Geoff Twentyman
Left Half (1953-1959) & Chief Scout (1967-1986)
Date of Birth: 19-01-1930
Birthplace: Carlisle
Debut : 19th December 1953 v Manchester United (A) Football League Division One: lost 1-5
1st team games: 184
1st team goals: 19
Other clubs: Carlisle United (twice), Ballymena United (player/manager), Morecambe (player/manager), Penrith (manager)
Left-half Twentyman's playing career at Liverpool coincided with the club's lean years. He joined them from Carlisle for the then substantial fee of £10,000 in December 1953, just four months before Liverpool were relegated to the old Second Division after finishing rock bottom of the top flight with only nine wins from 42 games.
Standing 5ft 11ins he built his reputation as a forceful, spirited centre-half with his hometown club Carlisle, having been switched to No 5 by Bill Shankly when he took over as manager at Brunton Park. Shankly had moved on to Grimsby by the time Twentyman left for Anfield.
He made 184 senior appearances and scored 19 goals for Liverpool, where the presence of England capped centre-half Laurie Hughes and later Dick White, meant Twentyman switching to No 6.
He joined Ballymena United as player manager in 1959, nine months before Shankly arrived at Liverpool. But after Twentyman had spells at Carlisle, Morecambe and Penrith he was brought back to Liverpool by Shankly in 1967 as chief scout, proving instrumental in a string of crucial signings, including Ian Rush, Phil Neal and Alan Hansen. He was later chief scout for Glasgow Rangers.
Geoff died in Southport on the 16 February 2004 aged 74.
Geoff Twentyman