Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Liverpool FC - The Mighty Reds

I have been an ardent and passionate follower of Liverpool FC since I first became addicted to English football in 1976. Liverpool are England's most successful football club. They boast 18 League Titles, 7 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, 5 Euro Cups (Champion's Leagues), 3 UEFA Cups and 3 Super Cups to their credit. Except for FA Cups they have won more silverware in each of these categories than any other English team.


In this post I have prepared a list of the Top 50 Liverpool players since 1970.

1. Kenny Dalglish - Brilliant attacking midfielder. Scotland's greatest ever player.

2. Ian Rush - A natural goalscorer if ever there was one (like Roger Hunt of the 60's) .

3. Alan Hansen - Helped pioneer the role of the forward moving defender .

4. John Barnes - Brazilian style winger with pure talent and a great footer brain .

5. Steve Gerrard - One of the best ball distributors of all-time .

6. Kevin Keegan - Mighty Mouse. A threat to any defence.

7. Grame Souness - The original midfield general.

8. Emlyn Hughes - The cornerstone of Liverpool's back four in the 70's aka Crazy Horse .

9. Ray Clemence - Arguably one of the UK's top five goalies of all-time.

10. Steve Heighway - Superfast winger. Nightmare for defenders.

11. Mark Lawrenson - Fantastic tackler - Great defender.

12. Peter Beardsley - Creative genius in forward role.

13. Phil Thompson - Long time defender with never-say-die attitude.

14. Robbie Fowler - Prolific 90's goalscorer. Deadly from outside the box.

15. Phil Neal - Long time Liverpool right back.

16. John Toshack - Forward with significant prowess in the air.

17. Terry McDermott - Wide man - critical to the setup

18. Ronnie Whelan - Midfield dynamo.

19. Jamie Carragher - All-heart Liverpool utility man best known for work in center

20. Sami Hyypia - One of the best defensive aerial defenders that the game has ever known

21. Steve McMahon - Tough midfielder. Deadly from wing positions as well.

22. Alan Kennedy - Left back. Scored winner in 81 Euro Cup Final (over Real Madrid)

23. Michael Owen - Speedy goalscorer and England legend

24. Tommy Smith - Defender. One of the toughest to ever play the game

25. Bruce Grobelaar - Goalkeeper known for his heroics in 84 Euro Cup Final (over Roma)

26. Ray Kennedy - Attacking midfielder. Played an important role in late 70's

27. David Fairclough - The original super-sub. Remember St. Etienne (1977)

28. Steve McManaman - Excellent dribbler of the ball. Wonderful set up player.

29. Ray Houghton - Midfielder who could distribute and score

30. Steve Nicol - Defender/midfielder - another (long term) model utility man.

31. John Aldridge - Goalscoring forward. Played key role in glorious 87/88 season.

32. Craig Johnson - Speedy forward. Scored winner in 86 FA Cup Final.

33. Jimmy Case - Midfield star of the 70's.

34. Jan Molby - Passing aficionado.

35. Dietmar Hamman - Defensive midfielder. Key to Champion's League success 2005.

36. Ian Callaghan - Highly proficient long term midfielder - he was more of a 60's player though.

37. Steve Staunton - With Alan Kennedy ranks as Liverpool's best ever left back.

38. David Johnson - Midfielder with a goalscoring sense.

39. Gary McAllister - Inspiration behind 2000/2001 Treble Season.

40. Pepe Reina - Goalie. King of the Clean sheet. First rate penalty stopper.

41. Sammy Lee - One of the hardest workers ever to play the game.

42. Mark Wright - No nonsense Central defender.

43. Jamie Redknapp - Classic midfielder. Career was hounded by injury.

44. Paul Walsh - Forward who 'got the job done'.

46. Fernando Torres - Forward Should move higher over time. Possibly into Top 10.

47. Rob Jones - Right back. Had the potential to be #1 for country as well. Injury cut short career.

48. Jerzy Dudek - Goalkeeper whose actions helped win 2005 Champion's League Final and 2003 League Cup.

49. Marcus Babbel = Right Back whose crosses were extremely valuable in 2001 Treble Year.

50. Joey Jones - Another tough guy in the Liverpool defence.

Honourable mentions: Jim Beglin, Danny Murphy, Chris Lawler, John Wark, Gary Gillespie, Ronnie Rosenthal, Stefan Henchoz, Patrik Berger, John Arne Riise, Brian Hall, Peter Cormack.

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