IT’S an oft-heard lament of players throwing their boots over their shoulders and heading through the exit that there won’t ever be a place quite like Anfield.

Yet for a plethora of former Liverpool strikers, there is genuine substance behind such a  generous tribute.

The Anfield outfit are likely to come up against one of their former forwards when they make  the short trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday evening.

And like many of those to have departed the club, David Ngog is struggling to adjust to life away  from the Kop.

It seems strikers, no matter how prolific, are unable to quite match their achievements for  Liverpool once they leave.

Witness the travails of Fernando Torres, who after scoring a remarkable 81 goals in 142  appearances at Anfield has hit the net only five times in 41 outings since his controversial  £50million move to Chelsea almost 12 months ago.

Of course, Ngog didn’t make quite the same impact during his three-year tenure at Liverpool.  But his record of 19 goals in 94 appearances – only 41 of which were starts – compares  favourably to his tally following a summer move to the Reebok.

Indeed, Ngog’s well-taken strike in the recent win at Everton was only his second goal of the campaign in his 17th outing.

David Fairclough can sympathise. Having forged a reputation during the 1970s as an impact  striker from the bench, Fairclough never quite realised his potential when embarking on a  nomadic career after leaving Anfield in 1983.

And he says: “It can be difficult when you leave Liverpool, especially as a striker. But it’s a good  test of character.

“Speaking from experience, you don’t make a conscious decision that you will be playing the  game in any way different. But when you play at Liverpool, you are used to playing in a certain  style of football where you see a lot of the ball.

“You will get some sort of half-chance that maybe when you play for, with all due respect, a  lesser team you won’t get as often. One or two places I went to, I more or less had to change my game completely because the  coach was wondering why I was in certain positions.

“Even a player such as Fernando Torres still has to change his game while at a team as good  as Chelsea.

“He has taken some solace in assisting a few goals, but he’s a striker. He wants to  score.”

The likes of Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Stan Collymore have all fared worse in front of  goal after leaving Liverpool, and Peter Crouch’s strike-rate is marginally down since his exit.

While injury and age are contributory factors, Fairclough believes there is another common  strand.

“The expectancy is there because you have been at Liverpool,” he says. “But just because you  may be a good player and had that experience, that doesn’t make it any easier.

“Having played for Liverpool is a great thing to put on your CV. It holds you in good stead in  many ways."