From charismatic goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar to Argyle legend Tommy Tynan, there are a number of players that have worn both the green and white of Argyle and the famous Red of the Merseyside giants.
Bruce Grobbelaar
Probably the most famous of players to play for both clubs. Zimbabwe-born Grobbelaar is widely regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest goalkeepers of all time and he spent 13 years at Anfield making
In that time, he won six league titles, three FA Cups, three league cups and the European Cup in 1984 when his famous ‘spaghetti legs’ outwitted Roma and helped the Reds win the trophy on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in Rome.
After two seasons with Southampton, Grobbelaar headed along the south coast to the then Second Division Pilgrims, where he was signed by Neil Warnock.
Grobbelaar only spent one season at Argyle, making 41 appearances and keeping 14 clean sheets before short stints with Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham, Chesham, Bury, Lincoln City and Northwich Victoria.
In total, Grobbelaar made 744 career appearances.
Alan Banks
Banks was a junior at Anfield, before breaking into the first team, and he actually played against Argyle in a Second Division clash for the Reds at Anfield in March 1961.
That game finished in a 1-1 draw on a Friday night before 25,250 at Anfield and it was Banks that gave Argyle the lead on 28 minutes, but Jim McAnearney’s strike salvaged a draw for the Pilgrims.
Banks scored six times in eight appearances for Liverpool before joining Cambridge City. However, it was with Exeter where Banks made a name for himself before he spent a brief spell with the Pilgrims.
Banks joined in 1966, spending less than two years at Home Park before returning to Exeter. He scored five goals in 20 appearances for the Pilgrims.
Tommy Tynan
Tynan needs no introduction to Argyle fans and is rated by many as their greatest player of all time, but it was with his hometown club that Tynan started his career.
After winning a talent contest run by the Liverpool Echo newspaper, Tynan was signed by the then manager Bill Shankley and he spent five years on the books of Liverpool before heading to Sheffield Wednesday.
A brief stint at Lincoln followed before Tynan moved to Newport County where he scored 66 times in 183 appearances spanning five years. However, he bettered that goals-per-games ratio when he joined Argyle in 1983, scoring 52 goals in 105 appearances.
After two years, he left for Rotherham before a brief spell back at Home Park on loan, where he scored ten goals in nine games to help Argyle clinch promotion. And a third spell followed in 1986, when he returned from Rotherham and spent a further four years at Home Park.
In total, Tynan scored 145 times in 310 appearances for Argyle and helped them to the FA Cup semi-final in 1984.
Brian Hall
Hall played many games for both clubs, starting with Liverpool, who he joined from University, where he was studying mathematics.
The Glaswegian turned pro after graduating in 1968 and his first team debut followed a year later. Hall’s first goal arrived two years later when he netted in the F Cup semi-final against Merseyside rivals Everton at Old Trafford.
Hall won two championship titles, an FA Cup and two UEFA Cups and made 224 appearances, scoring 21 times, during a glittering eight years with the club, but after losing his place in the side and young players like Phil Thompson and Jimmy Case coming through, he joined Argyle in August 1976.
It was a huge coup for the then Argyle manager, Tony Waiters, and Hall’s ambition was to take Argyle to the top. Unfortunately, they were relegated to the old Third Division at the end of his first season, Waiters departed and in November the following year, Hall returned North, where he signed with Burnley.
Hall is still remembered fondly as a player on Merseyside through his non-stop displays, which earned him a voted place at Number 75 in an official club website poll of ‘100 Players Who Shook The Kop’.
Hughie McAuley
Hugh is another players that did not make the grade at Anfield, but he was a regular for the reds’ reserves from 1970 to 1975.
The winger made a further seven appearances in the Lancashire Senior Cup for the club and after retiring from playing, he was a coach at Anfield from 1990, before his retirement in 2009.
McAuley’s Football League debut came for Tranmere Rovers, but he left Anfield and signed for Argyle for a £12,000 fee in October 1974.
McAuley was a huge success and was a key member of Tony waiters’ promotion-winning side, providing many assist for the Mariner-Rafferty strike partnership. McAuley was a hit with the ladies too!
Whilst playing for Argyle, McAuley had a son who was born in Plymouth and named Hugh; he played over a 100 Football League games for Cheltenham Town.
And the more obscure….
John Webb: made the bench at Anfield for some European games, but never onto the field of play. Joined Argyle on loan in October 1974, making four appearances.
Vic Wright: Wright scored an impressive 33 goals in 85 matches for Liverpool after signing from Rotherham United in 1933. He moved to Argyle in 1937 scoring seven goals in 19 appearances in his one season in the Westcountry.
Percy Saul: After arriving from Gainsborough Trinity in 1904, Saul impressed in his two years at Argyle, making 94 appearances. That led to a move to Anfield in 1906 and the full-back made a further 83 appearances, scoring twice.
Ernest Nugent: Nugent arrived at Argyle from Liverpool in 1907, making nine appearances. He never played for the first team at Liverpool.
John Hughes: Only one appearance for Argyle in the 1906/07 season. Prior to that, Hughes made 32 appearances for Liverpool. However, he was also a lightweight boxing champion and boasted a certificate from Royal Humane’s Society for life-saving. He saved no less than four people from drowning!
Fred Buck: Buck made 13 appearances for Liverpool in 1903, but was sent off for kicking and punching a Stoke player, which spelt the end of his time at Anfield. Although he returned, after a six-week suspension, he joined Argyle later that season and went on to make 99 appearances across two and a half seasons.
Lloyd Jones: Jones never got as far as the first team at Home Park after he was snapped up by the Merseyside giants in 2011, but he had long been a star of the Pilgrims’ Academy. Yet to make his debut for Liverpool and on-loan at Swindon Town in 2016/17.-plymouthherald.co.uk
