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For the Uruguayan club, see Liverpool FC (Montevideo).

Liverpool FC

Liverpool emblem
Full name	Liverpool Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Reds
Founded	1892
Ground	Anfield Stadium Liverpool England
Capacity	45,522
Chairman	Tom Hicks (co-chairman) George Gillett (co-chairman)
Manager	Rafael Benítez
League	FA Premier League
2005-06	Premier League, 3rd
Home colours Away colours

Liverpool Football Club are a English football club, and one of the most famous football clubs in the world. Based in Liverpool, Merseyside, they play at Anfield and will soon start work on a new 61,000-seater stadium approximately 200 metres away in neighbouring Stanley Park, following the takeover of the club by American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

penis Cups, UEFA Cups, League Cups and European Super Cups than any other English team. The only major competition Liverpool haven't won the most times is the FA Cup, with that record being held by Manchester United.</ref> Liverpool have won eighteen First Division titles, seven FA Cups, seven League Cups, five European Cups and three UEFA Cups. Liverpool are also a member of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

There have been two tragedies that have had an impact on the club. They were at Heysel in 1985 when thirty-nine Juventus fans died, and at Hillsborough in 1989 where ninety-six of their own fans lost their lives. After the Heysel disaster, English clubs were banned from European competition for a period of five years, with Liverpool being excluded for six years. The Hillsborough tragedy led to a review of ground safety at all top English league clubs, and paved the way for legislation necessitating all-seater stadiums in the top-flight.

Stadium

The Anfield stadium was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park, and was originally inhabited by Everton F.C. They left the ground in 1892 over a rent dispute. Anfield's owner, John Houlding, decided to form a new club to play at the ground, which became Liverpool FC.

In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop, after a hill in Natal that was the site of a battle in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of whom were from Liverpool. Fans that regularly use the Kop are known as Kopites. At its largest, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier stands in the world. Local folklore claimed that the fans in the Kop could "suck the ball into the goal" if Liverpool were playing towards that end - and in most games, Liverpool play the second half towards the Kop. The stand was considerably reduced in capacity due to safety measures brought in following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and it was completely rebuilt as an all seater stand in 1994, although it is still a single tier. The current capacity is 12,409.

The Anfield Road Stand is positioned at the opposite end to the Kop and houses the away-fans section. It is the newest stand at Anfield having been rebuilt in 1998 with a capacity of 9,074. The two side stands are the Main Stand, capacity 12,227, and the Centenary Stand, capacity 11,762. The Main Stand is the oldest part of Anfield, having remained largely untouched since it's redevelopment in 1973. It houses the players' changing rooms and the director's box. The dug-outs are also on this side of the pitch.

The Centenary Stand was previously known as the Kemlyn Road Stand until it was rebuilt for the club's centenary in 1992. This redevelopment saw all of the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent.

The current overall capacity of the stadium is 45,362.

Anfield is rated as a 4 Star Stadium in the UEFA Stadia List.

New stadium

On July 30 2004, Liverpool City Council granted the club planning permission to build a new 61,000 seat stadium just 300 yards away from Anfield at Stanley Park. Despite pressure from Governmental and funding bodies, Liverpool refused to share the proposed ground with their local rivals, Everton, and final talks on a groundshare failed in January 2005. At that time the club was hoping to start construction in summer 2005 and open the ground in 2007, but agreements with regional funding bodies over the financing of associated regeneration projects proved to be difficult to obtain, and the start of construction delayed as a result. The old stadium will become a public plaza surrounded by apartments, offices, bars, restaurants and a hotel, and possibly including a memorial garden for those who died at Hillsborough. Treatment of the old stadium requires sensitivity as a number of deceased fans have had their ashes officially scattered on the pitch over the years.

The plans needed to go before Liverpool City Council for a second time in March 2006 to ensure that the proposed stadium complied with new planning regulations. It was reported on 11 April 2006 that the plans had passed without amendment. The club was then looking for investors to help fund the (estimated) £160m, 61,000 all-seater stadium.

