Robbie Fowler is one of those players who doesn't quite get mentioned enough for how good he was. The Liverpool academy product made his debut during the first ever Premier League season, and was one of the standout performers during the early years of the newly-revamped English top flight, netting 83 times across the first four Premier League campaigns.
Fowler was so good that he was nicknamed simply 'God' on Merseyside. And yet, although Fowler is often considered to be an Anfield icon, the fact his achievements came during the formative years of the Premier League, before it had truly established itself as the best top flight in the world, means he is often overlooked in favour of those who came after him - particularly his Liverpool understudy, Michael Owen.
A silhouette of Robbie Fowler with Michael Owen and Alan Shearer Related
'I Was Better Than Shearer, Owen and Sheringham - But Only Played 26 England Games'
The former Reds striker insisted he was the best striker in the country at a point in his career.
Indeed, Owen rose to prominence while Fowler was sidelined with an ACL injury and that is unfortunately another factor in the Mersey-born striker's diminished legacy. 'God' only enjoyed three seasons at his absolute peak, during which he scored at least 30 goals in all competitions in three consecutive campaigns. Although he would play for another 14 seasons after suffering a serious knee injury during the 1997/88 campaign, Fowler would never manage more than 18 goals in all competitions during a single season, while there were eight in which he failed to even score ten.
Nonetheless, Fowler at his peak was as good a finisher as any striker in his era, and he still enjoyed a phenomenal career: with Liverpool he won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Cup, the European Super Cup and was also part of the squad that reached the 2006/07 Champions League final after returning for a second spell at Anfield. He was also twice nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
Fowler will therefore have a pretty reliable opinion when it comes to naming the greatest players of his generation, and the former Liverpool striker was in no doubt when naming the best footballer he ever played alongside.
Honourable mention for Steven Gerrard
Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman
Speaking at the Hisense and FIFA Club World Cup media event, Fowler was asked to name his most underrated team-mate. While he didn't feel Steve McManaman deserved such a moniker, he did name the former Liverpool and England midfielder as the best player he's ever played alongside - ahead of Reds legend Steven Gerrard, who had to settle for an honourable mention. He said...
"He's not underrated but people ask me all the time about who was the best player I played with. I always mention Steven Gerrard, because of what he is and what he's done. But the best player I played with was Steve McManaman. Steve McManaman was brilliant and I can't speak highly enough of him. I know he's a big mate of mine, so there's a little bit of bias there. But look, he was an incredible player. And for any player to go and do what he did at Real Madrid and be one of the Galacticos and not look out of place will do for me. He was incredible."
McManaman and Fowler's Close Connection
On and off the pitch
Liverpool pair Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler share an embrace.
It's no secret that McManaman and Fowler are close friends. They both came through Liverpool's academy and while Fowler was born in Toxteth just outside the city centre, McManaman was born in nearby Bootle. They were involved in both companionship and controversy off the pitch down the years, and seemed to share a similar fate within the England fold, having both shown a reluctance to buy into Glenn Hoddle's unconventional methods ahead of the 1998 World Cup.
One of the consequences of that, coupled with Sven-Goran Eriksson's apathy towards him, was McManaman finishing his career with just 37 England caps. Fowler, meanwhile, albeit more due to injury problems than personal relationships, managed just 26.
Robbie Fowler Related
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The former Liverpool striker almost included himself, but instead opted to pick no player from any three of his old Premier League stomping grounds.
Nonetheless, Fowler and McManaman were a force to be reckoned with on the pitch during their time at Liverpool. They played together on 263 occasions, with Fowler scoring 136 goals and providing 34 assists, and McManaman chalking up 39 goals and 61 assists. They were directly involved in 30 goals together and were ranked by Sky Sports in 2018 as the third-best goal-assist partnership in Premier League history, after Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard and Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton - although Harry Kane and Heung-min Son may well have surpassed them since then.
Having left Liverpool in summer 1999 for Real Madrid and then gone on to win two Champions League titles, it's no surprise Fowler ranks McManaman as the greatest player he shared a dressing room with. Very few English players have made a success of life at the Bernabeu, but Macca is treated like a legend in the Spanish capital.