Just one word is needed to describe Ian Rush's Liverpool career: goals. The Welshman scored 346 of them in 660 appearances, a club record which will take some beating. Nothing shakes the Kop more than a goal, and no one has caused quite so much structural damage to the famous stand as Rush.

More importantly, his predatory instincts were instrumental in the Reds dominating the game for most of the 1980s. He was loved at Anfield, feared at every opposition ground and renowned throughout Europe.

Twenty trophies in nine seasons - not bad for a man who didn’t even want to be manager of Liverpool FC.

Following in the footsteps of the great Bill Shankly was a task many believed to be mission impossible yet Paisley took the step up in his stride. His achievements in such a short period in charge – including winning three European Cups - cannot be underestimated, nor will they ever be eclipsed and he is quite rightly recognised, by many within the football community, as the undisputed Manager of the Millennium.

No one has played more games for Liverpool than Ian Callaghan. Chances are, no one ever will. Cally wore a Liver bird on his chest a remarkable 857 times during 18 years at the club. There can be no better role model for aspiring footballers than a midfielder who represented everything that's good about the game.

A true gentleman in every sense of the word, the Toxteth boy was the only player to survive Liverpool's fairy-tale journey from life as a mediocre Second Division outfit to the lofty summit of European football. Along the way he won almost every honour possible, including the highest respect from his fellow professionals and the adulation of the fans, and was booked just once.

There can only ever be one King and the man who's earned the right to sit on Anfield's throne is Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish. With a delicate touch and the ultimate football brain, King Kenny is regarded by the majority of Liverpudlians as the club's greatest ever player.

When he joined in August 1977, it was hard to see how Bob Paisley's side could top their first European Cup triumph of the previous season. But, with the highly influential Dalglish in the team, the next 13 years brought untold riches. A truly gifted player, what Dalglish went on to achieve as Liverpool manager cemented his legendary status and his double in 1986 was followed by league titles in 1988 and 1990, with another all-Merseyside Cup triumph in 1989.

A bear of a player with the delicacy of a violinist - that's how one onlooker once eloquently described Graeme Souness. It fitted the bill perfectly, for here was a fearless midfield general who, despite a reputation as a hard man, possessed the most subtle of touches.

Souness helped bring 15 major trophies to Anfield in his six years at the club, and remains one of just four Reds captains to lift the European Cup. At the peak of his powers, the 'Emperor of Anfield' was regarded as the most complete midfielder in the game and even his unsuccessful spell as manager cannot change that.

Centre-forward Albert Stubbins was one of Liverpool's most popular players in the period immediately following the end of the Second World War

Already vastly experienced and a prolific marksman when signed from Newcastle in 1946, where he scored 232 goals in 190 games in wartime, he scored on his debut at Bolton and ended the season winning a League championship medal and being equal top-scorer at the club with 24 goals. In total he made 178 first-team appearances and, in keeping with his record of scoring a goal almost every other game, he finished his playing days on Merseyside with an impressive total of 83 goals.

Christened 'God' by the Kop, Robbie Fowler is one of the most loved players in Anfield history. A boyhood Evertonian, he netted on his debut in a League Cup match against Fulham before amazing spectators and pundits alike by scoring all five in the return leg at Anfield. Aided by a fastest-ever Premiership hat-trick against Arsenal, his first full season transformed him from promising youngster to fully-fledged superstar.

The classic 'local boy made good', Fowler's popularity among the fans was at a scale not seen since Kenny Dalglish in his pomp and he was instrumental as Liverpool won the Treble in 2001.

Phil Neal is the most decorated player in Liverpool history. In fact, no Englishman can boast more medals.

The full-back helped bring 22 pieces of silverware to the Anfield trophy room and was the only player to feature in the Reds' first four European Cup triumphs.

Never has the term 'Mr Consistency' been more apt than when discussing the merits of Neal in a Liverpool shirt. Plucked from Fourth Division obscurity for £66,000 in October 1974, the former Northampton Town man was Bob Paisley's first managerial acquisition and undoubtedly one of his most inspired. He left Anfield with a haul of medals which included four European Cups, eight league titles, four League Cups and a UEFA Cup.

