Jan Mølby
Encyclopedia
Jan Mølby is a Danish
former international footballer who spent much of his professional football career at English
club Liverpool
.
, Mølby started his senior playing career at the biggest football club of his hometown of Kolding (Kolding Football Club), where he became team captain at the age of 19, before joining AFC Ajax, where he won the Dutch Championship in 1983.
Liverpool manager Joe Fagan
invited Mølby to have a 10-day trial and finally signed him on 22 August 1984. He made his debut three days later on the 25th in the 3–3 league draw with Norwich City
at Carrow Road
. His first goal for Liverpool came on the 1 December 1984 in the 3–1 league defeat to Chelsea
at Stamford Bridge
. He failed to shine for Liverpool in his first season as the team endured a comparatively poor season, failing to win a major trophy for the first time since 1975.
In 1985–86, new player-manager Kenny Dalglish put faith in Mølby, installing him as a regular in the first team. On a number of occasions, Mølby began matches as a third central defender or deep-lying sweeper, before moving into midfield alongside Steve McMahon
, often with devastating effect, as the match wore on. He scored 21 goals in 1985–86 from midfield in what was undoubtedly his best season. The season culminated in a man of the match performance in the first-ever all Merseyside
FA Cup
final.
Having lost the league title to Liverpool a week earlier, derby
rivals Everton
were looking for revenge and took a 1–0 lead into the half-time break, courtesy of a Gary Lineker
strike. After the break Liverpool began to make inroads into the Blues' defence led by Mølby. In the 57th minute he set up the equaliser for Ian Rush
and followed that up six minutes later by setting up Craig Johnston
to take the lead. Mølby was also involved in the third goal, when Rush latched on to a chipped pass from Ronnie Whelan
to put the final out of Everton's reach and complete the double.
Molby also began to establish himself as a regular and successful penalty taker around this time, starting with two penalties successfully converted at home to Tottenham Hotspur
in the league on 28 September 1985. Other fine performances included a brace in open play in a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa
in the league on 7 December, and two goals (one a penalty) as they eliminated Manchester United
from the Football League Cup
in a 2-1 win at Anfield
in late November.
He remained a regular in the team in 1986–87, in which Liverpool finished 2nd in the League. During their Littlewoods Cup
run, which ended with a 1–2 defeat at Wembley against Arsenal
, he scored a hat-trick of penalties in a 4th round replay at Anfield against Coventry City
. Mølby scored another penalty against Coventry in a league match at Anfield the following Saturday.
During pre-season training in the summer of 1987, Mølby suffered a foot injury, which turned out to be a crucial turning point in his career. He missed the first three months of the 1987–88 season, and with the arrival of John Barnes
to play on the left wing, Mølby's place in central midfield was taken by Ronnie Whelan
(who had hitherto played left midfield). Whelan's partnership with McMahon proved a great success and, although Whelan was himself injured later in the season, Mølby's return to fitness came too late to resume his place in midfield, which went to Nigel Spackman
for the rest of the season. He was never again an automatic choice in midfield under Dalglish as Whelan & McMahon became the first choice partnership.
In 1988–89, Mølby returned to regular first team football, playing in central defence in the absence of the injured Alan Hansen
. However, in October 1988 he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. The club decided to stand by him, and he returned to the first team in January 1989 in Hansen's continued absence, but suffered another injury in March which kept him out for the rest of the season. In April 1989, Mølby, along with his team-mates, rallied round the bereaved families of the Hillsborough disaster
attending a number of the funerals.
In the following season, 1989–90 (Liverpool's last title title-winning season to date), Mølby was a frustrated figure, unable to command a first team place despite often impressing during his occasional appearances. He started only 12 of 38 league games, although he enjoyed a successful return to the team in the championship run-in, deputising for the injured Whelan.
