Fowler, the missing man
By Ian Ladyman
Even the official Liverpool website is irreverent enough to give Robbie Fowler a cheeky nickname. 'Fowler - also known as God' it reads at the head of the striker's personal profile. With one word, it succinctly sums up the esteem in which Fowler is held by Anfield supporters. But further examination of Fowler's vital football statistics reveals a worrying trend.
Injuries are taking a sorry toll on this country's most naturally gifted goalscorer and it would appear that, at the age of only 25, he stands at something of a crossroads. As Soccernet reveals today, despite the outward confidence of Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier - who has suggested once more that Fowler's struggles against persistent ankle trouble do not pose a threat to his long-term future - he is increasingly concerned that the problems are not about to go away.
In recent seasons, injuries to knee and ankle have left a large hole in Fowler's progress at domestic and international level. Incredibly, a player described by England coach Kevin Keegan as 'as natural a goalscorer as you will see in the world' has scored only three goals for his country in 14 appearances. That is partly down to the understandable hesitancy of Keegan's predecessors Glenn Hoddle and Terry Venables to pick him ahead of Alan Shearer and, to a lesser degree, to a rather chequered disciplinary past.
In the main, however, it is down to his injury curse and that curse seems to be worsening. A knee injury sustained in a Merseyside derby with Everton in 1998 ruled him out of that year's World Cup and robbed him of seven months of football.
Last year, surgery on the right ankle that is hampering him again now left him fit enough to begin only eight Premiership matches, contributing just two goals. Fowler's League starts number only 31 from two seasons and therein lies the sorry tale of his difficulties.
He has looked ready to take off when he has returned but on each occasion has failed to produce. Now it is feared his problems may become psychologically engrained, just as Michael Owen is suspected to have encountered mental difficulties in recovering from persistent hamstring trouble.
Liverpool will undoubtedly be worse off without Fowler in the coming season. Team-mate Owen may possess the pace to frighten defenders and is no mean finisher himself but a fit, confident Fowler remains the top product.
Even Owen is self-effacing enough to suggest that Fowler's 'would be the first name on my teamsheet' while former Liverpool goalkeeper David James goes further. 'He's by far the best striker I've ever played with or against,' said the Aston Villa keeper. 'It comes naturally to him. I have played against him in training and I have watched him play when I was at Liverpool with him. He's devastating. He has always received credit but I'm not sure some people realise how special he is.'
A look at Fowler's career record emphasises the point. Despite the troubles of the last two years, he has scored 150 goals in 265 first-team games since breaking into the side in 1993 - an impressive ratio of a goal every 1.7 matches.
Fowler, a Scouser through and through, is a clinical goalscorer and has long been regarded in the same light as Anfield legend Ian Rush. He is perhaps Liverpool's most prized asset. The club may one day allow Owen to move on for huge profit while Emile Heskey still has much to prove as far as the sceptics are concerned. Fowler - the scorer of 30 goals in each season between 1994 and 1997 - is tied by a long contract and, despite being coveted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for three years, expressed only this week his desire to stay at the club for the long term.
At home and abroad, his reputation continues to go before him and Keegan recently related the first time he worked with him, in 1994. As coach to the England Under 21s, Keegan picked Fowler for a squad to take on Austria and recalled the scene during training one morning.
'The Austrian manager, who I knew from my days playing in Germany at Hamburg, stood open-mouthed behind the goal at Robbie's finishing,' said Keegan. 'He walked over to me, shook my hand and said "Phew - Robbie Fowler". Every shot he hit went in. Nobody should question his finishing. He's excellent.'
It is not his finishing but his fitness that is being questioned inside Anfield now. And, as Fowler already knows, one is no good without the other.