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Revision as of 19:42, 19 January 2011

This article is about the English football club. For other uses, see Liverpool F.C. (disambiguation).

Liverpool
The words "Liverpool Football Club" are in the centre of a pennant, with flames either side. The words "You'll Never Walk Alone" adorn the top of the emblem in a green design, "EST 1892" is at the bottom.
Full nameLiverpool Football Club
Nickname(s)The Reds
FoundedMarch 15, 1892; 132 years ago (1892-03-15)
(by John Houlding)
GroundAnfield
Capacity45,276[1]
OwnerJohn W. Henry & Tom Werner
(New England Sports Ventures)
ChairmanTom Werner
ManagerKenny Dalglish (caretaker)
LeaguePremier League
2009–10Premier League, 7th
Websitehttp://www.liverpoolfc.tv/
Current season

Liverpool Football Club is an English professional football club from Liverpool, England that plays in the Premier League. Liverpool has played at Anfield since the club's foundation in 1892 and was admitted to the Football League a year later.

England's most successful club of the 20th century,[2][3] and one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football, Liverpool has won a joint-record 18 league titles, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups. Liverpool is the most successful English club in European competition having won five European Cups, the last in 2005, and three UEFA Cups. The club currently rank third in Europe and sixth in the world with the most international titles won.[4]

The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The first was the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, where charging Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse, resulting in the death of 39 Juventus supporters. In the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a crush against perimeter fencing.

Liverpool has long-standing rivalries with neighbours Everton and with Manchester United. The team's home colours have been entirely red since 1964 when manager Bill Shankly changed them from a red shirt and white shorts. The club's anthem is "You'll Never Walk Alone".

History

Further information: History of Liverpool F.C.
For information on the current season, see Liverpool F.C. season 2010–11.
alt=A black-and-white photograph of a football team lining up before a match. Five players, wearing light shirts, dark shorts and socks are seated. Six more players immediately behind them. Two men in suits are standing on either side of the players.
The Liverpool team at the start of the 1892–93 season, in which they won the Lancashire League

Liverpool F.C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton F.C. Committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892 and Houlding founded Liverpool F.C. to play at Anfield.[5][6] Originally named Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd (Everton Athletic for short), the club became Liverpool F.C. in June 1892 after The Football Association refused to recognise the club as Everton.[7] In its debut season, the team won the Lancashire League, before joining the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place, the club was promoted to First Division, which it won in 1901, and again in 1906. Liverpool won back-to-back league championships in 1922 and 1923, but did not win another trophy until the 1946–47 season when the club won the First Division for a fifth time. After losing 1–0 to Burnley F.C. in the club's first FA Cup final in 1914, Liverpool was defeated in the final for a second time in 1950 by Arsenal.[8] The club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season.[9]

Soon after losing 2–1 to non-league Worcester City FC in the 1958–59 FA Cup, Bill Shankly was appointed manager and released 24 players. He converted a room at Anfield used for boot storage into a room where the coaches could talk strategy; here, Shankly and other "Boot Room" members Joe Fagan, Reuben Bennett, and Bob Paisley began reshaping the team.[10] The club was promoted to the First Division in 1962, which it won for the first time in 17 years in 1964. The following year, the club won its first FA Cup, before winning the First Division again in 1966. Liverpool won the league and UEFA Cup double during the 1972–73 season and the FA Cup again a year later; soon afterwards, Shankly retired and was replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley.[11] Under Paisley, the club won another league and UEFA Cup double 1976, just his second season as manager. The following season the club retained the league title, won the European Cup for the first time, but lost in the FA Cup final. Liverpool retained the European Cup the following season, before regaining the First Division title in 1979.[12] During the nine seasons in which Paisley was manager, Liverpool won 21 trophies, including three European Cups, a UEFA Cup, six league titles and three consecutive League Cups; the only domestic trophy to elude him was the FA Cup.[13]

Statue of a man with a scarf around his neck and his arms aloft. Behind the statue is the exterior of a stand.
The statue of former manager Bill Shankly, outside Anfield

Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant Joe Fagan.[14] Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagan's first season, becoming the first English side to win three trophies in a season.[15] Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence which separated the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 fans, who were mostly Italians. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium Disaster, the match was played regardless, Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus. English clubs were consequently banned from participating in European competition for five years; Liverpool received a ten-year ban, which was later reduced to six years. Fourteen Liverpool fans received convictions for involuntary manslaughter.[16]

Fagan resigned after the disaster and Kenny Dalglish was appointed as player-manager.[17] During his reign, the club won another three League Championships and two FA Cups, including a League and Cup "Double" in the 1985–86 season. Liverpool's success was overshadowed by the Hillsborough Disaster: in an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989, hundreds of Liverpool fans were crushed against perimeter fencing.[18] 94 fans died that day; the 95th victim died in hospital from his injuries four days later, and the 96th died nearly four years later without regaining consciousness.[19] After the Hillsborough disaster there was a governmental review of stadium safety. Known as the Taylor Report, it paved the way for legislation which required top-division teams to have all-seater stadiums. The report ruled that the main reason for the disaster was overcrowding due to a failure of police control.[20]

View of Kop Stand from Main Stand

Liverpool was involved in the closest finish to a league season during the 1989–90, the club lost the title on goals scored and in the last minute of the season in a home defeat to eventual winners Arsenal.[21] Dalglish cited the Hillsborough Disaster and its repercussions as the reason for his resignation in 1991. He was replaced by former player Graeme Souness, an FA Cup in 1992 was Souness' only trophy and he was replaced by Roy Evans. Liverpool won the League Cup in 1995 and a 4–3 victory over Newcastle United at Anfield on 3 April 1996, which was named in April 2003 as the Match of the Decade in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards.[22]

Gérard Houllier was appointed as co-manager in the 1998–99 season, he became the sole manager in November 1998 after Evans resigned.[23] In Houllier's second full season in charge, Liverpool won a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.[24] Houllier underwent major heart surgery in the 2001–02 season and Liverpool finished second behind Arsenal.[25] Houllier was replaced by Rafael Benítez at the end of the 2003–04 season. Despite finishing fifth in Benitez's first season, Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League beating Milan 3–2 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 3–3.[26] The following season Liverpool finished third and won the 2006 FA Cup Final beating West Ham United in a penalty shootout after the match finished 3–3.[27]

American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks became the owners of Liverpool during the 2006–07 season in a deal which valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million.[28] The club reached the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final against Milan in a repeat of the 2005 final, this time however, they lost 2–1.[29] In the 2008–09 season Liverpool achieved 86 points, their highest Premier League points total, and finished as runners up to Manchester United. The following season the club finished seventh and failed to qualify for the Champions League. Benitez subsequently left by mutual consent [30] and was replaced by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson.[31] In 2010, the club were on the verge of bankruptcy with the club's creditors asking the High Court to allow for the sale of the club.

In October 2010, Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry of New England Sports Ventures successfully bid and took ownership of Liverpool F.C.[32] In January 2011, former manager Kenny Dalglish was asked to take charge of the club until the end of the season after Roy Hodgson agreed to leave the club by mutual consent.[33]

Colours and crest

Liverpool's original home colours (1892–1894)

For much of Liverpool's history, the team's home colours have been all red, though this has not always been the case. When the club was founded their kit bore more of a resemblance to Everton's colours at the time. The blue and white quartered shirts were used until 1894, when the club adopted the city's colour of red.[5] The city's symbol of the liver bird was adopted as the club's crest in 1901, though it was not incorporated into the kit until 1955. Liverpool continued to wear red shirts and white shorts until 1964 when then-Liverpool manager Bill Shankly decided to change to an all red strip.[34]

Shankly wanted his players to be more distinctly dressed, he decided to update the kit, changing the white sorts and socks to red. Liverpool played in all red for the first time against Anderlecht, as Ian St. John recalled in his autobiography:

