History of Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club, the most successful club in English football, has a long and colourful history.

Early history

Certificate of change of name to Liverpool F.C.

The first Liverpool Football Club founded in 1857 actually played a code similar to rugby union. They are considered to be one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world and merged with another team to form Liverpool St Helens F.C. They are however completely unrelated to the modern Liverpool F.C. and should not be confused.

Everton were founded 1878 and played at Anfield from 1884. In 1891 John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield and an Orange Order member along with several other early Liverpool F.C. directors, purchased the ground outright. Rent increased from £100 in 1884 to £250 by 1890. The Everton members decided to leave Anfield and moved to Goodison Park. With just three players remaining, John Houlding was left with an empty ground and no team to play in it. He therefore decided to form his own football club and on 15 March 1892, Liverpool Football Club was born. John McKenna was appointed director, 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 having a "Mc" prefix. They played their first game against Rotherham Town, winning 7-1 with Malcolm McVean scoring their first ever goal, which was also the first occasion an English domestic team had fielded a side consisting entirely of foreign 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. 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 were elected to the Football League alongside Woolwich Arsenal.

Graph showing the final league position of Liverpool F.C. in the English football league system 1894-2007

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.

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. 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.

George Kay (1936-1951)

Honours Won : League Championship (1947)

File:George Kay.jpg

George Kay, manager of Liverpool from 1936 to 1951.

George Kay was recruited from Southampton in June 1936, to replace George Patterson, who was unable to continue the managerial side of his role. Kay's career as Liverpool manager started poorly, with only three wins and four draws from the first twelve matches. This run included a 2-6 defeat at Portsmouth’s Fratton Park on 2 September and a 2-5 defeat at Brentford; the only bright spot in this spell was a 7-1 victory over Grimsby Town on 12 September, with two goals from Fred Howe. Results improved slightly as the season progressed and Liverpool finished Kay’s first season in charge in 18th place in Division 1.

Despite the set-back of an opening day 1-6 defeat at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Liverpool finished the 1937-38 season comfortably in mid-table, with Alf Hanson top scorer on 14 league goals. In the following season, Liverpool again finished in 11th position in the table, with Berry Nieuwenhuys, Willie Fagan and Phil Taylor joint top scorers in the league with 14 goals each.

In readiness for the next season, Kay snapped up young defender Bob Paisley on a free transfer from Bishop Auckland, as well as another future Liverpool legend Billy Liddell, but all their careers were then interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.

After the war, the club took the unusual decision to tour the United States and Canada. It was Kay’s theory that the climate and diet in North America would be extremely beneficial to the players. The punishing schedule of 10 matches in less than a month meant that the Liverpool squad started the first post-war season in far better physical shape than many of their competitors.

The season started slowly, with four victories and three defeats in the first seven games. The victories included a 7-4 match against Chelsea on 7 September, in which Bob Paisley made his league debut for the club and Billy Liddell scored his first league goal. There was also a 5-0 defeat away to Manchester United (played at Maine Road). Things began to improve and a run of seven consecutive victories in February and March set the club on the way to the championship.

Liverpool had a long run in the F.A. Cup, eventually going out to Burnley in the semi-final, after a replay. The club did, however, pick up the Lancashire Senior Cup, Lancashire County Combination Championship Cup and Liverpool Senior Cup along the way.

As the season reached its climax, several clubs were still in contention and on 31 May 1947 Liverpool went to Molineux to meet the leaders, Wolverhampton Wanderers needing to win to take the championship, as well as other results going in their favour. Liverpool won the match 2-1, other results went their way and the Reds were champions of the Football League for a fifth time. It was George Kay’s finest moment as a football manager.

Top scorers in the Championship season were Jack Balmer and Albert Stubbins with 24 league goals each. They continued to be prolific scorers during Kay’s period in charge but the club was unable to come close to another championship, finishing each of the next three seasons in the lower part of the top half of the table. In 1950, they reached the F.A. Cup final for the first time in 36 years, but the match at Wembley ended in a 2-0 victory for Arsenal.

By now, Kay was clearly not a well man and he retired in January 1951, to be replaced by Don Welsh

Don Welsh (1951-1956)

Honours Won : -

Don Welsh succeeded George Kay as Liverpool manager in 1951. He had played for Liverpool during the Second World War as a guest, and had also won the FA Cup with Charlton in 1947. Unfortunately for Welsh, he inherited a team that was coming to the end of its time. After spending on some new players such as Alan A'Court, Welsh could not prevent the team from sliding down the table and into relegation for the first time in over 50 years.

