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When Gerard Houllier pulled off the surprise transfer coups of both
Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland on the same day in August 2001, Dudek was
seen as Liverpool's new number one goalkeeper, while the £6m Kirkland
was eyed as his long-term successor. The 20-year-old had excelled in a
recently relegated Coventry City side, but would make just four
appearances in his debut season, performing excellently in a Champions
League draw with Galatasaray in the white hot atmosphere of Istanbul.
Errors from Dudek in the following campaign saw Kirkland given a
prolonged run, which included a penalty save at Sunderland, but his
thirteenth consecutive start would prove to be unlucky, as a collision
with Crystal Palace's Dele Adebola in an FA Cup clash ended his season.
Dudek was restored to a Liverpool side that would win the League Cup as
Kirkland missed nine months, only returning to the team as the Reds
kicked off their defence of the trophy with a 4-3 win at Blackburn;
Emile Heskey scoring twice.
Chris was restored to Liverpool's league
side in a goalless draw at Middlesbrough, but, in what was becoming an
increasing theme, a short run in the team was ended by an injury, this
time a broken finger in a 3-1 Boxing Day win over Bolton. When Dudek got
injured as well, Houllier drafted in veteran Welsh 'keeper Paul Jones
on an emergency basis, and the revolving door in front of Liverpool's
net continued to rotate. Chris came back to play in both legs of a 6-2
aggregate UEFA Cup win over Bulgarians Levski Sofia before, almost
inevitably, a broken wrist ended his season in March. The arrival of
Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2004 brought fresh rumours of new
goalkeepers arriving at the club, but the Spaniard gave his current
stoppers a chance, throwing Kirkland into action in October. Chris
played in fourteen out of Liverpool's next seventeen matches; his best
ever run in the side.
He only gave way to Dudek when Benitez shuffled
his pack for the League Cup, and featured as the Reds produced a
thrilling comeback to beat Olympiakos on their unlikely path to
Champions League glory. Finally cemented as Liverpool's number one, it
was inevitable what would happen next. A back injury ruled him out for
the rest of the season, Dudek took over between the sticks and Benitez
snapped up Leeds United¹s teenage 'keeper Scott Carson as cover, and
later Villarreal's Jose Reina as his new number one. Loan spells at West
Brom and Wigan followed in the next couple of seasons, which were again
tainted by injury, before Wigan made his move permanent in October
2006. Since signing the permanent deal with the Latics, Chris has
established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in the country, but
must wonder what could have been for his Liverpool career if it wasn't
for such misfortune on the injury front. (Mark Jones).
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