Scottish midfielder John Wark is most famous for his three spells at Ipswich Town, but he also had a successful period with Liverpool in the mid eighties. At Liverpool he had an extremely impressive ratio of a goal every 2.6 games. He was a terrific attacking midfielder who combined skill with toughness in a similar style to Graeme Souness.
John was born in Glasgow, Scotland but actually started his career as a seventeen year old with Ipswich Town in 1975. He was part of the most successful period ever for The Tractor Boys who were managed at the time by Bobby Robson. John played in the 1978 F.A. Cup Final against Arsenal when Ipswich pulled off a big upset by winning the cup 1 – 0. John came close to scoring in the game when he twice hit the post in the second half. Ipswich Town then went onto a period of tremendous success. In 1980 and 1981, Ipswich came within one game of winning the First Division Championship, won by Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively.
The 1980/81 season was probably John’s best as an Ipswich player as they finished second in the league and won the UEFA Cup. John scored fourteen goals during the UEFA Cup run, including one in the final against the Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar. His performances that season led to John being voted as the player of the year by his fellow professionals.
His superb form and high profile also led to John being chosen to play a footballer in the Hollywood film ‘Escape to Victory’ in 1981. The film starred Michael Caine and Sylvestor Stallone and was about a football match between prisoners of war and Nazi soldiers. John joined some of the greatest players of all time including, Pele, Ossie Ardiles, Bobby Moore and others to play in the P.O.W team alongside Caine and Stallone.
In 1982 John was part of the Scotland side that went to the World Cup in 1982. Despite him scoring two goals in the tournament, Scotland did not make it past the group stages. Between 1979 and 1984 John played twenty nine games for Scotland and scored seven goals.
Bobby Robson left Ipswich to become the England manager just two days after they were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup. The great Ipswich side he had built gradually started to break up with key players moving onto other clubs within a couple of seasons. In March 1984 John was signed by Liverpool for £450,000, with the intention being to eventually step into the position Graeme Souness was about to vacate at the end of the season.
John made an immediate impact for Liverpool by scoring against Watford on his debut in a 2 – 0 victory. Liverpool finished the season with a unique treble of League Champions, European Champions and League Cup winners. Unfortunately for John he did not qualify for any medals but he was happy to be part of such a fantastic side.
The following season 1984/85 was a poor season for Liverpool but a personal best for John. Liverpool lost the league title to Everton and they were defeated in the meaningless 1985 European Cup Final by Juventus after the terrible Heysel tragedy. On a personal level it was a very successful season for John as he was Liverpool’s top scorer with twenty seven goals. This was even more of an achievement when you realise that Ian Rush was in his prime at the time and John was a midfielder. Just as he had done with Ipswich, John also proved his worth in European games by scoring five goals in ten games on the way to the final.
In 1985/86 John wasn’t as regular in the side after the new boss Kenny Dalglish had purchased Steve McMahon. Kenny used the rotation system and would alternate his midfield between John, Steve McMahon and Kevin McDonald. John was very useful as a substitute during this season and scored a number of valuable goals when coming off the bench. Unfortunately his season ended prematurely when he broke his leg in early 1986. John missed the remainder of the season in which Liverpool were to win the double of the First Division Championship and the F.A. Cup, beating Everton in the final. Despite missing the run in to the campaign, John had played enough games to be awarded with a title medal. His disappointment at missing the F.A. Cup Final was made worse when he also missed out on Scotland’s squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
John was back to full fitness in time for the following season but he struggled to regain his place in the side. He played most of his games as a substitute but was unable to get any regular starts. His situation got worse in 1987/88 when he hardly figured in the squad at all and in January 1988 he was sold back to Ipswich for £100,000.
By this time Ipswich had been relegated to the Second Division. John only missed two games in the next two seasons, scoring twenty goals, before he was sold to Middlesborough in 1990. After just one season he was back for his third and final spell with the Tractor Boys. John was a regular in the Ipswich side over the next six seasons before retiring in 1997 just before his fortieth birthday. John had been able to prolong his career as a player due to his superb fitness and a successful move from midfield into central defence.
Since retiring from playing John has worked for Ipswich Town behind the scenes in the corporate hospitality department for the last ten years. However John has never forgotten his time at Liverpool and he combines his time working for Ipswich by also working for Liverpool as an ambassador for the club. John plays regularly for the Liverpool veteran’s side which has dominated tournaments in the last few years. I was fortunate to be able to meet John at a veteran’s tournament held in Vancouver, Canada in March 2006 called ‘The Legends of Soccer’. I also met other ex Reds, Paul Walsh and Gary Gillespie, at the same event. John and Gary were both playing for a side made up of Scottish legends.
Despite hardly playing any games for Liverpool after breaking his leg, John’s final goal tally for the Reds was 42 goals in 108 games. This is an outstanding figure and one that I think should be mentioned more when we discuss the great Liverpool players of the eighties. It is unfortunate for John that his best season for Liverpool in 1984/85 is a season a lot of people like to forget due to the Heysel disaster and the fact that Liverpool did not win any trophies. Had the season been more successful perhaps John Wark would be more revered than he possibly is? However John is still thought of highly by Liverpool fans and was voted into the ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’ at number 100.
Video Clip of John Wark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_xJePvVDG8
Liverpool FC | Supporters Club | Vancouver, BC, Canada