Bill Shankly is arguably the most famous figure in Liverpool Football Club's illustrious history. A charismatic man who realised his dream of turning us into English football's most dominant force, the Scot's spirit has quite rightly been immortalised in the very foundations of our club.

His name is synonymous with the very meaning of the 'Liverpool way' and it is his legacy that has seen us go on and conquer Europe on no fewer than five occasions, while monopolising the domestic game for over two decades. Even today, the spirit of the man who won Liverpool’s first ever FA Cup in 1965, is just as strong at Anfield, where a statue to the great man stands before his beloved Kop and the Shankly Gates bear the immortal words, ‘You'll never walk alone’.

There has been no finer sight in football than John Barnes in his pomp gliding down the wing. Arriving alongside fellow attackers John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley, Barnes was an awesome blend of strength and skill. His sweet left foot was to prove the downfall of many a team as Liverpool took football in this country to new heights, completing a record-equalling 29-game unbeaten run and, ultimately, clinching a 17th league title.

Unsurprisingly, Barnes walked away with both 1987-88 Player of the Year awards. The qualities he possessed would have seen him walk into any of the great Liverpool sides of the past – no lesser a figure than Bob Paisley once said as much and just as the No.7 shirt will always be associated with Kenny Dalglish, the No.10 will forever belong to Barnes.

A quiet and effective worker behind the scenes, Joe Fagan’s succession to the Anfield throne was the logical step after he had risen through the ranks under Bob Paisley after Bill Shankly resigned back in 1974.

Following Paisley and the impressive range of trophies secured under his tenure was never going to be an easy task but it was a challenge Fagan more than rose to, leading the Reds to the League, European Cup and League Cup treble.

Under Fagan the Reds played with a cool, calculating efficiency, with every part functioning in balance and harmony. He sadly passed away in July 2001 at the age of 80 but Joe will forever be remembered as a fine Reds manager and a true Bootroom great.

For Liverpudlians of a certain generation, Billy Liddell remains the greatest player ever to pull on a red jersey. Such was his impact, supporters even renamed the club in his honour by coining the nickname Liddellpool.

The winger came to prominence amid the gloom of the 1950s when relegation from the top flight and humiliating cup exits meant the Kop had little to smile about. During a barren era which commands little coverage in Liverpool history books, the Scot ensured crowds continued to flock to Anfield in their thousands and was largely responsible for keeping the club's head above the abyss of Football League oblivion.

Ian St John was responsible for the single greatest moment of the Shankly era. It was his extra-time goal that sealed our first FA Cup in 1965 and brought hundreds of thousands on to the streets of Liverpool in jubilation.

Even today, after famous nights in Rome and Istanbul, that first Wembley triumph is still cherished as one of the club's finest hours. St John's contribution to the Red cause goes far beyond a single goal, however. The Scot was a key figure in the transformation of Liverpool Football Club from a mediocre Second Division outfit to one of the most feared sides in Europe

He was our Spanish messiah, a tactical genius who restored our reputation as one of Europe's biggest clubs and led us to one of the greatest triumphs in our history. The Spaniard's first year in England had climaxed like a fairytale, one that was capped by a European achievement that will ensure his tenure will be immortalised and cherished in the annals of Anfield history.

For while even the late, great Bill Shankly took time to establish Liverpool as a force, Benitez made an almost immediate impact, shrugging off the disappointment of a fifth place finish in the Premiership to defy the odds and lead the Reds to a fifth European Cup success. To say his legend can be summed up in six minutes would be to belittle his other achievements, but those few precious moments that followed half-time on Wednesday, May 25, 2005, were undoubtedly the most important. Liverpool fans will never forget the miracle of Istanbul.

The only player to have an honorary knighthood bestowed upon him by the Anfield faithful, Roger Hunt is one of the most popular figures ever to pull on the red jersey. Quite why he wasn't made a 'Sir' by the Queen is still hard to fathom, especially as he was the only Red in the starting line-up when England won the World Cup in 1966.

It was for his achievements at club level, however, for which Hunt will always be remembered on Merseyside. Until Ian Rush came along he was the club's all-time record goalscorer, and to this day no-one has scored more for the Reds in the league.