HISTORY OF LIVERPOOL FC

LFC Trophy Count:
League Champions European Cup FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup
Liverpool 18 Real Madrid 9 Man United11 Liverpool 7 Liverpool 3
Man United 19 AC Milan 7 Arsenal 10 Aston Villa 5 Juventus 3
Arsenal 13 Liverpool 5 Spurs 8 Notts Forrest 4 Inter Milan 3
Everton 9 Ajax 4 Liverpool 7 Chelsea 4 Valencia 3
Aston Villa 7 Bayern Munich 4 Aston Villa 7 Leicester 3 Real Madrid 2

LFC Trophy Index League Champions
1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90
18
European Cup Winners
1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 2004-05
5
FA Cup Winners
1964-65, 1973-74, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2005-06
7
League Cup Winners
1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95, 2000-01, 2002-03
7
UEFA Cup Winners
1972-73, 1975-76, 2000-01
3
European Super Cup Winners
1977, 2001, 2005
3
Super Cup Winners
1985-86
1
FA Charity Shield Winners
1964*, 1965*, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977*, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986*, 1988, 1989, 1990*, 2001, 2006 ( * shared)
15
Division Two Winners
1893-94, 1895-96, 1904-05, 1961-62
4
Lancashire League Winners
1892-93
1
Carlsberg Trophy
1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000
3
Reserve Division One Winners
1956-57, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1989-90, 1999-2000, 2007-08
18

Liverpool F.C. was founded after an internal dispute within Everton F.C. The dispute was between the Everton F.C. committee and brewer John Houlding, the leaseholder of the Anfield ground and president of Everton F.C.

The Everton committee viewed Tory councillor Houlding as having a personal financial and political agenda. There was a sharp conflict on the business model of how the club was run. Relations were cold once the Everton committee saw Houldings intentions and moves.

Anfield was owned by Houlding one year after Everton moved in. Houlding bought the land from landowner Orrell. Everton initially made a donation to a local hospital in lieu of rent. After one year they were paying rent to their own president. Mr Orrell owned the adjacent land. Houlding had sole lucrative selling rights on all refreshments at the ground.

The largely Methodist based politically Liberal leaning Everton F.C. committee were uneasy with this, especially the potential selling of alcohol. This would take revenue away from the club. Houlding also increased the rent from £100 to £250 per year, after Everton came 2nd in the second Football League season, 1890. Everton offered a compromise of £180. An international match was hosted, England vs. Ireland indicating the quality of Anfield at the time. The rent was not a major issue as the club's profits were substantial. However, from paying a small contribution to a local hospital, Everton five years later was paying £250, a substantial sum in those days.

The flashpoint in the history of Liverpool FC came, when, Orrell wanted to legally run a road through the new main stand to access his land. This entailed Everton buying Anfield and Orrell's land or renting both. Everton members accused Houlding of knowing of the legal right of way and allowing the new stand to be built. If renting Everton would be dealing with two different landlords. Orrell's land Everton F.C. did not need, but being forced to rent or buy it. The Everton committee were wanting Houlding to negotiate on the combined Anfield and Orrell's land rent of £370 or the purchase of both. Houdling and Orrell said the £370 was non-negotiable. Houlding stood to make a killing on selling Anfield to Everton, if the club bought his land. Houlding did not negotiate with Everton who moved to Goodison Park on the north side of Stanley Park, after Houlding attempted to hijack the club undiplomatically serving a notice to quit to force their hand.

The original name of Liverpool F.C. was to be Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds, Ltd., or Everton Athletic for short, adopting blue. The name was registered on 15 March 1892 while Everton was still occupying and playing at Anfield in a attempt by Houdling to hijack the club. Houlding wanted to take over Everton's fixtures and position in the Football League. However the club name was changed to Liverpool F.C., after protests from Liverpool R.F.C., when the Football Council refused to recognise the team as Everton. The company changed the name from Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd to Liverpool F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd in June 1892.

The root of the dispute was fundamental differences of ownership. Houlding wanted ownership to be within a small group of people, giving annual returns. The Everton Committee wanted a large spread of ownership, via shares, as it was viewed as a community club. On moving to Goodison ParkEverton issued 5,000 shares for fans. The directors owned 6% of the club. Liverpool F.C. stayed largely owned by a few people in the corporate model with the directors owning 52% of the club, and has remained so throughout the history of Liverpool FC. Everton played its last home match at Anfield on 18 April 1892 vs. Bolton Wanderers F.C

Houlding and the new Liverpool F.C. had an international standard ground, but no team. John McKenna was appointed a director of Liverpool, and went to Scotland, where he signed thirteen professionals for the new club. The team was labelled "the team of the Macs" because eight of the thirteen Scottish signings had a "Mc" prefix. They played their first game against Rotherham Town, winning 7-1 with Malcolm McVean scoring their first ever goal, the match being the first occasion that an English domestic team had fielded a side consisting entirely of non-English players.

