Top 25 Liverpool players of the Premier League era - #1

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 25 Liverpool players in Premier League history concludes with number one - Steven Gerrard.

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard of Liverpool celebrates scoring the second goal by kissing the steadicam during the Barclays Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 16, 2014© Getty Images

Most of the players on this list have one or two moments from their Liverpool career which immediately spring to mind, but for Steven Gerrard you could create a separate countdown just for his memorable contributions in a Liverpool shirt.

Be it his goal against Olympiacos, his header in the 2005 Champions League final or his last-gasp equaliser in the 2006 FA Cup final, there are no shortage of special memories attached to Gerrard and his Liverpool career.

A true contender to the crown of Liverpool's greatest ever player alongside Kenny Dalglish, it is difficult to imagine where the club would have been throughout the relatively fallow period of the 1990s and 2000s had it not been for the talismanic midfielder.

Only Ian Callaghan and Jamie Carragher have played more games for Liverpool and only four players have scored more goals, with Gerrard ending his illustrious Anfield career with 186 goals from 710 appearances for the club - including 120 in 504 Premier League outings.

The lack of a Premier League title is perhaps the only blot on Gerrard's club career, but without him it is highly unlikely the club would have finished second on three occasions - yet alone scooped nine trophies during his time on Merseyside.

Gerrard's early years at Liverpool saw him help the club to a cup treble in 2001, and by 2003 he had earned the captain's armband and established himself as one of the leading midfielders in English football.

The former England captain's contributions on the way to Champions League glory in 2005 are already stuff of legend, and he arguably topped that with a two-goal showing in the FA Cup final a year later - a match now known as 'the Gerrard final'.

In all, Gerrard won two FA Cups, three League Cups, the Champions League, the UEFA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup with Liverpool, and on a personal level he was named in the PFA Team of the Year on a record eight occasions.

Gerrard is also a former FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year, Player of the Year and two-time Fans' Player of the Year, in addition to finishing third in the voting for the 2005 Ballon d'Or.

Liverpool's Premier League era has certainly not lived up to the all-conquering teams of years gone by, but Gerrard's ability was such that he would have walked into any Liverpool lineup past or present and he will forever be regarded as a true legend of the club.

West Ham United's Adrian and Robert Snodgrass celebrate victory over Tottenham Hotspur on May 5, 2017
Read Next:
Brighton, Sunderland chasing Snodgrass?
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole



Tables
LIVE SCORES VIDEPRINTER
expand