English FA Premiership/ West Bromwich 0 Liverpool 2: Kenny Dalglish knew exactly what he was doing all those years ago when he ferried a teenage Robbie Fowler back to his Toxteth estate in his Mercedes. It was a sweetener that not even a staunch Everton fan like Fowler could ignore. "You can imagine how good it was when all of my mates were there to see him," said the Liverpool striker, recalling the occasion.

What Dalglish, then Liverpool's manager, could not have realised was that the schoolboy he was trying to entice to Anfield would one day surpass his own achievements for the club. That moment arrived on Saturday when Fowler plundered his 173rd goal in a Liverpool shirt to move one ahead of Dalglish and up to fifth in the club's all-time scoring list. It is an extraordinary feat and one made all the more remarkable by Fowler's departure from Anfield in 2001.

That should have been the end of a Liverpool career which had brought more houses for his property portfolio than silverware for the trophy cabinet but an unlikely return in January has opened a new chapter. How long the 30-year-old's latest stay on Merseyside lasts remains to be seen though Fowler, who arrived from Manchester City in January, has already ensured that the homecoming has resonance.

"To get anywhere near Kenny is an achievement which I am greatly proud of," he said. "I thought the chance had passed me by and to get the call in January asking me to come back here . . . I am talking about being happy to surpass Kenny but I'm just happy about being here."

The feeling is mutual. Fowler's goals for Liverpool might not be synonymous with the success that Dalglish enjoyed but his status among Liverpool fans is unrivalled. The sense is that they would like nothing more than to see the man they call "God" given the opportunity to prolong his Liverpool career.

Not that Rafael Benitez, who plans to make a decision about Fowler's future in the next fortnight, is likely to be caught up in the romance of his renaissance. The Liverpool manager is far too pragmatic to allow his judgment to be blurred by that backdrop although his suggestion that goals will not be the overriding factor ought to assuage Fowler's fears.

For all that, his contribution here was most telling for the goal that opened the scoring after only seven minutes.

Bryan Robson felt that Fowler had strayed offside but the Albion manager's frustration would have been better directed at Paul Robinson who had allowed Djibril Cisse to escape. A fine cross from the Frenchman, who tormented Robinson throughout, was turned in by Fowler.

A superb 60-yard pass from Xabi Alonso, who had picked up possession on the edge of his own area, open the way for Cisse who, drifting off Robinson's shoulder and behind Steve Watson, finished with aplomb.

• Guardian Service