An ambitious application to join the Football League was rejected. Liverpool kicked off life in the Lancashire League with an 8-0 win at Anfield against Higher Walton with a team composed entirely of Scottish players. John Smith scored the first competitive goal. Ending the first season as champions and beating Everton 1-0 in the first Merseyside derby, in the 1893 Liverpool Senior Cup final at Bootle F.C. Liverpool F.C. was elected to the Football League alongside Woolwich Arsenal.

McVean scored the club's first league goal in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough Ironopolis and ended the season unbeaten and Second Division Champions, winning a test match 2-0 against Newton Heath (soon to be renamed Manchester United) and promotion to the First Division for the first time in the history of Liverpool FC..

Upon the arrival of manager Tom Watson, a 3-time-championship-winner at Sunderland, the strip changed from blue and white quarters to the famous red and white, and in 1901 Scottish international Alex Raisbeck was the first Liverpool captain to collect the Football League championship in the history of Liverpool FC. League champions again in 1906, when Everton also won the FA Cup, the ground capacity was increased with the building of a huge cinder bank behind the south end goal. It was christened the Spion Kop, after a Boer War battle of 1900 where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, with many being from Liverpool.

Liverpool played their first FA Cup final, the last at Crystal Palace, and the first attended by the reigning monarch, George V, losing 0-1 to Burnley in 1914. However, the club were also involved in the 1915 British football betting scandal, one of the earliest match-fixing scandals which saw four Liverpool players banned, although the bans were rescinded in 1919. Liverpool soon bounced back; in 1921-2 and again in 1922-3, captained by England full-back Ephraim Longworth, Liverpool were champions

Liverpool's longest-established rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Everton, against whom the club contest the Merseyside derby. This stems from Liverpool's formation and the dispute with Everton officials and the then owners of Anfield. Religious differences have been cited as a cause of division, although both teams stem from a Methodist origin, which undermines the notion of a Catholic-Protestant split. The Merseyside derby is usually a sell-out fixture. It is one of the few local derbies that does not enforce fan segregation, as a result it was known as the "friendly derby". Since the mid 1980s, the rivalry has intensified on and off the field, and since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, the Merseyside derby has had more players sent off than any other Premier League game, thus has been referred to as "The most ill-disciplined and explosive fixture in the Premier League".

Liverpool has a rivalry with Manchester United. The rivalry is viewed as a manifestation of the cities' competition during industrial times, when they competed for supremacy of the north-west; Liverpool was considered the world's pre-eminent port, while Manchester was famous for its textile industry. The rivalry between the clubs intensified from the 1960s onwards. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup, their achievement would soon be eclipsed by Liverpool who won four European Cups during the 1970s and 80s. Then in the 1990s Manchester United started to dominate English football making the rivalry all the more intense. The rivalry is so intense that the last player to be transferred between the two clubs was Phil Chisnall in 1964, when he moved to Liverpool from Manchester United.

The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C. It remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst ever international football accidents. It was the second of two stadium-related disasters involving Liverpool supporters, the other being the Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985.

The match, an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, was abandoned six minutes into the game.

The inquiry into the disaster, the Taylor Report, named the cause as failure of police control, and resulted in the conversion of many football stadiums in the United Kingdom to all-seater and the removal of barriers at the front of stands.

The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy. 39 Juventus fans died and 600 were injured.

Approximately one hour before the Liverpool-Juventus final was due to kick off, a large group of Liverpool fans breached a fence separating them from rival Juventus fans. The Juventus fans ran back on the terraces and away from the threat into a concrete retaining wall. Fans already seated near the wall were crushed; eventually the wall collapsed. Many people climbed over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. The game was played despite the disaster in order to prevent further violence.

The tragedy resulted in all English football clubs being placed under an indefinite ban by UEFA from all European competitions (lifted in 1990-91), with Liverpool being excluded for an additional year and a number of Liverpool fans prosecuted for manslaughter. The disaster was later described as "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions".

Bill Shankly

He started his managerial career at Carlisle, but boardroom conflict ended that and his next two jobs at Grimsby and Workington fairly quickly. However, Shankly's integrity and enthusiasm was starting to be noticed. He went to Huddersfield where another boardroom conflict, this time over a young Denis Law, forced him out of the club.

He was appointed manager of a Liverpool team struggling at the bottom of the Second Division. The facilities were awful, and they were going nowhere fast. However, under Shankly the club's fortunes soon turned around. He won promotion to the First Division within three years.

