Published 10th May 2026 · By Steve Hunter
History was made 40 years ago today, when Kenny Dalglish became the first player-manager to lead a team to a league and FA Cup double.
The fact that Liverpool achieved it by beating Merseyside rivals Everton twice made it all the sweeter.
The goals of master marksman Ian Rush, the vision of the 'Great Dane' Jan Molby, and the presence of captain Alan Hansen at the back made the Reds an unstoppable force during a thrilling second half of 1985–86.
Within a group of Scots in the side was Gary Gillespie, who had been signed by Joe Fagan from Coventry City in 1983. It was in his third campaign that Gillespie cemented a regular place, with only illness denying him a spot in the FA Cup final against the Toffees.
A memorable hat-trick at Anfield in a 5–0 win over Birmingham City — past future England No.1 David Seaman — was a real highlight of his season.
"Probably will never be done again"
Forty years to the day since Dalglish's team completed the Double with a 3–1 victory over the Blues at Wembley, Gillespie admits it's hard to believe it was that long ago.
"I mean, time flies, doesn't it? When you look back it's fond days and 40 years… wow, it's an absolute lifetime. It was just wonderful for us to be the first Liverpool team to do the league and FA Cup double and it was very special. It was Kenny's first year as a player-manager and he was the first player-manager to win the Double — it's something that probably will never be done again."
A season of struggle and then surge
Everton had taken the title from the Reds in 1984–85 and, with striker Gary Lineker arriving, Howard Kendall's Blues were favourites once again. Ron Atkinson's Manchester United had started the campaign with a record-breaking 10 consecutive wins and went nine points clear at the summit — before falling off the pace.
Dalglish's men were still playing catch-up to their city rivals heading into the new year.
"It was funny really because we had struggled for most of the season. I came into the team just after the turn of the year and that kind of established me in the side. I think a big factor for us was that Kenny brought himself back into the team when Walshy [Paul Walsh] got injured."
A 2–0 defeat to Everton at Anfield proved the turning point. From that moment, the Reds didn't lose a league game — winning 11 of the next 12.
"We were scoring lots of goals and keeping clean sheets, and we had the belief that we could do something special. It was nip and tuck between ourselves, Everton and West Ham. It went right down to the wire, as we obviously know."
Dalglish seals it himself
Fittingly, it was player-manager Dalglish who scored the only goal on the final day of the league season — away at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge — to claim the title with a 1–0 win.
"That was very special and especially for Kenny who got the goal. If you were an Evertonian, you would probably have looked back and thought they threw it away because they lost at Oxford and we won away at Leicester City. That was another big turning point — and then we went on to beat them again in the FA Cup final at Wembley."
"It was a very special time for the city, with both sets of supporters travelling together to Wembley. It was a great time to be a player at both Liverpool and Everton because we were probably the best two teams in the country — a great time to be part of Merseyside football."
The unsung heroes
The 1985–86 Double team boasted fantastic individual talents in Rush, Dalglish, Molby and Hansen — but there were unsung heroes too. Paul Walsh had netted 18 goals before his injury, while Scotland midfielder Kevin MacDonald had also come into his own in the engine room.
"I remember Kenny signing Steve McMahon from Aston Villa that season — he brought some steel to the midfield. But then he picked up an injury and Kevin [MacDonald] took his opportunity. Kenny paired Kevin alongside Jan Molby and it worked really well. Kevin did a heck of a lot of hard work and was an unsung hero in that team."
"When you think about players who score goals these days, anybody that scores over 10 seems to be a superstar — and yet we had Walshy, who scored 18 goals but couldn't establish himself as a regular starter. When you are going to be successful as Liverpool are, you have to have a squad of players who can contribute over the course of the season. We certainly knew the value of what they all gave us."
Gillespie's Anfield hat-trick moment
An undoubted personal highlight for Gillespie was that Anfield win over Birmingham in April 1986. He had already scored twice before the Reds were awarded a penalty. The Kop offered no doubt who they wanted to take it — singing Gillespie's name loudly — and the Scot stepped up and smashed it into the top corner.
"That was just a really nice moment for me — it's not the sort of thing that happens too often, scoring a hat-trick. It was very special. You would probably expect me to score a header from a corner, but to score twice and then score a penalty was something else. I'm just happy I scored it — I don't know what I would have done had I missed! It was fantastic to hear the crowd singing my name."
Rush: the unstoppable force
On the topic of goals, no reminiscence of that era is complete without mentioning Ian Rush, who scored twice against the Blues in the FA Cup final and totalled 33 goals for the season.
"The partnership with Rushie and Kenny was telepathic. The fact that Rushie is our all-time leading goalscorer says it all. We have had some great players over the years — the likes of Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Mohamed Salah — but nobody can get near to Rushie with regards to goalscoring. All credit to him because he was a wonderful player."
Originally published on liverpoolfc.com. All rights belong to Liverpool Football Club.
