The five most legendary right-backs to wear the Liver Bird

Steve Nicol

Our final legendary right back for Liverpool is Steve Nicol. He joined the Reds in 1982 and made 468 appearances and scored 46 goals.

He played all over for the Reds; right back, left back, center back, and midfield holding defender. In the 1988-89 campaign Steve was named Football Writers Association football player of the year, which saw him not only play at right full-back, but five other positions in the side.

The fact that he scored 46 goals and was not a regular penalty taker is particularly incredible, and speaks to his attacking sensibility to go along with his immense defensive prowess.

In honor and respect for the differences in generational football, I’ve chosen not to list these players in any kind of order. Each in their own right defined a generation of Liverpool football and their contributions cannot be overstated. It would be fanciful and downright ludicrous to compare a Lawler with say a Tommy Lucas, or Ephraim Longworth with a Phil Neal, as the game has changed so much, the speed, agility, general skill, and sports medicine make it an unfair comparison in most instances.

Furthermore, I have not chosen a player from the 90’s going forward to today simply because most of those fullbacks in this generation did not only play in the right back role, or they did not have the longevity in their careers, or they simply moved on to other clubs. Jason McAteer and Rob Jones come to mind here.

Which brings us to today. Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are the very best fullback tandem of their generation; only Neal and Hughes can compare. But these lads are still relatively young and have exciting and world class footballing careers ahead of them barring severe injury or some other kind of career ending situation. Given another half decade in a Liverpool jersey these lads will break every fullback record at the club. Indeed they have redefined the roll of fullback for a generation.