Over the next decade, Shankly produced two wonderful teams. He always had a strong affinity with the fans, recognising their needs and how important Liverpool was to them. In his time he won the Second Division title, three time First Division champions, two time FA Cup winners, and they also won a UEFA Cup as well.

There are simply too many legendary quotes this man has come out with to list them here.

Bob Paisley

When Shankly retired the whole city of Liverpool was distraught. Workers went on strike demanding that he return. The man who had the unenviable task of following him was Bob Paisley, a member of the backroom staff during the Shankly era. Paisley reluctantly took on the task.

However, Paisley would go on to build on Shankly's success and create one of the most dominant teams in European football history. In his nine years as Liverpool manager he never failed to win at least one trophy in any of those season.

He was the mastermind behind six First Division titles, three consecutive League Cups, five Charity Shield's, a UEFA Cup, a European Super Cup and, most impressively, three European Cups. He remains the only manager to have coached three European Cup winning sides. He also won the Manager of the Year award six times in nine years.

He also came out with some wonderful quotes which endeared himself to the fans even more.

BRENDAN RODGERS will bring three members of his Swansea City backroom staff with him when he takes over as Liverpool manager.

Here, Neil Jones looks at what each of Rodgers' trusted assistants will bring:

COLIN PASCOE - Assistant Manager/First Team Coach

Colin Pascoe will never forget his first visit to Anfield. It was his 18th birthday, April 9, 1983, and he was making his full professional debut, as Swansea took on Bob Paisley's all-conquering Reds.

The day would end in a 3-0 defeat - Ian Rush, Sammy Lee and David Fairclough were all on target - and Swansea would finish that season relegated from the top flight.

They would not return until 2011, with Pascoe by then part of the club's coaching staff.

The 47-year-old, born in Bridgend, began his playing career with the Swans as a teenager, under the guidance of Liverpool legend John Toshack.

He racked up more than 150 appearances for the club, before moving on to Sunderland, where he would twice help earn promotion.

A return to Swansea would follow in 1993, with Pascoe a key part of the side which secured the Football League Trophy at Wembley a year later.

The midfielder finished his league career under Sam Allardyce at Blackpool, before winding down in non-league football.

Following brief coaching spells with Camarthen Town, Cardiff City and Port Talbot, Pascoe returned to Swansea, initially on a part-time basis, as part of Kenny Jackett's coaching staff in 2005.

He remained in situ, his responsibilities growing, under both Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa, and was appointed assistant manager when Brendan Rodgers took over in 2010.

Rodgers and Pascoe have forged a close, and strong, working relationship in the two years since. Pascoe acts very much as a sounding board between manager and players, and has a reputation for crafting carefully-organised set-piece routines.

CHRIS DAVIES - Match Analyst

You don't have to be a genius to see what Brendan Rodgers sees in 27-year-old Chris Davies - himself.

A former Wales youth international, who captained Reading's Academy team under Rodgers' guidance, Davies, like his mentor, saw a promising career cut short by injury in his late teens.

Unperturbed, the former midfielder embarked upon a three-year course studying Sports and Exercise Science at Loughborough University.

It was during this time that he was introduced to the concept of performance analysis within sport.

Having left university in 2007, Davies spent three years working in New Zealand under former Wales boss Bobby Gould at Hawkes Bay United, whilst keeping his eye in on the playing side with FC Wellington.

But having stayed close to Rodgers, whom he lists as his most influential football figure, Davies was invited to form part of the Northern Irishman's technical staff upon his arrival at Swansea.

His work, which involves the compiling of dossiers on opponents, and analysing the previous game's performance, has earned him plenty of fans within the Liberty Stadium.

A video can be found on YouTube of Davies explaining his duties, and the work which goes into preparing a side for games.

Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owners, have a track record of statistical and performance analysis, so in that respect Davies fits the bill. Swansea earned promotion in his first season with the club, and enjoyed a fruitful maiden Premier League campaign.

GLEN DRISCOLL - Performance/Conditioning Consultant

To play the kind of football Brendan Rodgers craves - persistent, high-energy, pacy - it makes sense to have a strong medical and conditioning team.

Key to that, it seems, is Glen Driscoll, who has been taken on as Liverpool's new performance consultant.

Another who has followed Rodgers closely throughout his career, Driscoll worked with the new Reds boss at Reading, before, like Rodgers, moving on to Chelsea.

There, he became part of Jose Mourinho's notoriously thorough medical team, working his way through a number of roles, including performance physio and first-team fitness coach.

He stayed at Chelsea for eight years, working under not only Mourinho, but Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti. He departed Stamford Bridge in 2011, and Rodgers appointed him soon after.