Fowler’s future remains uncertain despite landmark goal

West Brom 0 Liverpool 2

Liverpool’s greatest legend ferrying this unassuming schoolboy back home after a five-a-side session at the club’s Melwood training ground? Dalglish was manager at Anfield at the time and he knew just what the club had on their hands with Fowler; a natural goalscorer and the perfect replacement for the ageing Ian Rush.

Fowler was a true blue Evertonian, though, so Dalglish had to go that extra mile to tempt him to switch allegiance and cross Stanley Park for the Reds, even if it meant becoming the youngster’s part-time chauffeur.

Fast forward 17 years to Saturday evening at The Hawthorns and Fowler’s seventh-minute goal which gave Liverpool the lead and saw him overtake Dalglish in the ranks of the club’s all-time leading goalscorers.

Fowler’s 173rd goal for Liverpool relegated Dalglish to sixth in the pecking order and placed Anfield’s prodigal son above perhaps the only man who still commands greater affection from The Kop.

It did not require Fowler to break Dalglish’s record for him to justify the Scot’s extra efforts to bring him to the club all those years ago, yet the goal brought into sharp focus Fowler’s future at the club.

His early tap-in, followed by Djibril Cisse’s goal eight minutes before half-time, enabled Liverpool to comfortably claim victory and push West Brom further into relegation trouble.

Fowler’s goal took his tally to two since he ended his five-year exile by returning from Manchester City in January. The 30-year-old’s short-term contract expires in the summer and no talks have yet taken place regarding a new deal. Time is not on Fowler’s side, but he feels that he is doing all he can to warrant an extended stay.

“Nothing has been said or decided yet, so I just have to wait for the manager and I’ll just try to keep playing my football,” Fowler said. “Since I’ve been back, I haven’t scored as many goals as I would have liked but I’ve been relatively pleased and happy with the performances. It’s not up to me to say who the manager should sign.

“Obviously, a few people have pointed out that I’ve overtaken Kenny Dalglish in the scoring charts and for me to get anywhere near him is a fantastic achievement. So to surpass him by one, I’m just delighted.”

Cisse is another whose Anfield future remains shrouded in doubt but his efforts in an unfamiliar right-wing role on Saturday proved key for Liverpool. His pace was a constant worry for West Brom’s defence and, after teeing up Fowler, he worked his own goal when he latched onto Xabi Alonso’s 70-yard pass before rounding goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.

Second place remains their target, but with Manchester United looking more likely to overhaul Chelsea than open the door for Liverpool, Rafa Benitez wants third place wrapped up before turning his thoughts to the runners-up spot.

He said: “United keep winning, so we also have to keep winning and just see what happens, but we have to keep going and I want us to make sure of third position first. Once we do that, then we can think about second place, but it will be difficult.”

West Brom have no such ambitions. Their fight against relegation is now a three-way battle involving themselves, Birmingham and Portsmouth.

Two will go down, but Robson hopes this defeat will sharpen Albion minds.

“Now that Birmingham and Portsmouth have drawn closer to us, the added pressure might spark the players and make them realise that we are not out of trouble. It could be a harsh reality check for them.”

Opta Fact: The Baggies have never netted a Premiership goal against Liverpool and have shipped 19 in total.

Opta Fact: Liverpool have scored 20 goals in their last five matches in all competitions.