Forwards can come in all shapes and sizes. The target man, the centre full-forward or the poacher are all varieties of the traditional goal scorer. Liverpool have had their fair few exceptional marksmen over the years and any forward capable of scoring goals will soon endear themselves to The Kop.
Given the club’s failure to bring in another striker this summer, now is the perfect time to remember the good old days and run through the greatest ever forwards to have donned the red of Liverpool.
10. Jackie Balmer- 1935-52, 312 appearances 111 goals
Jackie Balmer was a prolific goal scorer for Liverpool during his 17-year stay at the club. Balmer, a clever and skilful player, helped deliver The Reds their first league title in nearly a quarter of a century with a series of impressive displays throughout the 1946-47 season in which he bagged 24 goals.
Balmer captained the club from 1947-49 but saw the best years of his career lost to the Second World War. The forward scored a total of 111 goals for LFC but will be best remember for his outstanding record of scoring three consecutive hat-tricks against Portsmouth, Derby and Arsenal in November 1946.
9. Fernando Torres- 2007-present, 120 appearances 73 goals
In 2009, Spanish striker Fernando Torres became the fastest player in the club’s history to score 50 goals for The Reds. Torres managed the feat in just 72 appearances, while also becoming the most prolific foreigner ever in a debut season in England.
El Nino, or The Kid, is a firm favourite with The Kop and has blossomed into one of the most lethal finishers in the world since moving to Merseyside for a club record £20m in 2007. Torres has yet to win a trophy at Anfield and will be keen to put that right this season.
Watch Torres’ best goals HERE
8. Ian St John- 1961-71, 425 appearances 118 goals
Bill Shankly signed Ian St John from Motherwell for a club record £37,500 in May 1961 and he proved to be worth every penny.
St John made over 400 appearances for Liverpool over a decade, scoring 118 goals in the process. He scored a hat-trick against Everton on his debut and his enthusiastic passion on the pitch made him an instant hit with the fans. After helping the club win promotion in 1962 he went onto win another two league titles at Anfield. He will, of course, be best remembered for heading the winner in Liverpool’s first-ever FA Cup triumph in 1965.
Re-live St John’s FA Cup winning goal HERE
7. Gordon Hodgson- 1925-36, 377 appearances 241 goals
South African born Gordon Hodgson remains the club’s third top goal scorer of all-time with an astounding 241 goals in 377 appearances during the 1920s and 30s.
Despite his goal scoring exploits, Hodgson failed to lift a trophy for the Reds in one of the most barren trophyless spells in the club’s history. Hodgson scored a marvellous 17 hat-tricks for Liverpool in just over a decade, a tally that has yet to be bettered.
6. Billy Liddell- 1939-61, 534 appearances, 228 goals
Billy Liddell sneaks into this list despite not being your typical out-and-out centre-forward. With 228 goals for the club it is difficult to exclude him from a list of the club’s great goal scorers, as Liddell was certainly one of them.
Scottish-born Liddell was mainly a left-winger but was also equally adept as a forward. Many fans regard Liddell as the greatest player ever to pull on a red shirt, his influence so great that the club was known for a short while by fans as ‘Liddellpool’. Liddell lifted the league title once for Liverpool in the 1946/47 season.
Continue to Page 2 for the illustrious Top Five…
5. Robbie Fowler- 1992-2001, 2006-07 369 appearances 183 goals
Known simply as ‘God’ by Liverpool fans, Robbie Fowler remains one of the club’s most popular former players after bagging 183 goals in two separate spells for the club.
Liverpool born Fowler shares a special bond with The Kop after coming through the youth ranks to hit 12 goals in his first 13 games for the club. Fowler went on to score 18 goals in his debut season for the club and remains the fifth highest scorer in the club’s history.
Watch Fowler’s three-minute hat-trick HERE
4. Ian Rush- 1980-87, 1988-96 660 appearances 346 goals
Ian Rush just could not stop scoring goals during his two spells at Liverpool throughout the 80s & 90s. Known by his team-mates as ‘the first-line of defence’, Rush harrowed and harassed defenders with a combination of fast pace and great anticipation.
Rush scored 346 goals for Liverpool, making him the top scorer in the club’s history. The former Wales international is fondly remembered for his four goals at Goodison Park against rivals Everton in a 5-0 victory in 1982.
3. Kevin Keegan- 1971-1977, 323 appearances, 100 goals
Kevin Keegan signed for the club for £35,000 as a 20-year-old in 1971. In his six years at the club Keegan won three league titles, two UEFA Cups, as well as an FA and European Cup.
Keegan’s spirit and determination was the embodiment of Liverpool’s success throughout the 1970s, chipping in with 100 goals along the way. Keegan was fast, skilful and an immense attacking force. Keegan certainly created a lot of wonderful memories for fans during his time with the club.
Watch Keegan’s best moments HERE
2. Roger Hunt- 1958-69, 492 appearances, 286 goals
Roger Hunt remains Liverpool’s top league goal scorer of all-time with 245 goals in little over ten years with the club. Overlooked for a Knighthood in 1966, Hunt remains one of Liverpool’s most popular players of all-time and will always be known as ‘Sir’ Roger by The Kop.
Hunt averaged an astounding goal per-game for Liverpool with 41 goals in 41 appearances as they comfortably lifted the title in 1961-62. Hunt remains a hero at Anfield today was also similarly instrumental in their title win in 1966.
1. Kenny Dalglish- 1977-1990, 515 appearances, 172 goals
Bob Paisley identified Kenny Dalglish as the man to replace Kevin Keegan in 1977 when he paid Celtic a British record £440,000 to bring King Kenny to Anfield.
It was a truly inspired signing and Dalglish’s goals, technical brilliance and footballing brain helped The Reds lift three European Cups and six league titles. Dalglish remains today the greatest player the club has ever seen.
Watch Dalglish at his best HERE
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