Liverpool almost made it back to Division 1 in 1956. However despite that close result, Welsh was not to be given another chance and was sacked in 1956, the first time this had happened to a Liverpool manager in 64 years of existence. He was replaced by Phil Taylor.

Phil Taylor (1956-1959)

Honours Won : -

Phil Taylor took over as Liverpool boss in 1956 after the sacking of Don Welsh. He was immediately given the task of leading Liverpool to promotion back to Division 1. Taylor soon found the pressure of getting Liverpool back into the top division almost intolerable. The club finished third in 1957 and a fourth place followed that in 1958.

In January 1959 Liverpool suffered their most humiliating defeat when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-League Worcester City. That was one of the suspects that hastened Taylor's departure from the manager's office in November that year.

The Bill Shankly Era (1959-1974)

Honours Won : League Championship (1964), FA Cup (1965), League Championship (1966), League Championship (1973), UEFA Cup (1973), FA Cup (1974)

Bill Shankly became Liverpool manager in December 1959 and over the next 15 years he transformed them into one of the top club sides in Europe. Within a year he had released twenty four players. Fellow Scots Ian St John and Ron Yeats were signed from Motherwell and Dundee United respectively. Striker Roger Hunt, winger Ian Callaghan and full back Gerry Byrne also established themselves in the team. By the beginning of 1961-62 Shankly had assembled the nucleus of the new team. That season, Shankly's third season as manager, they duly 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. It was also the year in which the team adopted its now famous all red strip. They failed to retain the championship trophy the following season but compensation came in the form of a first-ever FA Cup (a 2-1 Final win over Leeds United). Their first ever European Cup campaign ended at the semi-final stage against Inter Milan. In a tie still remembered on Merseyside, Liverpool won the first leg 3-1 only to lose the second leg 3-0, going out 4-3 on aggregate.

The following year Liverpool regained the championship. They also reached the European Cup Winners Cup Final - losing 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund. By now Shankly was one of the most highly rated managers in the game and his squad contained some of the finest players in England. Despite this success Shankly was already planning further signings. Future internationals Emlyn Hughes, Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan were signed from clubs in the lower divisions as the 60s team was gradually dismantled.

Liverpool won their first European trophy in 1973 in the UEFA Cup, as well as winning another league title that season. The UEFA Cup Final appeared over after the first leg with Liverpool 3-0 winners. However, German team Borussia Moenchengladbach fought back in the second leg to win 2-0, giving Liverpool a narrow 3-2 aggregate victory.

They won the FA Cup again a year later with a convincing 3-0 final win over Newcastle United. Shankly stunned the footballing world soon afterwards by announcing his retirement. The club's players and fans tried to persuade him to carry on, and a local factory even threatened to go on strike. Shankly ignored these pleas and joined the club's fans on The Kop as a spectator, while he handed over his managerial duties to Bob Paisley.

The Bob Paisley Era (1974-1983)

Honours Won : League Championship (1976), UEFA Cup (1976), League Championship (1977), European Cup (1977), European Cup (1978), League Championship (1979), League Championship (1980), League Cup (1981), European Cup (1981), League Cup (1982), League Championship (1982), League Cup (1983), League Championship (1983)

Clemence Neal Hansen Thompson (C) A. Kennedy Lee Souness McDermott R. Kennedy Dalglish Johnson

1981 European Cup Final starting lineup.

Clemence Neal Hansen Thompson Hughes (C) Case Souness McDermott R. Kennedy Dalglish Fairclough

1978 European Cup Final starting lineup.

Clemence Neal Hughes (C) Smith Jones Case Callaghan Heighway R. Kennedy Keegan McDermott

1977 European Cup Final starting lineup.

Shankly's 55-year-old assistant Bob Paisley, was promoted to the position of manager for the 1974-75 season after failing to persuade his predecessor to carry on. Paisley was manager of Liverpool from 1974 until 1983, and during those nine years he became one of the most successful managers ever to take charge of an English club. His one and only season without winning a trophy was his first, 1974-75. His second season brought the first of six league titles. In 1977 the championship was retained and the team won the European Cup for the first time in its history. The final in Rome was won 3-1 over old foes Borussia Moenchengladbach in what was Kevin Keegan's final game for the club. The European Cup was retained the following year with a 1-0 win in the final against FC Bruges. The goal was created by future captain Graeme Souness and scored by Keegan's replacement Kenny Dalglish.

1978-79 was a record breaking year as the league title was won with 68 points and only 16 goals conceded in 42 matches . 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 unexpected scorer of the winning goal was defender Alan Kennedy. The only domestic trophy to previously elude them, the League Cup, was also won that season with another defender, Alan Hansen, grabbing the winning goal.

