Foundation: 1892Address: Anfield Road, Liverpool L4 0TH
Telephone: 0151.26.32.361
Fax: 0151.26.08.813
E-Mail: customercontact@liverpoolfc.tv
Web Site: http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/
Chairman: George Gillett and Tom Hicks
History:
The Champions League and FA Cup in successive seasons should have secured Rafael Benitez in the affections of the red half of Merseyside, but the Holy Grail for Liverpool is the league title - and so far, this season looks like being another barren one on that front. The club who have won more English titles than any other - 18 - have not done so since 1990, and the yearning grows ever deeper. Rafa has a penchant for tinkering with his line-up, and critics feel this is an underlying cause of inconsistent results. There is no shortage of talent at Anfield - Dirk Kuyt, Jermaine Pennant and Craig Bellamy are among the recent acquisitions - but the suspicion remains that Benitez has not yet worked out his best starting XI or indeed formation. Nevertheless the Reds remain among England's top four clubs, and can never be under-estimated in European competition. The club is currently in the stages of obtaining funding and the necessary planning consents to build a 60,000 new stadium in Stanley Park, 300 yards from Anfield. Ironically, the club were born out of a dispute between Everton Football Club and their landlord at Anfield in 1892. The dispute - over a proposed rent increase - persuaded the majority of Evertonians to abandon Anfield for Goodison Park - leaving the landlord, Mr John Houlding, to form a new club. His intention was to retain the name "Everton", but when his attempt to do so failed, he founded Liverpool Association Football Club on 15th March, 1892. They were elected to the Football League the following year, winning the Second Division championship - and promotion - in their first season. They fluctuated between the two Divisions intil 1905, when they embarked on a 49-year stay in the top flight. After relegation to the Second Division in 1954, the club turned to Bill Shankly to restore their fortunes. He did more than that, bringing the club unprecedented success and founding a dynasty from the fabled Anfield Boot Room that kept the silverware rolling in long after Shankly himself had retired in 1974. Shankly brought the club the Second Division title and three First Division titles, plus two FA Cups and one Uefa Cup. His successor, Bob Paisley, was even more successful, leading the Reds to three European Cups, one Uefa Cup, six League Championships and three League Cups. When Paisley retired, his assistant Joe Fagan continued the trend, winning the League, European Cup and League Cup in his first season in charge. But he stepped down a year later in the wake of the Heysel disaster. Kenny Dalglish became player-manager and won the Double in his first season as boss. Dalglish delivered three League titles and two FA Cups, but the emotional strain following the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 took its toll on him, and he stunned the football world by resigning early in 1991 with the Reds locked in another battle with Arsenal for the championship. Graeme Souness, Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier have all tried to recapture the phenomenal succcess enjoyed by Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. But the advent of the Premier League, the rise of rivals Manchester United - and more recently Arsenal and Chelsea - have all conspired against Liverpool"s quest to become a dominant force in the League again. Houllier led them to a unique cup treble in 2001, but the club have not managed to build on that and land the big one - the Premiership title. Champions League qualification by virtue of finishing fourth in the Premiership was considered inadequate compensation by the club"s legion of fans. And that relative failure prompted Liverpool to sack Houllier at the end of the 2003-04 season. Rafael Benitez, fresh from success with Valencia, succeeded Houllier. He marked his first season with a remarkable triumph in the Champions League, and last season he put the FA Cup on the Anfield sideboard. But the urgent priority - as it has been for every manager since Kenny Dalglish - is to deliver Anfield"s first League title since 1990. 
