Profile of Terry McDermott on Famous Like Me

Terry McDermott (born December 8, 1951 in Kirkby, Merseyside) was a talented football midfielder in the great Liverpool side of the 1970s and 1980s.

Liverpool fan McDermott's skills slipped through the net of his local clubs on Merseyside as he grew up, and he joined Bury as a youngster before hitting the heights of top-flight football with Newcastle United, whom he joined in 1973.

With Newcastle, McDermott reached the FA Cup final in 1974 where they met his boyhood team Liverpool. McDermott ended the day distraught as Newcastle were thumped 3-0, but within six months of that defeat he was joining the team who had won on the day.

Liverpool boss Bob Paisley, in his first season in charge after replacing Bill Shankly, brought McDermott home to Merseyside in November 1974. It was a slow progression for McDermott for the next two years as he struggled to get into the team or hold down a place once given his chance. Liverpool won the League championship and UEFA Cup in 1976 but McDermott did not play in enough matches during the season to pick up a League medal and was not in the squad which won in Europe. Speculation mounted that he would move on in the summer of 1976, but instead he stayed at Anfield and became an integral part of the following season's triumphs.

McDermott was a fixture in the 1977 side which retained the title. Meanwhile, his goal against Merseyside rivals Everton in the semi-final of the FA Cup - a turn and chip from the edge of the penalty area - was voted the Goal Of The Season by the BBC. The game still finished 2-2 and Liverpool won the replay. A subsequent success in a European Cup semi meant that Liverpool had reached the finals of both the FA Cup and European Cup, which were scheduled to be played at Wembley and Rome within three days of each other in May 1977. Victory in both would complete an historic "treble" which had never been achieved before.

Sadly for McDermott and Liverpool, they would be defeated in the FA Cup final by Manchester United and the "treble" dream perished. There was joy for McDermott three days later though when he opened the scoring in the European Cup final against Borussia Monchengladbach as Liverpool won 3-1.

The following season, McDermott made his debut for the England in a draw against Switzerland.

Liverpool reached their first League Cup final in 1978 and this occasion was to prove memorable for McDermott for the wrong reasons. The first game at Wembley against Nottingham Forest ended goalless, but McDermott had a goal disallowed after the officials decided that team-mate Kenny Dalglish was in an offside position when McDermott struck his shot. In the replay at Old Trafford, after Forest had opened the scoring with a hotly-disputed penalty, McDermott scored what he thought was the equaliser with a well-struck drive, only for the officials to deny him again, claiming he had controlled the pass with his arm. Forest held on to win 1-0 and McDermott offered to swear on oath in an after-match interview that he had trapped the ball legally with his chest.

The replays showed that while Dalglish was offside for the disallowed strike at Wembley, McDermott could count himself unfortunate to be penalised for hand ball for the goal which was ruled out in the replay.

Consolation at missing out on the League Cup was found at the end of the season when McDermott featured in the Liverpool team which retained the European Cup thanks to a 1-0 win over FC Bruges.

The following season, McDermott scored one of Liverpool's most memorable goals which owed to the speed of both players both in feet and brain. At Anfield in a League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool were defending a corner which was cleared from their own penalty area to winger Steve Heighway. Within just a few seconds, the ball was in the Spurs net as Heighway raced down the line and crossed for the sprinting McDermott to head home. The goal stands out as a master class in speed and counter attack, as well as fitness and footballing ability. Liverpool won the game 7-0.

By the end of that season, McDermott and Liverpool were champions again, and they retained the title in 1980, with McDermott also picking up the personal honour of being voted the PFA Players' Player of the Year. He was subsequently selected for the England squad for the 1980 European Championships in Italy, playing two of the group games.

In 1981, McDermott featured as Liverpool beat West Ham United after a replay to win the League Cup for the first time, and then featured in the team which defeated Real Madrid in the European Cup final. A further League title and League Cup would follow in 1982 but his place in the side was becoming less assured, and he was left out of the England squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He would never play for England again and would only feature as a cursory substitute in one match for Liverpool the following season in order to say farewell to the supporters.

McDermott returned to Newcastle United where he featured alongside his former Liverpool team-mate Kevin Keegan and exciting youngsters Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley as Newcastle won promotion back to the top flight of English football. He left in 1984 to play abroad with Cork City F.C. in Ireland.

When Keegan later became manager of Newcastle, he recruited McDermott as his first team coach. Together the two masterminded a return to the top of the English game for Newcastle which included a close run to the League title in 1996 which was only just usurped by Manchester United. McDermott left Newcastle after Keegan resigned and replacement Kenny Dalglish decided to bring in his own coach.

In 2005, McDermott returned to Newcastle after he was recruited by manager Graeme Souness to work as a coach.

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