Liverpool: 10 Highly-Rated Talents Who Threw It All Away

6. El Hadji Diouf

Much like his fellow countryman Diao, earlier on this list, El Hadji Diouf, too, threw pretty much everything away at Liverpool despite a high billing. He was a key member of the Senegal side who reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-final and manager Gerard Houllier opted for Diouf instead of Nicolas Anelka. After a bright start at Anfield, when scoring two goals on his home debut, Diouf never managed to live up to his early form. He struggled to gel into the Liverpool side and was often dumped wide on the wing instead of up-front. His form was poor and he was involved in several controversial incidents including spitting at a Celtic fan during a Uefa Cup game. To say he wasn't much of a fan favourite was something of an understatement. The forward never looked like he gave 100% on the pitch and did little when closing players down to win the ball back for his team. Eventually he left for Bolton Wanderers and it was very much good riddance for the Anfield faithful. His early games at Anfield highlighted what a player he could have been as he had all the ingredients to be a superb player, however his attitude let him down. And frankly it is for good reason that he is still considered one of the most hated men in football.