A defeat to Manchester City on Boxing Day 1981 saw Liverpool drop to eleventh place but a string of victories brought the title back to Anfield. The League Cup was also retained. The emerging star of that campaign was Welsh striker Ian Rush. It was more of the same the following year with both the league championship and League Cup being retained. Of Liverpool's eight league defeats that year, five were recorded after the title was already won. Eventually, the league was won by eleven points.

The big question for fans at the conclusion of that season was who would replace Bob Paisley. Before retiring he won a total of twenty-one trophies, including three European Cups, a UEFA Cup, six league titles and three consecutive League Cups during his spell as manager. Under Paisley, a new era of stars emerged. They included Graeme Souness, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish.

The Joe Fagan Era (1983-1985)

Grobbelaar Neal Hansen Lawrenson A. Kennedy Lee Johnston Souness (C) Whelan Dalglish Rush

1984 European Cup Final starting lineup.

Honours Won : League Cup (1984), League Championship (1984), European Cup (1984)

Veteran coach Joe Fagan moved up to the manager's seat, aged 63, upon Paisley's retirement, and his first season at the helm 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.

He remained in charge for just two seasons before handing in his retirement, but his first season (1983-84) saw Liverpool set some of the most impressive records in English football. They won their fourth successive League Cup and their third successive League Championship as well as winning the European Cup for the fourth time in eight seasons, thanks to the efforts of Fagan and his high quality squad which was mostly made up of players from the Bob Paisley era. A significant breakthrough star in the Liverpool team was young striker Ian Rush, who had been signed from Chester in 1980 and after a couple of seasons in the reserves had broken into the first team and established himself as a prolific goalscorer.

In Fagan's second and final season as manager, Liverpool lost out on the league title to local rivals Everton - with four matches to spare. They reached the European Cup final to face Italian champions Juventus at the decrepit Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Before kick-off, a fight between Liverpool supporters and Juventus supporters resulted in the death of 39 people who were crushed to death when a wall collapsed. The shockwaves from this reverberated round European football and lead to UEFA banning all English teams from European competitions until 1990.

Fagan retired after the Heysel Disaster and handed over the reins to former Liverpool striker Kenny Dalglish, who was given the role of player-manager. He died at the age of 80 in July 2001 after a long illness.

The Kenny Dalglish Era (1985-1991)

Honours Won : League Championship (1986), FA Cup (1986), League Championship (1988), FA Cup (1989), League Championship (1990)

Fagan handed over the reins to striker Kenny Dalglish, who had established himself as a world class player and now wanted to prove himself as a manager. His first season in charge as Liverpool's first player-manager - 1985-86 - could not have been better, as the Reds fought off competition from Everton, West Ham United and Manchester United to win the league title. They also beat neighbours Everton 3-1 in the F.A Cup final to become only the third team to win the league championship/F.A Cup double in the twentieth century. Dalglish was still a top striker despite his advancing years, and his partnership with Ian Rush was the most prolific in the English league.

1986-87 was trophyless as Liverpool finished league runners-up to Everton and lost to Arsenal in the League Cup final. Pundits were predicting further disappointment for the following season when star striker Ian Rush was sold to Juventus in a £3.2 million deal.

Rush's £750,000 successor John Aldridge silenced the critics by topping the club's goalscoring charts in the 1987-88 season and inspiring the Reds to another championship success - Liverpool won the First Division Championship by nine points from runners-up Manchester United and suffered just two league defeats all season. New winger John Barnes was credited with the Player of the Year Award. The downside of the season was a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon in the F.A Cup final. Liverpool had by this stage been one of the world's strongest clubs for more than twenty years. Wimbledon, meanwhile, had been First Division members for just two seasons and had only joined the league eleven years earlier.

Ian Rush returned to Liverpool for the 1988-89 season, after an unsuccessful spell at Juventus. 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, Michael Thomas, who later joined Liverpool, scored at the death to give 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 had scored more goals.

In any case, the season was overshadowed by the Hillsborough disaster, which had struck the club in the FA Cup semi-final. On 15 April 1989, when Liverpool were playing Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final, hundreds of Liverpool fans were crushed against perimeter fencing. Ninety-four fans died that day and a ninety-fifth fan died in hospital from his injuries four days later. A ninety-sixth fan died nearly four years later never having regained consciousness. The Taylor Report later ruled that the main reasons for the disaster were overcrowding due to a failure of police control.