He thought the colour scheme would carry psychological impact—red for danger, red for power. He came into the dressing room one day and threw a pair of red shorts to Ronnie Yeats. “Get into those shorts and let’s see how you look,” he said. “Christ, Ronnie, you look awesome, terrifying. You look 7ft tall.” “Why not go the whole hog, boss?” I suggested. “Why not wear red socks? Let’s go out all in red.” Shankly approved and an iconic kit was born.[35]

Liverpool's away colours are traditionally either white shirts and black shorts or all yellow. However, in 1987 an all grey kit was introduced, which was used until the 1991–92 centenary season, when it was replaced by a combination of green shirts and white shorts. After various colour combinations in the 1990s, including gold and navy, bright yellow, black and grey, and ecru, the club alternated between yellow and white away kits until the 2008–09 season, when the grey kit was re-introduced. The club's third kit is designed for European away matches, though on occasions when the current away kit clashes with a team's home kit in domestic matches, the kit would be worn. The current kits are designed by Adidas,[36] who made the club's kits between 1985 and 1996. The only other branded shirts worn by the club was made by Umbro until 1985 and Reebok for ten seasons starting in 1996.[37]

Liverpool was the first English professional club to have a sponsor's logo on their shirts,[38] after they agreed to a deal with Hitachi in 1979. Since then the club has been sponsored by Crown Paints, Candy, Carlsberg and Standard Chartered Bank. The contract with Carlsberg, which was signed in 1992, was the longest agreement in English top-flight football.[39] The association with Carlsberg was ended at the start of the 2010–11 season with Standard Chartered Bank becoming the club's sponsor.[40] The Liverpool badge is based on the city's liver bird, which is placed inside a shield. Above the shield is a representation of the Shankly Gates with the title of club's famous anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone". The twin flames at either side are symbolic of the Hillsborough memorial outside Anfield, where an eternal flame burns in memory of those who died in the disaster.[41]

Stadia

Two stands and the pitch of a football stadium while a match is played during the evening.
Anfield, home of Liverpool.
Further information: Anfield
For information on Liverpool's proposed new stadium, see Stanley Park Stadium.

Anfield was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park, the ground was originally used by Everton before they moved to Goodison Park after a dispute over a rent with the owner of the ground John Houlding.[42] Left with an empty ground Houlding founded Liverpool in 1892 and the club have played at Anfield since then. The capacity of the stadium at the time was 20,000, although only 100 spectators attended Liverpool's first match at Anfield.[43]

In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop after a hill in Natal.[44] The hill was the site of the Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of whom were from Liverpool.[45] At its peak, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier stands in the world. Many stadia in England had stands named after the Spion Kop, but Anfield's was the largest Kop in the country at the time; it was able to hold more supporters than some entire football grounds.[45]

Anfield could hold over 60,000 supporters at its peak, and had a capacity of 55,000 until the 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations obliged Liverpool to convert Anfield to an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 45,276.[1] The findings of the Taylor Report precipitated the redevelopment of the Kemlyn Road Stand. The stand was rebuilt in 1992, coinciding with the centenary of the club and is now known as the Centenary Stand. An extra tier was added to the Anfield Road end in 1998, which increased the capacity of the ground further, though the stand encountered problems upon opening. A series of support poles and stanchions were inserted to give extra stability to the top tier of the stand after movement of the tier was reported at the start of the 1999–2000 season.[46]

Due to the restrictions of expanding the capacity at Anfield, Liverpool announced plans to move a new stadium at Stanley Park in May 2002.[47] Planning permission was granted in July 2004,[48] and in September 2006, Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool a 999-year lease of the land on the proposed site.[49] Following the takeover of the club in February 2007 by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the proposed stadium was redesigned. In November 2007, the new design was approved by the Council, and preparation of the site started in June 2008, with HKS, Inc. contracted to build the stadium.[50] Construction of the stadium was halted in May 2008, as Gillett and Hicks had trouble financing the £300 million needed for the development.[51]

New England Sports Ventures, who purchased the club on 15 October 2010, are evaluating the possibility of drastically refurbishing Anfield against building a new stadium.[citation needed]

Supporters

Design of the top of a set of gates, with the sky visible. The inscription on the gates reads "You'll Never Walk Alone".
The Shankly Gates erected in honour of former manager Bill Shankly.

