By Simon Treanor

The 1989-90 season is one that has cast an ever-growing shadow over Liverpool, and while it no longer carries the weight of being the club’s last title, the length of the time that it occupied that role, means it will always be significant. It also came at a turning point for football as a whole, as the sport was emerging from the dark days of the 1980s. Age plays a part too, and this was around the time that I was beginning to follow football – indeed this season has left such an impact on me that I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time trying to recreate it.

Neither a procession to the title like 1987-88, nor the kind of a right-to-the-wire victory seen in 1985-86, Liverpool started shakily, and without regularly looking unstoppable, won the league fairly comfortably. It is remembered chiefly for two imported signings – Glenn Hysén in summer, and the dramatic introduction of Ronny Rosenthal late on – and for two matches against Crystal Palace, the latter leading Alan Hansen to wryly sing “we’re forever blowing doubles”.

Both kits were new, although both very much evolutions of the ones that came before. The home shirt had a paint-flecked effect (which was matched Bruce Grobbelaar’s shirt), while the away had diagonal grey patterns. Both have, naturally, become iconic.