Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and has won more trophies than any other English club. The club has won a joint-record eighteen league titles, seven FA Cups and seven League Cups. The club has won the European Cup five times which is an English record.

The club was founded in 1892, and quickly became a strong force in English football, winning five league championships between 1900 and 1947. However, Liverpool spent several years in the Second Division (level 2) during the late 1950s, and did not win promotion again until the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager in 1959. The club traditionally played in red and white, but this was changed to all red in the 1960s.

Under Shankly's management, Liverpool won three League Championship titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup; the club's first European trophy. In the past 30 years, they have been one of the most successful clubs in English and European football; they won four European Cups between 1977 and 1984. The club experienced a lean period during the 1990s, but saw a revival when they won a cup treble in 2001 and the club's fifth European Cup in 2005.

The Heysel Stadium disaster made the club infamous in Europe; 39 Juventus fans died after a wall collapsed as they fled from charging Liverpool fans. The club was involved in another disaster four years later—the Hillsborough Disaster— which saw the death of 96 Liverpool fans in a crush against perimeter fencing. Flames were added to the club's crest in honour of the Liverpool fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Both disasters have had wide-ranging impacts on English and European football, and the club to this day.

Liverpool F.C. has played at Anfield since its formation, but plans to move to a new stadium in Stanley Park, which was due to be completed by 2011 but has been put on hold until economic conditions improve. Liverpool has a large and diverse fan base, which holds long-standing rivalries with several clubs. The most notable of these is their rivalry with Manchester United, and Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby.

Colours and crest

Liverpool traditionally played in red and white, but this was changed to an all red kit in the mid 1960s. Red has not always been used, in the early days, when the club took over Anfield from Everton; they used the Toffees' colours of blue and white. Their kit was almost identical to that worn by the Everton team of the time. By 1894 Liverpool had chosen red, and in 1901 the city's liver bird was adopted as the club's badge. For the next 60 years Liverpool's kit was red shirts with white shorts. The socks were changed over the years from red, to black, to white, and back to red again.

In 1964, then-Liverpool manager Bill Shankly decided to send the team out 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 centenary season of 1991–92, 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 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. A third kit, consisting of a turquoise top and black shorts, has been designed primarily for Champions League away games, but is used for any domestic games where both red and grey would clash.

Liverpool was the first British 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 and Carlsberg. The contract with Carlsberg, which was signed in 1992, is the longest-standing current agreement in English top-flight football. The current Liverpool badge is based around 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.

Training ground

Melwood, in West Derby, Liverpool, has been the home of Liverpool's training ground since the 1950s. It is not attached to The Academy, which is in Kirkby. The ground previously belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school.

Supporters

Liverpool has a large and loyal fan-base, and nearly all home matches sell out. During the current season, Liverpool has the fifth-highest average League attendance for an English club: 43,398, which is 95.6% of available capacity.[45] 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.

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.

Liverpool's longest-established rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Everton, against whom they 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. The Merseyside derby is usually a sell-out fixture. More players have been sent off in it than in any other fixture in Premier League history. It is one of the few local derbies that does not enforce fan segregation. Liverpool has a rivalry with its neighbours Manchester United. This is mostly due to the success enjoyed by the two clubs and the proximity of the two cities. 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 United.

The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragic events. The first was the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 Juventus fans were killed. They were penned into a corner by Liverpool fans who charged in their direction, the sheer number of fans cornered caused a wall to collapse. After the final UEFA laid the blame for the incident solely on the fans of Liverpool, English clubs were banned from European competition for five years and Liverpool served an extra year, a six-year ban. There were 27 arrests on suspicion of manslaughter – the only extraditable offence applicable to events at Heysel. The majority of these people were from Merseyside. Some of these people had previous convictions for football-related violence. In 1989, after a 5-month trial in Belgium, fourteen Liverpool fans were given 3-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter. Half the terms were suspended and it is unclear how many served their sentences.

The second was during an FA Cup semi-final in 1989 between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, 96 Liverpool fans died due to overcrowding 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, who campaign for justice for the 96 people who died in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.

Ownership and finances

Liverpool is owned by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who acquired the club on 6 February 2007 from previous chairman David Moores. 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. 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. 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 have been unable to raise the required capital to make an offer for the club.

In April 2008, business magazine Forbes ranked Liverpool as the fourth most valuable football team in the world, after Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal. They valued the club at $1.0bn (£605m), excluding debt. Accountants Deloitte rate Liverpool eighth in the 2008 Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks the world's football clubs in terms of revenue. Liverpool's income of £133.9m in the 2006–07 season moved them up from tenth the previous season.

Liverpool in popular culture

As one of the most successful teams 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 their match against Arsenal at Anfield on 22 August 1964. The club was also the subject of television's first colour football transmission, which showed their match against West Ham United live. Liverpool fans feature in the Pink Floyd song "Fearless", in which they sang excerpts from "You'll Never Walk Alone. Liverpool released a song known as the "Anfield Rap" in 1988. It was the club's FA Cup anthem for the final against Wimbledon, and featured John Barnes performing a rap with other members of the squad participating.

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. Liverpool feature 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. 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.

Statistics and records

Liverpool's first competitive game was an 8–0 victory in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton. Ian Callaghan holds Liverpool's overall appearance record—he played 857 matches over the course of 19 seasons from 1958 to 1978  and the record for League appearances with 640. Of the current squad, Jamie Carragher has the most appearances; he played his 500th game for the club early in 2008.

Liverpool's all-time leading scorer is Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals while at the club from 1980 to 1987 and 1988 to 1996. Rush holds the record for the most goals in a season with 47 in 1983–84. However, during his career, Rush could not surpass Roger Hunt's record number of league goals, which has stood at 245 since 1970. In the 1961–62 season, Hunt scored 41 goals, which is the club record for league goals in a single season. Gordon Hodgson, the club's third highest scorer with 240 goals, holds the club record of 17 hat tricks. 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. 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. Steven Gerrard is Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition with 29 goals.

Liverpool's biggest victory is 11–0 against Strømsgodset IF in 1974. Liverpool's 10–1 defeat of Rotherham Town in 1896 was its largest league win. This margin of victory was matched when Crystal Palace were defeated 9–0 at Anfield in 1989. Liverpool's heaviest defeat, 1–9, came against Birmingham City in 1954. 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.