The following season threatened more of the same for Mølby, as he was again a regular substitute. In September 1990, before an away league match against Everton, Radio 5 Live commentator Mike Ingham remarked that "Mølby's still only a substitute even though he'd probably walk into any other first division team". Later that season, after Liverpool had knocked Brighton
out of the FA Cup, Brighton manager Barry Lloyd
expressed bemusement in a BBC post-match interview, that Mølby was not being selected regularly. Mølby was very close to signing for F.C. Barcelona in November 1990, after a fee had been agreed of £1.6 million and he had agreed a four-year contract. When he scored a penalty in a 4–0 home win over Luton Town
it was expected to be his farewell to the Liverpool fans. However, this was followed by a breakdown in negotiations and he remained at Anfield
. Another injury to Whelan in a home league game against Everton
in February 1991 gave Mølby another chance to re-establish himself, and he enjoyed his longest run of matches for four years. He once again became the club's regular penalty taker that season, scoring from all eight of his spot-kicks. However, after injury to McMahon and the surprise resignation of Dalglish, Liverpool could only finish runners-up in the league, despite having won their first nine matches of the campaign. Bizarrely, although Mølby received numerous accolades for his performances during the season (he was the second best player in Division 1 on average player ratings awarded by Match magazine), the team was apparently better off without him – Liverpool did not lose a single match in league or cup in 1990–91 when Mølby was not in the starting line-up.
After initially extolling Mølby's virtues, new manager Graeme Souness
went through a change of heart early in the 1991–92 season, snubbing Mølby as Whelan & McMahon again started in midfield. However, after Whelan suffered another injury, he turned to Mølby, who went on to feature heavily in the Liverpool side that season, starring in the UEFA Cup
and playing an important part in their FA Cup
winning season.
After suffering injury in a 2–2 Premier League draw against Manchester United
at Old Trafford
on 18 October 1992, Mølby's career began to decline. He had suffered from fluctuating weight for most of his career, routinely gaining weight when injured and unable to train. This led to longer recovery periods being required, so his injuries generally led to an absence of at least 3 months. Over the first three Premier League seasons (Mølby's last), he started just over 30 games in total and all his goals came from penalties.
Early in 1995–96, manager Roy Evans loaned him out to Barnsley and Norwich (where he scored once in the League Cup against Birmingham City), and in February 1996, he left Liverpool to take over as player-manager of Swansea City. At that stage, still only 32, he was the youngest manager of any Football League or Premier League club.
While at Liverpool, he scored a total of 62 goals, 42 of which were from penalties. During Mølby's time with Liverpool, he only failed to score three times from the penalty spot (penalties against Sheffield Wednesday & QPR in 1985–86 and Chelsea in 1989–90 were saved). His record as a penalty-taker in the top flight is thought to be second only to Matthew Le Tissier
. He still holds the club record of the most penalties scored by a Liverpool player.
on 15 June 1982.
He won 33 caps for Denmark
from 1982 to 1990, scoring two goals.
He was a squad player (appearing generally as a substitute) with the "Dynamite" Danish international side
which lit up the 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup. Competition for places in the Danish midfield was so intense that Mølby tended to be overlooked in favour of Frank Arnesen
and Jens-Jørn Bertelsen.
. He had taken Swansea to the Division Three
playoff final five months earlier, but they lost to a last-minute goal by Northampton's
John Frain
. A dismal start to the 1997–98 season
had seen Swansea struggling near the foot of the Football League, and the board decided that it was time for a new manager to be appointed, asserting that the team's good performances the previous season were more down to Molby's qualities as a top class player, rather than as a manager.
No offers of managerial jobs were forthcoming for some time. Pursuing a career as a TV pundit, Mølby was finally offered the manager's job at Kidderminster Harriers
, then in the Football Conference
. He took over in April 1999. Utilising the existing squad of players, but adding his own in a few key positions (ex-Liverpool team-mate Mike Marsh
was drafted in to great success) Harriers won the Conference title (and promotion to the Football League) in Mølby's first season in charge.
Two seasons of decent Division Three form followed, before overtures from Hull City
prompted Mølby's departure for Humberside
. His tenure was brief however, as internal strife cast a shadow over his brief term in charge. A return to Kidderminster in October 2003 was unsuccessful, ending with his resignation a year later. Kidderminister were relegated back to the Conference that season
and have yet to reclaim their Football League place.