During the 2009–10 season, Liverpool had the fourth-highest average League attendance for an English club: 44,392, which is 94.4% of available capacity.[52] Liverpool fans often refer to themselves as "Kopites", which is a reference to the fans who once stood, and now sit, on the Kop at Anfield.[53] In 2008, a group of fans decided to form a splinter club, A.F.C. Liverpool, the club was set up to provide a match-going experience for fans who had been priced out of watching Premier League football.[54]

The song "You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and later recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers, is the club's anthem, and has been sung by the Anfield crowd since the early 1960s. It has since gained popularity among fans of other clubs around the world.[55] The song's title adorns the top of the Shankly Gates, which were unveiled on 2 August 1982 in memory of the former manager Bill Shankly. The "You'll Never Walk Alone" portion of the Shankly Gates is also reproduced on the club's crest.

The club's supporters have been involved in two stadium disasters. The first was the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 Juventus fans were killed. They were penned into a corner by Liverpool fans who had charged in their direction; the sheer number of fans cornered caused a wall to collapse. UEFA laid the blame for the incident solely on the fans of Liverpool,[56] and banned all English clubs from European competition for five years.[note 1][57] 27 fans were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, they were extradited to Belgium to face trial in 1987.[58] In 1989, after a 5-month trial in Belgium, fourteen Liverpool fans were given three year sentences for involuntary manslaughter,[59] although half of the terms were suspended.[60]

The second was during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield on 15 April 1989. 96 Liverpool fans died due to overcrowding in the Leppings Lane End, in what became known as the Hillsborough disaster. The Sun newspaper published an article entitled "The Truth", in which it claimed that Liverpool fans had robbed and urinated on the dead and had attacked the police.[61] Subsequent investigations proved the allegations to be false, and this led to a city-wide boycott of the newspaper.[62] Many organisations were set up as a result of the disaster, such as the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, which represents bereaved families, survivors and supporters in their efforts to secure justice.[63]

Rivalries

Main articles: Merseyside Derby and Liverpool F.C. and Manchester United F.C. rivalry

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.[64] 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".[65] 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".[66][67]

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.[68] 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.[69] 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.[70]

Ownership and finances

As the owner of Anfield and founder of the club, John Houlding was the club's first chairman. His reign lasted from the founding of the club in 1892 until 1904, when he left allowing John McKenna to become chairman.[71] McKenna later assumed Presidential offices in both the Football League and the Football Association.[72] The role of chairman changed hands many times before John Smith took up the role in 1973; his father was a shareholder of the club. He oversaw the most successful period in the club's history before stepping down in 1990.[73]

David Moores assumed the role of chairman after Smith's resignation; his family had owned the club for more than 50 years. His uncle John Moores was also a shareholder at the club and was chairman of Everton from 1961 to 1973. Moores owned 51% of the club, and in 2004 he stated that he was open to takeover bids for the club.[74] Fellow shareholder Steve Morgan, who owned a 5% stake in the club, and the then Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra lodged bids for the club, though neither bid was accepted.[75]

Sale to Gillett and Hicks

Moores eventually sold the club to American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who acquired the club on 6 February 2007. The deal valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million. The pair paid £5,000 per share, or £174.1m for the total shareholding in the club, and £44.8m to cover the club's debts.[76] Disagreements between Gillett and Hicks, and their lack of the fans' support, have precipitated rumours that Dubai International Capital (DIC), who were interested in buying the club before Gillett and Hicks took over, would bid for the club.[77] Another group, Share Liverpool FC, also expressed interest in purchasing the club. They proposed to pay £500m, which would be funded by 100,000 fans contributing £5,000 each for a club share. However, the group were unable to raise the required capital to make an offer for the club.[78]

