How good a goalscorer was Ian Rush.

[Oncy]

I mean obviously he was prolific, but he never seems to get much love from Liverpool fans and certainly not from other fans.
I thought he was a phenomenal goalscorer, not a goalpoacher but scorer! Left foot, right foot, headers, volleys, chips, rifles he scored every type of goal you could score and he did it nearly 400 times in his career.
Thas more than Henry, Trezeguet, Shearer, Ronaldo, Van Nistlerooj, Del piero, Fowler, Van Basten, Shevchenko, Inzaghi and almost every other striker you can think of. He did it in the top flight too almost his whole career was spent winning trophies and scoring pyar belters.

So basically why isnt there more love. When I was a kid growing up in Belfast belting the flat, rain sodden caser I had off a garage door it was always 'RUUUSSSHHHH'
We've forgotten that. Lets have a love in.
Seriously! Ian Rush is one of the greatest footballers to ever live. Lets celebrate that!

 

[doctor_mac]

Rush is well beloved Oncy- always has been, surely. Where did he come in the all-time LFC great ratings? Top 5 certainly, no?

Anyhoo- you're right- he was a simply awesome goalscorer. The best we've ever had.

 

[Sunny]

Rush was brilliant. Not the most technical of players but pace and finishing he possessed in buckets. If we had him in the team now (in his youth) we'd be up the top of the league

 

[Oncy]

[quote author=Sunny link=topic=47533.msg1426279#msg1426279 date=1321357817]
Rush was brilliant. Not the most technical of players but pace and finishing he possessed in buckets. If we had him in the team now (in his youth) we'd be up the top of the league
[/quote]I think he was technically underrated though. Tactically he understood the game better than anyone, worked like a trojan for the team, invented the phrase 'defend from the front' great first touch and just a masterful finisher from any angle.
Hes a fucking legendary bastard and i love him.

 

[Richey]

Rush was amazing. 346 goals in 660 games. There's a good chance that will never be beaten.

How many players score 40+ goals in a season? Rush did so twice!

I think he tends to miss out when people talk about best all time teams because Dalglish was such a good all round player, so always gets one of the places up front, and Fowler is regarded with more affection because of his character, the fact he is local etc .

I have never heard a bad word about Ian Rush as a Liverpool player or as a man though and would be disappointed if I did.

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=47533.msg1426277#msg1426277 date=1321357547]
I mean obviously he was prolific, but he never seems to get much love from Liverpool fans and certainly not from other fans.
I thought he was a phenomenal goalscorer, not a goalpoacher but scorer! Left foot, right foot, headers, volleys, chips, rifles he scored every type of goal you could score and he did it nearly 400 times in his career.
Thas more than Henry, Trezeguet, Shearer, Ronaldo, Van Nistlerooj, Del piero, Fowler, Van Basten, Shevchenko, Inzaghi and almost every other striker you can think of. He did it in the top flight too almost his whole career was spent winning trophies and scoring pyar belters.

So basically why isnt there more love. When I was a kid growing up in Belfast belting the flat, rain sodden caser I had off a garage door it was always 'RUUUSSSHHHH'
We've forgotten that. Lets have a love in.
Seriously! Ian Rush is one of the greatest footballers to ever live. Lets celebrate that!
[/quote]

No convincing needed here, Oncy. One of my favourite players ever. Never the pace of Henry where he could change through the gears but over 10, 15 yards he'd hold his own against the fastest we've seen. Great anticipation, absolutely extraordinary finisher. His best asset though - for mine - is one you've mentioned; his first touch was outstanding. Not to criticize Kuyt but it's when you watch some of Rush in his playing days your realize how far that standard has fallen with Dirk.

One thing I will disagree with is heading; he scored the odd goal with his head but it was very rare. I actually remember an interview with him where he admitted he didn't like going for the ball with his head.

As for the other aspects of his game; peerless. Tremendous example is the FA Cup against Everton. He scored, found space everywhere, tore them to pieces, closed them down and spent most of the second half trying to set Kenny up to get on the score sheet.

 

[Judge Jules]

A number of us Reds at the time had doubts about him initially because, though he was admittedly still young, his first few appearances were not a success. However, it actually didn't take that long for things to click for him, and when they did he was mustard from then on. He doesn't get talked up as much as some players do because he was always a quiet character, and of course he had the greatest of them all playing alongside him, but many of us who had the privilege of seeing the Dalglish/Rush combo wouldn't entertain the idea of anybody else, even Robbie, playing up front in the All-Time XI. My bet is that, if you could have a genuinely comprehensive poll of all LFC fans, Rushie would get the vote.

 

[Athens]

I remember watching a match as a kid (it was a FA cup match I think) and Rush scored, I kicked a cushion in celebration and nearly broke a vase. He was a great goal scorer but I don't really remember much from his earlier days.

