Liverpool have fielded some extraordinary and legendary defenders. Here we will go back a century and isolate five of the great all time right-backs.
Traditionally, the right back filled the no. 2 shirt. The left back, the no. 5 jersey.
The traditional roles of the defensive backs have evolved in tandem along side the changes and evolution of football in general. From the beginning, through the eras of shifting tactics and changing responsibilities, to today’s full-backs in the modern game.
Defensive backs have seen their roles and positional requirements change to suit a more advancing role, becoming an integral component in the build up and attacking structure.
As the years wore on, positions and roles have changed and we’ve seen full-backs morphing from a primarily defensive player to one who’s job it is to stretch play to its maximum width and supply the inverted forwards to crosses.
As a great team, Liverpool have had some great full-backs. There was a brief period during the dark days of Roy Hodgson, the second coming of Kenny Dalglish and some of the days under Brendon Rodgers.
We start at the very start, even before World War One kicked off, with the original Liverpool lads. It’s time for a true legend, who played for nearly 20 years.