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Liverpool’s All Time Top Goal Scorers

By Pratyush

Posted on May 22, 2020

In all its essence, football is won by the team with most goals at the end of 90 minutes. At any given point in their history, the Reds have duly supplied some entertaining goal scorers to the footballing world and here we take a look at some of the most prolific goal poachers in a Redshirt.

5 Players Who Scored Highest Number Of Goals At Liverpool

5. STEVEN GERRARD (186 Goals)

Born in Liverpool, raised through the Liverpool Academy, the midfielder started as a right-back in his career. But his ability to play as a box to box player and his penchant for scoring absolute screamers was quickly noted by his coaches.

And that is what makes him so special. When his team needed him, he was there to fill up any role, as his versatility allowed him to play any tactical position his manager required him to play. It can be fair to say that Gerrard was the reason Liverpool weren’t a midfield team in the first half of the 2000s, and his sole leadership is probably the reason Liverpool lifted their fifth Champions League, scoring that absolute howler against Olympiakos and inspiring a comeback in Istanbul when Liverpool were suffering 3-0 down.

Under Rafa Benitez Gerrard shifted to a more creative role, partnering up with players such as Torres and Suarez to orchestrate attacks, winning the FWA Footballer of The Year in 2009.

Easily one of the best midfielders in the world in his prime, he turned down several offers to play for title-winning teams, instead devoting his entire career to the club. And while one could say his trophy cabinet doesn’t match his ability, his 186 goals in 710 appearances make him the fifth-best goal scorer donning the Redshirt.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1998-99	13	0
1999-00	31	1
2000-01	50	10
2001-02	45	4
2002-03	54	7
2003-04	47	6
2004-05	43	13
2005-06	53	23
2006-07	51	11
2007-08	52	21
2008-09	44	24
2009-10	49	12
2010-11	24	8
2011-12	28	9
2012-13	46	10
2013-14	39	14
2014-15	41	13
Total	710	186

4. BILLY LIDDELL (228 Goals)

Making his debut against Chester in 1946, Liddell would go on to play an astonishing 534 games for the club, scoring 228 goals in the process which was of course mired by the advent of the war. Primarily playing as a left-winger, it was unfortunate that a team with such a brilliant attacker would go on to win just one league title with him and get relegated to the second division. But that didn’t stop Liddell to give everything he can for the team to try to claw its way back up, consistently finding the back of the net with his right foot.

A visionary both on and off the pitch, he often suggested the idea of a European Cup back when it wasn’t even a thing. Success wouldn’t come to him personally with him retiring before Liverpool took off in the league and won every possible trophy out there, but every Kopite can agree that Billy Liddell played his part in turning “Liddellpool” the club that it is today.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1945-46	2	1
1946-47	40	8
1947-48	39	11
1948-49	42	9
1949-50	48	19
1950-51	36	15
1951-52	43	19
1952-53	40	13
1953-54	37	7
1954-55	44	31
1955-56	44	32
1956-57	42	21
1957-58	40	23
1958-59	19	14
1959-60	17	5
1960-61	1	0
Total	534	228

3. GORDON HODGSON (241 Goals)

Playing as an inside forward for much of his career, the talismanic South African was picked up by scouts in 1925 when his national team was touring Britain, back when he was still a nineteen-year-old kid.

Hodgson holds the record of scoring 17 hat-tricks in his career. Yes, 17! A club record which still holds to this day nearly a century later. A burly six-footer, he was known for charging through defenders to score goals and his heading ability as well.

He’d go on to net 241 times in 377 appearances as a Red, back when unfortunately Merseyside success was coming in on Everton’s way. It is surprising that for a player who ends up second in an all-time goalscoring chart, Hodgson never won a single trophy at Liverpool. With more than 10 years at the club, he finally parted ways to join Aston Villa in 1936, after etching his name as a top goalscorer for Liverpool.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1925-26	12	4
1926-27	40	18
1927-28	32	23
1928-29	41	32
1929-30	37	14
1930-31	41	36
1931-32	43	27
1932-33	38	24
1933-34	40	25
1934-35	36	29
1935-36	17	9
Total	377	241

2. ROGER HUNT (285 Goals)

Quick, strong and possessing a rocket of a shot, he made his debut in 1959 when Liverpool were still struggling in the Second Division. Taking the helm from players like Billy Liddell, Roger Hunt was one of the few players that survived the mass cleanup Bill Shankly performed to reinvigorate the club back to the top perch.

The faith was repaid with interest, with Hunt being the club’s topscorer for eight successive seasons. 1962, the time in which Liverpool were promoted, Hunt scored FIVE hat-tricks in that season alone. While Ian Rush may have more goals, Roger Hunt has the bragging rights of boasting a goal per game ratio of 0.57, which translates to a goal every other match throughout his 11 years at the club.

Asked about the reason why he was so consistent, he answered in an interview once – “We knew that all other things being equal, like skill, tactics and run of the ball, it was fitness that would count in the end. So we kept at 100% at all times, and it paid us. We have found that there is more satisfaction in a good win than there is in a pint or a cigarette packet.”

Roger Hunt would eventually move on to Bolton, but his tally of 285 goals makes him the second most proficient goal-scorer for the club.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1959-60	38	23
1960-61	36	19
1961-62	46	42
1962-63	48	26
1963-64	46	33
1964-65	58	37
1965-66	46	32
1966-67	48	19
1867-68	57	30
1968-69	47	17
1969-70	22	7
Total	492	285

ALSO READ – 5 Best Liverpool Strikers Ever: All-Time Greats

1. IAN RUSH (346 Goals)

With a career spanning 14 years at the club with 346 goals in 660 appearances, Ian Rush tops the all-time goalscoring chart by quite a margin. He’s won 15 trophies with the Reds, along with several PFA Player of the Year awards and a European Golden Boot in 1984.

His move to Juventus in 1987 didn’t work out, the Italians being too conservative in their football with their defensive playstyle. Liverpool were smart enough to sign him back, and Rush quickly found the back of the net again in a Redshirt.

The thing that sets Ian Rush apart from others is his work ethic. Most strikers can score 25 plus goals a season, but not as consistently as Rush did. The former Welsh international was known for his intelligent positioning and his constant harassment of the backline by closing down on goalkeepers and defenders. He was the ultimate team player, selfless on the ball, and relying on his composure rather than sheer raw dribbling ability to score goals for the team, and that makes him the best goal-scorer Anfield has ever seen.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1980-81	9	0
1981-82	49	30
1982-83	51	31
1983-84	65	47
1984-85	44	26
1985-86	56	33
1986-87	57	40
1988-89	32	11
1989-90	48	26
1990-91	48	26
1991-92	31	9
1992-93	42	22
1993-94	49	19
1994-95	50	19
1995-96	29	7
Total	660	346