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History of Liverpool FC
The Early Years
Liverpool Football Club was founded by John Houlding, the owner of Anfield in 1892. Previously the ground had been occupied by Everton FC but after a disagreement concerning rental between
 their board and John Houlding, Everton relocated to Goodison Park where they still try to play football today.
John Houlding now found himself left with a football ground but no players. Houlding solution was to look North of the border where he signed ten Scotsmen for his new team and so on the 15th March 1892 Liverpool Football Club was founded.
Liverpool FC started its life in the 2nd division but by the end of the 1893-94 season they gained promotion by winning the title. Liverpool's first league division 1 title came in 1900-01 through the managerial guidance of Tom Watson.
In 1914 Liverpool reached their first FA Cup final, the last to be played at the Crystal Palace ground. Liverpool lost that day to Burnley, but there would be many more finals in the future for Liverpool to prove their quality.
After the first world war Liverpool showed the country what they were capable of when they won the 1st division title two years running, the first in 1921-22 and then again in 1922-23. After this brief stint of success there wasn't much to talk about around Anfield for a long time. In 1928 the Kop had a roof built over it to protect the fans in the cold winter evenings. The second world war took away a number of years, but when football resumed Liverpool were ready.
The first season after the war (1946-47) saw the title return to Anfield. The team containing Bob Paisley, Jack Balmer and the great Billy Liddel swept the competition away when they lost only one of their last sixteen games.
In 1950 Liverpool came close to winning the FA Cup, but were again beaten in the final, this time 2-0. The team went downhill and in 1954 Liverpool were relegated to the 2nd division. Liverpool had hit rock bottom and were starting to dig!
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The Coming of Shankly
By 1959 Liverpool were still in the 2nd division and going nowhere fast, but Liverpool's destiny for the rest of the century was about to change. In December 1959 the great man himself arrived at Anfield - Bill Shankly.
In 1962 Liverpool were back in the top flight and in the 1963-64 season Shankly delivered his first championship. In 1965 Liverpool finally clinched their first FA Cup title with a 2-1 win over Leeds with Ian St John scoring the winner in extra time. The cup had eluded Liverpool for so long that this was a memorable night for all who can remember.
Shankly went on to win another two championships, the FA Cup and broke new ground when he guided Liverpool to their first European trophy - the UEFA Cup (1972-73). Shankly was renowned for his leadership and inspiration but he also signed some of Liverpool's greatest ever players including Ron Yeats, Ian St John, Emlyn Hughes, Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan.
If you ask many Liverpool fans what they where doing on the day Shankly resigned they will know. It was a devastating day for the Liverpool faithful as the man who had brought so much success and respect to the club had left. Immediately after his resignation the question on everyone's lips was - would there be life after Shankly?
| Paisley's Reign
Bob Paisley, one of the legendary bootroom staff was appointed as Shankly's successor. Within two years Liverpool won another title, their ninth as well as another UEFA Cup. At first there were many people who believed Paisley was collecting the success from the players Shankly
 had brought in, but at the end of Paisley's 9 year reign in which he became the most successful manager in British history, no-one could deny his greatness. To this day Bob Paisely still holds the title as the most successful manager in British history. Paisley was also responsible for ensuring Liverpool's future success by bringing Royalty to Anfield when in 1977 King Kenny Dalglish was signed from Celtic.
When Paisley resigned in 1983, he did so in style with Liverpool finishing as league champions. That same year Liverpool made history by winning the League Cup for the third time in row, a club record that would only be beaten the following year when Paisley's successor won the cup for the forth time.
In the 9 years Paisley managed Liverpool he won 13 trophies: -
6 Championships
3 league cups
3 European Cups
1 UEFA Cup
| The Eighties
When Bob Paisley resigned in 1983, continuity was the keyword as Joe Fagan, the next in line from the bootroom took over. Joe was in charge for a brief two years winning a unique treble in his first season with the League championship, European Cup and League Cup. Fagan's second season could not have been more of an opposite to his first. Liverpool failed to win a domestic trophy and on the last day of the season in the European Cup Final against Juventus in 1985 disaster struck. 39 people died when a wall collapsed as a result of crowd trouble before the match. The football was played and Liverpool lost, but the result was insignificant after the days tragedy. After Heysel Fagan resigned and his successor was again from within the club - Kenny Dalglish.
Dalglish's first season(1985-86) ensured immortality when as Liverpool's first player-manager he secured the league and FA Cup double. The FA Cup final that year saw Liverpool take on their
 neighbours Everton in a thrilling 3-1 win with Ian Rush scoring twice. Dalglish's team went on to win a further two league championships and another FA Cup, again against Everton this time the result was 3-2. Throughout the late 80's Dalglish's team played some of the best football England has ever seen but they were never allowed to show their class on the European stage due the to ban incurred after Heysel. Europe was never able to see the full potential of such household names like Rush, Aldridge, Barnes, Hansen, McMahon, in fact the whole team were legends.
In 1989 the world witnessed it's worst ever football disaster when 96 people died as a result of the bad organisation at Hillsborough. Weeks of mourning followed while people tried to fathom how such an event could happen. The resulting inquest was a farce with the results still being challenged today.
Dalglish resigned mid-way through the season in 1991, because he 'felt like his head was going to explode'. The pressure of managing one of the biggest teams in the world and having witnessed two of the worst football disasters in history had got to him. The day of his resignation Liverpool were top of the league and still in the FA Cup, making King Kenny a winner from beginning to end. In his autobiography Dalglish stated he would have came back to Liverpool in the summer if he was asked but Liverpool appointed one of Kenny's old team-mates Graeme Souness which turned out to spell the end of Liverpool's glorious reign.
| The Rebuilding
When Graeme Souness took over Liverpool Football Club in 1991 he had came from Rangers, where although a success he had caused many disruptions. In his first full season Souness finished a lowly sixth in the league, but the capture of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Sunderland meant that the fans were happy on the football front. After the semi-final of that season, Souness
 was taken into hospital for a triple heart bypass and afterwards sold his story to The Sun tabloid, a newspaper which is hated around Merseyside for the lies it wrote about the Hillsborough tragedy. This action angered the fans and caused a rift that would be difficult to close.
The following season for Liverpool was a catastrophe as Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by Bolton in the third round of the FA Cup and finished 6th in the league. It was now only a matter of time, Souness needed success fast, but when Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup the following season by Bristol City, it was all over.
Many have attributed Souness' failure as Liverpool manager to his enthusiasm. As a player Souness always gave 110% for his team and he demanded the same high level of commitment from the players when he was manager. It was the insistence that his players weren't trying hard enough that caused so much disruption inside the club.
The positive side of Souness' reign was the emergence of class youngsters like Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp and Rob Jones. Although quite often these players were only picked due to the injury crisis at the club, it was still an invaluable for their development.
After Souness' resignation on 28th January 1994, Liverpool once again looked to the bootroom boys and Roy Evans was appointed manager. He was unable to salvage any success in the remainder of that season as Liverpool finished 8th in the league - their worst placing since Bill Shankly's team gained promotion in 1962. From the start of the next season(1994-95) Liverpools game and attitude improved. In Roy Evans' first full season Liverpool won the League Cup and finished 4th in the league. Liverpool have since stayed just below the top, promising so much, but delivering so little. The quality is definitely there, just look at the worlds newest star - Michael Owen, but the winning edge seen so often in the past just seems to elude us. In the summer of 1998 after contributing to his country's World Cup win, Gerard Houllier teamed up with Roy Evans in a unique joint management position. After a matter of only months Roy Evans resigned leaving Houllier in sole charge of bringing the championship back to it's home - Anfield . . . . . .
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