Which goal is Liverpool FC's greatest?

But it isn't just about how spectacular a goal was, it is also about how much it meant.

With 2009 marking the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly's arrival, all of the goals selected were scored in the years since the legendary Liverpool manager took the Anfield hot seat.

The countdown begins today with goals 50-41 and will continue for the next four days before the greatest Liverpool goal of all is revealed in Saturday's ECHO.

50 Alan A'Court sets the ball rolling.

Where better to begin than the very first goal of Bill Shankly's reign as Liverpool manager?

It may have been scored in Division Two in a relatively meaningless game by the standards Liverpool would later set themselves but it was a goal which ushered in a new era, one in which Shankly would set about turning the Anfield club into "a bastion of invincibility".

Remember the date - December 28, 1959 - for it was the day when Liverpool's journey from footballing backwater to one of the most dominant and successful forces the game has ever seen really got under way.

49 Fernando Torres first goal in a Liverpool shirt.

Another strike which brought in a new era, in this case of a striker who is now regarded as one of the best, if not the very best, in world football.

Picked out - as is so often the case - by Steven Gerrard, Torres advances towards goal but there is little sense of what is to follow amongst the Chelsea defenders who are safe in the knowledge that centre back Tel Ben Haim is in a good position and Torres has few options available.

A change of gear later and Liverpool's record signing has gone past Ben Haim like an ACME bird seed hungry Road Runner before opening up his body and placing a wonderfully controlled finish past Petr Cech.

As beautiful a sign of things to come as you could ever wish for.

48 Graeme Souness in the lion's den.

Strictly speaking a successful strike in a penalty shoot out is not a goal.

But few finishes in Liverpool's glorious history have symbolised a player as perfectly as this one.

It is the European Cup final in Rome against AS Roma on their home ground. Liverpool have defied the odds and the home advantage of their hosts to claim a 1-1 draw and a penalty shoot out follows.

With one successful kick apiece, Souness strides forward, defiantly bouncing the ball as the Roman crowd whistle their disapproval.

Lesser players would have wilted, but if ever a scene was made for the tough as teak Scot it was this one and without blinking he smacks the ball with the outside of his foot into the top right hand corner of Tancredi's goal. Within minutes Souness would be lifting the European Cup.

47 John Arne Riise scores at the right end.

Outside Anfield, the Norwegian is damned to be for ever remembered for his last minute own goal which gave Chelsea a crucial advantage in last season's Champions League semi-final.

But anyone who witnessed his magnificent exocet of a free kick against Man United in November 2001 will have altogether fonder memories.

Fabien Bhartez may not have enjoyed a particularly memorable spell at Old Trafford but such was the phenomenal power and unerring accuracy of Riise's strike United could have had Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Saar in goal along with the Frenchman and they still would have been unable to stop it.

46 Peter Crouch defies gravity.

The art of the scissor kick is one which South American flair players claim is one of the purest in football.

For any footballer, it is a notoriously difficult skill to get right. Everything must be perfect - the flight of the ball, the timing of the leap, the Matrix style contortions through the air and, most of all, the contact.

But when you stand 6ft 7ins tall the difficulty level is ratcheted up another notch.

Crouch, though, proved himself up to the task in every possible sense when he struck the best scissor kick ever scored by a Liverpool player in a Champions League tie against Galatasaray at Anfield in September 2006.

Only John Barnes' similar effort against Blackburn comes close.

45 Xabi Alonso defies his captain.

You are a ball playing midfielder, it is the closing stages of a pulsating FA Cup tie, you are inside your own half and you have Steven Gerrard - one of the best players in the world - imploring you to give him the ball.

What do you do?

Well, when you have the technique of Xabi Alonso you calmly look up, realise that the Luton Town goalkeeper is nowhere to be seen having advanced up field to try and grab an equaliser, and stroke the ball home from all of 60 yards.

Arguably the longest goal in Liverpool's history, if you forget the old crack about St John scoring from Hunt's cross.

44 If anyone can Macca can.

Look through Liverpool's record books and the entry for January 16, 1988 will reveal that John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley scored the goals which gave Liverpool a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Anfield.

What they won't show is that the first goal of the game was perhaps the greatest example of the never-say-die spirit which served Liverpool so well throughout their glory years.

With the clock ticking down towards half-time, Arsenal clear the ball which seems to be heading out for a throw in.

Steve McMahon has other ideas though, chasing the ball and keeping it in on the line. His momentum takes him careering towards the advertising hoardings which he touches before turning, retrieving the ball and motoring towards the Arsenal defence.

The midfielder found Peter Beardsley whose shot was parried by Lukic before Aldridge did the rest.

43 Ian Rush dances on ice

Friday night at a freezing cold, ice-bound Villa Park and the hardy souls who've made the trip from Merseyside to the Midlands are wondering what kind of spectacle awaits them.

Fortunately, Liverpool have Europe's greatest striker in their ranks and the Welshman proves it with arguably the finest hat-trick of his goal-laden career.

The pick of the bunch is a volley of such searing quality that it would have brought supporters to their feet on any occasion, let alone one when the pitch was so treacherous that the Liverpool players would have been better off wearing ice skates rather than football boots.

* Watch Rushie's Villa hat-trick here - goals at 2 mins 45 secs, 3:26 and 4:47 into the video

42 Robbie Fowler's Norwegian Rhapsody.

Mention Robbie Fowler and Brann Bergen in the same sentence and the chances are that the first memory which will spring to mind is of the Toxteth-born striker lifting his Liverpool shirt to reveal a t-shirt in support of the sacked Liverpool dockers.

As commendable and righteous as that gesture undoubtedly was it has tended to obscure recollections of the goal he scored in the first leg of this Cup Winners Cup tie.

A backheel flick to control a difficult pass was one thing, meeting it full on the volley and seeing the shot fly into the back of the net is quite another.

No wonder so many Norwegians love Liverpool. When you've seen a goal of such quality scored in your homeland what else is there you can do?

41 The forgotten Cup Final goal.

Question: Which was the greatest FA Cup final goal ever scored at Wembley?

Obvious answers include Ricky Villa's mazy dribble for Spurs against Man City in 1981, Ray Wilkins curler for Man United against Brighton two years later and Keith Houchen's diving header for Coventry against Tottenham in 1987.

But one goal is all too easily forgotten - possibly because unlike the trio mentioned above it came in a losing cause - and that is Jimmy Case's stunning half volley against Man United in the Queen's silver jubilee year.

Had it won the game it would still be talked of today as one of the greatest of all time.

As it is, Case's superlative strike has been all but erased from the nation's collective memory banks thanks to a Lou Macari mishit which ricocheted off Jimmy Greenhoff's chest to give United the cup and deny Liverpool the treble.

A clear case of one of the most fortunate goals of all time spoiling the impact of one of Liverpool's very best.