Following Kenny Jackett
's resignation as Swansea manager in early 2007, Mølby was linked with a return to the club. However, Mølby has responded by saying that he is unlikely to ever return to football management.
channel. He also summarises on English games for BBC Radio 5 Live
.
Mølby was voted in at 16th position in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, which was conducted by the official Liverpool Football Club web site. 110,000 supporters worldwide voted for their favourite 10 players of all time. Mølby's 16th spot made him the highest placed overseas player on the list. He was also ranked number 30 on the magazine Four Four Two's list of the top 100 foreign players to have played English football.
Mølby is one of the main players for the Liverpool veterans side that has competed in the Sky Sports
Masters series in recent years.
In the last few years, Mølby has participated in several poker
events.
In April 2009, Mølby was made an 'Honourary Scouser' by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool
. He was noted for speaking scouse.
winner Johnny Mølby
.
|1981||rowspan="2"|Kolding
||||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1982
||1st Division
||13||0||||||||||||||13||0
|-
|1982–83
||rowspan="2"|AFC Ajax||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie
||29||6||||||||||||||29||6
|-
|1983–84
||28||5||||||||||||||28||5
|-
|1984–85
||rowspan="11"|Liverpool
||rowspan="8"|First Division
||22||1||0||0||1||0||0||0||23||1
|-
|1985–86
||39||14||8||3||5||2||colspan="2"|-||52||19
|-
|1986–87
||34||7||3||0||7||5||colspan="2"|-||44||12
|-
|1987–88
||7||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||8||0
|-
|1988–89
||13||2||3||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||18||3
|-
|1989–90
||17||1||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||20||1
|-
|1990–91
||25||9||7||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||34||9
|-
|1991–92
||26||3||6||1||3||0||5||1||40||5
|-
|1992–93
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||10||3||0||0||1||0||2||0||13||3
|-
|1993–94
||11||2||0||0||2||1||0||0||13||3
|-
|1994–95
||14||2||0||0||2||0||0||0||16||2
|-
|1995–96
||Barnsley
||First Division
||5||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
|1995–96
||Norwich City
||First Division
||3||0||0||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||5||1
|-
|1995–96
||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
||Second Division
||12||2||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||12||2
|-
|1996–97
||rowspan="2"|Third Division
||28||6||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||29||6
|-
|1997–98
||1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
40||0||||||||||||||40||0
57||11||||||||||||||57||11
267||52||28||4||31||10||7||1||333||67
364||63||28||4||31||10||7||1||430||78
Liverpool
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
former international footballer who spent much of his professional football career at English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
club Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
Club career
Born in KoldingKolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
, Mølby started his senior playing career at the biggest football club of his hometown of Kolding (Kolding Football Club), where he became team captain at the age of 19, before joining AFC Ajax, where he won the Dutch Championship in 1983.
Liverpool manager Joe Fagan
Joe Fagan
Joe Fagan was an English football manager best known for being manager of Liverpool F.C. from 1983 to 1985.- Career:Joe Fagan's playing career was largely spent at Manchester City for whom he signed in 1938...
invited Mølby to have a 10-day trial and finally signed him on 22 August 1984. He made his debut three days later on the 25th in the 3–3 league draw with Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
at Carrow Road
Carrow Road
Carrow Road is a football stadium in Norwich, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station and the River Wensum....
. His first goal for Liverpool came on the 1 December 1984 in the 3–1 league defeat to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
. He failed to shine for Liverpool in his first season as the team endured a comparatively poor season, failing to win a major trophy for the first time since 1975.
In 1985–86, new player-manager Kenny Dalglish put faith in Mølby, installing him as a regular in the first team. On a number of occasions, Mølby began matches as a third central defender or deep-lying sweeper, before moving into midfield alongside Steve McMahon
Steve McMahon
Stephen Joseph McMahon is an English former football midfielder who most notably played for Liverpool in the late 1980s...