In April 2010 business magazine Forbes ranked Liverpool as the sixth most valuable football team in the world, after clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal; they valued the club at $822m (£532m), excluding debt.[79] Accountants Deloitte ranked Liverpool seventh in the Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks the world's football clubs in terms of revenue.[80] Liverpool earned income of £184.8m in the 2008–09 season.[80]

Sale to New England Sports Ventures

On 16 April 2010 Martin Broughton was appointed Chairman of the Club in order to oversee the sale of the club by the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.[81] In May, accounts were released showing the club to be £350 million in debt with losses of £55m, causing auditor KPMG to qualify its audit opinion.[82]

The club's creditors, including Royal Bank of Scotland, took Gillet and Hicks to court to allow the resale of the club. A High Court Judge, Justice Floyd, eventually ruled in favour of the creditors and paved the way for a sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures, although Gillet and Hicks still had the option to appeal the verdict.[83] However, Gillet and Hicks got an 11th hour reprieve from a Texas district court just before the interim bank-appointed board were about to consider the $477.2 million sale. The Texas court issued a restraining order after the two owners said the board were responsible for an "epic swindle" by selling the club for less than its supposed value. The club then issued a statement saying: "The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed." The Financial Times said the board may ask a British court to decide whether the Texas court had jurisdiction in the case. Pending the decision, however, Liverpool's debt was due on 15 October 2010, which could have put the club into administration and consequently be docked 9 points by the league.[84] Shortly thereafter, the High Court issued an anti-suit injunction against the Texas court's restraining order, giving Gillet and Hicks until October 15 to revoke the injunction or face contempt of court charges.[85] On 15 October, the Texas court, by request of the two owners, dissolved the restraining order, allowing the sale of the club to be completed. Hicks, however, planned to continue to pursue damages of $1.6 billion against the board of directors.[86]

On 15 October, the club issued a statement confirming New England Sports Ventures had completed the acquisition for £300 million.[87]

Another bid was also received by the club from Singaporean Peter Lim, who increased his initial offer[clarification needed] to $507 million.[88] However, Lim withdrew his bid on 14 October 2010.[89]

As the club with the joint most league titles in the history of English football, Liverpool is often featured when football is depicted in British culture and has appeared in a number of media "firsts". The club appeared in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of the team's match against Arsenal at Anfield on 22 August 1964. Liverpool was also the subject of television's first colour football transmission, which showed the club's match against West Ham United live.[90] Liverpool fans feature in the Pink Floyd song "Fearless", in which they sang excerpts from "You'll Never Walk Alone".[91] To mark the club's appearance in the 1988 FA Cup Final, Liverpool released a song known as the "Anfield Rap", featuring John Barnes and other members of the squad.[92]

A documentary-drama on the Hillsborough Disaster written by Jimmy McGovern was screened in 1996. It features Christopher Eccleston as Trevor Hicks, whose story formed the focus of the script. Hicks, who lost two teenage daughters in the disaster, went on to campaign for safer stadia and helped to form the Hillsborough Families Support Group.[93] The club features in the film The 51st State (also known as Formula 51). Ex-hitman Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle) is an avid fan of the team and the last scene of the film takes place at a match between Liverpool and Manchester United.[94] The club was featured in a children's television show called Scully; the plot revolved around a young boy, Francis Scully, who tried to win a trial with Liverpool. The show featured prominent Liverpool players of the time such as Kenny Dalglish.[95]

Statistics and records

Main article: List of Liverpool F.C. statistics and records

Liverpool's first competitive game was an 8–0 victory in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton.[96] Ian Callaghan holds Liverpool's overall appearance record—he played 857 matches over the course of 19 seasons from 1958 to 1978—[97] and the record for League appearances with 640.[98] Of the current squad, Jamie Carragher has the most appearances; he played his 600th game for the club early in 2010.[99]

