1987 League Cup final: Arsenal v Liverpool

"He's the Bonnie Prince this afternoon". The words of the excellent Barry Davies at the conclusion of the 1987 League Cup final were typically well chosen. For on that glorious sunny Sunday April 5 at Wembley, Charlie Nicholas delivered on the biggest stage. Arsenal's eight year wait for a trophy was over.

In truth, Nicholas' time at Arsenal had not lived up to the excitement and hype that surrounded his move from Celtic in 1983. Occasionally there were glimpses of his magic - happily for Arsenal fans he often saved his best for Tottenham - but generally his performances were as inconsistent as the team during the Terry Neill and Don Howe reigns.

During George Graham's first season in charge, there were constant murmurings that Nicholas' days at the club were numbered. A player that hardly fitted into the Graham mould of energy and hard work, Nicholas would indeed depart for Aberdeen in January 1988. Yet before Nicholas left he would provide Arsenal fans with an ideal parting gift.

1986/87 League Cup: Liverpool v Fulham

Fulham travel to Anfield for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday with the enticing prospect of reaching a first Wembley cup final since 1975. Making sure that they are still in the tie for the return leg at Craven Cottage will be crucial. Even a repeat of the recent league meeting at Anfield would be a decent result.

A defeat by two goals or more would surely leave the west London club with too much to do in the second leg. But it is hard to imagine Marco Silva's current team suffering a thrashing that completely destroys their hopes of keeping the dream alive.

This certainly was not the case when the two clubs met at Anfield in the first leg of the 1986/87 Littlewoods Cup second round. Currently Fulham are a stable club looking to establish themselves as a Premier League outfit. Back in 1986, the club managed by Ray Lewington was spinning out of control.

Marathon seasons: Liverpool 1983/84

Looking back at Liverpool's memorable 1983/84 campaign that saw the club win the League, European Cup and Milk Cup.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, currently chasing a quadruple, may match or even surpass the efforts of their 1983/84 counterparts. But it's doubtful that they will have quite as much fun along the way. It was a season of 67 matches, cup replays, shocks and thrashings, broken bones, beer, brawls and spaghetti legs, Scully and Chris Rea. 

Unusually for Liverpool at the time, it was also a season with a few doubts along the way, starting with the retirement of Bob Paisley at the end of the previous campaign. Joe Fagan, a member of the famous Liverpool Boot Room had been at the club since 1958, was hesitant as to whether he should step up to replace Paisley.

League Cup: Liverpool win four in a row

Liverpool and the League Cup had endured a troubled relationship as the 1980/81 competition kicked off. After entering the inaugural staging in 1960/61, the club decided to sit out the next six editions, and despite the growth of the Merseyside giant, success in the League Cup proved difficult to come by.

A controversial defeat against Nottingham Forest in the 1978 final replay was the closest the club had come to winning the competition, with Brian Clough's team once again dashing hopes in the 1979/80 semi-final. But you wait ages for one League Cup to come along....

October 29, 1983: Rush and Woodcock

If David Coleman was right, and indeed goals do pay the rent, then there would have been plenty of happy landlords on Saturday October 29, 1983. Up and down the country, defences dozed, forwards frolicked, and nets bulged, as 135 goals were scored in the 44 league matches played in the top four divisions.

1986: Tottenham v Liverpool

Liverpool appeared unusually vulnerable as they made the visit to White Hart Lane on Sunday March 2, 1986. After losing 2-0 to Everton at Anfield the week before, Kenny Dalglish’s team were grimly trying to stay in the title race, trailing their Merseyside rivals by eight points with twelve matches remaining.

Euro 1984 qualification: Wales

Wales should hopefully seal their qualification for Euro 2016 in the next two matches, but in 1984 they were not so lucky.