, often with devastating effect, as the match wore on. He scored 21 goals in 1985–86 from midfield in what was undoubtedly his best season. The season culminated in a man of the match performance in the first-ever all Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final.
Having lost the league title to Liverpool a week earlier, derby
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the name given to any football match contested between Everton and Liverpool football clubs, the two most successful clubs from the city of Liverpool in England...
rivals Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
were looking for revenge and took a 1–0 lead into the half-time break, courtesy of a Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
strike. After the break Liverpool began to make inroads into the Blues' defence led by Mølby. In the 57th minute he set up the equaliser for Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
and followed that up six minutes later by setting up Craig Johnston
Craig Johnston
Craig Johnston is a former football player who was one of the first Australians to make a major impact in the English game. He is remembered for his time spent with Liverpool throughout the 1980s...
to take the lead. Mølby was also involved in the third goal, when Rush latched on to a chipped pass from Ronnie Whelan
Ronnie Whelan
Ronald Andrew "Ronnie" Whelan is a former Irish football midfielder, and sometimes defender, who was an integral part of the dominant Liverpool side of the 1980s...
to put the final out of Everton's reach and complete the double.
Molby also began to establish himself as a regular and successful penalty taker around this time, starting with two penalties successfully converted at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in the league on 28 September 1985. Other fine performances included a brace in open play in a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in the league on 7 December, and two goals (one a penalty) as they eliminated Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
from the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
in a 2-1 win at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
in late November.
He remained a regular in the team in 1986–87, in which Liverpool finished 2nd in the League. During their Littlewoods Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
run, which ended with a 1–2 defeat at Wembley against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, he scored a hat-trick of penalties in a 4th round replay at Anfield against Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
. Mølby scored another penalty against Coventry in a league match at Anfield the following Saturday.
During pre-season training in the summer of 1987, Mølby suffered a foot injury, which turned out to be a crucial turning point in his career. He missed the first three months of the 1987–88 season, and with the arrival of John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
to play on the left wing, Mølby's place in central midfield was taken by Ronnie Whelan
Ronnie Whelan
Ronald Andrew "Ronnie" Whelan is a former Irish football midfielder, and sometimes defender, who was an integral part of the dominant Liverpool side of the 1980s...
(who had hitherto played left midfield). Whelan's partnership with McMahon proved a great success and, although Whelan was himself injured later in the season, Mølby's return to fitness came too late to resume his place in midfield, which went to Nigel Spackman
Nigel Spackman
Nigel James Spackman is an English football manager and former player. He was formerly a midfield player who was an integral part of the much-admired Liverpool team of 1988...
for the rest of the season. He was never again an automatic choice in midfield under Dalglish as Whelan & McMahon became the first choice partnership.
In 1988–89, Mølby returned to regular first team football, playing in central defence in the absence of the injured Alan Hansen
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
. However, in October 1988 he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. The club decided to stand by him, and he returned to the first team in January 1989 in Hansen's continued absence, but suffered another injury in March which kept him out for the rest of the season. In April 1989, Mølby, along with his team-mates, rallied round the bereaved families of the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
attending a number of the funerals.
In the following season, 1989–90 (Liverpool's last title title-winning season to date), Mølby was a frustrated figure, unable to command a first team place despite often impressing during his occasional appearances. He started only 12 of 38 league games, although he enjoyed a successful return to the team in the championship run-in, deputising for the injured Whelan.
The following season threatened more of the same for Mølby, as he was again a regular substitute. In September 1990, before an away league match against Everton, Radio 5 Live commentator Mike Ingham remarked that "Mølby's still only a substitute even though he'd probably walk into any other first division team". Later that season, after Liverpool had knocked Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
out of the FA Cup, Brighton manager Barry Lloyd
Barry Lloyd
Barry David Lloyd is an English former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time as Brighton manager between January 1987 and December 1993....
