Liverpool fans usually discuss the same names when talking about great forwards who have played at Anfield. From Robbie Fowler to Ian Rush, Fernando Torres to Luis Suarez — it’s a long list of legends.

But when Gerrard was asked about strikers he loved playing with, he went in a different direction than most would expect. He gave credit to a player he thinks doesn’t get enough credit for his years in a red shirt.

That player is Emile Heskey, the burly centre-forward who played a major role in the many trophies Liverpool won at the turn of the century.

Heskey was never the flashy one at Liverpool, but that was the point. He gave Gerard Houllier’s side weight up top, pinned defenders, made the pitch bigger for Michael Owen and created the kind of space that midfield runners dream about.

That mattered in a side that actually won things. Liverpool’s run in the early noughties was built on more than star names, and Heskey played his part in Liverpool’s 2001 treble,...