LIVERPOOL’S GREATEST PLAYER: ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish won every major trophy, Steven Gerrard single-handedly dragged his boyhood club to glory and Mo Salah is a modern legend – but who do YOU think is the club’s all-time star?
Mail Sport with the help of our readers is on a mission to find the greatest player of all-time at each of the 20 Premier League clubs.
Today it’s the turn to look at the legends of Liverpool from Billy Liddell through Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard to Mo Salah.
And once you’ve made up your mind who is all the best-ever, it’s time to vote.
Liverpool are one of two most successful clubs in England. Nobody in this country has won more European Cup/Champions League titles than their six, and only Manchester United have been domestic champions more often (20-19).
Their first superstar was Scot Billy Liddell who signed as a 16-year-old on the recommendation of future Manchester United manager Matt Busby shortly before the Second World War.
Billy Liddell, pictured here for Liverpool in 1949, was one of the club’s first superstars
‘Sir’ Roger Hunt was a key figure for Liverpool under Bill Shankly as the club flourished
When football returned, Liddell was the inspiration behind Liverpool’s First Division title in 1947, the first of many Scottish greats associated with the club.
The winger was so dominant his team were nicknamed ‘Liddellpool’. England’s captain in the 1950s Billy Wright said: ‘He could conjure goals out of nothing.’
Liverpool had fallen on hard times by 1959 when Bill Shankly was appointed manager and revolutionised the club.
One of his most important players in the rebuild was already at Anfield, the forward Roger Hunt who had signed from non-league Stockton Heath Albion.
‘Sir’ Roger’s goals were instrumental in helping Shankly taking Liverpool out of the Second Division and winning the league championship and FA Cup in successive years in the mid-1960s. In 1966, he was part of England’s World Cup-winning side.
Winger Ian Callaghan was also part of Ramsey’s squad and his career at Anfield spanned the ’65 triumph at Wembley and the famous first European Cup triumph against Borussia Monchengladbach 12 years later.
Cally hailed from Toxteth and remembers catching the bus for his debut and being ushered to the front of the queue by supporters who recognised him.
One of Shankly’s best signings was Kevin Keegan who cost just £33,000 from Scunthorpe.
Kevin Keegan was outstanding for Liverpool and cost the club just £33,000
Keegan, dubbed ‘Mighty Mouse’ by The Kop became the most famous footballer in England, scoring twice in Shankly’s last game – the 1974 FA Cup Final – and putting in a man-of-the-match performance in the historic ’77 European triumph before moving to Hamburg.
At the time, Keegan seemed irreplaceable but manager Bob Paisley found a way by paying a British record £440,000 to sign Kenny Dalglish from Celtic.
Dalglish, a clever forward who could create as well as score goals, celebrated his first season at Liverpool by scoring the winning goal in the European Cup final against Bruges to retain the game’s biggest club prize.
‘King Kenny’ went on to win every major trophy and was player-manager the only time they landed the league and FA Cup Double in 1986.
His special place in the hearts and minds of supporters was cemented for the dignified way he responded to the Hillsborough tragedy that killed 97 fans attending the 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, subsequently supporting the campaign for justice over many years.
Kenny Dalglish was at Liverpool during a period of unprecedented success
The Scot was a clever forward who is beloved by all Liverpool supporters for his contribution
Only one player started all four victorious European Cup campaigns between 1977 and 1984, Phil Neal.
He won 17 major trophies for the club including eight league championships and being a right-back didn’t stop him from grabbing important goals.
He netted in both European Cup final triumphs in Rome, from the penalty spot in ’77 and then from open play against Roma in 1984.
Alongside Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen formed part of a Scottish triumvirate as Liverpool dominated the 1980s.
Behind them, Bruce Grobbelaar changed the art of goalkeeping by dominating his penalty area by going for crosses like no other, and also rushing out of the box to stifle breakaways as the original sweeper-keeper.
Grobbelaar won six league titles, the FA Cup and League Cup three times apiece and the European Cup where his ‘wobbly legs’ routine distracted Roma in the penalty shoot-out. He was also the only ever-present in the 1986 Double season.
Ian Rush scored twice in that all-Merseyside FA Cup final and in two spells at Anfield, hit a record 346 goals which will take some beating.
Ian Rush is Liverpool’s top goalscorer of all time and his tally will be hard to topple
His strike partnership with Dalglish is arguably the best ever seen in British football and he is credited with being the first centre-forward to harass defenders into mistakes, or pressing to use the modern parlance.
When Rush left for Juventus, the red side of Merseyside was bereft. But Dalglish the manager plugged the gap by signing John Barnes who was the architect of what is regarded as the most exciting Liverpool team of them all, the 1987/88 title-winning side.
Barnes was PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year that season and was chosen by the FWA again in 1990.
Homegrown hero Steven Gerrard single-handedly led Liverpool to great triumphs when the team wasn’t consistent enough to win the league.
Steven Gerrard, pictured here lifting the Champions League trophy in 2005, was a driving force for the Reds during tougher times
Mo Salah is a modern great and his consistency of output at Anfield is remarkable
He is credited for inspiring the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ in 2005 when they fought back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the Champions League final on penalties.
‘The best feeling of my life. We thought we were out,’ he said on lifting the trophy. The following year, the midfielder’s long-range strike in injury-time saved Liverpool from defeat against West Ham in the FA Cup final.
Sadly for Gerrard, he left before Jurgen Klopp restored the glory days to Anfield.
£75million defender Virgil van Dijk proved the final piece in Liverpool’s title-winning jigsaw while Mo Salah has become known as the Egyptian King for his incredible record – scoring 211 goals from the wing.
Not only has Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot on three occasions, his ice-cool penalty early on in the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham put them on the way to becoming kings of Europe for a sixth time.
To select your greatest Liverpool player, click on the voting button or email greatest@dailymail.co.uk if you want to choose someone not on the shortlist.
We will reveal the results of the greatest all-time player for all 20 Premier League clubs before the start of the 2024/25 season.