Eurosport - Mon, 13 Jul 14:42:00 2009
In our weekly series during the close season, we let you decide who is the greatest player to have played for some of England's top clubs. We continue with a selection of Liverpool legends.
Here is our shortlist of eight greats with the Eurosport-Yahoo! top three at the bottom.
So leave your thoughts below, vote in the online poll and we'll give you the final verdict on Saturday.
John Barnes (1987-97)
Barnes was many things - a pioneer, an icon, a hate figure and sometimes a rapper - but above all he was a magnificent footballer. The Jamaican-born attacking midfielder arrived at Anfield, via Watford, in 1987 and settled in immediately as Liverpool romped to the First Division title. Fans often targeted Barnes for racist abuse, but he silenced them with the sheer quality of his passing, dribbling and finishing. Won two league titles, two FA Cups and scored 108 goals in 407 games. Represented England 79 times.
Kenny Dalglish (1977-90)
Dalglish is known at Anfield simply as 'King Kenny'. When he was signed from Celtic, doubts existed over his ability to replace the departed Kevin Keegan, but these were soon dispelled as Liverpool won the European Cup in his first season. This heralded the most successful period in the club's history, with two more European Cups following, along with six league championships in eight years. Took the managerial reins in 1985 and guided the club through six successful seasons. Hung up his boots in 1990 after 515 appearances.
Robbie Fowler (1993-2001, 2006-07)
English football has rarely seen anything like Fowler's first four seasons, which brought 116 goals in 188 games. The man the fans called 'God' displayed an exhilarating, instinctive eye for goal. Among Fowler's greatest feats were a hat-trick against Southampton in his fifth game, and another against Arsenal that took less than five minutes. Although his scoring rate slowed, he remained a fans' favourite and captained Liverpool to a cup treble in 2000-01, his last full season at Anfield. Returned to great acclaim for a final fling in 2006.
Steven Gerrard (1998-present)
Nobody has done more in the quest to bring Liverpool their first Premier League title since 1990. Gerrard has grown in stature every season to reach a staggering level of influence, most famously in the 2005 Champions League final and 2006 FA Cup final. Harry Redknapp hit the nail on the head when he called Gerrard 'Roy of the Rovers'. The Liverpool captain's penchant for late goals borders on the absurd, and his heroics earned him the Football Writers' Player of the Year award last season.
Kevin Keegan (1971-77)
One of Bill Shankly's best signings as manager, and played a major part in establishing Liverpool as English football's dominant force. Keegan was just 20 when he arrived from Scunthorpe for £35,000, and Shankly promptly converted him from a midfielder to a striker, partnering John Toshack up front. Keegan's wholehearted approach led to a red card in the 1974 Charity Shield after a scuffle with Billy Bremner, but also helped him propel Liverpool to three league titles and two UEFA Cups before leaving for Hamburg in 1977.
Billy Liddell (1938-61)
Although the Second World War disrupted the Scottish winger's career, he clocked up 534 appearances in a career spanning four decades. Liddell spent his entire career at Anfield, winning a First Division championship in 1946-47 and sticking with the club following their relegation to the second tier in 1954. Nominally a left winger but capable of playing across the forward line, Liddle lacked the skills of Stanley Matthews, but made up for it with strength, direct running and fierce competitiveness.
Ian Rush (1980-87, 1988-96)
The moustachioed Welshman was goalscorer par excellence during the glorious 1980s for Liverpool. Rush's high-water mark came in 1983-84, when he scored 47 goals in a glorious season that saw Liverpool claim their third European Cup in six years. He duly won the PFA and Football Writers' Player of the Year awards, and attracted the attention of Europe's biggest clubs. After a brief spell with Juventus in Italy, which he famously described as "like a foreign country", he returned for eight more seasons at Anfield.
Graeme Souness (1978-84)
It is no coincidence that Souness's six-and-a-half seasons at Anfield coincided exactly with the club's three European Cup triumphs. The Scotsman was Liverpool's midfield enforcer, although behind the hard-man image was a fine player with superb technique who scored an impressive 56 goals in 358 appearances. What Souness did best was win things, though, playing in five championship-winning campaigns - three as captain - and establishing continental dominance before joining Sampdoria. Returned as manager in 1991 but struggled to exert the same influence from the dugout.
Honourable mentions: Peter Beardsley, Ian Callaghan, Jamie Carragher, Ray Clemence, David Fairclough, Bruce Grobbelaar, Alan Hansen, Steve Heighway, Emlyn Hughes, Roger Hunt, Michael Owen, Jan Molby, Phil Neal, Ian St John, Tommy Smith.
Eurosport-Yahoo! verdict
1 - Kenny Dalglish
2 - Steven Gerrard
3 - Graeme Souness
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