Bernard Diomede – The Frenchman warrants an inclusion after representing the club, a grand total of five times. How Diomede ever made it into the French World Cup squad of 1998, only he will know. If he can receive a World Cup winners medal, there is hope for some yet.
An eye-catching overhead kick attempt in a game against Sunderland, which rattled the post, was the limit of his contribution to the club. The other clubs that had the pleasure of his talents following his departure from Liverpool read, AC Ajaccio, US Creteil and Clermont Foot. People will agree the only way is down once you leave a club such as Liverpool but this is surely stretching it.
Sean Dundee – Who? Exactly. Most Liverpool fans will agree on the inclusion of the South African striker. Labelled by many as the worst player to wear the red shirt, Dundee played a total of three games for the Reds. Signed in 1998 for £2 million by Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans, Dundee claimed to share comparisons with Michael Owen. Not quite.
David Ngog – Including a player from more recent times, David Ngog must go to bed each night and wonder how he has ended up leading the line for Liverpool Football Club. Upon his signing, Rafael Benitez took the opportunity to praise the efforts of his scouting network, “finding very good players at really low prices”. In David Ngog’s case, he cost very little for the simple fact he is not of the required standard. A player that would struggle to get into the Portsmouth first eleven, even with all of their current problems.
A player with more in common with Bambi than any reasonable footballer. In football players, particularly strikers, we look to see what specific qualities enable them to stand out from the rest and can impact on the team’s performance. Do they have blistering pace? Great finisher? Do they head the ball well? Strong and powerful? The ability to spot a pass? David Ngog does not possess one of these attributes and thus it is quite a struggle to see what he offers the team. Bids are encouraged..
Eric Meijer – A striker signed to compliment the attacking talents of Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen, Meijer left the club after making 24 appearances and scoring no goals. Remembered more for his flamboyant personality than any footballing talent.
El Hadji Diouf – The player that all football fans love to hate. The Senegalese forward was signed before the 2002 World Cup and makes the list for his price tag as well as his performances. Liverpool paid Lens £10 million for the privilege of including Diouf on their team sheet, a player deemed better than the departing Nicolas Anelka. Poor performances added to shameful incidents with opposing fans brought unwanted headlines to the club and the door was shown.
The task of narrowing the list down to just the five players was a difficult one and draws into focus the multitude of mistakes made at Liverpool by the current management team and their predecessors. Others worthy of a mention move the list into double figures. Take your pick from Rigobert Song, Pegguy Arphexad, Igor Biscan, Salif Diao, Andrey Voronin, Antonio Nunez, Josemi, Bruno Cheyrou, Phillip Degen. The list goes on and on……and on.
Is it any wonder Liverpool find themselves in their current position after investing in such a lack of quality footballers over the years? Liverpool fans have certainly had to endure their fair share.
