My Personal Hall of Fame
I may have missed the real glory years of the 70s and early 80s, but I was lucky enough to be around for the double winning team of 85/86 and the spectacular 87/88 team - still, in my humble opinion, the most gloriously entertaining Liverpool team I've seen in my lifetime.
Any review of my personal list of Liverpool legends would have to start with that awesome team - it was the exploits of John Barnes and Peter Beardsley that arguably gave me the love I have today, not just of Liverpool FC but of football itself.
It was actually the twinkle toed talents of Beardsley that caught my eye initially. As a Forces child, I never got to see the Reds in the flesh until an away game against Norwich where they could have wrapped up the title - unfortunately, a 0-0 draw meant they had to wait a few more days to beat Tottenham at Anfield to officially be Champions but, with Barnes injured, the match winning goalscorer against Spurs was the star turn at Carrow Road, and stood head and shoulders above the rest of the talent on display in the eyes of one star struck child.
Barnes of course would go on to be a bonafide all-time great over the years, and I would find it hard to believe that anybody's all time greatest eleven of Liverpool FC would not contain the mercurial winger who managed to re-invent his game after injury as a very effective central midfielder.
Speaking of midfielders, one of my favourites for Liverpool is probably one of the most under-rated players the club has ever had, Ronnie Whelan. Not afraid to get stuck in, he also had what I believe you are legally required to refer to as a wand of a left foot, and produced numerous memorable goals (his most famous, though, arguably being for Ireland in the 88 Euros). He probably won't pick up as many votes as he should do, but then the Reds have been blessed with some truly special talents in the engine room over the years.
During the "barren" years of the 90s, where the club only picked up one FA Cup and one League Cup, there were two players that particularly stood out for me - and they couldn't really have been much more polar opposites, Rob Jones and Robbie Fowler.
Until the arrival of a certain youngster from West Derby (and the complete reinvention of the position), Jones was the best right back I saw play for Liverpool (Steve Nicol played, and excelled in so many positions, I wouldn't just nail him down as a right back). Plucked from Crewe to instantly make his debut against Manchester United and Ryan Giggs on national TV, the only thing that held him back was injuries. Without those, who knows what he could have achieved - certainly many more England caps and maybe he might be sat opposite Jamie Carragher on SKY Sports. Maybe he might even have scored a goal ... but let's not get too excited, eh?
Fowler was the most natural goalscorer I ever saw at the club (I was too late to see Ian Rush in his prime). Injuries, again, robbed us of what could have been a truly special career. It's always been a shame for me that these two players didn't pick up more trophies with the club.
The 21st Century has seen the club go ever more continental, and we've been lucky to see some truly world class talent pull on the Red shirt. Having been born in Germany, I'm obviously biased but Didi Hamann is another underrated player that helped hold the Liverpool midfield together for many years. Without his introduction at half time, the Champions League final of 2005 certainly won't be as fondly remembered by Reds fans. His midfield partner for a few of those years, Xabi Alonso, was one of those players that was the glue of the team that made everyone else tick. Alongside Jan Molby, I have yet to see a better passer of the ball in a red shirt.
For one glorious year, in Luis Suarez we had undoubtedly the best player in the world playing for us in 2013-14 - he was simply untouchable and on another level to everyone else around him. I also have a soft spot for his strike partner, Daniel Sturridge - I admit, when he joined, I was worried about the rumours about his attitude and not being a team player, but he never let the club down and, judging by what he did on and off the pitch, fully embraced the club and what it meant.
Now, of course, it's difficult not to love each and every one of the players representing the pride of Merseyside. Each has etched their name in Liverpool history and will all no doubt be considered legends themselves in the years to come...