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Ian Rush knows a thing or two about scoring goals. As a gloriously mustachioed poacher, he plundered a massive 348 goals in his 660 appearances for the Reds. His timing, movement and clinical finishing were among the best the club has ever witnessed, but a big part of what made him such a fan favourite was his relentless work rate, badgering defenders when out of possession and constantly making runs when his team had the ball. The workhorse striker set the tone for the rest of the team and was emblematic of the mentality Bill Shankly tried to instil in his side, not dissimilar to the kind of pressing and harrying Brendan Rodgers preaches. The kind Luis Suarez represented.
And, according to Rush, not unlike what Danny Ings offers.
"I was very impressed with Danny Ings in pre-season and for me he is very clever with the way that he makes his runs. He plays off the shoulder of the defender and he makes his runs early.
"The likes of Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino, who could be playing alongside him, will see those runs and play him in.
"If you don't get the ball three or four times sometimes you can stop making the runs but Ings looks very sharp to me and I think he is good in the box as well."
Although he was never a big target man type player, Rush was typically the bigger of the two strikers on the pitch, having spent most of his time alongside the diminutive likes of Kenny Dalglish, Peter Beardsley and Robbie Fowler. The Welshman was an accomplished aerial player and scored a number of goals with his head, mainly down to his ability to time his runs and judge the path of the ball. He is not opposed to Liverpool employing a target man though, as his thoughts on Christian Benteke clearly reflect.
"I'm really happy that they have signed him. I think they needed someone like that.
"Benteke gives Liverpool a different option and I think he's probably a bit better on the ground than people think. Technically, he's very good but he's also a good get out for Simon Mignolet.
"Liverpool like to play at the back but sometimes they overplay and he can be that get-out because he is good in the air and it allows Simon Mignolet to kick the ball down the field knowing Benteke is a good outlet."
While Ian Rush is generally of a more sanguine disposition regarding the current state and future of Liverpool than most of us, the topic of strikers is certainly his area of expertise, and if he says Benteke and Ings are good enough, then I'm not gonna argue. Right now, anyway.