In 1989-90, Dalglish guided Liverpool to their third league title in five seasons. Although the 5 year ban on English clubs in European competition was lifted for the following season, Liverpool had to serve an extra year and were unable to compete in the 1990-91 European Cup.

On 22 February 1991, with Liverpool halfway through a two-horse race with Arsenal for the league title and the day after an epic 4-4 FA Cup clash with Everton (a game which saw their rivals come back from a goal down 4 times), 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. By that stage, Liverpool were slipping behind in the title race and finished runners-up to Arsenal who completed the season with just one defeat from 38 games.

The Graeme Souness Era (1991-1994)

Honours Won : FA Cup (1992)

Graeme Souness had a reasonable start to his career as Liverpool manager. His first season saw the club win the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Sunderland at Wembley, a success which ensured they would be competing in the European Cup Winners Cup for the 1992-93 season. He sold several good players such as Ray Houghton, and Steve Staunton and spent recklessly on expensive new players like the 2m spent on Paul Stewart, Torben Piechnik and Istvan Kozma who did not all prove to be successful. While Michael Thomas and Mark Wright were signed for 1.5m and 2.2m respectively however spent most of the time under Souness’ tenure at Liverpool on the sidelines injured. Goalkeeper David James a 1m signing from Watford, and full backs Stig Inge Bjørnebye a £600,000 signing from Rosenborg and Rob Jones signed from Crewe at the cost of just £300.000 would excel at Liverpool, but under Souness’ sucessecer. One of the most bizarre transfers was the signing of striker Dean Saunders for a British transfer record of 2.9m from Derby County in the summer of 1991. He proved to be a success alongside fellow Welshman Ian Rush up front but after only six matches into the 1992-1993 season he was surprisingly sold onto Aston Villa for 2.5m, making a loss of £400,000.

The youth team coached by Liverpool legend Steve Heighway produced several players for the first team, like Robbie Fowler, Dominic Matteo and Steve McManaman, while two of Daglish’s last signings Jamie Redknapp, and Don Hutchison broke into the first team under Souness. However Hutchinson was sold on after several disciplinary problems. The veteran striker Ian Rush meanwhile, was still scoring goals as freely as ever despite being in his thirties. Long-serving goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was often being kept out of the team by promising young shot-stopper David James.

Liverpool finished sixth in the first-ever FA Premier League and never looked like title challengers at any stage during the season. In the summer the coach pinned his hopes for the new season on two players, current England international Nigel Clough signed for 2.275m from relegated Nottingham Forest and central defender Neil Ruddock for 2.5m from Tottenham Hotspur.

The duo fitted in perfectly into Souness' 4-4-2 formation, and in the first game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday, Clough bagged a double in a 2-0 victory, and then scored a goal from a beautifully executed backheel at Loftus Road in a 3-1 win over QPR, and then Souness’ team trashed Premier League newcomers Swindon Town 5-0 with Neil Ruddock netting his first goal. However that was as good as it got, as Liverpool despite taking the lead with Clough’s four goal in his first match for the Reds, lost 2-1 to Tottenham at Anfield. Liverpool did beat Leeds United 2-0 in the following match but two 1-0 defeats to Coventry City, and Blackburn Rovers clearly showed that nothing had changed from the previous season. It all come to ahead in the Merseyside derby in the next match, when Steve McManaman and Bruce Grobbelaar got into a scuffle during the match. The team was in disarray and the title looked further than ever. On Match of the Day, Alan Hansen pinpointed the weakness in Nigel Clough in tackles and winning the ball back as one of the problems. The striker’s form dipped and he was played in midfield as emerging youngster Robbie Fowler was given his first start in the Coca Cola Cup match against Fulham FC, in which he scored in a 3-1 victory. In the return leg at Anfield, he scored all five goals in a 5-0 rout. A legend was born. To instil some strength in the Liverpool ranks, Souness signed hardman Julian Dicks from West Ham, costing £1.6m with David Burrows and Mike Marsh moving in the other direction.

In the end Liverpool were dumped out of the Coca Cola Cup by Wimbledon on penalties. The FA Cup seemed to be Liverpool’s only hope of silverware that season, and were drawn against Bristol City. The first match was played at Ashton Gate, where Fowler nearly scored with his backside after a miskick from the City keeper. Ian Rush scored for the Reds, and Wayne Allison scored for the Bristol club, however floodlight failure meant the match had to be played again. It finished 1-1 again, with the same players scoring for their respective clubs and a replay was scheduled for Anfield. At home, Liverpool were poor, with Bristol’s strike duo Junior Bent and Wayne Allsion causing problems for Steve Nicol and Neil Ruddock in the Reds defence. Liverpool lost 1-0 after curling left footed effort from Brian Tinnion, and days later Souness resigned on 28 January 1994, and Roy Evans was appointed as manager.

