Fowler's Sharp Anfield Exit

Last updated : 02 February 2002 By Ian Edwards, The Mirror

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Tomorrow he will be in a position which for almost two decades he never dared imagine - trying to destroy the Premiership dream he tried for so long to make a reality at Anfield.

His £11m move to Leeds means the lethal feet that reaped almost a goal every two games since his Liverpool debut at 17 are primed to inflict further damage on a club which has been increasingly haunted by their shock decision to part with such a treasure.

Fowler was the closest Liverpool have come to replacing the legendary Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish and his departure has become synonymous with the downturn in fortunes at the club which made him a local hero.

While Fowler has re-invented himself instantly under the tutelage of Leeds boss David O'Leary, rediscovering the menace that made him the scourge of the Premiership, Liverpool have been crying out for his emphatic touch as their treble-winning exploits of last season threaten to turn to dust.

How Phil Thompson, who argued so publicly with Fowler in the final days, could have done with the seven goals the striker has collected in 11 games since Liverpool made the momentous decision to sell while manager Gerard Houllier was recovering from heart surgery.

With such a productive finisher alongside Michael Owen, perhaps Houllier's continued convalescence would not be such an increasing problem and Liverpool may not have relinquished so easily their grip on the Worthington Cup, FA Cup and the early advantage they held at the top of the Premiership only a few months ago.

Houllier's refusal to acknowledge Fowler's talent - he ranks in the top five English strikers of the past 20 years - has been Liverpool's considerable loss and O'Leary's gain. To think the pair competed two seasons ago for the signature of Emile Heskey.

Despite his new-found zest, Fowler remains perplexed and frustrated as to why he was forced out of the family he became a part of at the age of 10 and admits the loss of faith in his final days under the Frenchman left him depressed.

He has never been given an explanation and his mind is spinning with mixed emotions, not driven by revenge.

But a reminder to the people who had thought he had lost it would be a perfect reply tomorrow in a game which means so much for two of the teams losing ground in the championship race.

But he is not sure he will ever fully accept the fact he became surplus to requirements for the team for whom he scored 171 goals in 414 matches.

"It is a very difficult question to answer, whether I will ever get over the decision to sell me," Fowler admitted recently.

"I had been there since I was 10. That is a long time and you don't forget everything in a day. I will always remember my time at Anfield, so it will take time to get over leaving.

"I didn't see myself moving from the club. I was always happy there and I wanted to stay there and do well there for the rest of my career. But obviously the way it turned out, I thought the time was right for a change. It was the biggest decision of my life. It was hard.

"I left in such a rush I never had the chance to say goodbye properly, but it was a case of having to leave. When I arrived at Leeds I was very low. I was not at rock bottom, but the way things had happened at Liverpool had not helped."

Fowler, 27, has only needed the injection of self-belief administered by Doctor O'Leary to blossom again with such timing for Sven Goran Eriksson, who inevitably will be at Elland Road.

Liverpool fans will have little trouble recognising the old Fowler, sharp and as predatory as ever, not the shadow which haunted Anfield in the final days. That is down to the faith shown in him by O'Leary.

"Robbie was the player I wanted from the moment we sold Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink," said O'Leary.

"The day he signed for us, I told Robbie how much I rated him

"I promised him we are a team here who will always create chances. I said at the time I hoped we would get the striker who had been playing for Liverpool 18 months ago and I think we have.

"At the end of his time at Liverpool his body language was all wrong.

"He's never said a bad word about Liverpool since he came here. He's not even said he wants to prove them wrong for selling him, but I bet he would love to score against them tomorrow."

Fowler has just been grateful to Leeds for offering him the one thing he could not get at Anfield, the promise of a regular place in the side.

"I was not playing games and when I was in the team I was being brought off. You start thinking it is you," added Fowler.

"But now I am at a new club and I'm enjoying it. I've come in and gelled straight away and I feel good.

"It's good to be playing in a good side knowing you will have chances to score. I hope that will continue for a long time.

"As a forward you thrive on confidence and I think that's what I have at the moment with this team."

The simple remedy has inspired a run of seven goals in eight games - the kind of return Fowler dreamed of when he made the decision to quit Merseyside.

If there could be the trade-off of saying goodbye to two-thirds of his life in return for a place in the World Cup finals then that was the gamble he was willing to take. It looks like paying dividends.

"I wanted to play in the big games and force my way into Sven Goran Eriksson's squad.

"I don't think I would have done that sitting on the bench at Liverpool," said Fowler.

When the chance comes, probably against Holland or Italy in the next six weeks, Fowler is in the kind of mood to snap it up with the menace taken for granted for so long at Anfield.

He still has some regrets about leaving the club which shaped him as a person and a player - but perhaps Houllier and Thompson will have bigger misgivings about their decision by next week.