 

[Spionkop69]

In terms of putting the ball in the back of the net, being in the right place at the right time AND being our first line of defence:

He wasThe Best. Here endeth the discussion.

 

[Sunny]

[quote author=Spionkop69 link=topic=47533.msg1426322#msg1426322 date=1321362984]
In terms of putting the ball in the back of the net, being in the right place at the right time AND being our first line of defence:

He wasThe Best. Here endeth the discussion.


[/quote]

Aye!

 

[Spionkop69]

[quote author=Sunny link=topic=47533.msg1426323#msg1426323 date=1321363011]
[quote author=Spionkop69 link=topic=47533.msg1426322#msg1426322 date=1321362984]
In terms of putting the ball in the back of the net, being in the right place at the right time AND being our first line of defence:

He wasThe Best. Here endeth the discussion.


[/quote]

Aye!
[/quote]

I was like him as a young lad. No real skillbut had a burst of pace and but put me in front of goal one on one then I scored. If the ball rebounded in the box, I was there, goal.

I was never taught it, I can't tell people how I did it, it just happened. Where did it all go wrong for me? *sighs*

Perhaps my nose wasn't big enough?

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=47533.msg1426292#msg1426292 date=1321360032]
A number of us Reds at the time had doubts about him initially because, though he was admittedly still young, his first few appearances were not a success. However, it actually didn't take that long for things to click for him, and when they did he was mustard from then on. He doesn't get talked up as much as some players do because he was always a quiet character, and of course he had the greatest of them all playing alongside him, but many of us who had the privilege of seeing the Dalglish/Rush combo wouldn't entertain the idea of anybody else, even Robbie, playing up front in the All-Time XI. My bet is that, if you could have a genuinely comprehensive poll of all LFC fans, Rushie would get the vote.
[/quote]

While I'd have him in my team - in fact, I think I picked him in the LFC all time 11 - I don't think he'd be the majority choice JJ. Too many fans today didn't see him or don't remember him which is a shame for them.

I remember him going through a couple of seasons where, as the press used to say, he literally couldn't help scoring. Owen went through it at times for 9 or 10 games, Robbie did it for half a season one year. Rush? He did it for about two or two and a half seasons. Yes, he had one of the greatest ever alongside him but I honestly think that Rushie made the King look perhaps even better than he was - no disrespect to Kenny. He just turned even the smallest chances into a goal and Kenny was often the one credited with setting it up. Fair enough, he was the one who had the vision to see a possibility but I doubt there was another striker in the world at that time who would have kept putting those "visionary chances" away......... time after time after time.

 

[Spionkop69]

[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=47533.msg1426327#msg1426327 date=1321363318]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=47533.msg1426292#msg1426292 date=1321360032]
A number of us Reds at the time had doubts about him initially because, though he was admittedly still young, his first few appearances were not a success. However, it actually didn't take that long for things to click for him, and when they did he was mustard from then on. He doesn't get talked up as much as some players do because he was always a quiet character, and of course he had the greatest of them all playing alongside him, but many of us who had the privilege of seeing the Dalglish/Rush combo wouldn't entertain the idea of anybody else, even Robbie, playing up front in the All-Time XI. My bet is that, if you could have a genuinely comprehensive poll of all LFC fans, Rushie would get the vote.
[/quote]

While I'd have him in my team - in fact, I think I picked him in the LFC all time 11 - I don't think he'd be the majority choice JJ. Too many fans today didn't see him or don't remember him which is a shame for them.

I remember him going through a couple of seasons where, as the press used to say, he literally couldn't help scoring. Owen went through it at times for 9 or 10 games, Robbie did it for half a season one year. Rush? He did it for about two or two and a half seasons. Yes, he had one of the greatest ever alongside him but I honestly think that Rushie made the King look perhaps even better than he was - no disrespect to Kenny. He just turned even the smallest chances into a goal and Kenny was often the one credited with setting it up. Fair enough, he was the one who had the vision to see a possibility but I doubt there was another striker in the world at that time who would have kept putting those "visionary chances" away......... time after time after time.
[/quote]

And all those goals with no penalties to his name. Plus he was kicked rigid virtually every game. Not taking anything away from Robbie who was technically better in terms of the variation of goals he could score, but Rushie is still the benchmark by which strikers and LFC and indeed most other clubs should be measured. He was fucking amazing and he doesn't get the plaudits now that he should have done.

Its not luck being able to finish like he did or be in the right place at the right time. Plus from the time he joined in 1980 to the the League Cup Final in 1987, when Ian Rush scored, Liverpool didn't lose.

In fact he only scored in two games that we did lose in his first spell for us. For a bonus point and without using the internet, which was the other team he scored against and lost. I do know the answer, just in case you're wondering!