expressed bemusement in a BBC post-match interview, that Mølby was not being selected regularly. Mølby was very close to signing for F.C. Barcelona in November 1990, after a fee had been agreed of £1.6 million and he had agreed a four-year contract. When he scored a penalty in a 4–0 home win over Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
it was expected to be his farewell to the Liverpool fans. However, this was followed by a breakdown in negotiations and he remained at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
. Another injury to Whelan in a home league game against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in February 1991 gave Mølby another chance to re-establish himself, and he enjoyed his longest run of matches for four years. He once again became the club's regular penalty taker that season, scoring from all eight of his spot-kicks. However, after injury to McMahon and the surprise resignation of Dalglish, Liverpool could only finish runners-up in the league, despite having won their first nine matches of the campaign. Bizarrely, although Mølby received numerous accolades for his performances during the season (he was the second best player in Division 1 on average player ratings awarded by Match magazine), the team was apparently better off without him – Liverpool did not lose a single match in league or cup in 1990–91 when Mølby was not in the starting line-up.
After initially extolling Mølby's virtues, new manager Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
went through a change of heart early in the 1991–92 season, snubbing Mølby as Whelan & McMahon again started in midfield. However, after Whelan suffered another injury, he turned to Mølby, who went on to feature heavily in the Liverpool side that season, starring in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
and playing an important part in their FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winning season.
After suffering injury in a 2–2 Premier League draw against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
on 18 October 1992, Mølby's career began to decline. He had suffered from fluctuating weight for most of his career, routinely gaining weight when injured and unable to train. This led to longer recovery periods being required, so his injuries generally led to an absence of at least 3 months. Over the first three Premier League seasons (Mølby's last), he started just over 30 games in total and all his goals came from penalties.
Early in 1995–96, manager Roy Evans loaned him out to Barnsley and Norwich (where he scored once in the League Cup against Birmingham City), and in February 1996, he left Liverpool to take over as player-manager of Swansea City. At that stage, still only 32, he was the youngest manager of any Football League or Premier League club.
While at Liverpool, he scored a total of 62 goals, 42 of which were from penalties. During Mølby's time with Liverpool, he only failed to score three times from the penalty spot (penalties against Sheffield Wednesday & QPR in 1985–86 and Chelsea in 1989–90 were saved). His record as a penalty-taker in the top flight is thought to be second only to Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
. He still holds the club record of the most penalties scored by a Liverpool player.
International career
Mølby made his debut in the Danish international side at the age of 18, against NorwayNorway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
on 15 June 1982.
He won 33 caps for Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
from 1982 to 1990, scoring two goals.
He was a squad player (appearing generally as a substitute) with the "Dynamite" Danish international side
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
which lit up the 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup. Competition for places in the Danish midfield was so intense that Mølby tended to be overlooked in favour of Frank Arnesen
Frank Arnesen
Frank Arnesen is a former Danish football player and currently sporting director at Hamburger SV. Arnesen was Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea....
and Jens-Jørn Bertelsen.
Management career
He became manager of Swansea City in February 1996 but was sacked in October 1997 along with his assistant, Billy AyreBilly Ayre
William "Billy" Ayre was an English footballer who played for three different clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred League appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the game, he became a manager, and took the helm at five different clubs...
. He had taken Swansea to the Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
playoff final five months earlier, but they lost to a last-minute goal by Northampton's
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
John Frain
John Frain
John William Frain is a former English professional footballer who played for Birmingham City and Northampton Town. He played in all four divisions of the Football League, making nearly 500 league appearances for his two clubs....
. A dismal start to the 1997–98 season
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
had seen Swansea struggling near the foot of the Football League, and the board decided that it was time for a new manager to be appointed, asserting that the team's good performances the previous season were more down to Molby's qualities as a top class player, rather than as a manager.
No offers of managerial jobs were forthcoming for some time. Pursuing a career as a TV pundit, Mølby was finally offered the manager's job at Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
, then in the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
. He took over in April 1999. Utilising the existing squad of players, but adding his own in a few key positions (ex-Liverpool team-mate Mike Marsh
Mike Marsh (footballer)
Mike Marsh is a footballer and now a coach, who came through the ranks at Liverpool and was part of their 1992 FA Cup-winning side.-Professional career:...
was drafted in to great success) Harriers won the Conference title (and promotion to the Football League) in Mølby's first season in charge.
