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Liverpool’s 3 Best Goalkeepers Ever: All-Time Greats

By Pratyush

Posted on May 27, 2020

A famous football saying goes – “Goalkeepers are the drummers of football’s music, people only notice them when they screw up.”. Every successful team across generations features a solid keeper at the back, their performances having the ability to make or break the team (just ask Loris Karius), their split-second decisions deciding the outcome of an entire match. Here we take a look and rank the best shot-stoppers to ever play for the Reds between the sticks.

All-Time Best Goalkeepers to play for the Reds

#3: Bruce Grobbelaar

Best known for his eccentric wobbly-legged antics that led Roma’s Francesco Graziani to shoot over the bar and Liverpool clinching their fourth European Cup at Rome in 1984, Bruce Grobbelaar was no ordinary footballer by any means. Joining the army as a teenager during the Rhodesian Civil War, the South-African born Zimbabwean excelled in wartime sports and wanted to make a career out of it. After failing to get a work permit in England, he made a stint for Vancouver Whitecaps in America, where he was eventually picked up by Bob Paisley and signed for the Reds in March 1981.

With the departure of Liverpool legend Ray Clemence to Tottenham, it was no easy feat for Grobbelaar to fit into the team. Popular for his eccentric charisma and personality, the 24 year old Zimbabwean initially performed poorly, his first season pockmarked with silly errors and mistakes. But his athleticism and the accompanying showmanship eventually helped him get over his erratic performances and he started consistently appearing for the Reds, winning the league title by his second season.

He maintained his position for the next 5 years, not missing a single game out of 310 appearances between 1981 and 1986. He was also part of the team playing on the pitch when tragedy struck at Hillsborough stadium in 1989. Bruce was the closest to the section of the stadium that collapsed and killed 96 people, and later recounted some individuals even calling out to him directly for help. The war-hardened veteran keeper was shaken by this harrowing experience and even contemplated retiring.

However he continued to play on and off before moving on to Southampton in 1994. In his almost 14 years stint at the club, the showstopper made 628 appearances and won 13 trophies for the Reds, including 5 league titles and 3 European Cups. His antics in the 1984 European Cup final would be recreated 21 years later at a famous night in Istanbul when Jerzy Dudek employed similar tactics to clinch Liverpool’s fifth against AC Milan.

STATS:

COMPETITION	APPEARANCES	CLEAN SHEETS
League	440	184
FA Cup	62	30
League Cup	70	31
Europe	38	18
Other	18	4
Total	628	267

#2: Elisha Scott

Known as the “First King of the Kop”, Elisha Scott came to Merseyside following in his elder brother’s footsteps who played for Everton. Elisha couldn’t impress the Evertonians however, and was prepared to return to his hometown of Belfast when Liverpool came knocking and the 19-year-old was soon snapped up and placed in the reserve team in 1912.

War ravaged Europe a couple of years later, but that did not stop Elisha’s progress as a no-nonsense shot-stopper. A conservative keeper, he never took chances with the ball and pushed it behind whenever necessary. He was much endeared by the Kop for being a consistent figure on the team sheet. A fan even ran down the pitch to kiss him once after he made a spectacular save against Blackburn Rovers in 1924.

Winning 2 league titles in his time with the Reds, he made 468 appearances for the Reds, the most at the time. In 1934, he was offered up the choice to join local rivals Everton, but this time it was Elisha’s turn to reject the offer and he chose to retire rather than face his beloved team in a different shirt.

His legacy is so deeply rooted in the club’s history that Elisha Scott’s name is even engraved in one of the seven granite benches placed in front of the new Main Stand, dedicated to “Men Who Built Anfield”.

STATS:

COMPETITION	APPEARANCES	CLEAN SHEETS
League	430	126
FA Cup	37	11
Charity Shield	1	0
Total	468	137

ALSO READ – Liverpool’s All Time Top Goal Scorers

#1: Ray Clemence

One of Liverpool’s most decorated goalkeepers of all time, Ray Clemence won it all in his dazzling 14 years at Merseyside. Signed from Scunthorpe United in 1967 at the age of 19, he had to wait out 3 years until he was handed his debut in a Redshirt in 1970. He had a brilliant positional sense, and his quick reactions along with a sturdy defense earned Liverpool titles after titles. His dramatic penalty save against Borussia Monchengladbach would see Liverpool lift the UEFA Cup in 1974, and he made a similar save against Dynamo Dresden in similar circumstances a couple of years later in 1976.

With players like Alan Hansen and Phil Neal to accompany him in defense, Liverpool would march on to their first European Cup trophy in 1977, in which Ray Clemence made another dramatic penalty save against Borussia Monchengladbach. He also conceded just 16 goals in the 1978-79 campaign, a league record at the time.

The Englishman’s consistency as Liverpool’s No 1 was unparalleled, with him missing just six games throughout his entire 14-year career with the Reds. The legendary custodian won five League titles, one FA Cup, a League Cup, three European Cups and 2 UEFA Cups during his time at Anfield. With 323 clean sheets in 665 appearances and 13 trophies for the club, Ray Clemence finally departed Merseyside to join Tottenham after his contract expired.

STATS: