One of the most undervalued things that a footballer can be is available to play. Over the years, Liverpool have had some brilliantly talented players who suffered so badly from injuries that their careers never really got a chance to be what they should’ve been.
Through Jamie Redknapp to Thiago Alcantara, the Reds have had numerous players who could’ve offered so much more if their bodies had been more robust. That is just one of the things that makes the players on this list stand out: the number of matches they played. Of course, to be able to play so many matches for a club like Liverpool means that you’ve got to be not only an available player but a good one too.
The Top Ten
First things first, then, and a look at the players that make up the top ten for Liverpool in terms of the number of appearances that they made for the club. For all of them, the ability to get on the pitch at Anfield so often will have been a genuine privilege, just as it was a privilege for the crowd that got to watch them pull on the Red shirt week after week:
| Player | Number of Appearances |
|---|---|
| Ian Callaghan | 857 |
| Jamie Carragher | 737 |
| Steven Gerrard | 710 |
| Ray Clemence | 665 |
| Emlyn Hughes | 665 |
| Ian Rush | 660 |
| Phil Neal | 650 |
| Tommy Smith | 638 |
| Bruce Grobbelaar | 628 |
| Alan Hansen | 620 |
Knowing the list of players is one thing, but taking a closer look to see what they achieved during their time at Anfield is something else entirely. Here is some more in-depth information about all ten players:
Ian Callaghan (857 Appearances) – 640 League – 79 FA Cup – 42 League Cup – 89 Europe – 7 Other
Born in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth, Ian Callaghan was flagged up by Billy Liddell as a probably successor for him when he decided to retire as a player. It is somewhat fitting, therefore, that Callaghan’s first appearance came when he replaced Billy Liddell in a 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers, having turned 18 just four days prior. That was in a Second Division match on the 16th of April 1960, with the Scouser staying at the club for another 18 years.
It is fair to say that he saw his fair share of change at Liverpool in the years he was at Anfield, not least of all the arrival of Bill Shankly and the complete overhaul of life at the football club.
On this Day 1965..
The Reds defeat Inter Milan 3-1 at Anfield with Ian Callaghan netting from this superbly worked free-kick. https://t.co/X8utCd9cvm pic.twitter.com/eQmwCpAgJD— Davolaa (@Davolaar) May 4, 2024
He had to bide his time initially, with Shankly choosing not to put the expectations of the Reds on someone so young, but from the November of Liverpool’s promotion season of 1961-1962 he was a mainstay in the team. This was in the era of football when you would only be issued with a red card if practically killed someone, with injury lay-offs being few and far between.
Callaghan put his body through all sorts to make it on pitch for the Reds, but it was worth it. Even when he had knee surgery in the 1970-1971 campaign, his return saw a move central that allowed him to play for another seven years. A ‘model professional and a model human being’, as Shanks described him.
Jamie Carragher (737 Appearances) – 508 League – 40 FA Cup – 35 League Cup – 150 Europe – 4 Other
The Kop used to sing ‘We all dream of a team of Carraghers’, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the Bootle-born player. The Scouser used to fight for the team every time he pulled on the Red shirt, which said a lot about him as a person. A football fanatic who was obsessive about the sport, he would go on to enjoy a career in the media after retiring.
His Liverpool debut came in the fifth round of the League Cup in a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough, having replaced Rob Jones after 75 minutes. That was in 1997, with ‘Carra’ having made his way through the Football Association’s School of Excellence at Lilleshall.
@jamiecarragher What a game! 😁 #carragher #garyneville #liverpool #lfc #jurgenklopp #manunited #manutd #skysports #premierleague
As the years went by, Carragher became a more and more important figure in the Liverpool team, moving from right-back to centre-back. It says so much about him that the only time under Gérard Houllier that his number of appearances dipped below 50 in a season was when he broke his leg.
If Jamie Carragher’s name was on the teamsheet then you’d know you’d have a player throwing themselves into every tackle, getting on the end of as many headers as possible and screaming and shouting into the ears of everyone around him. Although he scored eight own goals in his career, his performances in major finals all but ensured Liverpool won them.
Steven Gerrard (710 Appearances) – 504 League – 42 FA Cup – 30 League Cup – 130 Europe – 4 Other
It probably says something that the top three players on this list were all born in Liverpool, delighted and eager to pull on the Red shirt. Unlike Jamie Carragher, who grew up up an Evertonian, Steven Gerrard was a Liverpool fan from the moment he could understand what that meant.
His debut for the club that he loved came in the Premier League on the 29th of November 1998, replacing Vegard Heggem after 89 minutes. That was obviously just a taster, letting the Anfield crowd see a player that would go on to become one of the most important in the club’s history. For Gerrard, the only reason he didn’t win more was the quality of players around him.
Even so, by the time he hung up his boots he’d won every trophy there was to win in a Liverpool shirt bar the Premier League. The success in many of those competitions was down to ‘Stevie G’s’ determination and bloody mindedness, dragging relative poor sides across the line again and again.
From all of his 710 appearances there are countless ones that will stand out, but the 2005 Champions League win doesn’t happen without him. The saddest thing about Gerrard’s Liverpool career is that his final game was a 6-1 defeat to Stoke City and that he never worked with Jürgen Klopp; what might the two of them achieved together?
Ray Clemence (665 Appearances) – 470 League – 54 FA Cup – 55 League Cup – 80 Europe – 6 Other
It is slightly surprising that only two of the players on the list were goalkeepers, considering the fact that the load on their bodies will have been significantly more than for the outfield players. You shouldn’t let that fool you into thinking that Clemence was anything other than a brilliant player, however.
Signed as an 18-year-old from Scunthorpe United, Bill Shankly told him he’d be in the team within six months to persuade him to sign. In the end, he had to serve out two and a half years as an apprentice before getting the call up to take over as Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper, eventually earning the number 1 shirt at the start of 1970.
@inactive…_____ 1948-2020 💔 #rayclemence #liverpoolfc #fyp #foryou #4u #xyzbca #foryoupage #tiktok #death #goat #football
During the 1970-1971 campaign, Clemence conceded just 22 times in 41 appearances, surpassing that eight years later when he had to pick the ball out of the net a mere 16 times. Thanks to the presence of Clemence in goal with Phil Neal, Ray Kennedy, Phil Thompson and Alan Hansen in front of him, the Reds had the best defence in the land.
His last Liverpool game saw him keep a clean sheet as the Reds defeated Real Madrid 1-0 to win the European Cup for the third time on the 27th of May 1981. His first appearance for his next club, Tottenham Hotspur, happened to be against Liverpool in the League Cup final, where Spurs lost 3-1.
Emlyn Hughes (665 Appearances) – 474 League – 62 FA Cup – 46 League Cup – 79 Europe – 4 Other
Although the man himself was substituted off five times, every single one of Emlyn Hughes’ 665 appearances for Liverpool were starts. Bill Shankly liked the look of him during a match against Blackpool, offering them £25,000 for his signature straight after the game.
He was turned down, but the club promised to ensure that the Reds would be the first to know if he ever became available. So it was that Hughes signed for Liverpool for £65,000 in the February of 1967 and the player was thrown straight into the side. It wasn’t just football fans who took to him either; he was voted the most attractive Football League player in the 1968-1969 season.
The ones you love to see…
Everton 0 Liverpool 3, from 1969, a mighty leap from Emlyn Hughes, one of the Greatest own Goals you will ever see and a brilliant finish from Bobby Graham. #LiverpoolFC #YNWA #Goodison #awaydays♥️ pic.twitter.com/CPubwjuMP5— "YNWA" The Story of Liverpool FC (@LFCHistoryShow) December 23, 2023
Having made his Liverpool debut against Stoke City on the fourth of March 1967, Hughes would go on to win four First Division titles, the FA Cup and two each of the European Cup and the UEFA Cup. His career with the Reds began alongside some of the famous names that had returned the club to the top of the table, but when Shankly began to clear some of them out his place was never under threat.
Originally a midfielder, he was moved back to play centre-half in the 1973-1974 campaign. Known as Crazy Horse by the Kop, he took over from Tommy Smith as Liverpool captain and his last appearance came in a 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Ian Rush (660 Appearances) – 469 League – 61 FA Cup – 78 League Cup – 38 Europe – 14 Other
One of just two players to feature on this list as well as the club’s all-time top goalscorer list alongside Steven Gerrard, Ian Rush was deadly in front of goal. Initially quite shy when he arrived at Anfield, the Welshman didn’t like the Mickey-taking that came his way from the likes of Kenny Dalglish and the other senior players.
Having been playing for the reserves initially, Rush reportedly knocked on Bob Paisley’s door and said that he would be leaving if he didn’t get a chance with the first team. Paisley told him he’d put him on the transfer list, knowing that that would inspire Rush to prove him wrong, which is exactly what happened.
His Liverpool debut came on the 13th of December 1980 in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town. It took him until the 30th of September 1981 for him to get his first goal, but once he had it was like he couldn’t stop scoring. For 144 games, Liverpool didn’t lose if Ian Rush scored. That only changed when Arsenal defeated the Reds in the League Cup final in 1987.
He decided to leave Anfield for Juventus, but returned to the club a year later, much to the shock of the watching press when he sat down next to Kenny Dalglish at his unveiling. He remained a Liverpool player until a 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup final of 1996.
Phil Neal (650 Appearances) – 455 League – 45 FA Cup – 66 League Cup – 74 Europe – 10 Other
It is probably fair to say that modern football fans might not know a huge amount of Phil Neal, but the fact that he is one of the most decorated players in the history of the game is suggestive of the fact that they should. It isn’t that he was just a hanger-on either, playing for the best Liverpool teams ever 650 times. He played nearly 200 times for Northampton Town before joining the Reds as Bob Paisley’s first signing as manager.