During his tenure as Liverpool manager, Graeme Souness suffered from heart problems. This indirectly led to him falling out of favour with Liverpool fans as he sold the story of his recovery to The Sun. The Sun has long been boycotted by people from Merseyside (regardless of footballing allegiance) due to its reporting of the Hillsborough disaster.

The Roy Evans Era (1994-1998)

Honours Won : League Cup (1995)

"Boot room" veteran Roy Evans took over from Souness. Evans had been on the club's pay roll since the late 1950s. In his first game incharge against Norwich City at Carrow Road, the team looked rejuvenated and managed to grab a point in a 2-2 draw. He guided Liverpool to an eighth place finish in the 1993-94 Premier League campaign, young striker Robbie Fowler scoring 29 goals in all competitions which led to him being voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

During pre-season, he gave an ultimatim to several of his players like Neil Ruddock and Julian Dicks to get into shape or find another club. Evans signed only one player during the summer of 1994, Danish reserve team keeper Michael Stensgaard a £300.000 buy from Hvidovre. Despite a promising career ahead of him, he would never play for the Liverpool first team, and retired after an injury he sustained setting up an ironing board. Evans was determined to get his players into shape, and in the club’s first game of the season, they trashed Crystal Palace 6-0 at Selhurst Park, a result that vindicated the manager’s decision not to buy big over the summer. The manager lined up with a 4-4-2 formation with David James, right back Rob Jones, left back Stig Inge Bjørnebye, centre back Steve Nicol, centre back Neil Ruddock, centre midfield John Barnes, right wing Steve McManaman, centre midfield Jan Molby, left wing Mark Walters, and strikers Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler. On the first two days of September 1994, Evans signed promising Republic of Ireland defender Phil Babb from Coventry City for £3.75m and Wimbledon’s John Scales for £3.5m, and the duo were introduced to the side in a new-look 3-5-2 formation at St James Park against Newcastle. Liverpool drew 1-1 but the formation would revolutionise the English game, with many clubs adopting the 3-5-2 formation.

In his first full season (1994-95) Liverpool finished fourth in the Premiership and won the League Cup, beating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the final.

In the summer of 1995, Liverpool paid Nottingham Forest a British record fee of £8.5 million for striker Stan Collymore. Fowler and Collymore formed an impressive partnership for the 1995-96 season which saw veteran striker Ian Rush relegated to the substitute bench for much of the season before his departure on a free transfer to Leeds United. Liverpool continued to progress that season, being within a shout of the domestic double right up to the final few weeks of the season. But they finished third in the Premiership, eleven points behind champions Manchester United, seven behind runners-up Newcastle, and lost 1-0 to Man United in the FA Cup final. Still, Liverpool were recognised as a top team once again, and were starting to attract top players once more, to aid a talented group of young stars like Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp, who were peaking.

Liverpool led the Premiership at several stages during the 1996-97 season, but in the end they finished fourth and had to settle for a UEFA Cup place. They had been hoping to win the Cup Winners Cup for the first time, but lost to Paris St Germain in the semi finals. The squad's off the field lad culture excesses and underachievement tag on it had also resulted in the team getting derogatorily labelled as the 'Spice Boys'.

1997-98 saw Liverpool finish third in the Premiership for the second time in four years where they finished fourth on both other occasions. Though the critics had accused them as being 'nearly men' again, the highlight of the club's season was the emergence of young striker Michael Owen. Owen became the Premiership's equal top scorer in 1998 with eighteen goals and became the youngest full England international at the time. He was also awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.

The Gérard Houllier Era (1998-2004)

Honours Won : League Cup (2001), FA Cup (2001), UEFA Cup (2001), FA Charity Shield (2001), UEFA Super Cup (2001), League Cup (2003)

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 Evans found that the partnership did not suit him and he quit during the season, at the end of which Liverpool finished a disappointing seventh - not even enough for a UEFA Cup place.

2000-01 was Liverpool's best season for many years. The likes of Owen, Fowler, Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypiä contributed to the club's third place in the Premiership (thus qualifying for the Champions League) as well winning 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.

By now, Liverpool's side contained a new set of players including goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, defender and captain Sami Hyypiä, young midfielder Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen's strike partner Emile Heskey.

