Many may argue that the Liverpool attackers of the 1970s and 80s were the best the club ever had due to the amount of goals they scored which led to league titles, European cups and other domestic cups, for example during a two decade spell the club had won a total of 35 major honours and many can point to the fact of how prolific the club’s attackers were during that spell, for six years during the 1970s Kevin Keegan and John Toshack spearheaded Liverpool’s attack, throughout their spell as a fearsome duo they managed to accumulate a total of 159 goals which is simply incredible, the amount of goals those two amassed brought a vast amount of trophies.
The same can be said for Liverpool’s attack during the 1980s, from 1980 to 1987 Ian Rush and Sir Kenneth Dalglish were the main contributors for goals in the famous red shirt, during their eight year spell the two strikers scored a grand total of 221 goals. For seven years these two strikers were the most feared across Europe and based on that record of 221 goals over seven seasons it is fair to say that the Liverpool FC fans enjoyed most match days with the duo scoring so many goals!
Moving onto the next decade, perhaps less prolific than the strikers of the 70s and 80s but still extremely effective in front of goals many Liverpool fans would agree that Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen formed a formidable two-some in the late 1990s the pair were strike partners from 1996 to 2002 and managed to find the back of the net a total of 191 due to the effectiveness in front of goal from Owen and Fowler the club achieved a great deal of silverware including a famous treble in the 2000/01 which saw the club lift the League cup, FA cup and UEFA cup as it was called back then.
Throughout the noughties Liverpool had many attacking partnerships such as Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, however in my opinion none of these attacking options come close to the current front three of Roberto “Bobby” Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. Of course many can argue that these front three have not lifted any silverware with Liverpool FC hence they cannot be the best attacking force the club has ever had, but based on their goals, talent and work rate alone I can stress the point that none of the past LFC attackers had what these sensational attackers have now. Take Bobby Firmino for example, he managed a career best of 27 goals this season but he offers so much more than just goals, the No.9 racked an impressive 17 assists to his team mates and offers excellent pressing qualities which is something Jurgen Klopp looks for in all his players.
Firmino is just the first part to Liverpool’s fantastic front three, on the left there is Sadio Mane who amongst the front three is perhaps the most unpredictable, many may say that mane had a “poor season”, well if scoring 20 goals and creating 8 assists counts as a “poor” season, imagine what a firing Mane can do when he is on top form. Frightening. Mane offers so much to this Liverpool side, he has great skill, blistering pace and is fantastic with both feet, there aren’t many better left wingers than Sadio Mane and we are privileged to have a player of this magnitude.
As we move on to the final player of the front three, none come much better than the Egyptian King Mohammed Salah. What can we say about this extraordinary player the amount of praise he has received has been justified to say the least, in his debut season at LFC Salah broke two premier league records (most goals in a thirty eight game season and most left footed goals in a season) won the PFA and FWA awards for the season, he also claimed the African footballer of the year, Liverpool FC players’ and fans’ player of the season and three Premier League player of the month awards. The season Mo Salah has had for Liverpool and Egypt is nothing short of sensational and he has fully deserved all the praise that he has received over the past season.
Mo Salah along with Firmino and Mane have formed a formidable front three which I believe is the best in the club’s history, and with Jurgen Klopp and co. at the helm these three will be remembered for helping the club lift many pieces of silverware in years to come that will surely surpass the trophies that Dalglish, Rush and Fowler won during their times at Liverpool Football club.
Article by Anish Dogra @Anish_Dogra
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, are they the best you have seen or do others rival them?
