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4 Best Left Wingers Ever at Liverpool : All-Time Greats

By Pratyush

Posted on May 16, 2020

The role of a winger has evolved too over the years. The traditional role requires players to stay close to the touchline and float in crosses for strikers to score. But by the 1970s, football saw the rise of wingers acting as forwards up in the field, their ability to cut back and link-up play with the midfield crucial in the buildup of an attack. Liverpool has had no dearth of wingers running up and down the field, mesmerizing the crowd with their feet, and scoring some spectacular goals in the process. Here we take a look at some of the best-left wingers to ever play for Liverpool.

4 Best Left Wingers at Liverpool

4. PETER THOMPSON

Born in Carlisle, Peter Thompson grabbed the attention of Bill Shankly when he knocked out Liverpool in the FA Cup while playing for Preston North End. He was 20 years old when the Reds swooped him up 18 months later in August of 1963.

Always a regular in the team under the stewardship of Bill Shankly, he would go on to win 2 league titles and Liverpool’s first FA Cup in 1965. He made 416 appearances for the Reds, scoring 54 goals in the process. Some may say that is a bit modest for a winger, but in Bill Shankly’s own words – “He could run forever, but more importantly in football he could run with the ball – probably the hardest thing to do. He could run every minute of every game, every week, every year better than anybody else.”

And that is precisely why he was so crucial at Anfield. He scored some spectacular goals, including one against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1965.

He played as a typical winger, tormenting full-backs and putting in creative crosses with his left foot as Liverpool soared to the summit of English football under Bill Shankly.

He would go on to occupy the left flank consistently for a decade until his persistent knee issue meant his place as a regular in the team was doubtful. Thompson stayed at Liverpool but couldn’t play a single match in his last two seasons and he finally departed the club to join Bolton Wanderers in 1973. Sadly, the mercurial playmaker passed away recently in 2018, but his reputation will not be forgotten anytime soon by veteran Kopites.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1963-64	47	8
1964-65	55	6
1965-66	50	6
1966-67	52	11
1967-68	58	5
1968-69	51	9
1969-70	49	7
1970-71	39	2
1971-72	15	0
1972-73	0	0
1973-74	0	0
Total	416	54

3. BILLY LIDDELL

It comes as no surprise that Billy Liddell would feature in our list of the best players to occupy the left-wing in a redshirt. Such was his impact on the game that the team came to be known as “Liddellpool” during his era.

Liverpool have a certain Matt Busby to thank for when it comes to signing this legend. Sir Matt suggested to the then Liverpool manager “this Liddell lad might be worth an inquiry” and in 1939, Liddell joined Liverpool. But the advent of the Second World War stopped any further official footballing from happening.

In the first post-war season, his first game came in an FA Cup game against Chester at Anfield in 1946. He scored in his debut, and was praised for his acceleration and his strong physique on the pitch. He scored 7 goals in the league and won Liverpool’s fifth league title in 1947. Always having an eye for goal, Liddell was the leading goalscorer for Liverpool in eight out of nine seasons, from 1949 to 1958. Such was his composure and consistency that the Kop would ring out with chants of “Give it to Liddell!” every time the team had the ball in the opposition half.

Defensive woes however, saw the Anfield outfit get relegated to the Second Division in 1954 and there is only so much one man can do. After scoring 228 goals for the club for 14 years at Merseyside, Liddell finally retired at the age of 39.

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

2. JOHN BARNES

Signed up from Watford for a fee of £900,000 in the summer of 1987, John Barnes instantly slotted into his role as an out-and-out winger, creating chances and scoring goals. He had a wonderful season debut that year, scoring 17 goals and nearly appearing in every match Liverpool played.

The talismanic winger was popular for his ability to make goals as well. He was the first black player to have signed up for Liverpool, and in an iconic moment at Goodison, was thrown a banana as a sign of disrespect by some Evertonians. Ever so coolly, he back-heeled the fruit off the pitch. That cool was an integral trait to his playstyle as well, and in 1988 when Liverpool clinched the league title, John Barnes was awarded Player of The Year. His form continued the next year as well, and he won back to back Player of The Year awards and scored 28 goals, two more than the great Ian Rush.

With the eventual retirement of Rush, John Barnes took over the helm of captainship at Anfield and was a constant source of guidance for many young players at the time including Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen. By the time he finally moved on to Newcastle in 1997, Barnes had scored 108 games in 407 appearances for the club, and he is certainly an all-time great.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1987-88	48	17
1988-89	44	14
1989-90	45	28
1990-91	45	18
1991-92	17	4
1992-93	31	5
1993-94	30	3
1994-95	50	9
1995-96	50	3
1996-97	47	7
1997-98	0	0
Total	407	108

ALSO READ – 5 Best Liverpool Strikers Ever

1. STEVE HEIGHWAY

Steve Heighway isn’t your usual legendary footballer. The Irishman was studying Economics and playing for a non-league team when one of Bob Paisley’s sons spotted him. Cut to 2 months later and he was signed by Liverpool in the summer of 1970.

Part of the rebuilding Bill Shankly overtook at Anfield, he replaced Phil Thompson down in the left-wing. Having no professional training as such during his formative years, Heighway was known to have an unorthodox style of play. Couple that with his blistering pace on the ball, he turned out to be the stuff of nightmares for many defenders.

One of the most memorable moments was when Liverpool were trailing 2-0 in the Merseyside derby and with 10 minutes remaining, Heighway ghosted down the left side to slot a low attempt at goal.

He assisted another 2 minutes later with Liverpool eventually winning the thriller 3-2.

He was a prolific scorer as well, turning in the ball 76 times in the net in his career spanning 475 games. He is a part of one of the most successful teams Liverpool ever fielded, winning 12 trophies for the club, including 5 league titles and 2 European Cups. By the end of the decade he decided to try his luck in the MLS rather than retiring but eventually came back to Liverpool to coach the youth team, eventually finally retiring from his coaching role in 2007.

STATS:

SEASON	APPEARANCES	GOALS
1970-71	49	7
1971-72	50	8
1972-73	62	10
1973-74	52	8
1974-75	46	13
1975-76	54	6
1976-77	58	14
1977-78	46	6
1978-79	37	4
1979-80	11	0
1980-81	10	0
Total	475	76