Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce Grobbelaar was one of the eighties most recognisable characters, representing Liverpool with distinction. The clown prince of goalkeeping was never far away from the headlines, whether it was the unsporting wobbly knee incident in a European Cup final in 1984, or the outrageous body check on Gordon McQueen in the 1983 League Cup final. With over 400 appearances for the decade’s most successful club team, Liverpool he was a household name. He won six league titles, three FA Cup, three League Cups and the European Cup, known as the Champions League now. He was a superstar, a face that the whole country could put a name to.
His career was tarnished somewhat by a match-fixing scandal and various red top tabloid stories of infidelity and bad behaviour. He eventually walked free from court though and even took The S*n newspaper to court, which probably made him even more of a legend in the eyes of many. He won that case and was awarded £85k, but The S*n appealed and although the outcome was upheld, his damages were slashed to £1.
He played for Lincoln City too, which those of a certain age will barely recall. He appeared, twice after signing on December 10th 1998. He kept a clean in a 0-0 draw with Colchester before conceding four away at Wycombe. He was released from his contract before the onset of Christmas and didn’t make another league appearance for anyone. There were rumours of an argument over unpaid wages but nothing ever came of it.