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For the Uruguayan club, see Liverpool FC (Montevideo).

Liverpool Football Club (usually known simply as Liverpool) are a professional football club based in Liverpool, in the north west of England. They play in the FA Premier League and are the most successful club in English football. Liverpool have won eighteen First Division titles, seven FA Cups and five UEFA Champions League titles. Liverpool are also a member of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

The club was founded on March 15 1892 by John Houlding, the owner of Anfield. Houlding decided to form his own team after Everton left Anfield in an argument over rent. The original name was to be Everton F.C. but was changed to Liverpool F.C. (after The Football Association refused to recognise the team as Everton). Liverpool were elected to the Football League two years later.

The club were involved in two of the biggest tragedies in European football — at Heysel in 1985 when thirty-nine spectators were crushed On This Day - 29th May 1985 BBC Online - news.bbc.co.uk , and at Hillsborough in 1989 where 96 people died and 766 were injured On This Day - 15th April 1989 BBC Online - news.bbc.co.uk. After Heysel, English clubs were banned from European competition for a period of five years, six in the case of Liverpool.

Liverpool Football Club is not to be confused with Liverpool (Rugby) Football Club which was formed in 1858 and is now known as Liverpool St. Helens.

History

Main article: History of Liverpool F.C.

Everton F.C. were founded 1878 and played at Anfield from 1884. In 1891 John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield, purchased the ground outright and proposed to increase the rent from £100 to £250 a year. The Everton members objected, left Anfield and moved to Goodison Park. With an empty ground and just three players remaining, Houlding decided to form his own football club and on 15 March 1892, Liverpool Football Club was born. John McKenna was appointed director and signed thirteen Scottish professionals for the new club.

An ambitious application to join the Football League was rejected and Liverpool started their competitive life in the Lancashire League, with an 8-0 win at Anfield against Higher Walton. Malcolm McVean scored the club's first competitive goal. Ending the first season as champions, and beating Everton 1-0 in the 1893 Liverpool Senior Cup final (the first Merseyside derby), Liverpool were elected to the Football League.

McVean was also the scorer of the club’s first league goal in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Liverpool ended the season unbeaten and Second Division Champions, winning a test match 2-0 against Newton Heath (soon to be renamed Manchester United), and were promoted to the First Division. In 1896, the strip changed from blue and white quarters to red and white and, in 1901, Liverpool won their first Football League championship; a feat that was repeated in 1906.

Liverpool played their first FA Cup final in 1914. It was the last final to be played at Crystal Palace, and the first to be attended by the reigning monarch, George V. Liverpool lost 1-0 to Burnley.

In 1921-22 and 1922-23 Liverpool won their first back-to-back League titles, captained by England full-back Ephraim Longworth. This was followed by the longest barren spell in the club's history until the Championship was won again in 1947, although the club finished runners-up in the 1950 FA Cup.

Bill Shankly became Liverpool manager in December 1959. Over the next fifteen years he transformed them into one of the top club sides in Europe. Within his first year, he released twenty-four players. Fellow Scots Ian St John and Ron Yeats were signed as striker Roger Hunt, winger Ian Callaghan and full back Gerry Byrne also established themselves in the team. In Shankly's third season as manager, Liverpool won the Second Division Championship by eight points and were promoted to the top flight where they have remained ever since, never finishing below eighth in the league. In 1964, Liverpool lifted the League Championship for the first time in seventeen years. It was also the year in which the team adopted its all red strip. The next season, the club won their first ever FA Cup, beating Leeds United 2-1 in the final, and the same season saw Liverpool's first ever European Cup campaign, which ended at the semi-final stage against Inter Milan.

Liverpool's first ever European final took place in 1966 when they lost in the Cup Winners' Cup against Borussia Dortmund. Around this time, future internationals Emlyn Hughes, Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan were signed from clubs in the lower divisions as the 60s team was gradually dismantled and built anew.

In 1973, Liverpool achieved their eighth league title. They also defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach to win their first European trophy, the UEFA Cup.

After another FA Cup victory in 1974, Shankly retired, handing over the reins to his assistant Bob Paisley. Paisley would prove even more successful. In the nine seasons under his management, the club would win a total of twenty-one trophies, including three European Cups, a UEFA Cup, six league titles and three consecutive League Cups. Under Paisley, a new era of stars emerged including Graeme Souness, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish.

In 1977, Liverpool won their first ever European Cup. The final in Rome was won 3-1 over old foes Borussia Moenchengladbach in what was Kevin Keegan's final game for the club. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 with a 1-0 win in the final against FC Bruges. In 1979, the club broke another record winning the league title with sixty-eight points and only sixteen goals conceded in forty-two matches Liverpool Manager - Paisley www.liverpoolfc.tv. The following season brought another league title. Paisley's third and last European Cup victory came in 1981 with a 1-0 victory in the final over Real Madrid. The only domestic trophy to previously elude them, the League Cup, was also won that season with defender Alan Hansen grabbing the winning goal.

