 Lawrenson (right) playing for theRepublic of Ireland in 1982 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Thomas Lawrenson | ||
| Date of birth | (1957-06-02)2 June 1957 (age 68) | ||
| Place of birth | Preston,Lancashire, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1977 | Preston North End | 73 | (2) |
| 1977–1981 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 152 | (5) |
| 1981–1988 | Liverpool | 332 | (11) |
| 1988–1989 | Barnet | 2 | (0) |
| 1989 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 20 | (3) |
| 1990–1991 | Corby Town | ||
| 1992 | Chesham United | ||
| Total | 488 | (21) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977–1987 | Republic of Ireland | 39 | (5) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988 | Oxford United | ||
| 1989–1990 | Peterborough United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professionalfootballer who played as adefender. He is best known for his time atLiverpool, during the 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internetpundit, most prominently with theBBC, until his retirement in 2022.[2] Born and raised in England, Lawrenson qualified to play for theRepublic of Ireland through his grandfather, Thomas Crotty, who was born inWaterford.
Mark Lawrenson was born in Preston and attended St Teresa's Catholic Primary School inPenwortham[3] and, later,Preston Catholic College, aJesuit school. His father, Tom, had been a winger forPreston North End. He always wanted to be a footballer, although his mother, Theresa, wanted him to become a priest.[4] He began his career, as a 17-year-old, with his hometown club in 1974, who were then managed byWorld Cup winnerBobby Charlton. Lawrenson was voted Preston'sPlayer of the Year for the1976–77 season.
After 73 league appearances for theDeepdale club, he moved toAlan Mullery'sBrighton & Hove Albion in the summer before the start of the 1977–78 season for £100,000. Ironically, the then Second Division side outbid First DivisionLiverpool who also showed interest in the 19-year-old Lawrenson. Lawrenson made his Brighton debut on 20 August 1977 in a 1–1 draw againstSouthampton atThe Dell. He settled in at theGoldstone Ground and made 40 league appearances by the end of his first season of the club. He went on to make 152 league appearances by the end of the 1980–81 season. However the club entered a financial crisis in 1981 and Lawrenson was forced to leave the club to make funds available. A number of clubs were interested in signing Lawrenson after his resilient performances for both Preston and Brighton, but it was Liverpool managerBob Paisley who secured his signature.
Liverpool offered a club transfer record of £900,000, and Lawrenson joined in the summer of 1981. He was to form a formidable central defensive partnership withAlan Hansen afterPhil Thompson suffered an injury. He was also used occasionally at left-back. He made his first start for the team at left-back in a 1–0 league defeat at the hands ofWolverhampton Wanderers atMolineux on 29 August 1981.[5] He scored his first goal a month later during the 7–0European Cup first round second leg trouncing of Finnish teamOulun Palloseura atAnfield on 30 September. Lawrenson came on forRay Kennedy in the 64th minute, scoring in the 72nd.
In Lawrenson's first full season, 1981–82, Liverpool won theLeague championship and theLeague Cup, defeatingTottenham Hotspur in the final. The team retained both titles for the next two seasons (in the League Cup finals defeatingManchester United in1983 andEverton in1984), becoming the third club in history to win three league titles in a row. They also added the club's fourth European Cup in1984, the last time Liverpool would win Europe's most prestigious club prize until 2005. Lawrenson dislocated his shoulder three weeks before the1985 European Cup final, theHeysel Stadium disaster. He started the game, which Liverpool lost 1–0 toJuventus, but was injured after a few minutes and had to be substituted.[6]
Lawrenson earned a reputation as an accomplished player and in the 1985–1986 season, he was an integral part of the Liverpool side who completed the third league championship andFA Cup double of the 20th century. They overtookderby rivalsEverton to win the league by two points and later came from behind to defeat Everton 3–1 in the1986 FA Cup final atWembley. After 1986, Lawrenson's first team place came under threat from the youngerGary Gillespie. Lawrenson's partnership with team captain Hansen continued for one more season before he, already out through a minor injury, sufferedAchilles tendon damage in 1988 which prematurely ended his career. He earned a fifth and final title medal when that season ended. His Liverpool career ended after 332 appearances and 18 goals in all competitions – one of which was the fifth goal in a 5–0 defeat ofMerseyside rivals Everton on 6 November 1982, a game in whichIan Rush scored four of the five goals.