Liverpool's all-time leading scorer in all competitions is Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals in two spells at the club from 1980 to 1987 and 1988 to 1996,[100] and also holds the record for the most goals in a season with 47 in 1983–84. However Rush could not surpass Roger Hunt's record number of league goals of 245.[101] In the 1961–62 season, Hunt scored 41 goals, which is the club record for league goals in a single season.[102] Gordon Hodgson, the club's third highest scorer with 240 goals,[103] holds the club record of 17 hat tricks.[100] The most goals scored by a player in a single match is five; John Miller, Andy McGuigan, John Evans, Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler have achieved this feat.[104] Fowler also holds the club and Premier League record for the fastest hat trick: he scored three goals in four minutes, 32 seconds against Arsenal in the 1994–95 season.[105] Steven Gerrard is Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition with 34 goals.[100]

Liverpool's record home attendance is 61,905, for a FA Cup match against Wolves on 2 February 1952. The record modern (all-seated) attendance is 44,983 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur on 14 January 2006.[106] The club's record lowest attendance is 1,000 for a match against Loughborough during the 1895–96 season.[107]

Liverpool's biggest victory is 11–0 against Strømsgodset IF in 1974.[108] Liverpool's 10–1 defeat of Rotherham Town in 1896 was the club's largest league win.[102] This margin of victory was matched when Crystal Palace was defeated 9–0 at Anfield in 1989.[109] Liverpool's heaviest defeat, 1–9, came against Birmingham City in 1954.[108] Liverpool's 8–0 win against Beşiktaş J.K. in the Champions League was the largest victory in the competition's history at the time (November 2007).[110]

Current squad

As of 7 January 2011.[111]

Premier League squad

  • Players under 21 do not need to be named and can still be used

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Brad Jones
2 DF England ENG Glen Johnson
3 DF England ENG Paul Konchesky
4 MF Portugal POR Raul Meireles
5 DF Denmark DEN Daniel Agger
6 DF Brazil BRA Fábio Aurélio
8 MF England ENG Steven Gerrard (captain)
9 FW Spain ESP Fernando Torres
10 MF England ENG Joe Cole
14 FW Serbia SRB Milan Jovanović
16 DF Greece GRE Sotirios Kyrgiakos
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Argentina ARG Maxi Rodríguez
18 FW Netherlands NED Dirk Kuyt
19 FW Netherlands NED Ryan Babel
21 MF Brazil BRA Lucas Leiva
23 DF England ENG Jamie Carragher (vice-captain)
24 FW France FRA David N'Gog
25 GK Spain ESP Pepe Reina (3rd captain)
26 MF England ENG Jay Spearing
28 MF Denmark DEN Christian Poulsen
37 DF Slovakia SVK Martin Škrtel
- FW Uruguay URU Luis Suarez

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
12 FW Spain ESP Daniel Pacheco
22 DF Scotland SCO Danny Wilson
32 DF England ENG Stephen Darby
33 MF England ENG Jonjo Shelvey
34 DF England ENG Martin Kelly
35 DF England ENG Conor Coady [112]
36 DF England ENG Steven Irwin
38 DF England ENG John Flanagan
40 DF Spain ESP Daniel Ayala
41 GK Denmark DEN Martin Hansen
42 GK Hungary HUN Péter Gulácsi
43 GK Australia AUS Dean Bouzanis
44 MF Iceland ISL Victor Pálsson
No. Pos. Nation Player
45 MF England ENG Thomas Ince
46 FW England ENG David Amoo
47 DF England ENG Andre Wisdom
48 MF Argentina ARG Gerardo Bruna
49 DF England ENG Jack Robinson
— DF France FRA Chris Mavinga
— DF Spain ESP Emmanuel Mendy
— MF Scotland SCO Alex Cooper
— MF Denmark DEN Nicolaj Køhlert
— MF England ENG Michael Roberts
— MF Spain ESP Jesús Fernández Sáenz
— FW Denmark DEN Nikola Sarić

For more on the reserve and academy squads, see Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
31 MF Morocco MAR Nabil El Zhar (at PAOK until the end of the 2010–11 season)[113]
39 FW England ENG Nathan Eccleston (at Charlton Athletic)
— MF Italy ITA Alberto Aquilani (at Juventus until the end of the 2010–11 season)[114]
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Switzerland SUI Philipp Degen (at Stuttgart until the end of the 2010–11 season)[115]
— DF Argentina ARG Emiliano Insúa (at Galatasaray until the end of the 2010–11 season)[116]

Former players

For details of former players, see List of Liverpool F.C. players and Category:Liverpool F.C. players.

