Liverpool F.C.
Disputes can sometimes lead to something beautiful which can be entirely inconceivable yet superior to the original idea. One such dispute between John Houlding and Everton Board of Directors lead to the formation of Liverpool in 1992. Liverpool FC is the most successful team in the history of English Football with a record number of wins in competitions. Located in the marvellous city of Liverpool, their songs of Glory are heard throughout the world.
History :
John Houlding was the leaseholder of Anfield and the club president of Everton FC. In 1984 Everton moved to Anfield on rent. Houlding proposed the idea of increasing the rent but the Everton board thought otherwise which lead them to part ways. Anfield was empty with no team to play and so Houlding established a new club ” Liverpool Football Club “.
Liverpool started swiftly by winning the Lancashire League in their very first season and secured a spot in the Second Division of the Football League. Maintaining their winning shape they won the Second Division in the same year with an unbeaten streak of 28 matches. Liverpool was promoted to the First Division. Liverpool was luckless in their first season of their First Division but later went on winning the First Divison in 1901 and 1906.
After World War I in 1919 the sporting activities were resumed and Liverpool had the eye on the League Championship but ended up in fourth place. Liverpool lost Wilfred Bartrop in the war. Liverpool won double in 1922 in the post-war period and add more trophies to their cabinet. After being victorious in 1923 they went out of luck and didn’t win anything until 1947.
Post World War II Decline :
The start of the post-war period was a success for Liverpool but that didn’t last for the Champions as thereafter they were unable to lift any trophy for a long time. In 1954 Liverpool was relegated to the Second Division after enjoying 50 years in the First Division of the League Championship.
The second Divison was unfriendly to Liverpool and they finished in the 11th position with their worse beating from Birmingham City (9-1). Liverpool was looking bad in the eyes of their fans as they were unable to get themselves out of the Second Division.
The Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley
period :
Liverpool Chairman convinced Shankly to join as their manager and so he did join in 1959. Shankly started slow and didn’t achieve much in his first year, this concerned him and he decided to revolutionalize the team thoroughly resulting in the release of 24 players. Shankly assembled the boot storage room as the famous ” The Boot Room. Decisions made in this room are one of the reasons why his tenure was a success. Liverpool got promoted in 1962 after a total of 8 years in the Second Division. Two years later he went on winning the League Title.
Shankly went on winning two more League titles, the UEFA Cup, two FA Cups and their first European Cup in just 15 years. Shankly bestowed the Glory which Liverpool had lost after World War II. In need of a break Shankly resigned from the Managers position and his assistant Bob Paisley took over as the new manager.
The Golden period for Liverpool got started with Paisley as he pressed on to the winning ways. They enjoyed a great European and Cup competitions success with Paisley winning the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup, 3 league cups and a record number of 3 European Cups (Champions League). The team enjoyed great success in domestic competitions by adding 6 League Titles (First Division) to the trophy cabinet. Undoubtedly Paisley is the most successful manager in the history of Liverpool.
Paisley announced his retirement before the start of the season in 1983. Joe Fagan his assistant was promoted as the team’s new manager and Liverpool continued in their winning ways and secured a treble in 1984. Liverpool was in its prime under these two great managers and no manager ever have surpassed Shankly and Paisley to date.
Misfortune and Downfall :
European Cup final acquired great attention and excitement for the fans of Liverpool. The match was hosted at the Heysel Stadium in Belgium between Juventus and Liverpool in 1985 but the match got interrupted because of an accident caused in the stadium. Liverpool fans ran over the fence to the wall that divides between the fans of the two clubs and as a result, the wall collapsed leading to the death of 39 fans. The match was continued after 2 hours following fear of more riots among the two clubs fans and the majority of the books suggest the collapse of the wall happened because of Liverpool fans. The Football Association banned every English Club was banned for 5 years after this incident.
Liverpool won two more League Titles in 1986 and 1988 before hitting another tragedy that proved to be the worse disaster in the history of English football. The FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forrest at the Hillsborough stadium resulted in a surge of the crowd at the Lepping’s Lane that caused the death of 96 people over the perimeter fencing. Following this incident, the bad spell of Liverpool was started and they didn’t win much for the next decade. Liverpool did win a League Cup in 1989 and two FA Cups (1989,1992).
Liverpool stayed competitive for all these years but sadly didn’t lift any more trophies.
The New Decade :
2000 started with enthusiasm and victory for Liverpool as they achieved a hattrick of trophies in the very first year. Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy in 2020 as it took 30 years for Liverpool to win a domestic title. Champions League success followed as they won two Champions League trophies in this new decade (2005,2019).
Jurgen Klopp has revolutionalized the team and now they look like one of the strongest sides in the Premier League.
Stadium :
Liverpool is one of the few lucky clubs to play in the same stadium since their foundation. Anfield was constructed in 1884 when Everton used to play at Anfield until 1891 when they finally moved away leading to the formation of Liverpool. Anfield has a capacity of 53,394 and is equipped with an all-seater kind of arrangement. The history of Anfield is beautiful and vast. Looking at Anfield I believe in the Liverpool FC motto ” You’ll Never Walk Alone “
Badge :
The Liver bird is at the forefront of the Badge as it is the symbol of the city of Liverpool. The Crest has undergone many changes but none of them was major. The current Badge is similar to the older badges with all of them having the “Mythical Liver Bird” in the centre and with ” You’ll Never Walk Alone ” written at the top of the Badge.