After his time at Liverpool, he was appointedOxford United manager in 1988. His time at the club was frustrating and he resigned after star strikerDean Saunders was sold by theboard of directors without Lawrenson's approval.[7] Over that winter, he made a brief playing comeback in theFootball Conference, making two appearances forBarnet, as well as a season with theFlorida sideTampa Bay Rowdies in theAmerican Soccer League.[8] Lawrenson also managedPeterborough United from 6 September 1989 until 9 November 1990.
Lawrenson returned to playing with non-league clubsCorby Town andChesham United.[9] His final season as a player was as part of the Chesham team that won the1992–93 Isthmian League. The club was not promoted to the then Football Conference as this would have required ground improvements that could not be afforded, so he decided the time was right to retire from playing completely.[10]
After Preston coach (and former Irish international goalkeeper)Alan Kelly became aware of the young player's Irish connections (and informed Irish international managerJohnny Giles), Lawrenson's solid performances earned him a call-up to theRepublic of Ireland national team.[11] He won the first of 39 international caps at the age of 19, in a friendly withPoland on 24 April 1977 atDalymount Park; the game ended 0–0. Ireland employed Lawrenson's versatility and burgeoning talent by playing him at fullback, in midfield, and occasionally in his favoured position at centre half.
Lawrenson played his first competitive match on 12 October 1977 againstBulgaria in a1978 World Cup qualifier. This match also ended 0–0, atLansdowne Road (nowAviva Stadium). Lawrenson scored his first of his five goals for Ireland againstCyprus inNicosia on 26 March 1980 in a1982 World Cup qualifier. He scored his second goal for Ireland in the next competitive match as Ireland beatNetherlands 2–1 at Lansdowne Road in the same qualification campaign. This was also notable as it wasEoin Hand's first match as manager of Ireland. In between these two matches, Lawrenson renewed his Preston acquaintance with Kelly, as he managed Ireland in a caretaker capacity for a friendly againstSwitzerland.
Lawrenson scored two goals in Ireland's record victory – an 8–0 thrashing ofMalta in a1984 European Championship qualifier but the Irish goal that he is best remembered for is one againstScotland. It wasJack Charlton's first qualification campaign as Irish manager and Ireland were playing Scotland in Hampden Park in a1988 Euro qualifier. A sixth-minute goal earned Ireland a precious away victory that went a very long way to helping Ireland to qualify for its first ever major football championship finals. Unfortunately for Lawrenson, injury prevented him from making the Irish Euro 1988 squad for the finals.
Lawrenson played his last match for the Republic of Ireland againstIsrael on 10 November 1987. It was a friendly match at Dalymount Park and was also notable becauseDavid Kelly scored a hat trick on his international debut.
After retiring from international football Lawrenson wrote for theIrish Times, initially providing analysis for the1990 FIFA World Cup.[12] Lawrenson began his television career providing match analysis onHTV West's local football coverage,[13] before working as a pundit for theBBC, but then left briefly to become a coach specialising in defensive tactics forKevin Keegan atNewcastle United, where he admitted in 2017, that "I did nothing. Absolutely nothing".[14][15] However, the position was again short-lived and he returned to media work. He became established as a pundit, both on BBC television and radio, often finding himself sitting alongside his former defensive partner,Alan Hansen. Since the departure ofTrevor Brooking from the BBC, he was the main co-commentator on major national and international (FIFA) matches covered by the television network. He appeared regularly onFootball Focus andMatch of the Day.
He was also often a co-commentator onBBC Radio 5 Live, often working on the feature matches on Sunday afternoons. He previously worked as a pundit for Ireland'sTV3 between 2001 and 2007 for mid-weekChampions League games alongsideWelsh national team manager and former Liverpool striker,John Toshack. When the Champions League returned to TV3 in 2010, he no longer provided punditry. He was replaced in that role byTony Cascarino andMartin Keown, and moved into the commentary box alongside TV3 commentatorTrevor Welch. He worked for Irish radio stationToday FM onPremiership Live with presenterMichael McMullan in talking about football related topics, predicting scores and stating facts.[citation needed] He also had a column on the BBC website where he gave his views and predictions on the Premier League's weekend fixtures. Lawrenson was one of a number of ex-Liverpool players who made up the BBC pundit team.
