terry McDermott, superb players with the right levels of skill and mental fortitude to cope with a debut in the passion of the derby.
Our only winning debutant was the fantastically named Harman Van Den Berg who pulled on the Red shirt for a 3-1 Goodison win in 1938. War intervened in his fledgling Liverpool career and he returned to South Africa in 1941.
The first, and unluckiest, away debutant was goalkeeper William Henry Marshall who deputised for Bill Perkins in January 1902. In his only game for the club Marshall was on the wrong end of a 4-0 hammering. Unsurprisingly one Bill was replaced by the other for the next match, a 1st Round FA Cup tie at Anfield against those Blues again.
But Rafa shouldn’t worry too much. Everton have their own derby debut nightmares and it would be remiss not to mention Glenn Keeley, whose entire Everton career consisted of 37 minutes of the Goodison derby in 1982 and a red card for a professional foul on King Kenny. And we all know how that match ended up: