Where Are These Liverpool Stars Now? Remembering The Forgotten Kopites

Liverpool is a club with a great past and a promising future. Anfield has been the stage where many legends (Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler and many more) have showcased their talent and mesmerized the fans. These are players whose names will be etched in the memories of the fans for ever and ever. These players will never be forgotten. And then there are players who were once considered among the best at Liverpool, and yet there are some names which have been faded in between the past and the future. Here are three such players who had one or two great seasons at Liverpool but are now forgotten-

1.) Jose Enrique

Jose Enrique joined Liverpool from Newcastle during the 2011-12 season. He made his debut for the Merseyside club on 13th August 2011 against Sunderland and scored his first goal for the club against Wigan Athletic on 17 November 2012. He had a great first season at the club and was expected to cement his place in the team at the left back position. But, after a very good first season at Liverpool his form dipped and his place in the starting eleven became a strong uncertainty.

Injuries also proved to be a hindrance for his development at the club. During the 2013-14 season, he had very less game time in the first half of the season due to injuries. In the next season, Liverpool signed Alberto Moreno from Sevilla and he easily became the first choice left-back for Liverpool ahead of Enrique. Since then, Jose Enrique has hardly played for Liverpool and will be released by the club as the transfer window opened this year. Once a future prospect of Liverpool, Jose Enrique has become one of the forgotten names amongst the fans.

2.) Ryan Babel

Ryan Babel signed for Liverpool in the 2007-08 season for a fee of 14 million euros from Ajax. He had signed a 5 year contract for Liverpool and was unveiled along with Yossi Benayoun. He made his Premier League debut in an away match against Aston Villa, which was the curtain raiser for the season.

Babel was known for his pace and terrorized defenses with the same. He was used more as a substitute and had a knack of scoring goals by coming off the bench. One such super-sub performance came against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals in his debut season. He came off the bench and won a penalty and scored a goal, helping Liverpool to a 4-2 win. The problem with Babel was his inconsistency. This caused him his place in the playing eleven. Babel left Liverpool and joined Hoffenheim during the 2010-11 season and he could score only 5 times in 46 appearances for the German club. He again made a move to his former club Ajax, but he could never cement his place in the starting eleven. After his impressive 5 year spell at Liverpool, Babel could never find his form again and is playing for Al Ain in the UAE Arabian Gulf League right now.

3.) Dirk Kuyt

The Dutch international joined Liverpool at the beginning of the 2006-07 season from Feyenoord where he is currently playing. He began his career at Liverpool with a fine fashion as he scored twice in his first 4 league outings. He was praised for the new defensive approach by a striker. As soon as he joined, he regularly started in the playing eleven. He scored 51 times in his 208 appearances for Liverpool.

He left Liverpool at the end of the 2011-12 season after having 6 good seasons on the trot for the Reds. He joined Fenerbache and made 95 appearances for the club in 4 years, scoring 26 times. Kuyt then joined his former club Feyenoord and still plays for them and have made 32 appearances so far scoring 19 times. He is also the leading goal-scorer in the Dutch league. Although he is more remembered by the fans than the players mentioned above, he is still very much a forgotten player considering the seasons that he spent at Liverpool.