|
Gambling
Place & Sports Book
Ladbrokes
Click
here to get your £20 Free Bet!
Home
Articles
Bet
Partner
Sites
Links
Sources
Contact Us
| |
Liverpool FC
The storied English football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, that started the 1999-2000 season playing in the FA Premiership. Founded in 1892, the club was elected to the Second Division (old format) of the Football League a year later. The team, which traditionally plays in all-red, was formed when Everton, the previous occupants of Liverpool's present home ground, Anfield, failed to agree terms with its landlord and moved to Goodison Park, leaving Anfield's owner to form a new club.
The most successful English football club, Liverpool has never dropped lower than the Second Division (old format). After making its League debut in 1893, the club won three Second Division (old format) titles (1894, 1896, 1905) and four League Championships (1901, 1906, 1922, 1923) before World War II. However, despite another league title success in 1947 the Reds' golden era only began after the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager in 1959.
The charismatic Scot turned a club that had started to stagnate into Second Division (old format) Champions in 1962. Three League Championships (1964, 1966, 1973), two FA Cup victories (1965 and 1974), and a UEFA Cup triumph (1973) followed before Shankly's shock retirement in 1974. Supporters' fears that this would signal the end of a successful era were far from realized however as his replacement, Bob Paisley, took the club on to even greater success. In his nine years in charge, with a team including players of the calibre of Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan, Paisley led the club to 14 major trophies. As well as six League Championships (1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983), the club's second UEFA Cup victory (1976), a European Super Cup win (1977), and three consecutive League Cups (1981, 1982, 1983), he also plotted three European Cup triumphs (1977, 1978, 1981). Liverpool thus became (at the time) only the second English club to lift the most coveted trophy in European football. After his retirement the trophies kept on arriving at Anfield—in 1984 Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, and Graeme Souness inspired the club to a unique treble of a fourth European Cup, a fourth consecutive League Cup, and a third consecutive League Championship.
Tragedy interrupted this unparalleled run of success however during the 1985 European Cup final where Liverpool were playing Juventus of Italy. Crowd violence prior to the game led to the collapse of a wall inside the stadium and 39 people were crushed to death. English clubs were banned from European competition for five years (Liverpool for six) and the club's European successes came to an abrupt end. Domestically, honours continued to flow however and Dalglish, who had become player-manager after the Juventus game, led the club to three more League Championships (1986, 1988, 1990) and two further FA Cups (1986 and 1989), completing a historic League and FA Cup “double” in 1986.
Another disaster struck the club in 1989 when, during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, 96 Liverpool supporters were crushed to death in the rush to get into the Hillsborough stadium. The team, which included the talents of John Barnes and Peter Beardsley, went on to win the FA Cup and dedicated it to those who had lost their lives. Another “double” however was denied them when championship rivals Arsenal scored at Anfield in the last minute of the final match of the season, thus winning the title race on goals scored (the teams were level on points and goal difference). Despite FA Cup (1992) and League Cup (1995) titles, and the ability to field players of the quality of Paul Ince, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, and Robbie Fowler, Liverpool spent most of the 1990s failing to live up to its glorious reputation.
"Liverpool FC," Microsoft® Encarta® Online
Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.co.uk © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
|