His signing was even more impressive when you consider that when Paisley took a Liverpool board member to see him play for the Cobblers, he had to go in goal after just 20 minutes of play.
@leosgoals You won’t Believe this Phil Neal Stat 🤯👏 #liverpool #ynwa #bobpaisley #footballtiktok
That didn’t put the Reds off though, with Neal arriving at Anfield and having to play against Everton in his first match for the club. He soon became known as ‘Zico’ by the Anfield faithful, with the playful nickname being given on account of how many goals he scored as a defender.
He won the league during his first season, going on to repeat the trick another seven times before he decided to leave the club. When you add in that he also played in six European Cup finals for Liverpool, you can see exactly why he’s held in such high regard by those that watched him. His final match for the club was in a 3-0 win over Coventry City in the November of 1985.
Tommy Smith (638 Appearances) – 467 League – 52 FA Cup – 30 League Cup – 85 Europe – 4 Other
Nowadays, players like John Terry and Jamie Carragher might be thought of as football hardmen, but they had nothing on Tommy Smith. With a grandfather and father who both supported Liverpool, there was no way that Smith was going to be anything other than a Red when he grew up in the city. Starting off as a groundsman at Anfield, he went on to not only play for the club but also to captain it.
Bill Shankly once said of him that he ‘wasn’t born, he was quarried’. In spite of the fact that he started his Liverpool career playing upfront, he played the majority of his games as a centre-back who wore the number 10 shirt on his back.
Tommy Smith #LFC pic.twitter.com/MN4CKmGNlo
— Angies Liverpool (@angiesliverpool) March 22, 2023
He was good enough to break into the team in a 5-1 win over Birmingham City in the First Division on the eight of May 1963 and young enough to survive Shankly’s cull at the end of the decade. Having become Liverpool captain in the March of 1970, he kept the role until it was given to Emlyn Hughes in 1973. That was something that ‘Smithy’ struggled to accept, then having to fight for his place after the arrival of Phil Neal.
The 1976-1977 season was declared to be his last but the player, but his final performance actually came in the 1-0 win over Arsenal on the 25th of April 1978. He will be remembered as one of Liverpool’s best players.
Bruce Grobbelaar (628 Appearances) – 440 League – 62 FA Cup – 70 League Cup – 38 Europe – 18 Other
Born in Durban, South Africa and going on to represent Zimbabwe on the international stage, Bruce Grobbelaar will go down as one of the best goalkeepers that the club ever had. He was certainly one of the most eccentric, regularly telling stories to his teammates that most believed to be apocryphal.
His first season at the club was something of a baptism of fire, thanks in no small part to the fact that Ray Clemence departed the club just two weeks before the start of the 1981-1982 season. That meant that his debut came in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, which the home side won 1-0.
Sufficed to say that things improved from there, not least of all because Liverpool won the First Division title that season. They also won it six more times during Grobbelaar’s time at the club, in addition to three FA Cups, three League Cups and the European Cup. The latter came about after a penalty shootout in which Grobbelaar confused the Roma players thanks to his ‘spaghetti legs’, which would be repeated years later by Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul.
Grobbelaar was seen as something of a clown and an eccentric, but his performances in goal made clear that he wasn’t a joke. His final appearance came in a 2-0 loss to Leeds United.
Alan Hansen (620 Appearances) – 434 League – 58 FA Cup – 68 League Cup – 46 European – 14 Other
For those of a younger persuasion, Alan Hansen will always be remembered as the bloke who said, “You’ll win nothing with kids” on Match of the Day, just before Manchester United’s Class of ’92 went on to dominate the Premier League for a decade. For those with a few more years on the clock, though, the bloke that they knew as ‘Jockey’ will always be thought of as one of the best defenders that the club ever had.
Signed from Patrick Thistle for £100,000, he made his debut on the 24th of September 1977 in a 1-0 win over Derby County. He was one of the first real exponents of being a ‘ball-playing’ centre-back.
@verocalciolfc Liverpool goals’)#liverpoolfc #lfc #ynwa #jock #hansen #vero #calcio #lfc #Liverpool #goal #centre #back #ynwa #retro #ynwa🔴🔴🔴 #ynwaliverpool #lfcfans #lfcfamily #liverpool
By the time Hansen left the club, he did so with eight First Division titles to his name, as well as two FA Cups, three League Cups and the same number of European Cups. His was also a time of tragedy, being part of the team that lost to Juventus in the European Cup final that saw 39 supporters lose their lives as well as being in the team at the time of the Hillsborough Disaster, when 97 football fans were crushed to death because of police negligence, with Hansen attending many of the funerals.
His final game for the Reds came in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on the 28th of April 1990, with four more points securing the club’s 18th league title.