Two seasons of decent Division Three form followed, before overtures from Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
prompted Mølby's departure for Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
. His tenure was brief however, as internal strife cast a shadow over his brief term in charge. A return to Kidderminster in October 2003 was unsuccessful, ending with his resignation a year later. Kidderminister were relegated back to the Conference that season
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
and have yet to reclaim their Football League place.
Following Kenny Jackett
Kenny Jackett
Kenny Jackett is a former Wales international football player, who has since moved into management. He is the current manager of Millwall, the longest serving manager in the Football League Championship and eleventh longest serving manager in England.A skilful player, equally at home in defence or...
's resignation as Swansea manager in early 2007, Mølby was linked with a return to the club. However, Mølby has responded by saying that he is unlikely to ever return to football management.
Recent years
As of 2008, Mølby works as a commentator for Viasat, on TV3+, having previously fulfilled the same role for Danish TV 2TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 is a publicly owned television station in Denmark based in Odense. The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio ....
channel. He also summarises on English games for BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
.
Mølby was voted in at 16th position in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, which was conducted by the official Liverpool Football Club web site. 110,000 supporters worldwide voted for their favourite 10 players of all time. Mølby's 16th spot made him the highest placed overseas player on the list. He was also ranked number 30 on the magazine Four Four Two's list of the top 100 foreign players to have played English football.
Mølby is one of the main players for the Liverpool veterans side that has competed in the Sky Sports
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
Masters series in recent years.
In the last few years, Mølby has participated in several poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
events.
In April 2009, Mølby was made an 'Honourary Scouser' by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool
Lord Mayor of Liverpool
The office of Mayor of Liverpool has existed since the foundation of Liverpool as a borough by the Royal Charter of King John in 1207. This changed, however, some time after Liverpool was granted city status in 1880 when it was deemed necessary for the "second city of the Empire" to have a Lord Mayor...
. He was noted for speaking scouse.
Personal life
Mølby is a cousin of Euro 19921992 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Eight national teams contested the championship, which was won by Denmark, one of...
winner Johnny Mølby
Johnny Mølby
Johnny Mølby is a Danish former professional football player who played 16 matches for the Denmark national football team, and was a part of the team which won the Euro 1992, even though he did not play a single match at the tournament...
.
Statistics
|-|1981||rowspan="2"|Kolding
Kolding IF
Kolding IF is a Danish association football club based in Kolding, which plays in the Denmark Series. Founded in 1895, Kolding IF played in the top-flight 1982 and 1983 Danish 1st Division championships...
||||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1982
Danish 1st Division 1982
The 1982 Danish 1st Division season was the 37th season of the Danish 1st Division league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association...
||1st Division
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
||13||0||||||||||||||13||0
|-
|1982–83
Eredivisie 1982-83
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1982/1983 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Ajax also won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists NEC could play in the Cup Winners' Cup...
||rowspan="2"|AFC Ajax||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||29||6||||||||||||||29||6
|-
|1983–84
Eredivisie 1983-84
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1983/1984 season was contested by 18 teams. Feyenoord won the championship.-League standings:1 Feyenoord also won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists Fortuna Sittard could play in the Cup Winners' Cup. 2 Clubs...
||28||5||||||||||||||28||5
|-
|1984–85
The Football League 1984-85
-Overview:The 1984–1985 season was the 85th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Howard Kendall’s Everton side beat neighbours Liverpool to the league championship, while Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United followed closely behind...
||rowspan="11"|Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
||rowspan="8"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||22||1||0||0||1||0||0||0||23||1
|-
|1985–86
The Football League 1985-86
-Overview:The 1985–1986 season was the 86th completed season of the The Football League.-Final league tables and results :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at the website, with home and away statistics separated.Re-election: During the first five seasons...
||39||14||8||3||5||2||colspan="2"|-||52||19
|-
|1986–87
The Football League 1986-87
-Overview:The 1986–1987 season was the 87th completed season of the The Football League.-Innovations for this season:Playoffs to determine promotion places were introduced in 1987 so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time to aid in the...
