The Liverpool
history archive

The club story in brief

From an empty Anfield in 1892 to champions of England and Europe

1892–1919 · A new club earns its place

Liverpool Football Club grew out of the split that took Everton away from Anfield. Ground owner John Houlding was left with a stadium but no team, and the new club was formally recognised in 1892. John McKenna recruited heavily from Scotland, Liverpool won the Lancashire League in their first season and entered the Football League in 1893. The club completed its first Division Two campaign unbeaten, then had to win a test match against Newton Heath to secure promotion under the rules of the time.

The early years were unsettled rather than a straight rise. Liverpool moved between the top two divisions before Tom Watson’s side won the first English championship in 1900–01. A second title followed in 1905–06, immediately after promotion, while Anfield developed new stands and the terrace later known as the Spion Kop. The club reached its first FA Cup final in 1914, losing to Burnley shortly before the First World War interrupted national competition. Read the full account of Liverpool’s foundations and first championships.

1919–1959 · Titles, long pauses and relegation

Liverpool returned from the war to win consecutive league championships in 1921–22 and 1922–23. Elisha Scott became one of the defining players of the period, but those titles were followed by more than two decades without a major trophy. League football stopped again during the Second World War. When the national programme resumed, George Kay’s team travelled to the United States for pre-season preparation and won the 1946–47 championship after a demanding first post-war campaign.

The revival did not last. Liverpool lost the 1950 FA Cup final to Arsenal, declined through the early 1950s and were relegated in 1954. Eight seasons in the Second Division exposed problems that went beyond one team. The club still possessed a large support and a famous ground, but promotion repeatedly escaped it. That was the setting Bill Shankly entered in December 1959: Liverpool had history and potential, yet needed changes to recruitment, training, facilities and expectations.

1959–1974 · Shankly rebuilds Liverpool

Bill Shankly reshaped the first team and the institution around it. Promotion arrived in 1961–62, followed by league championships in 1963–64 and 1965–66. Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time in 1965, beating Leeds United after extra time, and began to learn the different demands of European competition. Shankly’s side reached the 1966 Cup Winners’ Cup final and later won a league and UEFA Cup double in 1972–73.

The transformation depended on more than the manager’s public charisma. Melwood became a serious training base, Anfield’s atmosphere became part of the team’s identity, and an experienced coaching group shared observations in the space remembered as the Boot Room. Shankly retired in 1974 after a second FA Cup victory, leaving a strong squad and a working culture that could survive his departure. Explore how the Boot Room actually worked.

1974–1990 · Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish

Bob Paisley turned succession into an era of extraordinary achievement. In nine seasons Liverpool won six league titles, three European Cups, a UEFA Cup and three League Cups. The first European Cup came against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome in 1977; another followed at Wembley in 1978, and a third against Real Madrid in Paris in 1981. Paisley continually renewed the side, integrating players such as Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Graeme Souness, Ian Rush and Bruce Grobbelaar around established winners.

Joe Fagan succeeded Paisley and won the league, League Cup and European Cup in 1983–84. Kenny Dalglish then became player-manager, winning the league and FA Cup Double in 1985–86 and building the celebrated 1987–88 champions. This sporting success cannot be separated from tragedy. Thirty-nine people died at Heysel in 1985, and English clubs were subsequently excluded from European competition. At Hillsborough in 1989, ninety-seven Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed. The disaster, the false claims made about supporters and the long struggle for truth and justice remain central to the club’s history.

1990–2004 · Searching for a new direction

Liverpool won an eighteenth league championship in 1989–90, then entered a long period without another. Dalglish resigned in 1991 and Graeme Souness attempted a rapid overhaul as English football changed around the club. Roy Evans, the last manager formed directly through the old Boot Room line, brought an attacking side and the 1995 League Cup, but league challenges faded. The later joint arrangement between Evans and Gérard Houllier lasted only months.

Houllier took sole control and modernised training, medical work and the squad. His team won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2000–01, adding the Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup soon afterwards. Academy graduates Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard connected that team to the city and the club’s youth system. Yet consistent league contention remained elusive, and Rafael Benítez replaced Houllier in 2004.

2004–2015 · Istanbul and an elusive league title

Benítez’s first season produced one of Liverpool’s defining European campaigns. After surviving the group stage and beating Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea, Liverpool faced AC Milan in Istanbul. Three goals behind at half-time, they drew level in six second-half minutes and won the penalty shootout after extra time. The 2005 European Cup final delivered a fifth European crown. Liverpool won the FA Cup in 2006 and returned to the Champions League final in 2007, where Milan prevailed.

A strong 2008–09 league challenge ended in second place. Ownership conflict and financial pressure then added instability before Fenway Sports Group bought the club in 2010. Dalglish returned as manager and won the 2012 League Cup. Brendan Rodgers took Liverpool close to the championship in 2013–14 with a high-scoring side built around Luis Suárez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, but another transition followed. By October 2015, the club again needed a manager able to unite long-term rebuilding with immediate belief.

2015–2024 · Klopp restores belief and the biggest prizes

Jürgen Klopp developed Liverpool through intense pressing, patient recruitment and a close connection with supporters. Defeats in the 2016 League Cup and Europa League finals, and in the 2018 Champions League final, formed part of the process rather than its end. Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Mohamed Salah joined a core that already included Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.

Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League after the remarkable semi-final comeback against Barcelona and victory over Tottenham in Madrid. The UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup followed. In 2019–20, Liverpool won 26 of their first 27 league matches and secured the club’s first Premier League title, ending the thirty-year wait despite the season’s interruption by the COVID-19 pandemic. Klopp later added the FA Cup and two more League Cups before stepping down in 2024, leaving a renewed squad and another durable modern era.

2024–present · The Slot era begins with a title

Arne Slot inherited a successful club but also the unusual task of following a manager who had shaped it for almost nine years. His first Liverpool side adapted without discarding its strengths, and the 2024–25 campaign ended with a twentieth English league championship. That title drew Liverpool level with the long-standing national record while giving the archive another distinct managerial era to follow.

No single overview can contain the club’s full history. Use the history-by-era collection for deeper essays, the timeline for defining moments, the season archive for the complete competitive record, and the player, manager and honours pages to trace how each period was built.