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4 Best Right Wingers Of Liverpool Ever : All Time Greats

By Pratyush

Posted on May 12, 2020

Being a winger requires more than just smashing down the line and playing in cross after cross. It requires the ability to cut back, to draw defenders out of their positions, to act as the first line of defense in an attempt to recover the ball, and along with the necessary vision to spot the run of a teammate and feed in a cross. Here we take a look at some of the best right wingers to play for Liverpool.

All-Time Best Right Wingers at Liverpool

Arthur Goddard

Arthur Goddard was signed up from Glossop, a Second Division side, in February 1902 and handed his debut against Wolverhampton on 8th March that same year. He scored a total of 18 goals in the next two seasons in the league, establishing himself as a regular goal-scorer in the right-wing

Liverpool were relegated in 1904 and Goddard was key for the team to clinch the Second Division title to win promotion the next year. A major restructuring happened, with most players booted out of the club, but Goddard was the only player to escape the hammer. After winning promotion, Liverpool went ahead to clinch the First Division league title in 1905-06, making him the first person in English top-flight to win successive Second and First Division titles.

He would prove to be a consistent performer for the Reds by averaging nearly 30 appearances each season for the next 7 years. He earned the title “Graceful Arthur” for his smooth wing play and scored 77 times in 414 appearances over his 13 years at Anfield.

After captaining the team during the 1909-10 season, his last season turned out to be 4 years later in 1914 as his contract was not renewed and he made a free transfer to Cardiff City at the age of 36. He died in 1956 after fighting a prolonged illness battle and was inducted into the official Hall of Fame list for his contribution to the Reds.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1901-02	11	2
1902-03	34	11
1903-04	34	6
1904-05	30	8
1905-06	44	8
1906-07	39	3
1907-08	39	4
1908-09	38	4
1909-10	36	12
1910-11	33	9
1911-12	29	2
1912-13	36	8
1913-14	11	0
Total	414	77

Dirk Kuyt

At the age of 12, Kuyt was given the option to be a fisherman or a footballer. The 12-year old Dutchman decided that he’d rather give the chase to defenders than chase fishes, and over the coming years made a name for himself as a prolific goal scorer in the Dutch league for Feyenoord.

By 2006, he was snapped up by manager Rafael Benitez as a backup striker, but his tirelessness on the training ground made the manager consider deploying him as a right-winger. He made his debut against West Ham in August 2006, going on to score 14 goals that season. In the Champions League, he scored the winning penalty in the semi-final against Chelsea and would also go on to score the late consolation goal against AC Milan with Liverpool eventually losing 2-1 to the Italian side.

The next season would see the Dutchman score crucial timely goals for the Reds, including a brace in the thrilling 4-4 game against Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the UCL at Stamford Bridge. The ever-smiling Dutchman was versatile on the ball and his selfless playstyle created a lot of scoring opportunities for Fernando Torres to thrive in his number 9 role.

He scored an unforgettable hat-trick against Manchester United in the 2011 campaign, endearing himself to the Kop. He only won a single trophy in his time at Anfield, winning the League Cup in 2012, a game in which he scored twice. After 6 years of service to the club and scoring 71 times, it was announced that Kuyt would join the Turkish outfit Fenerbahce at the end of the 2012 season, but his charming enthusiasm and his long-range efforts earned him a place in the list of the best right-wingers of all time at Liverpool.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
2006-07	48	14
2007-08	48	11
2008-09	51	15
2009-10	53	11
2010-11	41	15
2011-12	44	5
TOTAL	285	71

Steve McManaman

Steve McManaman was an avid Everton fan but was picked up by the Liverpool youth outfit at the age of 14 years, and made his debut at the age of 18 against Sheffield United in 1990. A quick runner with the ball, McManaman was considered to be the most promising crop of youth players at the time, along with the likes of Ryan Giggs.

In his first full season in 1991-92, he would go on to score 11 goals in 51 games. He was praised for his ability to “run around in mazes” with the ball but criticized for his lack of finishing. Injuries mired his progression but with the advent of Roy Evans as a new manager and a deeper supporting central role to Robbie Fowler, he was unleashed as a player.

Part of the infamous “Spice Boys”, a media moniker given to a set of Liverpool players for their flamboyant nature off the pitch, he scored two important goals to earn Liverpool their fifth League Cup at Wembley in 1995, his most memorable display in a redshirt. In 1997 he was given the vice-captain armband and he scored 12 goals that season. McManaman was in the talk of Spanish media outlets for quite a while and eventually left the club to join Real Madrid. One of the best talents at Anfield during the 90s, he cuts as one of the best to occupy the right-wing for the Reds.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1990-91	3	0
1991-92	51	11
1992-93	40	7
1993-94	34	2
1994-95	55	9
1995-96	53	10
1996-97	51	10
1997-98	46	12
1998-99	31	5
Total	364	66

Also Read – 5 Best Liverpool Strikers Ever: All-Time Greats

Mohamed Salah

Initially failing to perform in the league for Chelsea, Salah excelled for Italian outfit Roma and gained a reputation for his blistering pace. This led Liverpool to snap him up for a fee of around 35 million, but no one predicted the impact he’d go on to make in his debut.

With his sensational form, Salah scored 44 goals in the 2017-18 season, the second-highest tally of any player in the club’s history. He broke the record for the most number of goals in a Premier League season with 32 out of those 44 coming in the league. He had the chance to clinch the Champions League by the end of the season, but a shoulder injury at half time and a disaster between the sticks for Liverpool in the second half put an end to that. For his exploits that season, he was awarded the PFA Player of the Year, Premier League Player of The Year and Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year.

The next season, Salah again hit the ground running, scoring 22 goals and sharing the Golden Boot trophy alongside his teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. Part of the lethal front three at Liverpool, Salah made his mark in the league so quickly owing to his ability to make quick judgments in front of the goal and carve out goal scoring chances out of nowhere. The same season saw him overcome heartbreak and lift the Champions League trophy after a final in which he scored the penalty in the opening minutes against Tottenham.

His consistency in the front may well see Liverpool win the league in 30 years, and the Egyptian King definitely makes the cut for the best right wingers Anfield has ever seen.

STATS (As on April 2020):