The Greatest Liverpool players (64/65 – 91/92) Pt I
An Article by Shaun
Following on from Jock’s fantastic article about the greatest Liverpool players of the Premier League era, it was suggested we do the same for a time before the Premier league. A time when red ruled the world of football, and every player was great.
So how do you judge “the best of the best of the best”? The Shankly era was before my time, however I have read and investigated about the history of Liverpool FC ( I just like history) so have included players who I may have only seen very little of.
The word GREAT, is well overused. During the 29 years of the Premier League, we as a club have won 14 trophies (I’ve put the league title into that as let’s be honest, it’s there). During the same period immediately prior to that, we won a staggering 42 trophies.
With that in mind, I have 2 players for every position with a few that just missed the cut. Part 1 will expand on my first 11, Part 2 will expand of the second 11.
Goalkeepers: Ray Clemence, Bruce Grobbelaar.
Right Backs: Chris Lawler, Phil Neal, Steve Nicol.
Left Backs: Alec Lindsay, Alan Kennedy.
Centre Backs: Ron Yeats, Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Gary Gillespie.
Midfield: Ian Callaghan, Steve Heighway, Terry McDermott, Graeme Souness, Ronnie Whelan, John Barnes, Peter Thompson, Ray Kennedy, Sammy Lee, Jan Molby, Ray Houghton, Craig Johnston.
Forwards: Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, John Aldridge, John Toshack, Peter Beardsley, David Johnson, David Fairclough.
All these players would be good enough to be part of our current squad which is why their name is here, but who is “THE GREATEST”?
RAY CLEMENCE won 61 England caps, and it would have been very many more if it hadn’t been for sharing the duties with Peter Shilton. During his time with Liverpool he won 11 trophies and only missed 6 games over an 11 year period, just imagine if some of our current team had that durability? A brave and agile keeper with fantastic reflexes, and even after he left Liverpool FC he continued to play at the top level with Spurs until he was 40. His last game for us was the epic European Cup victory over Real Madrid. During the fantastic 78/79 season, he only conceded 16 goals. Played 665 games for LFC, conceding 590 goals and keeping 323 clean sheets.
STEVE NICOL was a truly fantastic player, Jack of all trades, master of all. The amazing fact is he was only capped for Scotland 27 times, during a time when their game was on the slide, no wonder. He won 8 trophies with the club, and was voted Football Writers Player of the Year (FWA) in 1989. During his time with LFC he played in 468 games, scoring 46 times. Possibly the most all round complete footballer I have ever seen.
ALAN KENNEDY was a shy lad, but took on the term attacking full back to a new level, scoring 20 times in 359 games for the club. Although this figure is not outstanding, boy did he know when to score, 81 European Cup Final, decisive penalty in the 84 European Cup Final along with scoring in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals. He was quick, brave, as well as having a fantastic team and never say die attitude. Just think Robertson with goals. Again it was a shock to know he only received 2 England caps. He won 11 trophies with LFC.
ALAN HANSEN played 620 games for the mighty reds, amassing 17 trophies, which included 8 League Titles! This total would have been much higher, if it hadn’t been for the European ban that English clubs received.Was always calm on the ball, quick, brave although he never seemed to tackle the opposition, he just took the ball off them. Not a great scorer, with only 14 to his name. Again, why did Scotland only cap this guy 26 times?
TOMMY SMITH was not a cultured defender. He was as hard as nails and played 638 for his boyhood team, scoring on 48 occasions. He won 10 trophies over a 16 year career with the reds but as seems to be a trend, only won 1 cap for England. Intimidation was a large part of his game, during one unique time, Shankly had given him the task of looking after Jimmy Greaves (arguably the greatest striker ever). During the game he handed a piece of paper to Greaves, “What’s this” he asked, Smith replied “The menu for the Liverpool Infirmary.”
GRAEME SOUNESS was a complete midfield all in one perm (hairstyle). He could sit back, direct play, run past players and score 40 yard piledrivers, all this while snapping you in half and having a glass on champagne. Our current team has 6 midfielders to do what this guy did. In his peak, he and Gerrard would have been the ultimate midfield. He won 12 trophies with the club, and won goal of the season in 78 with a thunderous goal against a little side called Manchester United, look it up. He scored 55 times in a 359 game LFC career, as well as 4 in 54 for Scotland.
JOHN BARNES for many is seen as a winger, but the fact he could play any position in attack or midfield tells you everything you need to know. For those who only saw him after his Achilles injury only saw the passing side of his game, those before saw a player who thrived at LFC. Scoring 108 goals in 407 games, he won the FWA in 88 & 90 along with the Player of the Year (PFA) also in 88. Gifted with tremendous pace, agility and balance, John Barnes on song was unstoppable, Earned 79 England caps, scoring 11 times, winning 4 trophies with LFC.
IAN CALLAGHAN is a one man Liverpool team, playing a record number of games (857) for the club over an 18 year period, scoring on 68 occasions. He was voted Man of the Match on his debut and got a standing ovasion from both sets of supporters with players from both sides clapping him off, along with the opposing manager and the ref. He never got sent off and received 1 yellow card which happen to be on his penultimate game. Was part of Englands 66 World Cup squad, although he didn’t play, but was only capped 4 times, with an 11 year gap between his 2nd & 3rd cap. A fast, brave and clever player, described as a model professional both on and off the pitch.
IAN RUSH took his time to settle in at Liverpool, being a shy lad and having strong personalities like Souness and Dalglish in the dressing room made it hard, he even handed his notice into Paisley, who accepted (although never was going to let happen). Annoyed at this Rush set out to prove Paisley wrong, and boy did he show people he could score, breaking all scoring records (bar 1). Playing a total of 660 times over 2 spells with the club, scoring a massive 346 goals. He also scored 28 times in 73 games for Wales. 47 goals in a season, 25 goals against Everton and 16 hat tricks (only scoring record he doesn’t hold). Many on The Kop called him The Ghost because of the way he caught out defenders unnoticed. His work rate was tremendous and he really was the first line of defence, terrorizing the opposition defence. Winning 14 trophies with LFC, he also won the PFA young player in 1983, FWA & PFA awards in 1984 along with the European Golden Boot in the same year.
KENNY DALGLISH has become more than just a great player for Liverpool FC, he is a legend in the true sense of the word, not only for the club but the city. That said, what a player! Capped 102 times for Scotland, scoring 30 times, he also scored 172 times in 515 games for LFC and 167 in 322 for Celtic. King Kenny won 15 trophies as a player,(9 as a manager) the FWA in both 79 & 83 along with the PFA in 83. Not blessed with speed, his brain was 3 steps ahead, could hold off the toughest defender and knew how to look after himself. Dalglish made the game look simple, but always played for the team, and winning was everything. I am biased, my favourite player of all time.
ROGER HUNT was, until Ian Rush came along our record breaker, that however takes nothing away from his ability. Not playing as a typical target man, Sir Roger as he was known by The Kop would drop deep to receive the ball, and make late runs in to the box, making it difficult for defender to mark him. He was part of the 66 England squad, and scored 18 goals in 34 games for his country. That along side his 285 goals in 492 games for Liverpool, was a pretty good return to say the least. His record of 244 league goals still stands, and he has 4 trophies to his name, playing a huge part in the emergence of LFC as a footballing super power. During the 61/62 season he scored 41 in 41, this quick, strong and creative player would have thrived in the modern game.
MY TEAM
CLEMENCE
NICOL HANSEN SMITH A.KENNEDY
CALLAGHAN SOUNESS BARNES
DALGLISH HUNT
RUSH
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