Liverpool finished Premiership runners-up in 2001-02, their best league finish since 1991, but suffered a humiliating defeat in the League Cup Third Round at the hands of Grimsby Town. 2001 was also dramatic for Houllier personally as he suffered a major heart problem which kept him away from the club for part of the season.

Liverpool won another League Cup in 2003 but in 2003-04 Houllier had again failed to deliver the league title, in fact finishing thirty points behind the champions Arsenal. Although Liverpool qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth (making three qualifications during his tenure), fans saw Houllier's conservative and defensive tactics as sacrificing too much attacking impetus to challenge Arsenal and Manchester United for the title. During this period Liverpool had their longest streak of not winning any games in the top flight. Against a background of growing disquiet amongst the Liverpool supporters Houllier and Liverpool parted by mutual consent at the end of the 2003-04 season, his replacement being the Spaniard Rafael Benítez who had just guided Valencia to the Spanish league title and UEFA Cup.

The Rafael Benítez Era (Since 2004)

Honours Won : UEFA Champions League (2005), UEFA Super Cup (2005), FA Cup (2006), FA Community Shield (2006)

Dudek Finnan Carragher Hyypiä Traoré L. García Alonso Gerrard (C) Riise Baroš Kewell

2005 UEFA Champions League Final starting lineup.

Spaniard Rafael Benítez took over from Houllier, arriving from Valencia CF with whom he had just won La Liga title for the second time and the UEFA Cup. 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. After eliminating favourites Juventus in the quarter-finals, they beat English rivals Chelsea in the semi-finals, on the strength of a controversial second-leg goal from Luis Javier Garcia Sanz. Many TV replays have been inconclusive as to whether the ball crossed the line although it is widely believed that had the goal not been given Chelsea's goalkeeper, Petr Cech, would have been sent off for a professional foul on Liverpool striker Milan Baros. According to a statement by match referee Ľuboš Micheľ, this is indeed the course of action he would have taken had his assistant referee not signaled that the ball had crossed the line.

The Reds met the heavily favoured Italian club A.C. Milan in the final. Liverpool, having trailed 3-0 at half time, made a dramatic comeback and scored three goals in the second half forcing extra time of course it was club captain Steven Gerrard who headed home the first goal of the comeback home and then gestured towards his team mates to rise up and keep fighting. Liverpool went on to win the penalty shoot out with the heroics of goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek who imitated club legend Bruce Grobbelaar with the famous "wobbly legs" trick.

This Champions League final win ensured that Steven Gerrard stayed with Liverpool, after rumours linked him with a move to Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Although they were the current champions Liverpool were in danger of not being able to defend their title. The English’s Leagues high UEFA ranking allows the maximum number of teams, four, to be entered into the Champions League competition. In the 2004-05 season, five English teams had qualified under then existing UEFA guidelines for the Champions League competition: Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Everton, who had finished in places first to fourth place respectively in the Premier League, and Liverpool, who had won the competition. UEFA regulations stipulated that the choice of which team to be excluded fell to The Football Association. The FA chose to exclude Liverpool in favour of fourth-place finishers, Everton. This highly-unusual situation was eventually resolved by UEFA, which added Liverpool to the first qualifying round of the 2005-06 event. UEFA created an automatic berth for every subsequent Champions League and UEFA Cup title-holder.

For more details of Liverpool’s entry into the 2005-06 competition, see Liverpool F.C. Champions League qualification 2005-06.

After a solid run through qualifying and the group stage, Liverpool's defence of the Champions League title ended in the last sixteen in March 2006, being knocked out 3-0 on aggregate by the unfancied Portuguese side, Benfica.

As the UEFA Champions League 2005 winners, Liverpool competed in the 2005 European Super Cup, beating CSKA Moscow 3-1 AET. Liverpool also earned the right as European Champions to represent UEFA in the FIFA Club World Championship 2005 held in Japan. Liverpool met São Paulo in the final where the game was decided by a single goal scored by São Paulo midfielder Mineiro. During the match, three Liverpool goals were ruled offside.

After starting their FA Cup run against Luton with a 5-3 victory, Benitez's side broke an 85-year jinx by beating Manchester United 1-0 in at Anfield on 18 February 2006, their first victory over their arch-rivals in the competition since 1921. The quarter final tie, away to Birmingham City F.C., saw what was then Benitez's highest scoring result with the Reds winning 7-0, this result was also Liverpool's biggest away win in the FA Cup. On 22 April 2006, Liverpool defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the semi-finals, with John Arne Riise and Luis García scoring to reach the FA Cup final to face West Ham United. This was the 13th time Liverpool had reached an FA Cup final.