Veteran coach Joe Fagan, aged 63, succeeded Paisley as manager in 1983. His first season in charge saw Liverpool become the first English club to win three major trophies in a single season — the League title, the League Cup and the European Cup. In Fagan's second and final season as manager, Liverpool again reached the European Cup final. The match was to be played at Heysel Stadium but, before kickoff, disaster struck as crowd violence caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing thirty-nine (mostly Italian) fans. The match was played regardless and an unwilling Liverpool team lost 1-0 to Juventus. Liverpool were banned from participating in European competition for six years.

In 1985, the manager's role passed from Fagan to former club player, Kenny Dalglish, as Liverpool's first player-manager. Dalglish's reign would see another the club win three League Championships and another two FA Cups. His initial season in charge saw the club winning the league title and beating neighbours Everton 3-1 in the FA Cup final to become only the third team to win the league championship/FA Cup double in the twentieth century.

Liverpool came close to repeating the double once more in 1988-89. They lifted the FA Cup with another victory over Everton in the final, but the league title slipped out of their grasp in the last minute of their last game of the season at home to Arsenal. A last minute goal from Arsenal's Michael Thomas (who later joined Liverpool) gave the league title to the visitors - while the two teams ended the season with the same number of points and an identical goal difference, the Gunners took the title by virtue of having scored more goals. But the season was overshadowed by the Hillsborough disaster, which had struck the club in the FA Cup semi-final. Hundreds of Liverpool fans were trampled on the terraces at Hillsborough. Ninety-four fans died that day and a ninety-fifth fan died in hospital from his injuries four days later. A ninty-sixth fan died nearly four years later having never regained consciousness. The Taylor Report later ruled that the main reasons for the disaster were overcrowding due to a failure of police control.

On February 22, 1991, with Liverpool halfway through a two-horse race with Arsenal for the league title Kenny Dalglish dropped a bombshell by handing in his resignation as manager, claiming he could no longer cope with the pressure of managing the club. First-team coach Ronnie Moran took charge of team affairs for several weeks before Graeme Souness was named as the club's new manager.

While Souness won the FA Cup in his first full season, his time at the club was not successful. In 1992-93 Liverpool finished sixth in the first-ever FA Premier League and never looked like title challengers at any stage during the season. The 1993-94 season was no better and Souness resigned in January 1994 after Liverpool suffered a shock defeat against Bristol City in the FA Cup.

"Boot room" veteran Roy Evans took over from Souness. While his tenure saw some improvement in league form, in five seasons the club never finished higher than third. The 1995 League Cup was won by defeating Bolton Wanderers 2-1. Other highlights include a 1-0 FA Cup final loss to Manchester United in 1996 and a run to the Cup Winners Cup semi-final in 1997.

Gérard Houllier, the former French national coach, was drafted into the Liverpool management team for the 1998-99 season to work alongside Roy Evans, but the partnership didn't work out and Evans resigned part way through the season. 2000-01 was Liverpool's best season for many years. The likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypia contributed to the club's third place in the Premiership (thus qualifying for the Champions League) as well as completing a unique treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, followed by the FA Community Shield and European Super Cup later in 2001. The League Cup was won by beating Birmingham City on penalties after a 1-1 draw, the FA Cup by beating Arsenal 2-1 with two goals from Michael Owen in the last ten minutes and the UEFA Cup by beating Alavés, in an extraordinary game, 5-4 in extra time. This feat made Liverpool the first club in English football to achieve two 'trebles' of any kind.

Liverpool won another League Cup in 2003 but Houllier had again failed to deliver the league title, in fact finishing thirty points behind the champions, Arsenal. Against a background of growing disquiet amongst Liverpool supporters, Houllier and Liverpool parted by mutual consent at the end of the 2003-04 season. Spaniard Rafael Benítez took over and in his first season Liverpool finished a disappointing fifth in the Premier League. The season had a surprising ending, however, as Liverpool won their fifth European Cup final in Istanbul. The Reds met the heavily favoured Italian club A.C. Milan in an astonishing final. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at half time and looked much the poorer side over the first 45 minutes, but they made a dramatic comeback by scoring three goals in a period of only seven minutes in the second half, forcing extra time. Liverpool went on to win the penalty shoot-out thanks to goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

In 2005-06 Liverpool gathered 82 points in the Premiership, their highest points total since 1988, and won a dramatic FA Cup final against West Ham, drawing 3-3 at full time with captain Steven Gerrard scoring an incredible equaliser in the 91st minute to take them to extra time and then penalty shoot-out. Pepe Reina saved three of four West Ham penalty kicks to clinch victory for Liverpool.

