Footballing Weekly: John Aldridge remains a massive Liverpool fan

SINGAPORE — He's a beloved icon in the city he was born in, so much so that he can get a free lift home from any fan from Anfield, the stadium where he made his name.

But John Aldridge remains the giddy fan of Liverpool, the football club which he has supported since childhood, and eventually starred for two superb seasons in the 1980s.

A deadly goal poacher in his heyday, the 64-year-old has become a familiar voice in Liverpool, being a pundit for the city's top radio station Radio City 96.7 and a columnist for the Liverpool Echo newspaper. His excited commentaries have become part of Liverpool club lore amid their recent spell of success.

Aldridge joined the group of Liverpool legends - John Barnes, Gary McAllister, Lucas Leiva and Martin Skrtel - accompanying the Reds to Singapore for the Festival of Football pre-season games, and his easy-going warmth was evident during an interview with Yahoo Southeast Asia's "Footballing Weekly" about his favourite team.

"I was allowed to commentate for Radio City, and I felt as if I've gone back to when I was a kid," he said.

"So naturally whenever Liverpool score, especially in big games like Istanbul in 2005 (Champions League final), I would go berserk and I would apologise to Radio City for getting too emotional.

"But they would tell me, 'No no, the people are loving it.' I think they like that I'm a massive fan, and they're delighted to see me go mad."

Scored goals everywhere he played

Even before he joined Liverpool in 1987, Aldridge was already banging in goals around the English leagues - first with Newport County and then with Oxford United.

At Liverpool, however, he became a key member of what was arguably their finest title-winning squad - the 1987/88 team that went on a 29-match unbeaten run and featured other greats such as Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Steve Nicol and Alan Hansen.

He scored 63 goals in 104 games for the Reds, before leaving for Spain, where he continued his prolific scoring streak with Real Sociedad. He returned to Merseyside to join his final club Tranmere Rovers, and never stopped scoring. When he retired, he became the sixth-highest scorer in English Football League history - 329 goals in 620 games with four clubs.

Throughout his outstanding career, he remains a Liverpool fan at heart, and continues to connect with other Reds fans around the world.

"People from other cities and other football clubs may say it's nonsense, but the connection among Liverpool fans, players, coaches and staff is really special, and more and more fans from around the world are joining in," he said.

"You ask any rival manager coming to Anfield - Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola - they know it's unique. The team needs the crowd, especially in games of massive importance, and the way some of these games panned out, that's never happening in other stadiums."

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