 

[Stulikesdrums]

Was it Leeds Utd, Spoin?

 

[Spionkop69]

[quote author=Stulikesdrums link=topic=47533.msg1426337#msg1426337 date=1321364001]
Was it Leeds Utd, Spoin?
[/quote]

Nope.

 

[Stulikesdrums]

Villa?

 

[Athens]

[quote author=Stulikesdrums link=topic=47533.msg1426339#msg1426339 date=1321364143]
Villa?
[/quote]
You're just going to start naming teams until you get the correct answer aren't you?

 

[Spionkop69]

Not Villa.

 

[Asbo]

Look I loved Rushie, but he wasn't as good as my Sir Roger, and I have had the privalige of seeing both in thier prime.

Sir Roger Hunt: League Games/Goals 404/245

Ian Rush: League Games/Goals 469/229

Its League goals that count!! 😉

Of course if you add total games played and goals scored, Rushie will come out on top, but he played 170 more games than Sir Roger!

Ian Rush: Total Games/Goals 660/346

Sir Roger Hunt: Total Games/Goals 492/286

 

[Spionkop69]

Coincidentally the games came back to back to each other. Everyone waited 8 years odd for it happen and it happened twice in 8 days!

 

[Stulikesdrums]

[quote author=athensruairi link=topic=47533.msg1426341#msg1426341 date=1321364269]
[quote author=Stulikesdrums link=topic=47533.msg1426339#msg1426339 date=1321364143]
Villa?
[/quote]
You're just going to start naming teams until you get the correct answer aren't you?
[/quote]
Yes.

 

[grjt]

Right up there with the very best goalscorers there's been....and almost single handedly invented "defending from the front" for us, with a workrate that makes Senor Torres look like the gargantuan primadonna he most probably is.

 

[Whaddapie]

He was the greatest of his generation. Without question.

Never saw Roger, but anybody who saw Rushie and didn't love him for his attitude and work-rate, they haven't a clue...

Was it a 1-2 defeat to Wimbeldon, Spion?

 

[monsieurdantes]

Because rush was the first striker I remember, his goalscoring and play is what I consider to be normal for a striker. So I didn't love him, I just thought he was doing the job that a striker does. Only after seeing how shit subsequent strikers have been in comparison, I kind of regret not enjoying the days of Rush more. Oh well now it's too late and futile to develop a retrospective admiration for someone who's already gone. It's more natural to instead hate the conveyor belt of shit strikers that don't measure up to normal old Rush.

 

[Spionkop69]

[quote author=Whaddapie link=topic=47533.msg1426370#msg1426370 date=1321367198]
He was the greatest of his generation. Without question.

Never saw Roger, but anybody who saw Rushie and didn't love him for his attitude and work-rate, they haven't a clue...

Was it a 1-2 defeat to Wimbeldon, Spion?
[/quote]

Nope, although the scoreline is correct.

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Spionkop69 link=topic=47533.msg1426381#msg1426381 date=1321368579]
[quote author=Whaddapie link=topic=47533.msg1426370#msg1426370 date=1321367198]
He was the greatest of his generation. Without question.

Never saw Roger, but anybody who saw Rushie and didn't love him for his attitude and work-rate, they haven't a clue...

Was it a 1-2 defeat to Wimbeldon, Spion?
[/quote]

Nope, although the scoreline is correct.
[/quote]


Hmmm, I'd have said Wimbledon as well.


If not (hopefully you're allowed a couple of guesses at once) I'll say it was Watford, Norwich or West Ham. If you're only allowed one I'll go for Watford.

 

[Whaddapie]

I'm pretty certain it was against a 'small' team that we should have bettered... They may not be in the Premier Division anymore...

Oldham. Or Millwall. Or Norwich. Or Oxford.

Some shite like that...

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Whaddapie link=topic=47533.msg1426392#msg1426392 date=1321369518]
I'm pretty certain it was against a 'small' team that we should have bettered... They may not be in the Premier Division anymore...

Oldham. Or Millwall. Or Norwich. Or Oxford.

Some shite like that...
[/quote]

I'm of the same opinion but I can't ever remember - at least in the last 30 years - Oldham or Oxford being in the first division.

That must go back to the days of Shanks or before.

 

[Whaddapie]

Oldham made the first division back in the days of Dennis Irwin and Mike Milligan, didn't they? And didn't Oxford beat Everton for us to help us win the double in '86?

 

[Richey]

Yes, Oxford had a few years in the top flight in the mid 80s. They sold their best players (to us) and got relegated. Then Maxwell moved the remaining good players from Oxford to Derby (which he also owned)

Oldham got promoted in the early 90s. They didn't stay for that long though