100 Person Who Shock The Kop - NO 96: Nicolas Anelka

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Nicolas Anelka may have spent only six months at Anfield but he did enough in that time to be voted in at number 96 in our countdown of 100 Players Who Shook The Kop.
Four years after our ground-breaking '100 Days That Shook The Kop', we are delighted to invite you to enjoy our new '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' series – the definitive countdown of the 100 players who have made the biggest impact at Liverpool.

Over 110,000 supporters have all nominated their own personal Top 10 players in order of impact made and now the definitive top 100 countdown is underway.

Every player who has made the top 100 – and there are some surprises in there - will be honoured on this website via the e-Season ticket console with a specially produced video clip, including archive footage and exclusive interviews.

Since 1892 hundreds of players have represented this club but everyone has their own particular favourites so don't expect this list to be based solely on talent. The greatness of a player can be measured in many ways – obviously, his ability on the pitch is the most important, but 100 PWSTK is much more than that. It's about the impact the individuals chosen have had on this club, be it for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was because of their unique rapport with the crowd, a specific incident that has never been forgotten or anything else that has left a lasting impression.


Name: Nicolas Anelka

Years at Liverpool: 2001 to 2002
Position: Forward

Date-of-birth: 14/3/1979
Birthplace: Paris

Signed from: Paris St Germain (2001)

Games played: 21
Goals scored: 5

Honours won: None

Nicolas Anelka's Liverpool may have been brief but it was long enough for him to leave a lasting impression. His arrival on loan from Paris St Germain in December 2001 stunned everyone but he quickly won over the fans with his obvious talent in front of goal. A product of the France's National Youth Academy, where he first worked under Gerard Houllier, Anelka began professional career began at his hometown club Paris St Germain in 1995. He made his debut for the Parisian giants when only 16 but lack of first team opportunities resulted in him leaving for Arsenal two years later. At Highbury his goals earned him the PFA Young Player of the Year award, helped fire the Gunners to a League and FA Cup double in 1998, and made him one of the most coveted strikers in world football. He left in controversial circumstances the following year for Real Madrid, with whom he won the Champions League but his time at the Bernebau was also shrouded in controversy. In July 2000 he rejoined Paris St Germain but struggled for form. With Liverpool short of firepower following the sale of Robbie Fowler, the Reds swooped to take Anelka on loan midway through the 2001/02 campaign, with the option of making the deal permanent during the summer. Taking over the number nine jersey from Fowler he made his debut as a second half substitute in the Boxing Day win at Aston Villa and then a full debut in the 1-1 draw with West Ham United at Upton Park. Highlights of his short Liverpool career included an equalising goal in the Anfield Merseyside derby and a brilliant display in the 3-0 win over Newcastle United. He signed off that season with a final day goal in the 5-0 home rout of Ipswich Town and almost everyone expected him to then be signed on a permanent basis. But it was to be his last appearance in a red shirt. Then boss Gerard Houllier mysteriously decided against keeping prolonging his stay and opted to sign El Hadji Diouf instead.

Sold to: Returned to PSG

Claim to fame: A stunning performance in a midweek victory over Newcastle

Did you know? He is the only player to have played for Liverpool who has won the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League

Where is he now? Fenerbahce

Chris Bascombe on Nicolas Anelka: "It will probably be discussed for a long time why Nicolas Anelka was never signed permanently. I think it was probably one of the strangest decisions ever taken by Houllier. He sold Robbie Fowler and asked the fans to trust him and said he would bring in a world class replacement, and he did that with Nicolas Anelka. I think everyone was absolutely delighted and it's a tribute to Anelka as he was so good people quickly stopped talking about Robbie."

100 Person Who Shock The Kop - NO 97: Nigel Clough

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Coming in at number 97 in our countdown of 100 Players Who Shook The Kop is the big summer signing of 1993, Nigel Clough.
Four years after our ground-breaking '100 Days That Shook The Kop', we are delighted to invite you to enjoy our new '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' series – the definitive countdown of the 100 players who have made the biggest impact at Liverpool.

Over 110,000 supporters have all nominated their own personal Top 10 players in order of impact made and now the definitive top 100 countdown is underway.