Stadium

Main article: Anfield The Anfield stadium was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park, and was originally inhabited by Everton F.C. They were founder members of the Football League in 1888, but left the ground in 1892 over a rent dispute. Anfield's owner, John Houlding, decided to form a new club to play at the ground, which became Liverpool.

In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop, after a hill in Natal that was the site of a battle in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of whom were from Liverpool. At its largest, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier stands in the world. Local folklore claimed that the fans in the Kop could "suck the ball into the goal" if Liverpool were playing towards that end. The stand was considerably reduced in size due to safety measures brought in following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and it was completely rebuilt as an all seater stand in 1994, although it is still a single tier. The current capacity is 12,409.

The other stands are:

  • Main Stand - rebuilt in 1973 and more or less unchanged to the present day, with a capacity of 12,277.
  • Centenary Stand - known as the Kemlyn Road stand until it was rebuilt for the club's centenary in 1992, with a capacity of 11,762. This redevelopment saw all of the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent.
  • Anfield Road Stand - rebuilt in 1998, with a capacity of 9,074, including the away fans section.

The current overall capacity is 45,362.

New stadium

On July 30 2004, Liverpool City Council granted the club planning permission to build a new 61,000 seat stadium, nearby at Stanley Park Liverpool stadium approved http://myliverpoolfc.org. Despite pressure from Governmental and funding bodies, Liverpool refused to share the proposed ground with their local rivals, Everton, and final talks on a groundshare failed in January 2005. At that time the club was hoping to start construction in summer 2005 and open the ground in 2007, but finance proved difficult to obtain and the likely completion date is not currently known. The old stadium will become a public plaza surrounded by apartments, offices, bars, restaurants and a hotel, and possibly including a memorial garden. Treatment of the old stadium requires sensitivity as a number of deceased fans have had their ashes officially scattered on the pitch over the years.

The plans needed to go before Liverpool City Council for a second time in March 2006 to ensure that the proposed stadium complied with new planning regulations. It was reported on 11 April 2006 that the plans had passed without amendment. The club is now looking for investors to help fund the (estimated) £160m, 61,000 all-seater stadium .

Honours

¹ More than any other English club

² Title shared

Club records and miscellany

Match statistics

  • Liverpool's first ever competitive game was in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton. They won 8-0. Their side did not have one English player, it consisted largely of Scottish imports.
  • FA Cup debut: September 1892 4-0 v Nantwich
  • League debut: 2-0 v Middlesbrough Ironopolis F.C. on 2 September 1893 (Division 2)
  • First Honour: in the 1893-94 season they became the Second Division champions
  • Liverpool played against Blackburn Rovers F.C. on 5 September 1896. Rovers won 1-0, but six goals were disallowed during this game
  • December 1909 Newcastle United led 5-2 at Anfield, but the reds rallied to win 6-5
  • In 1910 Liverpool won the first match at Old Trafford beating Manchester United 4-3
  • The record for most hat tricks is held by Gordon Hodgson who between 11 September 1926 and 2 February 1935 notched up a remarkable seventeen hat tricks
  • Biggest defeat: 0-8 v Huddersfield in 1935 and 1-9 Birmingham City F.C. on 11 December 1954 in Football League Division Two LFC RECORDS www.liverpoolfc.tv
  • Three consecutive hat tricks: Jack Balmer 1946-47 (his only hat tricks)
  • Roger Hunt has the most league goals for one season - in the 1961-62 season he scored forty-one goals
  • First European match: on 17 August 1964 they played against KR Reykjavik, Iceland, for the European Cup, and won 5-0 away
  • Only fourteen first team players were used in the 1965-66 season, when Liverpool won the League
  • Biggest win: 11-0 v Strømsgodset I.F. on 17 September 1974. Nine of the ten outfield players scored in this game - a Liverpool record.
  • Ian Rush holds the record in Liverpool FC for most goals in all competitions for one season - he scored forty-seven goals in the 1983-84 season
  • Biggest league win: 9-0 v Crystal Palace F.C. on 12 September 1989
  • Only four people have scored 5 goals in one match. These are:
  • Quickest Premiership hat trick: Robbie Fowler vs Arsenal F.C. 1994-95, 4 minutes, 32 seconds
  • Liverpool's longest distance goal was scored by Xabi Alonso vs Luton Town F.C., sixty-five yards from goal on January 7 2006 in an FA Cup third round match
  • Liverpool were the first team to negotiate all three rounds of qualification and reach the Champions League knockout phase (2005-2006)

