Liverpool supporters in the Football Transfer Tavern are still attempting to get over the hangovers of the Easter weekend, having spent much of it drowning their sorrows following the collapse of their Champions League dream.
Three weeks ago, the Reds were many people’s favourites to finish in the top four above the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.
Yet back-to-back defeats to their nearest rivals – the latest of which was a 4-1 hammering at the Emirates on Saturday – sees the Reds season on the brink of collapse.
Brendan Rodgers says a top four finish is now ‘almost impossible’ in what he insists has been a season of learning for his young side.
The Reds can save their season with FA Cup success, but there have been a few performers this season who seem to have been doing all they can to make it into the worst Liverpool XI of all time which we have identified here.
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Click on Brendan Rodgers to reveal the worst Liverpool XI of all time
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Charles Itandje
It never looked that bright for Itandje at Anfield and the fact he went into hiding when Liverpool tried to sign him perhaps was a sign that is was never meant to be.
He was signed as back up for Pepe Reina in 2007 but in seven appearances he conceded ten goals and soon slipped to third choice behind Diego Cavalieri.
Joking in conversation during the Hillsborough ceremony at Anfield to commemorate the tragedy’s 20th anniversary spelled the end of this wrenched time at the club and he was shipped out to Kavala in Greece, having never managed a league appearance for the Reds.
Jan Kromkamp
Another defender with international pedigree that was brought in with seemlingly very little scouting or need.
Steve Finnan was the number one right back at Anfield when Kromkamp arrived in January 2006 and Finnan was still the number one right back at Anfield when Kromkamp left six months later.
A hefty wage for a Dutch international and 14 appearances, mainly as a substitute, ensures he makes the right back spot his own.
Igor Biscan
Biscan ended his Anfield career as something of a cult hero, having helped the Reds to that incredible Champions League success in 2005.
It was his spell as a centre back the previous season however that sees him make this team.
Biscan was inexplicably chosen ahead of Jamie Carragher and Stephane Henchoz to partner Sami Hyypia for the 2003-04 season, where he went from one disaster at the back to another.
Gerard Houllier paid the price with his job at the end of the season, and Biscan would go on to win a Champions League medal performing in his favoured midfield position the following year.
Josemi
The Spaniard was the first signing of the Rafael Benitez era, and perhaps one of the worst.
Capable of playing at right back or centre back (sort of), Benitez claimed Josemi was similar to Jamie Carragher in playing style – a statement the former Reds boss will surely regret.
Josemi was incredibly rash in the tackle, and had little to no skill going forward. Yet he became the Reds very own David May, managing to get himself right in the middle for all the photos after Liverpool famously won the Champions League in 2005.
Paul Konchesky
Roy Hodgson decided to sign Fulham defender Konchesky as a solution to the left back issue at Anfield in a move that was widely questioned by Reds fans.
Indeed, he never looked like the soution to anything and made only 18 appearances for the Reds before being shipped out to Nottingham Forest on loan.
He finally ended his misery by signing permanently for Leicester City in July 2011, where he remains currently.
He is most remembered at Anfield for his Mother taking to social media to slate the Liverpool fans who had been unhappy with his performances.
Milan Jovanovic
A parting ‘gift’ from Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2010.
The Serb has returned from a match winning performance against Germany at the 2010 World Cup, and should have been full of confidence.
He managed just a handful of dreadful appearances during Roy Hodgson’s ill-fated spell in charge, and was promptly released at the first available opportunity by Kenny Dalglish.
Christian Poulsen
The signing that summed up the Roy Hodgson era.
As fan favourite Javier Mascherano was shipped off to Barcelona for £20 million, Hodgson decided to replace him with the £4.5 million Danish international.
Poulsen was nowhere near the same class as Mascherano, and it took less than half a season for the Reds to work it out, as Hodgson was sacked and replaced with Kenny Dalgish, who dropped Poulsen immediately for Jay Spearing before selling him the next summer.
Salif Diao
The former Stoke City man has now retired from professional football which to Liverpool fans will be a relief.
The defensive midfielder was signed for £5 million by Gerard Houllier in 2002 after helping Senegal reach the quarter-finals of the then recent World Cup.
However he looked out of his depth at Anfield but still spent a long five years with the club.
He was finally put out of his Anfield misery in 2007 by Stoke City, with Jamie Carragher admitting in his book he did all he could to try and persuade Diao to make a move to arch rivals Everton!
Joe Cole
The first signing of Roy Hodgson’s ill-fated Liverpool career.
With fans disappointed by the departure of Rafael Benitez and with little money to spend, Hodgson looked to appease fans with the capture of Joe Cole on a free transfer.
Cole was offered a ridiculous £100,000-a-week to move to Anfield, where he spent two-and-a-half years looking a shadow of his former self before moving to West Ham United on a free transfer, via a surprising loan spell at Lille.
His move to Anfield signalled what was to be a disappointing end to a career of one of English football’s most natural talents.
Andriy Voronin
The Ukraine international arrived at Anfield on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2007.
After a bright start, Voronin faded badly, and became a scapegoat for many of the poor performances under Rafael Benitez towards the end of his Liverpool tenure.
The ridiculous blonde ponytail, and the lack of workrate didn’t help either – Jamie Carragher described him as ‘a lazy bugger’ during his spell as a pundit for ITV during Euro 2012, which we feel sums him up perfectly.
Voronin left Anfield with five goals in 27 Premier League games over two seasons.
El Hadji Diouf
There are few former players Liverpool fans strongly dislike, but El-Hadji Diouf certainly falls into that category.
Signed as an alternative for Nicolas Anelka in the summer of 2002, his £10 million signing signalled the beginning of the end for former boss Gerard Houllier.
Diouf managed just three Premier League goals in two seasons at Anfield, whilst his disgusting spitting antics towards a Celtic fan brought shame on the club in 2003.
He is remembered as the worst number 9 to ever pull on a red shirt. Yep, even worse than Iago Aspas.
