Liverpool F.C. Team Profile and It's Great History-
This article is about the English football club. For other uses, see Liverpool F.C.
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| Full name | Liverpool Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Reds | |||
| Founded | March 15, 1892 (by John Houlding) | |||
| Ground | Anfield (Capacity: 45,276) | |||
| Owner | John W. Henry & Tom Werner (New England Sports Ventures) | |||
| Chairman | Tom Werner | |||
| Manager | Roy Hodgson | |||
| League | Premier League | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League, 7th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
| ||||
Current season | ||||
Liverpool Football Club is an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool that plays in the Premier League. Liverpool have played at Anfield since their foundation in 1892 and were admitted to the Football League a year later.
England's most successful club of the 20th century, 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.
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 JuventusHillsborough Disaster, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a crush against perimeter fencing. supporters. In the 1989
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".
The 2010–11 season will be the 119th season in Liverpool Football Club's existence, and their 48th consecutive year in the top flight of English football. This season, Liverpool will be sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, after their deal with long-running sponsors Carlsberg finished after 18 years of sponsorship. Pre-season saw a change of manager for Liverpool, with Rafael Benitez leaving the club by mutual consent on 3 June 2010.
On 1 July 2010, Roy Hodgson was officially announced as new manager, with Steven Gerrard taking the captain's role, and Jamie Carragher taking the vice-captain's role.
On 22 September 2010 Liverpool exited the Football League Cup, going out at Anfield to Northampton Town of League Two on penalties after a 2–2 draw. They have the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League still to play for.
Players-
First Team
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Contract ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||
| 1 | Brad Jones |  | GK | March 19, 1982 | Middlesbrough | 2013 |
| 25 | Pepe Reina |  | GK | August 31, 1982 | Villarreal | 2016 |
| 30 | Charles Itandje |  | GK | November 2, 1982 | Lens | 2011 |
| Defenders | ||||||
| 2 | Glen Johnson |  | RB | August 23, 1984 | Portsmouth | 2013 |
| 3 | Paul Konchesky | | LB | May 15, 1981 | Fulham | 2014 |
| 5 | Daniel Agger |  | CB | December 12, 1984 | Brøndby | 2014 |
| 6 | Fábio Aurélio |  | LB | September 24, 1979 | Free agent | 2012 |
| 16 | Sotirios Kyrgiakos |  | CB | July 23, 1979 | AEK Athens | 2011 |
| 22 | Danny Wilson |  | CB | December 27, 1991 | Rangers | 2013 |
| 23 | Jamie Carragher | | CB | January 28, 1978 | The Academy | 2013 |
| 32 | Stephen Darby | | RB | October 6, 1988 | The Academy | 2012 |
| 34 | Martin Kelly | | CB | April 27, 1990 | The Academy | 2011 |
| 37 | Martin Škrtel |  | CB | December 15, 1984 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2014 |
| Midfielders | ||||||
| 4 | Raul Meireles |  | CM | March 17, 1983 | FC Porto | 2014 |
| 8 | Steven Gerrard | | AM | May 30, 1980 | The Academy | 2013 |
| 10 | Joe Cole | | LW | November 8, 1981 | Chelsea | 2014 |
| 12 | Dani Pacheco | | CM | January 5, 1991 | Barcelona | 2012 |
| 14 | Milan Jovanović |  | LW | April 18, 1981 | Standard Liège | 2013 |
| 17 | Maxi Rodríguez |  | RW | January 2, 1981 | Atlético Madrid | 2013 |
| 18 | Dirk Kuyt |  | RW | July 22, 1980 | Feyenoord | 2012 |
| 19 | Ryan Babel | | LW | December 19, 1986 | Ajax | 2012 |
| 21 | Lucas | | CM | January 9, 1987 | Grêmio | 2012 |
| 26 | Jay Spearing | | CM | November 25, 1988 | The Academy | 2012 |
| 28 | Christian Poulsen | | DM | February 28, 1980 | Juventus | 2013 |
| 33 | Jonjo Shelvey | | AM | February 27, 1992 | Charlton Athletic | 2014 |
| Strikers | ||||||
| 9 | Fernando Torres | | ST | March 20, 1984 | Atlético Madrid | 2013 |
| 24 | David N'Gog | | ST | April 1, 1989 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2012 |
| 39 | Nathan Eccleston | | ST | December 30, 1990 | The Academy | 2013 |
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. 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 title, 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. 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 Cupfinal. Liverpool retained the European Cup the following season, before regaining the First Division title in 1979. 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. for the first time, but lost in the FA Cup
The statue of former manager Bill Shankly, outside Anfield
Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant Joe Fagan. 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. 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.
Fagan resigned after the disaster and Kenny Dalglish was appointed as player-manager. 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. 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. 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.
The Kop, as it stands after redevelopment in 1994.
Liverpool were 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. 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.
Gérard Houllier was appointed as co-manager in the 1998–99 season, he became the sole manager in November 1998 after Evans resigned. In Houllier's second full season in charge, Liverpool won a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Houllier underwent major heart surgery in the 2001–02 seasonArsenal. 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. 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. and Liverpool finished second behind
American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks became the owners of Liverpool during the 2006–07 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. 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 was subsequently sacked and replaced by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. 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. season in a deal which valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million.
Colours and crest-
      |
| Liverpool's original home colours (1892–1894) |
For much of Liverpool's history, their 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.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.
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. | ” |
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 they re-introduced the grey kit. 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, who made the club's kits between 1985 and 1996. The only other branded shirts worn by the club were made by Umbro until 1985 and Reebok for ten seasons starting in 1996.
Liverpool was the first English professional club to have a sponsor's logo on their shirts, after they agreed to a deal with Hitachi in 1979. Since then they have 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. The association with Carlsberg was ended at the start of the 2010–11 season with Standard Chartered Bank becoming the club's sponsor. 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.
Stadium-
Anfield, home of Liverpool.
For more details on this topic, see 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. 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.
In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop after a hill in Natal.Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of whom were from Liverpool. 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. The hill was the site of the
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. 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.
Due to the restrictions of expanding the capacity at Anfield, Liverpool announced plans to move a new stadium at Stanley Park in May 2002. Planning permission was granted in July 2004, and in September 2006, Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool a 999-year lease of the land on the proposed site. 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. Construction of the stadium was halted in May 2008, as Gillett and Hicks had trouble financing the £300 million needed for the development.
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.
Supporters-
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. 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. 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.
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. 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, and banned all English clubs from European competition for five years. 27 fans were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, they were extradited to Belgium to face trial in 1987. In 1989, after a 5-month trial in Belgium, fourteen Liverpool fans were given three year sentences for involuntary manslaughter, although half of the terms were suspended.
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. Subsequent investigations proved the allegations to be false, and this led to a city-wide boycott of the newspaper. 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.
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