Every player who has made the top 100 – and there are some surprises in there - will be honoured on this website via the e-Season ticket console with a specially produced video clip, including archive footage and exclusive interviews.

Since 1892 hundreds of players have represented this club but everyone has their own particular favourites so don't expect this list to be based solely on talent. The greatness of a player can be measured in many ways – obviously, his ability on the pitch is the most important, but 100 PWSTK is much more than that. It's about the impact the individuals chosen have had on this club, be it for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was because of their unique rapport with the crowd, a specific incident that has never been forgotten or anything else that has left a lasting impression.


Name: Nigel Clough

Years at Liverpool: 1993 to 1995
Position: Forward/Midfield

Date-of-birth: 19/3/1966
Birthplace: Sunderland

Signed from: Nottingham Forest (July 1993)

Games played: 44
Goals scored: 9

Honours won: None

There was an unfair weight of expectation on the shoulders of Nigel Clough when he joined the Reds from Nottingham Forest during the summer of 1993. Signed from Nottingham Forest for £2.275 million, manager Graeme Souness had visions of him filling the Kenny Dalglish role alongside Ian Rush in attack. If that was not enough, Clough also inherited Kenny's famous number seven shirt. The son of managerial legend Brian, he made an explosive start to his Reds career when netting twice on his debut at home to Sheffield Wednesday, then followed that up with another two strikes in his next three games. These goals only served to heighten the belief that Souness had acquired a Kop legend in the making but, unfortunately, it was to be a false dawn. A loss of form, coupled with the emergence of young striking sensation Robbie Fowler didn't help his cause and Clough was forced to drop back into an unfamiliar midfield role, although it was from this position that he enjoyed his finest moment in a red shirt. In January 1994 it was his magical brace that sparked the famous three-goal comeback against Manchester United at Anfield. But that was as good as it got for the former England international. After the sacking of Souness and appointment of Roy Evans, Clough found himself pushed out of the first team picture. So much so, that by January 1996 he left to join Manchester City in a £1.5 million deal, having never really fulfilled him potential at Liverpool.

Sold to: Manchester City (January 1996)

Claim to fame: Sparking the never-to-be-forgotten comeback against United

Did you know? He won more England caps than his illustrious father

Where is he now? Manager of non-league Burton Albion

Peter Hooton on Nigel Clough: "Nigel Clough came to Liverpool with a bit of baggage, should we say. Probably because of his father, and various things his father said or implied over the years in interviews, especially over Hillsborough. But I liked Nigel Clough as a player. I thought he was a very talented midfield player and he was also the type of player Liverpool needed at that time, the type of player who could split defences."

100 Person Who Shock The Kop - NO 98: Tom Bromilow

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We continue our '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' countdown by recalling the career of 1920s favourite Tom Bromilow.
Four years after our ground-breaking '100 Days That Shook The Kop', we are delighted to invite you to enjoy our new '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' series – the definitive countdown of the 100 players who have made the biggest impact at Liverpool.

Over 110,000 supporters have all nominated their own personal Top 10 players in order of impact made and now the definitive top 100 countdown is underway.

Every player who has made the top 100 – and there are some surprises in there - will be honoured on this website via the e-Season ticket console with a specially produced video clip, including archive footage and exclusive interviews.

Since 1892 hundreds of players have represented this club but everyone has their own particular favourites so don't expect this list to be based solely on talent. The greatness of a player can be measured in many ways – obviously, his ability on the pitch is the most important, but 100 PWSTK is much more than that. It's about the impact the individuals chosen have had on this club, be it for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was because of their unique rapport with the crowd, a specific incident that has never been forgotten or anything else that has left a lasting impression.


Name: Tom Bromilow

Years at Liverpool: 1919 to 1930
Position: Left Half

Date-of-birth: 7/10/1894
Birthplace: Liverpool

Signed from: wartime service (summer 1919)

Games played: 375
Goals scored: 11

Honours won: First Division Championship (1921/22, 1922/23)

Sold to: Left to take up a coaching position in Holland (summer 1930)

Tom Bromilow was signed by Liverpool after turning up at Anfield one afternoon and tentatively asking for a trial. He'd just been de-mobbed from the army after serving in the First World War and his request was granted by the Reds assistant boss of the time George Patterson. The locally-born defender quickly impressed and didn't look back. Within a couple of months he was making his first team debut in a 2-1 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor and soon became an established member of the side that was to win back-to-back League titles in the early twenties. A fine tackler and distributor of the ball, Bromilow was regarded as the brains of the team and blossomed into a full England international within three years of turning professional. He continued to be an influential first team regular until the latter part of the decade, serving the club with distinction and leading by example as team captain.

