August 6, 1977
One of the most feared strikers in the game. John Toshack’s fame has spread right across Europa. With Kevin Keegan he built up a double act that became one of the most respected in the Football League. The uncanny understanding between the two was most successful last season, when it sent Liverpool on their way towards winning the League Championship and the European Cup.
Tall, lean and brilliant in the air, Toshack is also dangerous with his finishing on the ground. And for a big man he has good ball control on the deck. Unhappily for the Welsh international, fiercely proud of playing for his country, his career has been dogged by injury.
But he has never let it get him down. His worst crisis came in November, 1974 when he prepared to sign for Leicester City for £160,000. Leicester’s medical examination revealed a deep-seated thigh injury and so the deal was called off.
When Toshack returned to Anfield, it looked as if his career might be in ruins. But he fought back to play, in the following season, the best football of his life. If the injury was still there, it did not show very often.
Nevertheless, he has yet to play a full season for Liverpool since signing from Cardiff in 1970. He was out of action last season from the end of March with Achilles tendon trouble and was bitterly disappointed at missing the European Cup Final in Rome.
He is now recovering from an operation on the tendon and his ambition is to fight back to full fitness – to help Liverpool win the European Cup again and help Wales qualify for the World Cup.
“I’m 28 now and the next two years should be my best, so I’m keeping optimistic,” he said.
Toshack lives with his wife Sue and their young sons in Formby.
(Source: Liverpool Echo: August 6, 1977; via http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) © 2018 Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited
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