||34||7||3||0||7||5||colspan="2"|-||44||12
|-
|1987–88
The Football League 1987-88
The 1987–1988 season was the 88th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season...
||7||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||8||0
|-
|1988–89
The Football League 1988-89
The 1988–1989 season was the 89th completed season of the Football League.No European qualification took place due to the Heysel Stadium disaster suspension in place....
||13||2||3||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||18||3
|-
|1989–90
The Football League 1989-90
The 1989–1990 season was the 90th completed season of The Football League.- First Division :Liverpool overhauled a greatly improved Aston Villa side to win their 18th league championship trophy and their fifth major trophy in as many seasons under Kenny Dalglish’s management. To date, this remains...
||17||1||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||20||1
|-
|1990–91
The Football League 1990-91
The 1990–1991 season was the 91st completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Arsenal took their second league title in three seasons despite a season during which it often looked as though the good points would be outnumbered by the bad points...
||25||9||7||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||34||9
|-
|1991–92
The Football League 1991-92
The 1991–1992 season was the 92nd completed season of The Football League.- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of players like Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David...
||26||3||6||1||3||0||5||1||40||5
|-
|1992–93
FA Premier League 1992-93
The 1992–93 FA Premier League was the first season of the Premier League, the top division of English football. The league was made up of the 22 clubs that broke away from The Football League at the end of the 1991–92 season. The new league was backed up by a five-year, £305 million deal with...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||10||3||0||0||1||0||2||0||13||3
|-
|1993–94
FA Premier League 1993-94
-New league sponsors:From the start of the 1993-94 season, the FA Premier League was sponsored by Carling Breweries.-Promoted teams:Newcastle United and West Ham were promoted to the Premier League from the First Division as champions and runners-up respectively. The last promotion place was won by...
||11||2||0||0||2||1||0||0||13||3
|-
|1994–95
FA Premier League 1994-95
-Promoted teams:Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest were promoted from the Football League First Division as winners and runners-up respectively. Leicester City won the 1993-94 playoff.-Controversial incidents:...
||14||2||0||0||2||0||0||0||16||2
|-
|1995–96
The Football League 1995-96
The 1995–1996 season was the 96th completed season of the The Football League. It was contested through three divisions, the First Division, Second Division and Third Division.- First Division playoffs :- First Division Table:...
||Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||5||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
|1995–96
The Football League 1995-96
The 1995–1996 season was the 96th completed season of the The Football League. It was contested through three divisions, the First Division, Second Division and Third Division.- First Division playoffs :- First Division Table:...
||Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||3||0||0||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||5||1
|-
|1995–96
The Football League 1995-96
The 1995–1996 season was the 96th completed season of the The Football League. It was contested through three divisions, the First Division, Second Division and Third Division.- First Division playoffs :- First Division Table:...
||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||12||2||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||12||2
|-
|1996–97
The Football League 1996-97
The 1996–1997 season was the 97th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Bolton Wanderers returned to the Premiership in superb fashion, hitting 100 goals and taking 98 points...
||rowspan="2"|Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||28||6||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||29||6
|-
|1997–98
The Football League 1997-98
The 1997–1998 season was the 98th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Champions Nottingham Forest and runners-up Middlesbrough won promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. Charlton Athletic won the playoffs to end an eight-year absence from the top...
||1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
40||0||||||||||||||40||0
57||11||||||||||||||57||11
267||52||28||4||31||10||7||1||333||67
364||63||28||4||31||10||7||1||430||78
Honours as player
AFC Ajax- 1982–83 Dutch League ChampionshipEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
- 1982–83 Dutch CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
- 1985–86 League ChampionshipFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(Level 1) - 1985–86 FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
- 1986–87 Charity Shield Shared
- 1988–89 Charity Shield
- 1989–90 Charity Shield
- 1989–90 League ChampionshipFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(Level 1) - 1991–92 FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Honours as manager
Kidderminster HarriersKidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
- 1999–2000 Football ConferenceFootball ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...