Robbie Fowler has opened up on his footballing career and departure from Liverpool but insisted there is one thing that still bugs him to this day.
Despite growing up as an Everton fan, Fowler joined the Reds’ academy at the age of 11 and went on to make his debut for the club seven years later in a League Cup win against Fulham.
And the striker soon made headlines in the second leg of the cup tie a fortnight later, scoring all five goals in his side’s 5-0 win at Anfield.
From there, Fowler blossomed into one of England’s most natural finishers of the mid-to-late 1990s, setting records as he scored 30-plus goals in his first three full seasons in England.
But despite his proficiency in front of goal, Fowler saw his influence at Liverpool wane when Gerard Houllier joined Liverpool as joint manager in July 1998.
By the 2000-01 season, the Englishman had been relegated to third choice, with Houllier preferring the partnership of Emile Heskey and Michael Owen to lead the line for the Reds.
Despite his status with the fans, the lack of game time ultimately led Fowler to seek the exit, with the striker joining Leeds United in December of the following campaign.
Robbie Fowler enjoyed a rapid rise having come through the Liverpool academy
Reflecting back on his initial departure from Liverpool, Fowler said he would constantly argue with Houlier about his lack of game time but doesn’t resent the Frenchman for his decisions.
‘It wasn’t difficult but when I’m not playing, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t the nicest man in the world,’ he told BetMGM’s The LineUp.
‘I used to think I should be playing. When you’re not playing, I don’t want to be sitting there with a big smile on my face – I’m upset and distraught that I’m not playing.
‘I wanted to train every day but with that carrot that at the end of the week, I get to play and score goals and I never got the opportunity to do that as much as I would have liked under Gerad Houllier.
He later moved to Leeds United after falling out of favour under Gerard Houllier (Picture: Getty)
‘He wanted to bring in his own methods and way of playing. I fell out with him every single day and I will never ever apologise for that because I wanted to play. That doesn’t me I disliked Houllier.’
Two seasons at Elland Road and four years with Manchester City followed before Fowler returned to Anfield for two further seasons towards the end of his career.
But injuries and a lack of form meant Fowler failed to hit the heights of his early-career exploits, only twice scoring more than 10 league goals in a single season following his initial exit from Liverpool in 2001.
Fowler has the ninth-most number of goals in Premier League history
Despite that, Fowler’s record of 163 goals in 379 appearances means only eight players have scored more than him in Premier League history.
But having burned so bright in the early portion of his career, Fowler is still left resenting the injuries and form which cost him a higher spot in the record books.
‘I’m ninth on the all-time list and that’s what I really regret because I should be higher,’ he added.
‘When I think of my career, I scored lots of goals at the start – 30 goals in each of my first three full seasons – but I never realised until after I finished how much injuries played a big part.
‘I had hip, knee, and ankle operations, I suffered with my back, and it properly pains me to think that I wasn’t the same player as I was at the start of my career.
‘I still wanted to play and score goals, I believed I still would have scored goals if I played as many games. That probably hurts me more than anything that I’m not higher on that list because I should be.’