Few players have represented Liverpool with as much distinction as Robbie Fowler.
The Scouser was a phenomenon when breaking through in the 1990’s, breaking goalscoring record after goalscoring record.
And although some his personal’s best have since been eclipsed by a certain Mohamed Salah, Fowler is still one of the best strikers in Liverpool’s history.
Having come through the academy, the now 49-year-old was the most natural born finisher you could ever wish to see. He went on to plunder 183 goals in 369 games across two spells with Liverpool.
With the Reds forward line slightly misfiring recently, Fowler is the kind of player Arne Slot would love to be able to count on. Instead, he’s having to make do with a player who the former Liverpool striker thinks will never quite be good enough.
Robbie Fowler unconvinced by Darwin Nunez
In his pomp, Fowler was about as sure a thing as it is possible to get in front of goal. He simply didn’t miss.
As Liverpool struggle with profligacy across their forward line, he is incomparable to anyone at the club right now. Diogo Jota is perhaps the closest thing we have, but even then it’s a wide gap.
One player who could possibly be said to be the polar opposite of Fowler is Darwin Nunez.
Where Robbie would finish with certainty and assuredness, you never really count on Nunez when he’s through on goal.
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano shares what he’s hearing about Darwin Nunez’s future at Liverpool
And speaking to the Liverpool ECHO, Fowler has admitted that he doesn’t think the Uruguayan will ever find that extra level.
“He is trying too hard at times,” says the pundit. “Will he get to the level that we hope or think? I don’t think that he will and that’s not being a knock on him and I am not being derogatory because I would never do that.
“He is a Liverpool player and I want him to be the very best, but he just needs to go back to delivering what he was doing when he was younger, the basics I’ve seen and then not trying all the technically unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime things.
“He does seem to think about things too much and I am not sure you can as a forward.”
Darwin Nunez answers the critics
While it’s difficult to disagree with Fowler at this point, Nunez does keep turning up just when you start to give up on him.
After a dreadful end to the season with Liverpool where he scored once in his last 13 games, many fans had thrown the towel in on Darwin.
It has been two years of waiting on promises that Nunez would ‘explode.’ So far, it just hasn’t quite happened for him at Anfield.
Once again though, there have been signs that the former Benfica man is on the verge of a breakthrough.
On Wednesday, Nunez bagged a hat-trick for Uruguay against Mexico. All three finishes were tap-ins, but it showed the killer edge that Fowler says he’s been missing.
If the 24-year-old can take that form into the Copa America this summer and then back with him to Liverpool, maybe Nunez can finally end this debate and keep his critics quiet. Here’s hoping anyway.