He also writes a regular Preston North End column for theUniversity of Central Lancashire'sStudents' Unionnewspaper,Pluto, and a weekly column for theLiverpool Daily Post. He worked with Japanese entertainment companyKonami, recording commentary samples for thePro Evolution Soccer series, alongsideITV commentatorJon Champion, fromPro Evolution Soccer 2008 toPro Evolution Soccer 2010. He was replaced by ITV punditJim Beglin forPro Evolution Soccer 2011.[16][17] In addition, Lawrenson has also featured alongsideJohn Motson as a commentator inEA Sports'FIFA series from99 through2001 and on theEuro 2000 video game.
In 2002, Lawrenson made a bet onFootball Focus thatBolton Wanderers would be relegated from the Premier League in the 2001–02 season.[18] He lost the bet afterSam Allardyce's team stayed up, and shaved off his moustache as a result.
At the2014 FIFA World Cup, the BBC received 172 complaints after Lawrenson said that Swiss strikerJosip Drmić "should put a skirt on". The channel responded by stating "We acknowledge that the remark by commentator Mark Lawrenson about Switzerland's Josip Drmić was inappropriate and we apologise for any offence caused by it".[19]
At the end of the2021–22 Premier League season, and after a 30-year stint with the BBC, during which he covered a total of sixWorld Cups, Lawrenson was told by the football head his typical one-year contract would not be renewed.[20] He subsequently claimed that the cause was ostensibly BBC's "woke culture".[21][22][23] He stated that a "very early woke moment" occurred 25 years previously, in the aftermath ofPrincess Diana's death, when an editor allegedly told him to "not mention the wall" if describingfree kicks in a forthcoming match.[24]
In 2003, Lawrenson was awarded anHonorary Fellowship fromMyerscough College near Preston for his achievements in football.[25]
In 2018, he was given the all-clear after having a cancerous growth removed from his face.[26] He was made aware of the seriousness of the growth when a concerned viewer contacted the editor ofFootball Focus.[27] Lawrenson later met the viewer, Dr Alan Brennan, on television.[28]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Preston North End | 1974–75 | Third Division | 3 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 1975–76 | 24 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1976–77 | 46 | 2 | – | – | 46 | 2 | ||||||||
| Total | 73 | 2 | — | — | 73 | 2 | ||||||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1977–78 | Second Division | 40 | 1 | – | – | 40 | 1 | ||||||
| 1978–79 | 39 | 2 | – | – | 39 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1979–80 | First Division | 33 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 1 | |||||||
| 1980–81 | 40 | 1 | – | – | 40 | 1 | ||||||||
| Total | 152 | 5 | — | — | 152 | 5 | ||||||||
| Liverpool | 1981–82 | First Division | 39 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 6[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 59 | 4 |
| 1982–83 | 40 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3[a] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 55 | 7 | ||
| 1983–84 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 9[a] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 66 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[a] | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | 50 | 2 | ||
| 1985–86 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | – | 6[e] | 1 | 58 | 5 | |||
| 1986–87 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 3[f] | 0 | 49 | 0 | |||
| 1987–88 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 241 | 11 | 24 | 2 | 50 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 356 | 18 | ||
| Career total | 466 | 18 | 24 | 2 | 50 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 581 | 25 | ||
| Republic of Ireland | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| 1978 | 5 | 0 |
| 1979 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 7 | 2 |
| 1981 | 3 | 0 |
| 1982 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | 5 | 2 |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 39 | 5 |
International goals
| Lawrenson – goals for Ireland[30] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 26 March 1980 | Makario Stadium,Nicosia, Cyprus |  Cyprus | 0–2 | 2–3 | World Cup 1982 qualifier |
| 2. | 10 September 1980 | Lansdowne Road,Dublin, Ireland |  Netherlands | 2–1 | 2–1 | World Cup 1982 qualifier |
| 3. | 16 November 1983 | Dalymount Park,Dublin, Ireland |  Malta | 1–0 | 8–0 | Euro 1984 qualifier |
| 4. | 4–0 | |||||
| 5. | 18 February 1987 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 0–1 | 0–1 | Euro 1988 qualifier |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Oxford United |  | 24 March 1988 | 25 October 1988 | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 016.00 |
| Peterborough United | | 6 September 1989 | 9 November 1990 | 64 | 25 | 23 | 16 | 039.06 |
| Total | 89 | 29 | 32 | 28 | 032.6 | |||
Liverpool
Individual