In the final they claimed victory against West Ham, drawing 3-3 at full time with captain Steven Gerrard setting up the first, volleying home the second from inside the box and scoring an incredible equaliser in the 91st minute to take them to extra time and then penalties. They went on to win 3-1 on penalties with Pepe Reina saving three out of four penalties. This final was dedicated to club captain Steven Gerrard and was dubbed "the Gerrard final" for his inspirational . Being the last FA Cup game at the Millennium Stadium, it was fitting that it has been noted as one of the best modern FA Cup finals .

In 2005-06 Liverpool also gathered 82 points in the Premiership - their highest points total since 1988 and the largest number of points achieved by a team in third position.

Liverpool's 2006–07 season began with a 2-1 victory over defending premiership champions Chelsea to win the Community Shield.

Although knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup by back-to-back defeats to Arsenal FC, Benitez guided Liverpool to the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League final after defeating Chelsea 4-1 on penalties in the semi final after a 1-1 aggregate score, once again thanks to Pepe Reina's heroics both in the match and the shootout of the second leg. Liverpool once again faced AC Milan in a rematch of the 2005 Champions League Final in Athens, Greece on 23 May. Liverpool however lost 1-2 despite a last-gasp goal by Dirk Kuyt.

The season of 2007-2008 saw the first season Liverpool had failed to reach a major final under the reign of Benitez. Despite not making a cup final and having a low tally in the EPL table this squad is considered Liverpools strongest under Benitez. The best memory about this season for Liverpool will be the immpresive campaign of new arrival Fernando Torres who bagged and outstanding 33 goals.

2007 Takeover

In December 2006, Liverpool FC announced that the investment group DIC were considering buying out the club. They completed their due-diligence of the club and the offer of £450 million was convincing to the public that this was nearly a done-deal. Subsequently, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, both businessmen in the United States, submitted an improved offer which saw Dubai Investment Capital pull out completely almost immediately afterwards. The Chief Executive of Liverpool FC Rick Parry, said the club "felt bullied" by DIC and did not want to make a decision to sell the club too quickly.

On 6 February 2007, George Gillett, owner of the Montreal Canadiens, and Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers respectively, assumed control of Liverpool FC in a deal worth a reported £470 million. The Liverpool board of directors were unanimous and advised shareholders and Chairman David Moores (with his 51% stronghold) to accept the offer of £175 million. The deal also included £45 million of club debt and £215 million for the new stadium proposed for Stanley Park, with building expected to begin within 60 days. In the same press conference the new owners commented that the new stadium could sell naming-rights should it allow them added funds to bring in "one great player" a season. . Commenting on the offer, George Gillett and Tom Hicks said: “Liverpool is a fantastic club with a remarkable history and a passionate fan base. We fully acknowledge and appreciate the unique heritage and rich history of Liverpool and intend to respect this heritage in the future. The Hicks family and the Gillett family are extremely excited about continuing the Club’s legacy and tradition."

Since the acquisition, Liverpool have bought Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, and numerous youth players. In November 2007, a public dispute arose between Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez and club owners, Gillett and Hicks over transfer policy for the January 2008 transfer window. In a press conference, Benitez used the reply "As always, I am focused on coaching and training my team." 25 times to a range of questions posed by journalists. Subsequent official club statements later confirmed that Tom Hicks and George Gillet were reluctant to commit to future transfer activity until later in the year, when the status of Liverpool's involvement in the UEFA Champions League had been resolved, and had therefore told Benitez to concentrate on coaching and training his existing pool of players.

On 22 January 2008 Liverpool fans, at the game between Liverpool and Aston Villa, protested against Gillett and Hicks' running of the club, and urged the pair to sell their shares in Liverpool FC to DIC. Neither owner, nor their representative Foster Gillett were present at the game. Subsequently, opposition to Hicks's ownership has started to become more structured, with groups such as 'Sons of Shankly' and others emerging to campaign against the Americans. Initially, Hicks stated that the entire incident was "a big misunderstanding blown out of all proportion" and that his relationship with Benitez couldn't be any better.

When he first purchased half of Liverpool F.C. Hicks stated that "Parry and Moores will have a continuing role, stability is a key to success." However, it was soon revealed that Hicks had requested for Rick Parry to hand in his resignation. Parry refused and this added more tension amongst the board members. On the anniversery of the Hillsboough Disaster, Hicks was interviewed by Sky Sports and he referred to Parry's reign as a "Disaster."

