In the mid-1990s, Liverpool were an interesting beast: a chaotic, attractive side carving
out a niche in the landscape of the Premier League, but permanently
undermined by a brittle backbone.
Emerging in a period of cultural change in England, Roy Evans’ Reds became known, for
better or worse, as the Spice Boys—a moniker that
now serves to haunt the club and the decade’s icons.
Cool Britannia reigned, and Evans’ squad were riding the crest of a wave.
An injection of TV money following the inception of the Premier League
in 1992 also brought increased media scrutiny, and for
Liverpool’s fresh-faced group, a new level of celebrity.
Graeme Souness kicked off the revolution, overhauling an ageing squad that had enjoyed
considerable success in the 1980s, stripping the club back to basics and putting his faith
in youth.
He signed David James, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Michael Thomas and Rob Jones, while blooding
young hopefuls Dominic Matteo, Jamie Redknapp, Steve
McManaman and Robbie Fowler.
Out went Peter Beardsley, Steve McMahon and Ray Houghton.
But it was only when Souness resigned at the beginning of 1994 that the Spice Boys began
to kick into life.
His replacement, Evans, was a long-term member of Liverpool’s famous Boot Room, prodigy
of club legends Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Joe
Fagan, and a very popular man at Anfield.
Evans’ squad was built around a nucleus of youthful quality, with James, Jones, Matteo,
Redknapp, McManaman and Fowler joined by Jason McAteer,
Phil Babb and, later, Stan Collymore—a mercurial striker signed for a record £8.5 million
from Nottingham Forest in 1995.
The Reds’ young squad became notorious for their off-field exploits.
James modelled underwear for Armani, McAteer advertised Head & Shoulders
and their team-mates frequented nightclubs from
Liverpool to Soho.
Whether deserved or not, Merseyside became a tabloid’s paradise.
On the pitch, Liverpool were one of the most entertaining sides in Europe, adopting a expansive,
attacking style that only continued to improve as Evans’ fledgings got to grips with his
3-5-2 formation.
Its star was McManaman, a local lad who had risen through the ranks to establish himself
as one of the most naturally gifted midfielders in the
English game.
McManaman played a free role under Evans, and his ability to drift between the
lines made Liverpool a devastating unit moving forward.
If McManaman was the Spice Boys’ icon, their landmark game came with one of his most
outstanding performances: when Liverpool hosted Newcastle United on April 3, 1996.
As the title race shaped up, Anfield played backdrop to a frenetic, intense 90 minutes
of football that saw Kevin Keegan and Evans abandon defensive
sensibilities and go all out for the win.
Liverpool emerged 4-3 victors, with Collymore’s last-gasp
winner marking what is widely considered one of the
greatest games in the history of the English top flight.
By full-time, and with Evans ruing his side’s “kamikaze defending,” Liverpool had one
eye on Wembley, where an FA Cup final clash with
fierce rivals Manchester United awaited.
United had grown into a formidable outfit throughout the ‘90s, possessing all the
flair of Evans’ Liverpool but with the backbone to match,
and had already won three consecutive Premier League
titles.​ Ferguson’s United were the antithesis of
Evans’ underachieving Liverpool, whose only trophy came in
the League Cup in 1995, and the FA Cup final of 1996 sparked off the Spice Boys’ demise.
A brainchild of their model presence, James, Liverpool conducted their pre-match amble
in garish, all-white suits—an image that has been seared
into Evans’ legacy.
“If we’d have won the match, I’d probably have that white suit framed on my living-room
wall,” Redknapp recalled in 2015.
Unfortunately, a solitary effort from Eric Cantona put paid to the Reds’
hopes, and the Men in White Suits failed in Evans’ last big hope of silverware.
It wasn’t quite over for Evans, but the arrival of Gerard Houllier as joint-manager
in 1998 hastened the blow.
By November, Evans had resigned, and within four years McAteer, Jones, James,
McManaman, Babb, Matteo, Fowler and Redknapp had all been moved on.
Houllier brought with him European steel, both on and off the pitch, and in 2001 brought
five trophies to Merseyside.
Liverpool finally caught up with their rivals’ modern ideals.
The Spice Boys were a squad stuck in time, their ethos outdated and their approach naive,
but Evans’ reign was a truly formative one for Liverpool
Football Club—an unforgettable thrill-ride.