Gérard Houllier’s 40 Liverpool signings ranked and rated – who’s the worst?

Jari Litmanen // Barcelona // Free

Jari Litmanen was supposed to be the high-profile signing that would proper Liverpool to the big time. However, injuries and a curious lack of trust from Houllier meant that the Finn’s two years at Anfield were never as productive as they might have been.

It was third time lucky for the Reds as they’d previously tried to bring the forward in twice before they got him in January 2001.

Whenever he did well, Litmanen was left on the bench for the next game. Two matches in a row he scored, only to be left out of the side for the third match – and this happened twice!

This was a weird move for everyone. Houllier was so excited when the former Barcelona man arrived, but then didn’t really play him as much as he could have, but then lamented his departure when he was gone. Odd.

Rating: 5/10

Harry Kewell // Leeds United //£5,000,000

Harry Kewell was one of Houllier’s last signing and it was another one who struggled to have a prolonged impact throughout his time at Anfield.

As a boyhood Liverpool fan, the Australian international turned down more lucrative offers to play for the Reds – and had a good first campaign under the French boss. He played 49 games in all competitions and scored 11 goals.

However, he was never able to recreate that form again as injuries took their toll.

As Houllier left and Benitez took over, he failed to crack the puzzle of Kewell’s body and by 2006 his Merseyside dream had turned into a nightmare as he only played 18 times in those two seasons.

He played 139 games in five years, with 16 goals – but 11 came in that debut campaign. He left on a free.

Rating: 5/10