100 years ago today: First overseas tour

A greeting of Beatlemania proportions awaited Brendan Rodgers and his Liverpool squad when they touched down at each destination during their tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand over the summer.

Chaotic scenes were the backdrop for an unforgettable and ground-breaking visit - and this year the players will look to do it all over again on their eagerly anticipated tour of America. 

But contrast the fervour and the glamour of Liverpool's recent trips with the one undertaken in the summer of 1914 by a troupe of Reds, who slipped into Gothenburg, Sweden virtually unnoticed.

For the perfectly-manicured 20-somethings, sporting state-of-the-art training wear and adventurous hairstyles of today, picture working-class men in laced-up cotton tops, hair drenched in wax and meticulously parted at the centre.

No first-class flights soaring through the sky, but rather three days of gruelling travel from Liverpool to Sweden, via Harwich, Holland and Hamburg.

World War One would begin to wreak widespread destruction just 49 days later and many of the Liverpool side who were beaten in that year's FA Cup final by Burnley would trade the Anfield turf for the muddy, blood-soaked trenches of Europe.

But for the time being, they were embarking on the club's first-ever foreign tour, optimism and excitement coursing through their veins, and among the travelling group was Thomas Fairfoul.

A complex character, his story alone is fascinating. One year after the Scandinavian tour of 1914, Fairfoul was found guilty, along with six others, of attempting to fix a game between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The Liverpool Echo explained how Fairfoul and his conspirators had feared, having witnessed the onset of the war in Europe, that the league would be suspended and their incomes obliterated. So they staged a 2-0 United victory.

A lifetime ban was imposed on Fairfoul; however, after serving his country boldly in the trenches during World War One and emerging to tell the tale, the sanction was lifted.

For everything that would become of Fairfoul, his attention to detail, intricate turn of phrase and dedication to recording the events of the 1914 Scandinavian tour, means we can now chart the Reds' progress throughout May that year.

His writings were published in the Echo so that Scousers back home could relive the experiences of Tom Watson's team, which included the likes of legendary Elisha Scott, Don McKinlay and Ephraim Longworth in Scandinavia.

From his room in the Hotel Eggers, Gothenburg, on the evening of the Reds' first win over local side Orgryte, Fairfoul wrote: "We arrived here on Saturday after travelling for three days.

"We had an inspection of the ground previous to turning out. It is really a skating pond, but they run water off in the summer.

"The surface is covered with gravel and rolled as hard as our toll roads. I may say the look of the pitch caused serious misgivings amongst our boys, especially the wing players, as a cement cycle track runs right along the touchline, and it is much closer than Aston Villa's used to be.

"I won't attempt to give the Swedish team, but had the players been as formidable on the field as their names appeared on paper we would have stood a very slight chance of winning."

The Reds emerged to raucous applause - their reception louder than the home team - and they carried out a commanding 4-1 rout.

"The opinion of our boys regarding the Swedes is that they play too much according to the book," continued Fairfoul. "It is plainly to be seen they have been tutored. They have no originality.

"But the centre forward is one of the finest players any of our boys have seen. We were all captivated by his display, and on today's form he would displace any centre forward in England."

From Gothenburg, manager Watson and his squad journeyed towards Stockholm for their second round of friendlies.

Liverpool won the first 6-2 against Djurgaden and Bill Lacey struck a hat-trick; however, the opposition managed to suitably impress Fairfoul and his teammates.

"These people seem to have a thorough knowledge of the game, and are a fine sporting race," continued the Liverpool man.

"Overall the Swedish team played good, sound football. Their goalkeeper, although beaten six times, played well.

"The backs tackled well, but seemed deficient in clearing their lines. The half-backs all played hard, the centre and left-half putting in some nice placing.

"Our boys played well within themselves, and without unduly exerting themselves, won comfortably. We had another great reception when coming home, the road being lined for over a mile with spectators, who kept up a continual cheer.

"It was very flattering to our team, who, needless to say, felt rather proud."

The summer heat beat down in the Swedish capital as the Liverpool squad spent their recreational time by boarding a steamer which took them out into the Baltic Sea.

Their next two clashes in Stockholm came against AIK Stockholm and a Swedish XI, games which the Reds won comfortably 3-0 and 8-0.

Of the latter clash, Fairfoul commented: "The play was entirely confined to our opponents' half of the field, our boys having some nice practice in weaving patterns, back-heeling, swerving, etc.

"They could do this sort of thing with the greatest confidence, as the Swedes were very poor stuff indeed. Lacey scored, and then to make things worse, the Swedish left-back, with a beautiful header, gave us a third. The Swedish team were completely demoralised."

From Stockholm, Watson and his squad moved on towards their final destination, Copenhagen.

It took them 13 hours and upon arrival, the reception was lukewarm; the few locals who did come to welcome their guests from England came with a warning: your next opponents, Kjobenhavns Boldklub, have not lost a game in two years.

"This record they intended keeping intact, and it was no secret, in fact, they were very boastful of Liverpool being included in their list of victims," wrote Fairfoul.

"When the boys heard of this it gave them the needle, and they were determined to show the Copenhagen public their team had still to learn something of the art of football."

Liverpool thrashed the opposition 5-2.

"The Danes gave a very half-hearted cheer at the finish, and it was plain they didn't relish the idea of their record being broken," continued Fairfoul.

"One of their best players came up to me at the finish and remarked that we would get a harder match on Sunday against the 'selected'."

The player in question had a point - Liverpool drew after playing out a thrilling 3-3 tie with the Copenhagen XI before rounding off their tour of Scandinavia with an emphatic 7-1 win over a Denmark XI.

After their final game, Watson, Scott, Fairfoul and the other Reds ventured off in the direction of Gothenburg, then Hamburg, then Holland, Harwich and home.