Merseyside houses two footballing institutions — Liverpool and Everton.  Anfield and Goodison Park, the homes of these clubs, are footballing shrines in themselves.  Aside from the clubs' infamous friendly rivalry that often divides families along red and blue lines, the pair have frequently dominated English football since the Second World War — a fact reflected in the extensive honours list attributed to the two clubs. 

As if to emphasise the point, the Mersey rivals sold out Wembley three times in the 1980s for 2 FA Cup Finals and a League Cup Final while the league derbies, of which there had been 166 before the start of the 2002-03 season, are always a source of controversy, heated debate and memorable moments.  Indeed, for a few players here, while their playing careers might not be statistically among the greatest ever, they enter the 100 solely by virtue of their performances in this most heated of fixtures. S

Specifically, this book celebrates the contributions made to the clubs' success since the war by looking back at 100 of the greatest players to have donned the red or blue shirts - in some cases the greats have worn both. Any such compilation will be subjective.   How can you compare a player of the 1940s and 1950s, when at times both clubs were in the Second Division, with the standards set by the clubs in the 1980s? How could one compare Everton's Golden Vision of the 1960s, Alex Young, with the Kop's 80's idol Kenny Dalglish?

Football has changed dramatically in terms of the influx of overseas players and the pace of the game that comparisons are impossible. However one thing remains the same: Liverpool and Everton fans' memories of the players who have shaped their clubs' history. Though the book is a fascinating insight into the range of footballers who have played for the Merseyside clubs there is no place for the likes of Sami Hyypia, Larry Lloyd, Derek Mountfield, John Willie Parker and Mike Trebilcock, to name but five. The players listed are some of British football's finest - appropriate enough for the English league's most consistent performers (Everton FC celebrate 100 years of top flight football this season) and, in Liverpool FC, their most successful.

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Price: £5.99   Published: 9 December 2002

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