Alan Hansen Gets MBE But Just How Good Was He?

Former Scotland international and Liverpool legend Alan Hansen was awarded an MBE last week. It was officially granted for “services to football and broadcasting” but many younger people – by which we mean those under the age of about 45 or 50 – will know him primarily through his long-term role as a pundit on Match of the Day.

It is rather surprising that a man who played 620 times for one of the greatest club sides English (and in fact European) football has ever seen has only been recognised now. Hansen will turn 70 in June of 2025 and retired from playing in March of 1991. Considering what an incredible player he was – and we will explain more about that shortly – it seems strange that it has taken so long for him to be recognised in this way.

It seems even stranger when one considers that, for example, 25-year-old cyclist, Tom Pidcock, received an OBE (“one above” an MBE) in the New Year Honours list, whilst Keely Hodgkinson also got an MBE. They are both great athletes but they are young and have large chunks of their careers ahead of them. Moreover, there are countless others who have been honoured for far less than Hansen achieved.

When it comes to the honours system there are various factors involved in deciding who is and is not recognised. Some are “political”, whilst there is no doubt that they are given out a little more freely in the modern era than they were in the past. There will always be a subjective element involved too, but most would agree that compared to others, the recognition for the former centre back is rather overdue.

How Good Was Hansen?

Reds legend Alan Hansen has been awarded an MBE for services to football and broadcasting 👏

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 30, 2024

Leaving that debate aside, let us look in more detail at Alan Hansen the player. Given he retired in 1991, a high percentage of football fans will have never seen him play live, or at best remember him vaguely from the tail end of his career. Some who have seen him on Match of the Day and other football programmes – he often featured as a pundit at major tournaments too – and may wonder what sort of a player he was and just how good he was.

The simplest place to start is with just how many trophies he won across his career. Hansen played in the brilliant Liverpool teams of the 1970s and 1980s after joining the Reds from Partick Thistle in 1977. He was signed by Bob Paisley for a fee of £100,000, which is only around £800,000 when adjusted for inflation but, of course, football transfer fees have far outstripped inflation in the almost 50 years since Hansen moved to English football.

It was still a relatively modest fee, however, and undoubtedly a bargain given what a career the cultured defender went on to have. He was 22 at the time and would end up playing for the Reds for 13 seasons until he retired, winning just about every trophy that was available to win.

English and Scottish Football Halls of Fame

A member of both the English and Scottish Football Halls of Fame, the tall Scot won eight league titles with Liverpool, as well as two FA Cups and four League Cups, those all coming in consecutive years from 1981 to 1984. Hansen played at a time when English clubs were dominant in Europe and he also helped his side win three European Cups, as well as the UEFA Super Cup.

That sort of silverware collection is rivalled by very few players in the game. Whilst Hansen trails Ryan Giggs, the most decorated player in British football history, by some way, his place in the pantheon of greats is assured thanks to the 25 trophies he won during his career.

In addition to those team honours, Hansen also earned a place in the PFA (Professional Footballer’s Association) top-flight Team of the Year no fewer than six times. He was a brilliant player, loved by his colleagues and various managers and highly respected by those who played against him.

What Sort of Player Was He?

In a career that lasted so long, Hansen naturally played alongside a number of footballers but his best and most frequent defensive partners were first, Phil Thompson, and then Mark Lawrenson. All three went on to have successful media careers and Hansen began as the junior partner alongside club captain Thompson, before becoming the senior man alongside Lawrenson, who is a few years younger and joined the club in 1981.

Words typically used to describe the Scot’s style of play are silky, elegant, graceful and cultured and he certainly made defending look very easy at times. That playing style may have helped him avoid injury and another thing to note about his career is just how often he was able to take to the pitch.

Liverpool eased him into things in his first season with the club but from the 1978/79 campaign, when he played 42 times in all competitions, only once did he play less than 42 times in a season. Indeed, from 1979/80 until 1986/87 (inclusive) he made at least 52 appearances for the Reds each term.

His reputation as a cultured player was based on his brilliant reading of the game and his ability to bring the ball out from the back. He was a very modern defender and certainly in 1970s and 1980s England, he was ahead of his time. He was a superb passer of the ball, with a brilliant football brain.

Defensive Credentials

That is not to say he could not defend though, and his reading of the game, in tandem with his pace, was a huge asset. The former meant he was rarely called upon to use the latter, whilst his calm demeanour meant that, even at top speed, it still all looked rather effortless. His defensive credentials are further illustrated by the fact that with Thompson and Hansen at the back, the Reds conceded just 16 goals in 42 league games in 1978/79.

With many experts believing his pairing with Lawrenson was even better, and classing Hansen himself as one of the best centre backs of all time, it is surprising that he only won 26 Scotland caps. That was partly due to him playing in England, partly because at times his heart wasn’t in it with the national team (minor injuries often stopped him playing in certain games), but perhaps most of all due to the brilliant partnership of Aberdeen duo Willie Miller and Alex McLeish.

Scotland’s loss was Liverpool’s game though and Alan Hansen, MBE, was certainly one of the very best.