Vote: Tell us where Luis Suarez rates in the top Liverpool strikers of the past 50 years
HE’S a goal scoring machine set to win a swag of personal awards, but where does Luis Suarez rank in the Anfield strikers’ pantheon?
LUIS Suarez looks a dead cert to be voted the Premier League Player of the Year, appears set to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the race for Golden Shoe for Europe’s top goalscorer and, if he carries on this way, will be a serious contender for the Ballon D’Or next year.
It has been an incredible turnaround for the controversial Uruguayan and has prompted the question: is he the best striker Liverpool has ever seen?
That is a massive question. It’s extremely difficult to compare players from different eras, when football — and Liverpool’s fortunes — have changed so much over the years.
But when you have such a successful club with so many exceptional goalscorers it’s hard not to resist the temptation to compare and contrast some of the greatest strikers ever to ignite the Kop. And clearly this isn’t just about goals scored — or Ian Rush would just walk away with it.
We’re not going all the way back, as comparing Gordon Hodgson from the 1920s would be a little extreme but we can look to some of the big names from Anfield’s history.
ROGER HUNT
A major part of Liverpool’s success under legendary manager Bill Shankly, Hunt scored 286 goals in 487 appearances for the Reds — 245 of them in the league — winning two First Division titles and an FA Cup. Alongside Ian St. John, the pair were the main strike weapons as Shankly turned the club from second-division strugglers into the club that would dominate for 20 years.
Hunt was also the first World Cup winner (with England in 1966) to wear a Liverpool shirt until Fernando Torres in 2010.
KEVIN KEEGAN
Part of Shankly’s ‘second era’ at the club, Keegan was an attacking midfielder who moved further up the park when his ability in front of goal became clear, and played a key role as the club won the title and the UEFA Cup in his first season.
After 100 goals in 323 appearances, three titles, an FA Cup, European Cup and two UEFA Cups in six years, Keegan left Anfield to join German club Hamburg SV. His replacement ….
KENNY DALGLISH
The “creator supreme”, Dalglish is still hailed as Liverpool’s finest ever player, some 25 years after his retirement. With 172 goals in 497, King Kenny wasn’t the most prolific — but with eight titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and three European Cups as player and manager his influence is clear.
Obviously, we can’t compare their medal hauls, but on the field, Dalglish and Suarez possess the same ability to torment defenders, find space for teammates and see the killer moment that can destroy the opposition. Dalglish was arguably a cleverer player and stronger on the ball, whereas as Suarez is nimble and reactionary.
If Suarez can continue scoring at his current rate to guide Liverpool to the Premier League title, King Kenny might just find his crown under threat.
IAN RUSH
Undoubtedly the finest out-and-out goalscorer Anfield has ever seen, Rush bagged 346 goals in 660 appearances during two spells in the club’s golden era, which yielded five titles, three FA Cup, five League Cups and two European Cups.
Rush was no creator — he was the finisher, the scalpel at the end of Liverpool’s disembowelling of the opposition. The game has changed so much it is hard to imagine how successful a player of Rush’s qualities would be in the modern game, in which such dedicated roles are now rare. Rush and Suarez are very different players yet their capacity to inspire the Anfield faithful bears comparison.
ROBBIE FOWLER
Perhaps the club’s most naturally gifted goal machine — arguably in Premier League history — Robbie Fowler could score any kind of goal from any angle. From regulation tap-ins to jaw-dropping volleys, Fowler scored 183 goals in 309 appearances, earning the nickname “God” from those in the Kop.
His ability to find the goal from anywhere within the penalty area is perhaps closest to Suarez (as well as both having a disposition towards controversy) but Fowler was less about having the ball at his feet and more about just putting it in the back of the net.
MICHAEL OWEN
If Luis Suarez could replicate Michael Owen’s cold-eyed efficiency in front of goal, Liverpool would be unstoppable.
Aged 17, Owen scored in his Liverpool debut and was the club’s top scorer in his first senior season — a feat he repeated until he left for Real Madrid in 2004, scoring 158 in 267 games.
His explosive pace and calmness in front of goal was unnerving, and that perceived dedication to scoring, rather than for the team, created a disconnect with fans and Owen was never idolised as a player of his abilities should be. Compare that to the drama and excitement of Suarez, and you can see why the Kop loves a South American more than an academy product who grew up just down the road.
FERNANDO TORRES
Something of a phenomenon in Spain, many in England were unconvinced by “El Nino” and his ability to adapt to the English game. By the end of his first season, Torres had bagged 33 goals in all competitions and there were no more doubts, scoring 81 in 126 in total.
There are parallels to Suarez in a number of ways as Torres, arguably Anfield’s first international love affair, inspired the success-starved Kop as Rafael Benitez led Liverpool to Champions League glory and the brink of a Premier League title.
Fast, strong and with the ability to power past even the biggest defenders — see his one-man demolition job on Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic — Torres in full-flow was a beautiful sight.
There are parallels with the Suarez era:, a striker who fulfils his potential to become among the best in the world, in a team designed to make the best of his talents. As such, all Liverpool fans fear Suarez will one day do a Torres and defect to some richer club in the search of silverware.
LUIS SUAREZ
With 74 goals in 109 games, it is no surprise Liverpool fans love Luis Suarez so much. Biting, racism, open pleas to leave the club — it’s all been washed away in a tsunami of goals.
But there is more to it than that; it’s the passion with which Suarez plays the game. He just want to score, or failing that, do enough damage so his teammates can.
In terms of the modern game, Suarez is arguably Liverpool’s first true world-class talent in some time, even ahead of Torres. Whereas the Chelsea man suffered when he left a team designed to help him success, Suarez is less reliant on those around him, with his vision and close control making him unpredictable and highly successful, whether from five yards or forty.
Suarez’s partnership with Daniel Sturridge is drawing comparisons with Dalglish and Rush, and the sheer quality and regularity with which Suarez scores deserves to be held up to Liverpool’s finest players. But is he the best ever?