What Manchester United fans sang made Liverpool favourite proud after Steven Gerrard's x-rated message

A recurring theme during Liverpool’s thirty-year league title drought was the frustrating spectacle of a big-money striker arriving at Anfield only to be shoved out onto the wing when things weren’t working out.

The repurposing of Mohamed Salah as a right-sided forward following his £36m arrival from AS Roma as a winger in 2017 reversed and broke that chain to some degree but before then, the likes of Stan Collymore, Emile Heskey, El Hadji Diouf and Djibril Cisse had all found themselves playing wide after initial hopes they might be the answer through the middle had floundered.

There was one example during this era however where a shift to the flanks actually worked out well for all concerned.

Dirk Kuyt followed in the footsteps of the aforementioned quartet when he arrived at Anfield from Feyenoord for £10m in August 2006 with a big price tag and big expectations that he would provide the goals that might lead the Reds to the holy grail of that long-awaited 19th league title.

He left six seasons later having managed an on-the-face-of-it unimpressive strike ratio of almost exactly one every four games but with the love and gratitude of a Liverpool fanbase who had greatly appreciated his relentless work-rate, selfless team play and knack of scoring big goals in matches that mattered.

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His time in L4 coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the club which ultimately prevented a talented but under-resourced squad fulfilling its undoubted potential but the Dutchman’s drive and dedication to the cause