On September 8,2006 Liverpool City Council agreed to give a 999 year lease of part of Stanley Park for construction of the new stadium. Work is intended to start by early April 2007 and to be completed prior to the start of the 2009-10 season.

Club Culture

The song "You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and famously recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers, is the anthem of Liverpool FC and has been sung by the Anfield crowd since the early 1960s.The song has since gained popularity among the fans of other clubs around the world. Claims that "You'll Never Walk Alone" was first sung by fans at other clubs have been dismissed as very unlikely. The song's title also adorns the top of the Shankly Gates which were unveiled 26 August 1982 in memory of former manager, Bill Shankly. The "You'll Never Walk Alone" banner portion of the Shankly Gates is also reproduced in the Liverpool FC crest.

Liverpool fans, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", were featured in the Pink Floyd song, "Fearless". Other popular chants include "Fields of Anfield Road" (to the tune of "The Fields of Athenry"), "Poor Scouser Tommy" (first section to the tune of "Red River Valley; second section to the tune of The Sash"), "Liverbird Upon My Chest" (to the tune of "Ballad of the Green Berets"), "We've Won It Five Times" (to the tune of "Sloop John B"), and "Ring of Fire".

Through The Wind And Rain is the longest running Liverpool fanzine. The name is taken from a line in the song You'll Never Walk Alone.

Under Rafael Benítez, today's Liverpool FC has gained a Spanish influence. As well as having a Spanish manager, the assistant manager, Pako Ayesteran, and the goalkeeping coach, Jose Ochotorena, are also Spanish, as is physiotherapist, Víctor Salina. However, there are only five Spaniards in the current squad, although twelve players in total have been brought to Liverpool directly from La Liga.

Managers

As of August 19, 2006. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	%
W. E. Barclay and John McKenna	/	August 1892	July 1896	101	58	17	26	57.43%
Tom Watson		August 1896	May 1915	740	327	141	272	44.19%
David Ashworth		December 1920	February 1923	58	25	24	9	43.1%
Matt McQueen		February 1923	February 1928	229	94	61	74	41.05%
George Patterson		February 1928	May 1936	370	139	86	145	37.57%
George Kay		May 1936	February 1951	359	143	93	123	39.83%
Don Welsh		March 1951	May 1956	234	82	60	92	35.04%
Phil Taylor		May 1956	November 1959	153	77	32	44	50.33%
Bill Shankly		December 1959	July 1974	753	393	185	175	52.19%
Bob Paisley		July 1974	May 1983	490	275	124	91	56.12%
Joe Fagan		May 1983	May 1985	122	65	34	23	53.28%
Kenny Dalglish		May 1985	February 1991	297	180	76	41	60.61%
Ronnie Moran		February 1991	April 1991	10	4	1	5	40%
Graeme Souness		April 1991	January 1994	157	65	47	45	41.4%
Roy Evans		January 1994	July 1998	226	116	57	53	51.33%
Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier	/	July 1998	November 1998	18	7	6	5	38.89%
Gérard Houllier		November 1998	May 2004	306	157	75	74	51.31%
Rafael Benítez		June 2004	Present	126	72	24	30	56.8%

Honours

• League titles: 18
  • 1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90

• European Cups and UEFA Champions League titles: 5
  • 1977 3-1 vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
  • 1978 1-0 vs. Club Brugge
  • 1981 1-0 vs. Real Madrid
  • 1984 1-1 (4-2 in penalty shootout) vs. AS Roma
  • 2005 3-3 (3-2 in penalty shootout) vs. AC Milan
• UEFA Cups: 3
  • 1973, 1976, 2001
• FA Cups: 7
  • 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006

• League Cups: 7
  • 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003
• Community Shields: 15
  • 1964 (shared), 1965 (shared), 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (shared), 1988, 1989, 1990 (shared), 2001, 2006
• UEFA Super Cups: 3
  • 1977, 2001, 2005

Liverpool's tally of eighteen Football League championships is a record for English clubs, their nearest challenger being Manchester United with fifteen. Liverpool have also achieved the League and FA Cup "Double" in 1986 and two "Trebles". The first treble of League, League Cup and European Cup was achieved in 1984 (the first English club to win three major competitions in a single season) and a cup treble was achieved in 2001 with the winning of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.

