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Robbie Fowler & Liverpool: Football's Cult Heroes

August 09, 2023 0

  Mohamed Salah is the current king of the Liverpool’s strikeforce and has been for several years. However, that wasn’t always the case. Before the days of Salah, back before Suarez, and even before Fernando Torres, there was another Liverpool FC striker who was considered the King of The Kop.



It wasn’t Michael Owen, who could certainly be described as modern Liverpool royalty, although his late career move to Manchester United was somewhat treacherous and damaging in the eyes of Liverpool fans. It was, of course, The Toxteth Terror, Robbie Fowler.

We are not talking about the Robbie Fowler who returned to Liverpool under Rafa Benetiz, but the player who broke onto the scene in the 90s and demonstrated finishing instincts that have rarely been seen before or since. Demand from both international and local fans buying up Liverpool tickets to see the icon play in the KOP was unprecedented.

As some of the younger readers will not remember Robbie Fowler,  we have decided to take a closer look at the talent that in his prime was unplayable.

A Finisher Like No Other

Fowler wasn’t renowned for his pace, his physicality, or even his passing range. However, he could finish a chance in front of a full house at Anfield with all the calmness of a player kicking a ball about in their back garden.

Former teammate at Liverpool, Jamie Redknapp once told Sky Sports: “He wasn’t very tall, wasn’t athletic looking, he had funny little legs, a paunch almost at times, no real strength if you compare him to the modern thoroughbred footballers. But nobody—nobody—could finish like him.”  The statistics of Robbie Fower are impressive especially during the 1995 & 1996 season.

A Quick Starter

In 1993, at the earliest stages of his career, Fowler hit five past Fulham. The year after, he scored a four-minute hat-trick against Arsenal. In the three seasons from 1994, he scored 107 goals. In fact, it only took him 165 games to score 100 for the club.

Fowler burst onto the scene at Liverpool football club in a way that few players have. When he left for Leeds in 2001, he was the man the Liverpool fans called ‘God’ such was the adoration he had from everyone associated to the club.

A Serial Winner

Fowler was at Liverpool FC when they weren’t going into any tournaments as favourites. However, he left the club with a host of individual and team honours. They include two League Cups, an FA Cup, a European Super Cup, and two PFA Young Player of the Year gongs in 1995 and 1996.

A Personality That Fit

Despite his talent, Fowler had a humble personality which further drew the Liverpool fanbase to him. This was plain to see when after a young Robbie scored the five aforementioned goals against Fulham back in the early 90s. When the press asked Graeme Souness if they could speak to Fowler, Souness responded: “He’s not coming out. He says he wouldn’t know what to say.”

A Mutual Love

The simple fact of the matter is that as much as the fans adored Fowler, he loved them back just as much. That was evident when he discussed his 2006 return to the club.

He said: “I have come back on a short-term deal and, after that, it is up to me. I hope I will get the chance to play and, if I do, I will take that chance. I don’t see this as the end of my career. I am hungry, as hungry as I have ever been, and I want to show that to everyone. I fully intend to prove that I am worth a new contract.”

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