Criticism of fans by UEFA

Following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, Liverpool Football Club were banned for an additional three years from competing in UEFA competitions (on top of the already unlimited ban imposed on all English teams) and their fans were blamed wholly for the disaster and 36 deaths. This ban was later reduced to one additional year, meaning Liverpool could not enter the 1990/91 European Cup competition.

On 4 June 2007, UEFA spokesman William Gaillard was quoted in media reports citing a UEFA report claiming that Liverpool fans were 'the worst fans in Europe'.

The most publicised claims from the report were that 'fans stole tickets from children' and that 'fans without tickets charged entry gates'. Furthermore, Gaillard claimed that up to '25 incidents involving Liverpool fans' had occurred since 2003, and were outlined in the report compiled by an unamed police force in Europe.

Liverpool F.C. Chief Executive Rick Parry responded to the criticism which mainly focused on the 2007 Champions League final in Athens. He said that "To have a stadium with no counting system and no turnstiles is unforgivable for any standard of the game, let alone a major final.". Parry himself was criticised for effectively endorsing the fans behavior by saying "We have told Uefa there will be 40,000 Liverpool fans in the ground by hook or by crook" in the build up to the match.[2]

Co-Chairman Tom Hicks went further, labelling Gaillard 'a clown', and continuing "It's a classic case of a bureaucrat trying to take the pressure off himself. They didn't handle it right, they didn't have proper ticketing procedures and unfortunately there were counterfeit tickets".

However, Phil Hammond, who lost his son Philip at Hillsborough in 1989 and is chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, was also critical of the behavior of the Liverpool fans, saying:

“My heart sank as I stood and watched what was happening. After what happened in Sheffield in 1989 I couldn’t believe Liverpool fans, of all people, could do such dangerous things. I honestly feared people were going to get crushed and we were going to have another Hillsborough. It was disgusting. The people who stormed into the stadium are the scum of the earth. They put at risk hundreds of lives and should be ashamed of themselves. The vast majority of Liverpool fans are impeccably behaved, but there has always been a hard core of mindless thugs that ruin it for the rest. It hurts me to say this, but I won’t be following Liverpool on their travels in future.”

[3]

However, by 6 June 2007, UEFA president Michel Platini had retracted the accusation. Platini said that "No they are not the worst behaved in Europe...It's official, they are not the worst behaved."

On 7 June 2007 it was reported that the report handed to British Minister for Sport and Tourism Richard Caborn did not contain any of the purported '25 incidents involving Liverpool fans', and that he - along with Platini - considered the matter closed. It was also stated that UEFA spokesman Gaillard would possibly face disciplinary action over his original comments, which he now suggested had been misquoted.

Chronological list of trophies won

• 1901: Football League Championship (manager: T. Watson)
• 1906: Football League Championship (manager: T. Watson)
• 1922: Football League Championship (manager: D. Ashworth)
• 1923: Football League Championship (manager: M. McQueen)
• 1947: Football League Championship (manager: G. Kay)
• 1964: Football League Championship (manager: B. Shankly)
• 1965: FA Cup (manager: B. Shankly)
• 1966: Football League Championship (manager: B. Shankly)
• 1973: UEFA Cup, Football League Championship (manager: B. Shankly)
• 1974: FA Cup (manager: B. Shankly)
• 1976: UEFA Cup, Football League Championship (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1977: UEFA European Cup, Football League Championship (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1978: UEFA European Cup (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1979: Football League Championship (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1980: Football League Championship (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1981: UEFA European Cup, Football League Cup (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1982: Football League Championship, Football League Cup (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1983: Football League Championship, Football League Cup (manager: B. Paisley)
• 1984: UEFA European Cup, Football League Championship, Football League Cup (manager: J. Fagan)
• 1986: Football League Championship, FA Cup (manager: K. Dalglish)
• 1988: Football League Championship (manager: K. Dalglish)
• 1989: FA Cup (manager: K. Dalglish)
• 1990: Football League Championship (manager: K. Dalglish)
• 1992: FA Cup (manager: G. Souness)
• 1995: Football League Cup (manager: R. Evans)
• 2001: UEFA Cup, FA Cup, Football League Cup, European Super Cup (manager: G. Houllier)
• 2003: Football League Cup (manager: G. Houllier)
• 2005: UEFA Champions League , European Super Cup (manager: R. Benítez)
• 2006: FA Cup (manager: R. Benítez)

Season-by-season record

Main article Liverpool F.C. seasons

Notes and references

Sources: The official Liverpool FC website and The Official Liverpool FC Illustrated History by Jeff Anderson with Stephen Done (ISBN 1-84222-665-7)