Claim to fame: Was a virtual ever-present during the back-to-back League title triumphs of the early twenties

Did you know? After hanging up his boots he went to coach in Amsterdam before embarking on a managerial career with Burnley, Newport, Crystal Palace and Leicester City

Where is he now? Died on a train in March 1959

Stephen Done on Tom Bromilow: "He was a seriously cultured player and a great signing because we signed him for nothing after he literally just knocked on the door one day. I just love his story!"

100 Person Who Shock The Kop - NO 99: Erik Meijer

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Voted in at number 99 in our '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' series is that renowned 'mad Dutchman' Erik Meijer.
Four years after our ground-breaking '100 Days That Shook The Kop', we are delighted to invite you to enjoy our new '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' series – the definitive countdown of the 100 players who have made the biggest impact at Liverpool.

Over 110,000 supporters have all nominated their own personal Top 10 players in order of impact made and now the definitive top 100 countdown is underway.

Every player who has made the top 100 – and there are some surprises in there - will be honoured on this website via the e-Season ticket console with a specially produced video clip, including archive footage and exclusive interviews.

Since 1892 hundreds of players have represented this club but everyone has their own particular favourites so don't expect this list to be based solely on talent. The greatness of a player can be measured in many ways – obviously, his ability on the pitch is the most important, but 100 PWSTK is much more than that. It's about the impact the individuals chosen have had on this club, be it for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was because of their unique rapport with the crowd, a specific incident that has never been forgotten or anything else that has left a lasting impression.

Name: Erik Meijer

Years at Liverpool: 1999 to 2000
Position: Forward

Date-of-birth: 2/8/1969
Birthplace: Meerssen, Holland

Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen (July 1999)

Games played: 27
Goals scored: 2

Honours won: None

Liverpool supporting Dutchman Meijer arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer during the summer of 1999 and immediately struck up a special rapport with the club's supporters. He was to make just 27 appearances in his brief spell on Merseyside but his boundless enthusiasm and passion for the Reds established him as a firm favourite with those in the stands. A Dutch international, who won one cap while with the Reds, Meijer was a towering, powerfully built, striker, who made his debut on the opening day of the 1999/2000 season as a substitute in a 2-1 away win at Sheffield Wednesday. The following month he netted his first and last goals in a red shirt when bagging a brace in a League Cup tie at Hull City's Boothferry Park but he struggled to establish himself as a first team regular and was more often than not named among the substitutes. Meijer's willingness to chase lost causes was one of his most endearing features, as was his ability to act as an unofficial cheerleader when warming up on the touchline. Sadly, the signing of Emile Heskey during the latter part of that campaign was to restrict his opportunities further and after just three substitute appearances the following season he was sent out on loan to Preston before completing a permanent transfer back to the Bundesliga with Hamburg. His love of the Reds, however, remained as strong as ever and prior to Liverpool's appearance in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final he was spotted among the vast throng of Liverpudlians in Dortmund's Altermarket.

Sold to: SV Hamburg (December 2000)

Claim to fame: Enjoying a pre-match pint and sing-song with Liverpool fans in the Altermarket, Dortmund, prior to the 2001 UEFA Cup Final

Did you know? On his own personal website he used to give out cookery tips and recipes

Where is he now? Recently hung up his boots and his living back in his native Holland

Jamie Carragher on Erik Meijer: "He was just a great fella to have around the place and a great fella to have on the pitch when he did play – a real team player who'd really put himself about. He was just unfortunate at the time that we had so many good strikers and he was probably number four choice before he got the chance to move on. Mad Erik, I think he's definitely a cult-hero."

100 Person Who Shock The Kop - NO 100: John Wark

We kick-off our new summer series by unveiling John Wark as the first inductee into the coveted '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' hall of fame.