Managers

Further information: List of Liverpool F.C. managers

There has been 17 permanent managers and one caretaker manager of Liverpool since the club first appointed, W.E. Barclay and John McKenna as professional managers in 1892. The longest-serving manager in terms of time was Tom Watson, who managed Liverpool for 19 years from 1896 to 1915. Bill Shankly managed the club for more games than any other manager; he served for 783 matches. Kenny Dalglish was the first player-manager in the club's history, and won the club's first and only League and FA Cup "Double".[117] Bob Paisley, who won 20 trophies during his tenure, was the club's most successful manager.[118]

Current technical staff

As of 8 January 2011.[119]
Name Job title
Scotland Kenny Dalglish Manager
England Sammy Lee Assistant Manager
Scotland Steve Clarke First Team Coach
England Mike Kelly Goalkeeping Coach
England John McMahon Reserves Manager
Netherlands John Achterberg Reserves Goalkeeping Coach
Australia Peter Brukner Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science
Australia Darren Burgess Head of Fitness and Conditioning
Australia Phil Coles Head of Physical Therapies
England Jordan Milsom Sports Scientist
England Barry Drust Sports Science Consultant
England Zaf Iqbal Club Doctor
England Rob Price Senior Physiotherapist
Australia Andrew Nealon Physiotherapist
England Chris Morgan Physiotherapist
England Matt Konopinski Reserves Physiotherapist
Spain Ivan Ortega Sports Therapist
England Paul Small Masseur
England Sylvan Richardson Masseur
France Damien Comolli Director of Football Strategy
England Mike McGlynn Assistant Chief Scout

Honours

Further information: Liverpool F.C. seasons
For honours won by Reserves and Academy teams, see Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy § Honours.

Liverpool's first trophy was the Lancashire League which the club won in its first season.[120] In 1901, the club won its first league title, while the first success in the FA Cup was in 1965. In terms of the number of trophies won, Liverpool's most successful decade was the 1980s; the club won six league titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, five Charity Shields (one shared) and two European Cups. Liverpool has won the English League Championship eighteen times (a record the club share with Manchester United),[121] the FA Cup seven times and the League Cup a record seven times. The club achieved a League and FA Cup "Double" in 1986, and has won the League and European Cup double twice, in 1977 and 1984. Liverpool also won the League Cup in 1984 to complete a unique treble, a feat repeated (albeit with different trophies) in 2001 when the club won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.[122]

Liverpool has one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only 12 times in 95 seasons. The club has accumulated more top-flight wins than any other English team.[123] Liverpool also has the second highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.7.[124] Liverpool has won the European Cup, Europe's primary club competition, five times, which is an English record. Only Real Madrid and Milan have won the competition on more occasions. Liverpool's fifth triumph meant that the club won the trophy outright and was awarded a multiple-winner badge.[125] Liverpool has won the UEFA Cup, Europe's secondary club competition, three times, a record the club share with Juventus and Internazionale.[126]

Domestic

League

Cups

European

Doubles and Trebles

Especially short competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield and Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.[127]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Liverpool were banned for an additional year, they were unable to participate in the 1990–91 European Cup, despite winning the league championship in 1990.
  2. ^ a b Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the Premier League. Similarly until 1992, the Second Division was the second tier of league football, which since the 2004–05 season has been known as The Championship.
  3. ^ a b Doubles won in conjunction with the treble such as a FA Cup and League Cup double in 2001, are not included in the Doubles section.
Bibliography
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