Scouse midfielder Jason McAteer is probably best remembered for his unintentional hilarious moments off the field. There are many great stories about him that have gone into football folklore such as the time he ordered a pizza and asked for it to be cut into four slices because he wasn’t hungry enough to eat eight. Another funny story is about the time he was in a Dublin nightclub and bumped into the world famous snooker player Jimmy White. When he came across White apparently Jason’s reaction was to shout ‘one hundred and eighty’! Another good one is about the time he was injured and called a team-mate to ask what the final score in a game was. Upon being told nil-nil, Jason responded by asking what the score was at half time. No wonder he was nicknamed either Trigger or Dave by both the Ireland and Liverpool squads. This is in reference to the famous character in the classic comedy show ‘Only Fools and Horses’ who is known for not being very bright.
Jason McAteer was born in June 1971 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. He was a well known amateur player around Merseyside in his teens and began attracting the notice of professional clubs during his stint at the legendary non-league side Marine. In 1992, when he was twenty, Jason was signed by Bolton Wanderers who were in the old second division at the time, having just been promoted from Division Three. One highlight of his first season at Bolton came when they knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in the third round in 1993. At the end of the season they gained promotion to Division One. Jason was highly rated during his time at Bolton and he was rewarded in 1994 by getting called up to play for Ireland. He was part of the squad for the 1994 World Cup in the USA. Jason played in all of Ireland’s four matches during the World Cup when they were eliminated in the second round by Holland.
In 1995 Bolton reached the League Cup Final where they lost 2-1 to Liverpool. Jason impressed during the game and within a few months the Reds boss Roy Evans signed Jason for £4.5 million. This was a dream come true for him as he has been a mad Liverpool fan his entire life. Up until this moment Jason had played in central midfield, which was probably his best position, but Roy Evans decided to convert him to a right wing back. Liverpool had John Barnes, Jamie Redknapp and Michael Thomas in central midfield at the time and Roy didn’t want to break that up. The change in position actually worked out quite well at first and he made his debut in a 3-0 home win over the current premier league champions Blackburn rovers in September 1995. His debut season went well for him as Jason forged a fine partnership on the right flank with Steve McManaman. At the end of the 1995/96 season Jason was playing at Wembley again as Liverpool were defeated by Man Utd in the most boring FA Cup Final ever.
In the mid nineties a group of Liverpool players became dubbed as the Spice Boys by the Daily Mail. This was referring to the fact that Liverpool had a group of good looking young players who enjoyed a night out and hung out with celebrities. It is a derogatory term that was picked up by a large section of the media and unfortunately the team of the 1995 to 1997 era is often referred to with the name. However what the nickname doesn’t refer to is the fact that Liverpool played some of the best and most exciting football I’ve ever seen. The players linked with the nickname included Jason, Jamie Redknapp, David James, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman who were amongst of the finest players to grace English football in the nineties. One of the things that get brought up in jest is the cream Armani suits that the team wore before the 1996 FA Cup Final against Man Utd. While nobody is denying the suits looked a bit silly, it is a shame that this image has been used to define a team criticised as having more style than substance. While it is true that Liverpool possibly under achieved during the Roy Evans era, we did come close to winning the Premier League and reached two cup finals, winning one. Jason’s image at this time wasn’t helped when he appeared in Irish TV adverts for Head and Shoulders.
Jason was an important member of the Liverpool team under Roy Evans and was a great utility player as he would play at right back as well as in his favored central midfield position. Unfortunately his performances and those of his team-mates were not enough to win any trophies during his Liverpool career. We came close to winning the league in 1997 but had a poor run in after losing at Old Trafford and then to Coventry City after some bad mistakes by David James in goal. In 1997, Paul Ince was signed to add some steel to the flair of Liverpools midfield and Jason found himself isolated from his favorite position in the centre of the park. In 1998 Gerard Houllier joined as co-manager in one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made by Liverpool FC and Jason found himself out of the side on a regular basis. He made his final appearance for the Reds in midfield during the infamous 2-1 defeat to Man Utd in the FA Cup in 1999.
Jason was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £4 million after the defeat to Man Utd and he was immediately thrust into a relegation battle. Incredibly just four years after winning the Premier League, Blackburn were relegated at the end of 1998/99 after a scoreless draw against treble winners Man Utd. Blackburn had an up and down season in Division One in 1999/2000 and missed out on the playoffs. They had three managers during that season as Brian Kidd was sacked then Tony Parkes took over before he was replaced by Graeme Souness in March 2000. The following season was a much better one as Jason was an integral member of the team that gained promotion back to the Premier League in 2001.
Jason then became a national hero in Ireland in September 2001. On the very same day that England beat Germany 5-1, Jason scored the winning goal for Ireland against Holland in a crucial World Cup qualifier. This was the goal that guaranteed Ireland at least second place in the qualifying group and a playoff place for the finals. Incredibly this goal also eliminated Holland from the following years World Cup. Jason then helped Ireland to guarantee their place at the 2002 World Cup with a two legged victory over Iran.
After the goal against Holland, Jason left Blackburn and joined Sunderland for £1 million. Despite playing well for the Black Cats he was unable to prevent them being relegated at the end of the 2002/03 season. The most notorious incident in this season came when Roy Keane was sent off in September 2002 for elbowing Jason in the face and breaking his nose. At the time there was speculation that it was in retaliation for comments Jason had made after Keane walked out on the Ireland squad at the 2002 World Cup. Jason played one more year with Sunderland helping them to reach the playoffs in 2004. He played in both legs of their semi final defeat on penalties to Crystal Palace and was then released by the club.
In the summer of 2004, Jason returned to Birkenhead to finish his career at his hometown club Tranmere Rovers. He was immediately made captain by manager Brian Little and helped Tranmere to finish third in Division One in 2004/05. Unfortunately they entered the playoffs in a poor run of form and they were defeated in the semi-final by Hartlepool. Jason was taken off during the game with a concussion and despite Tranmere coming back from 2-0 down, they went out on penalties. This was the second time in consecutive years that Jason had lost a playoff semi-final in a penalty shoot-out.
In March 2005, Jason was a main organizer of the Tsunami Aid game at Anfield to benefit survivors of the disaster in Asia in December 2004. He captained the Liverpool Legends team to a 6-2 victory over a team of celebrities. Jason remained at Tranmere for another two seasons, during which time he started taking his coaching badges and became a player coach at Prenton Park. In the summer of 2007 he announced his retirement after being released by the club.
After he retired from football, Jason spent his time with occasional media work on television and playing in the Liverpool Legends team in Masters Tournaments around the world. In June 2009 he returned to Tranmere as assistant manager to his former Liverpool team-mate John Barnes. They were sacked after just eleven games after a terrible start to the season.
Jason McAteer remains a popular figure on Merseyside amongst both Liverpool and Tranmere supporters. His never say die attitude on the pitch and his hilarious antics off it, have ensured that he is impossible to dislike. He was an integral part of a great attacking side under Roy Evans and his positive attitude will ensure that he will never be forgotten at Anfield.
Liverpool FC | Supporters Club | Vancouver, BC, Canada