Name: John Wark

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Years at Liverpool: 1984 to 1988
Position: Midfielder

Date-of-birth: 4/8/1957
Birthplace: Glasgow

Signed from: Ipswich Town (March 1984)

Games played: 108
Goals scored: 42

Honours won: First Division Championship (1983/84, 1985/86)

A prolific goalscoring midfielder, Wark first achieved fame as a member of Bobby Robson's successful Ipswich side of the late seventies/early eighties – with whom he won FA and UEFA Cup winners medals, as well as the PFA Player of the Year award in 1981. Joe Fagan paid £450,000 to sign him for Liverpool towards the end of the 1983/84 season and he quickly made his mark by scoring on his debut away to Watford. The following campaign, with Graeme Souness having departed for Italy, Wark assumed a key role in the team that finished runners-up to Everton in the League and Juventus in the European Cup. The Scottish international was regarded as a fierce midfield competitor but was more renowned for the goals he scored. So often an elusive player to mark, his surging runs into the opposition box earmarked him as a dangerous attacking weapon in the Reds armoury and during that 1984/85 season he even outshone Ian Rush in the goalscoring stakes, netting 27 times in all competitions. A broken leg the following year was to sadly deny him the opportunity of a part in Liverpool's final push towards the coveted League and FA Cup double, not to mention a place in the Scotland World Cup squad. When eventually fully fit again he struggled to regain his place and in January 1988 returned to Ipswich.

Sold to: Ipswich Town (January 1988)

Claim to fame: Top scored for Liverpool during the 1984/85 season despite playing as a midfielder.

Did you know? He starred in the film Escape To Victory

Where is he now? Back living in Suffolk where he works for Ipswich in the corporate hospitality department

Roy Evans on John Wark: "He was one of those guys who just loved playing football. He could play at the back but was more famous for coming from midfield. Could score goals from deep and was a great all-round player."

13. The Saint on Shanks

Former Liverpool striker Ian St John pays tribute to the man who brought him to Liverpool and reminisces about some fascinating tales about the club's biggest ever legend.
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12. The day Liverpool first won the cup

Highlights of Bill Shankly's Liverpool in their first ever triumph in the FA Cup at Wembley in 1965.
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11. Alf Arrowsmith on Shankly

Alf Arrowsmith - a Liverpool striker during the '60s - admits to having had more than his fair share of run-ins with Shanks. Here, he recalls some of the classics.
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10. The Reds appoint Bill Shankly as their new boss

On December 1st 1959, Liverpool Football Club announced that Huddersfield boss Bill Shankly would be their new manager. Life at Anfield would never be the same again.
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9. The boss plots Inter Milan's downfall

Recalling the night Liverpool recorded a famous 3-1 victory over the reigning World Champions in 1965 European Cup semi-final 1st leg tie at Anfield.
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8. Shankly's final league title

When Liverpool won the League Championship in 1973, no one knew it would turn out to be Bill's last as Reds manager.
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7. The 'Chairman Mao' speech

Brian Hall desribes Shankly's genius 'Chairman Mao' speech. Coming after the 1971 FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal, the speech magically lifted the spirits of the fans who tunred out to see their heroes.
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6. Shankly changes Liverpool's strip to all red

We recall the day the boss decided to change Liverpool's strip to all red in November 1964. Previously Liverpool had worn white shorts, red shirts and red socks but looking for a psychological advantage, Shanks made the change.
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5. The day the boss introduced the world to Ron Yeats

Shankly swoops to sign Ron Yeats from Dundee United in the summer of 1961. Described by Shanks as 'six foot tall and strong as an ox', Yeats becomes the colossus of the Reds team and Liverpool captain.
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4. Winning his first League Championship as Liverpool manager

After more than a decade in the football wilderness, a sixth League Championship success was confirmed - Shankly's first.
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3. Rebuilding his team after a 1970 FA Cup exit

After slumping to an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Second Division Watford in 1970, Bill Shankly takes drastic action and rebuilds his Liverpool side.
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2. Author John Keith on Bill Shankly

Esteemed local author and journalist John Keith talks about the legendary Bill Shankly and the impact the great man had at Anfield.

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1. Shankly Resigns

Watch the classic footage of when Tony Wilson from Granada TV went onto the streets of Liverpool to inform shocked fans that Bill Shankly had resigned as manager of Liverpool FC.
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