Liverpool meet Brighton at Anfield this weekend, which reminds us of how Liverpool and Brighton fans have both enjoyed the services of some great players over the years including Michael Robinson, Mark Lawrenson and Adam Lallana.
But perhaps the Brighton/Liverpool player who is most celebrated is a man regarded by many as one of the best players never to play for England: Jimmy Case.
An apprentice electrician, Case started his football odyssey (which would see him still playing professionally when he was 41) for a Liverpool dockers’ team, Blue Union, where he learned a lot about the physical side of the game as it was played then. Case is often referred to by ex-players as “the hardest player” they came up against, but there was so much more to him as a footballer.
He worked his way up through the non-league ranks and by 1975 he had made his debut for Liverpool, having been signed from South Liverpool, which was something of a feeder club for the Reds at the time, according to writer Kevin Sampson.
Case made good progress, scoring his first hat-trick for Liverpool in a December 1975 European tie against Polish side Slask Wroclaw. To emphasise his ability, it is worth reflecting on Bob Paisley’s after-match quote in the Daily Mirror: there was “a touch of the Roger Hunt about him” according to Liverpool’s most successful manager. Later in the 70s, Paisley would again comment on Case’s value to his side. When asked why the English national side were not able to come close to the success enjoyed by Liverpool, even though half a dozen Liverpool players were in the England squad, Paisley replied, “They don’t play Jimmy Case do they?”
Case was part of the 1977 side that won the European Cup for the first time and came close to the Treble of European Cup, League and FA Cup. The first two were won and the latter lost agonisingly to Manchester United, despite Case’s brilliant goal in the Final. It probably comes up in lists of “Great Forgotten FA Cup Final Goals”, if there is such a thing, and would most likely be in the first three.
For all Paisley’s admiration for the local boy made good, by 1981 Case was no longer guaranteed first team football and departed for Brighton. Within 18 months, he was back to haunt his beloved Reds, scoring the winner from 25 yards as Brighton stunned Liverpool in the 5th Round of the FA Cup at Anfield. This was the first time that Liverpool had lost a home cup tie since 1974 – a run of 63 matches. That Brighton were struggling (ultimately unsuccessfully) against relegation from Division One and managed by ex-Kop favourite Jimmy Melia, made the story all the more intriguing.
Inspired by Case, who scored a screamer and had a hand in the winner, Brighton beat Sheffield Wednesday in the semi to reach the Final where they succumbed to Manchester United after a replay. Brighton were relegated at the end of the season, and Case moved on to Southampton in the mid-80s where a lot of observers believe he played some of his best football acting as a ‘minder’ to emerging talents like Rodney Wallace and Matt Le Tissier.
He played for other clubs, including Bournemouth, but by 1993 he was back at Brighton and club coach. In later years he managed the side as well, but it was with Brighton in 1994 that he experienced his most nerve-wracking match: a testimonial against a full-strength Liverpool. With Le Tissier guesting and Liam Brady dusting off his boots for an appearance, the Brighton side had more than a sprinkling of quality and attracted the club’s biggest attendance for two years. Said Jimmy, “I quite like parties – but not my own.”
A hugely popular player, admired by his contemporaries, Jimmy Case had a great long career that brought enjoyment to many supporters. How did he keep going for so long though? Case remarked that “I could say it was because I looked after myself but that would be a lie.” Tommy Smith, another Anfield legend, said that Case “played longer than expected because he was a good footballer.” And who would argue with him?
SteveTLooksBack 