Jan Molby
Born in Kolding, Denmark in 1963, Jan Molby started his professional football career at the age of 18 playing for his home town team, Kolding IF. Just one season was enough for Molby to establish himself as a promising talent and after just one season at Kolding, the central midfielder moved to Ajax Amsterdam in 1982.
After spending two years at the Dutch Giants, winning the league title and Dutch Cup in the process, Jan was signaled out by then Liverpool manager, Joe Fagan, as a transfer target and the Anfield legend soon got his man as Molby made the move to Merseyside for a fee of £200,000.
Jan’s time at Liverpool can only be described as colorful, with his career at Anfield ranging from an influential midfielder on the pitch and a legend amongst supporters to battles with his weight and even a spell in prison!
It wasn’t until Kenny Dalglish replaced Fagan as Liverpool manager in 1985 that Molby really started to shine as a player and became known for his great vision and became a great source of assists to striker, Ian Rush. Jan was also a regular contributor to goals himself, especially from set pieces where the power and precision of his free kicks gave opponents plenty to worry about.
Jan was instrumental in Liverpool’s League and FA Cup double winning side of 1985/1986 but the following season was disrupted by a broken foot for the Dane. After making a return to the first team, his impact was once again limited, this time after a three month spell behind bars for a driving offence.
Molby was back to his best by the 1989/1990 season when he helped Liverpool to another league title and he remained a regular fixture in the side that won the FA Cup in 1992.
In total, Jan made a total of 218 appearances for Liverpool before he left the club in 1996, scoring 44 during his time at Anfield. Jan also won 33 caps for Denmark and played in the 1986 World Cup.
After leaving Liverpool, Jan played for Swansea City before going in to management, firstly with Swansea City, before moving on to take charge of Kidderminster Harriers and Hull City. A breif spell when in charge of Kidderminster for a second spell in 2003/2004 was his last job as a manager and Jan has since gone on to take up a number of roles and appearances in the media.
A very popular and likeable person, Jan’s stories will have any audience laughing and is a great addition to any event. If you would like to enquire about booking him, please get in touch using the form below.
John Wark
John Wark burst onto the scene at Ipswich Town at the age of 18 in 1975. As a youngster, John was a part of Ipswich’s successful youth team and was a centre-half who, after being fifth choice at the beginning of the season, soon began to star in the first team and make a big impression. He later progressed from defence into a free-scoring midfielder, playing 384 matches and scoring 136 goals in his first spell at the Portman Road club.
John was crowned PFA’s Player of the Year in Ipswich’s successful UEFA cup-winning 1980-81 season, scoring in every round of the competition, 14 goals in total!
John made a high-profile move to Liverpool in 1984 and was the leading goalscorer at Anfield with 27 goals in his first full season. He scored 18 goals in 40 league games and continued his incredible striking rate in Europe, scoring five times in nine games, four in seven FA cup games and bagged three hat-tricks and scored his 100th league goal, ironically in a game against Ipswich. Wark played a total of 62 games that first season (84/85) but it ended in tragedy when John was in the Liverpool starting XI that fateful night at Heysel, when Liverpool had hoped to win the European cup for the second year running.
Midway through the 1987-88 season John found himself on his way back to Ipswich. Wark moved back to his old position as centre-half for two more years at Protman Road before he moved to Middlesbrough after being voted the club’s player of the year in two successive seasons.
John then returned “home” one year later for his third spell and played 6 more years until his retirement at 40 in 1997. He helped Ipswich to the Division 2 Championship in 1991/92 season, which gained them promotion to the newly formed Premier League and helped the club establish itself in the top flight. He was also voted Ipswich Player of the Year for the third time!
John is Ipswich Town’s third-highest all-time scorer, with 179 goals, despite rarely appearing as a striker, playing a total 670 games for the Suffolk club.
John was also a full Scottish International, winning 29 caps and scoring seven goals. He was part of the Scotland Squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, in which he made three appearances and scored twice.
John can also boast appearing in one of the most famous football films of all time, Escape to Victory, featuring alongside fellow players Russell Osman, Kevin Beatie, Mike Summerbee, Ossie Ardiles, Pele as well as Hollywood Stars Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone!
John is a great character with a lot of stories to tell, he makes for a great guest at any function or event. To book John, please get in touch with us below.