See also Liverpool F.C. - Statistics

Premiership performance

  • Liverpool have won eighteen Football League championships in the top flight of English Football, more than any other club. * They are one of three clubs (the others being Arsenal and Manchester United) that have finished first more often than in any other one table spot in the top division. This table shows their performance in the Premier League since its introduction in 1992-93.
  • Liverpool are one of an elite group of seven clubs that has played in every Premiership season. They are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Season Position Games Win Draw Lost G For G Away G Diff Points
2005–2006 3 38 25 7 6 57 25 32 82
2004–2005 5 38 17 7 14 52 41 11 58
2003–2004 4 38 16 12 10 55 37 18 60
2002–2003 5 38 18 10 10 61 41 20 64
2001–2000 2 38 24 8 6 67 30 37 80
1999–2000 4 38 19 10 9 51 30 21 67
1998–1999 7 38 15 9 14 68 49 19 54
1997–1998 3 38 18 11 9 68 42 26 65
1996–1997 4 38 19 11 8 62 37 25 68
1995–1996 3 38 20 11 7 70 34 36 71
1994–1995 4 42 21 11 10 65 37 28 74
1992–1993 6 42 16 11 15 62 55 7 59

Club culture

  • The song "You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and famously recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers, is the anthem of Liverpool FC (and is included in their crest) and has been sung since the early 1960s. The song has since gained popularity among the fans of other clubs, most notably Celtic, Ajax and Milan. Other German, Dutch and Northern Irish clubs have also adopted the song. Claims that the singing of You'll Never Walk Alone was started by fans of other clubs before those of Liverpool are dismissed as untrue Liverpool or Celtic: who Walked Alone first? football.guardian.co.uk. The song's title also adorns the top of the Shankly Gates which were unveiled 26 August 1982 in memory of former manager, Bill Shankly.
  • Liverpool fans, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," were featured in the Pink Floyd song, "Fearless."
  • Other popular chants include "Fields of Anfield Road" (to the tune of "The Fields of Athenry"), "Poor Scouser Tommy" (first section to the tune of "Red River Valley"; second section to the tune of "The Sash"), "Liverbird Upon My Chest" (to the tune of "Ballad of the Green Berets"), "We've Won It Five Times" (to the tune of "Sloop John B"), and "Ring of Fire".
  • Under Benitez, today's Liverpool F.C. has a strong Spanish influence. As well as having a Spanish manager, there are four Spaniards in the current squad and ten players in total brought to Liverpool directly from La Liga. The six English players he has brought in are strikers Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler, goalkeepers Scott Carson and David Martin, and youth players Jack Hobbs and Paul Anderson.

Current squad

As at July 18 2006.

(captain)

(vice-captain)

Out on loan

Reserve squad

Liverpool's reserve team play their home games at the Racecourse Ground, the home stadium of Wrexham A.F.C..

2006–07 transfers

In:

Out:

See also List of Liverpool F.C. players

Staff

Manager Rafael Benítez
Assistant manager Pako Ayesteran
First team coach Alex Miller
Reserve team manager Gary Ablett
Reserve team coach Hughie McAuley
Goalkeeping coach Jose Ochotorena
Head of Recruitment Malcolm Elias
Joint chief scoutsFrank McParland and Eduardo Macia
Academy director Steve Heighway
Assistant physiotherapist Mark Browes
Club masseur John Wright
Masseurs Paul Small, Stuart Welsh
Club doctor Mark Waller
Kit manager Graham Carter

Notable former players

1892 to 1959:

1960 to 1990

1990 to present
See also List of Liverpool F.C. players

Managers

W. E. Barclay 1892 - 1896
Tom Watson 1896 - 1915
David Ashworth 1920 - 1923
Matt McQueen 1923 - 1928
George Patterson 1928 - 1936
George Kay 1936 - 1951
Don Welsh 1951 - 1956
Phil Taylor 1956 - 1959
Bill Shankly 1959 - 1974
Bob Paisley 1974 - 1983
Joe Fagan 1983 - 1985
Kenny Dalglish 1985 - 1991
Graeme Souness 1991 - 1994
Roy Evans 1994 - 1998
Gérard Houllier 1998 - 2004
Rafael Benítez 2004 - Present

See also

References

External links

Official websites

Other websites

Liverpool F.C. | 1892 establishments | English football clubs | FA Premier League | G-14 clubs | Sport in Liverpool | FA Premier League clubs

نادي ليفربول | Liverpool FC | Ливърпул (отбор) | Liverpool Football Club | Liverpool FC | Liverpool F.C. | FC Liverpool | Liverpool FC | Liverpool Football Club | Liverpool FC | Liverpool Football Club | Club Sacair Learphoill | 리버풀 F.C. | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool F.C. | מועדון הכדורגל ליברפול | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool FC | リヴァプールFC | Liverpool FC | Liverpool FC | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool FC | Liverpool F.C. | ФК Ливерпуль | Liverpool FC | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool FC | Liverpool FC | สโมสรฟุตบอลลิเวอร์พูล | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool F.C. | 利物浦足球俱乐部

 

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