Liverpool's total of five European Cups is an English record and the third highest total overall, after Real Madrid and AC Milan. The fifth victory in 2005 entitled Liverpool to receive the UEFA badge of honour, thus allowing them to keep the trophy permanently.

Liverpool's total of three UEFA Cups is a record for English clubs and also ties the overall record with Inter Milan and Juventus. The tallies of seven League Cups and three European Super Cups are also English records.

Club records and statistics

Ian Callaghan holds Liverpool's appearance record, having made 848 over the course of 19 seasons from 1958–78. He also holds the record for League appearances with 640. Of the current squad Jamie Carragher has the most appearances with 426 (as of 27 September, 2006). Carragher's total of 290 Premier League appearances is a club record.

Liverpool's all time leading goal-scorer is Ian Rush, who scored 346 in two spells at the club in 1980–1987 and 1988-1996. Rush also holds the record for the most goals in a season with 47 in 1983–84. However, during his career, Rush could not surpass the league goal-scoring record of Roger Hunt, which has stood at 245 since 1970. In the 1961–62 season, Hunt scored 41 goals, setting the club record for league goals in a single season. Gordon Hodgson is the club's third highest scorer, and holds the club record of 17 hat tricks. The most goals scored by a player in a single match is 5, which has been achieved by Andy McGuigan, John Evans, Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler. Fowler also holds the club and Premiership record for the fastest hat trick from when he scored three past Arsenal in 4 minutes, 32 seconds in the second game of the 1994–95 season.

Liverpool's first ever competitive game was in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton. They won 8-0 with a team not containing a single English player, consisting as it did largely of Scottish imports. Liverpool's biggest ever victory was 11-0 against Strømsgodset I.F. in 1974. Nine of the ten outfield players scored in this game — a Liverpool record. Crystal Palace were the victims of Liverpool's biggest league win, as in 1989 they were defeated 9-0. Liverpool's heaviest defeats were against Huddersfield in 1935 (0-8) and Birmingham City F.C. in 1954 (1-9).

See also Liverpool F.C. statistics

See Also

Liverpool L.F.C.

Notes and references

1. ^ Up until 1992, the premier European competition was named the European Cup; since then, it has been the UEFA Champions League.
2. "G-14's members". g14.com. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. ^ "On This Day - 29th May 1985: Fans die in Heysel rioting". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. "On This Day - 15th April 1989: Soccer fans crushed at Hillsborough". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. "A hard lesson to learn". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
6. "Reds stadium gets go-ahead". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
7. "Both clubs say a final no to joint stadium". Daily Post. {{cite web}}: Text "accessdate 12 September" ignored (help)
8. "Liverpool ground plan re-approved". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
9. "Liverpool or Celtic: who Walked Alone first?". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
10. The official Liverpool website lists Barclay and McKenna as joint managers. Barclay held the post of "secretary-manager" and McKenna held the post of "coach-manager". (Reference: "William E. Barclay: 'Joint Manager' (1892-96)". Liverpool official website. Retrieved 12 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help))
11. Ronnie Moran served as caretaker manager.
12. Houllier was brought into Liverpool in the summer of 1998 to share the burden with Evans as joint-managers.
13. Houllier was absent from October 2001 to February 2002, due to illness. During this time, Phil Thompson stepped in as temporary manager (P33 W16 D12 L5). These matches are included in Houllier's record.
14. Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the FA Premier League.
15. The trophy was known as the Charity Shield until 2002, and as the Community Shield since then.

External links

• Liverpool F.C. official site
• Official page for Liverpool Echo and Daily Post stories covering Liverpool F.C.
• Premierleague.com — Liverpool Football Club
• LFCHistory.net - Articles and statistics relating to Liverpool F.C.
• LFCWire.com - 24/7 Liverpool FC Updates

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• Liverpool F.C.
• Football (soccer) clubs established in 1892
• English football clubs
• G-14 clubs