LFC History

Liverpool Football Club has a colourful and illustrious past and as far as football teams go, is one of the most recognised and respected sides in English sport. In terms of where it all began however, you have to go back many years to when it was linked with arch rivals Everton FC to get the full tale. As many people know, Everton and Liverpool are two big Merseyside teams and are part of one of the fiercest rivalries on the footballing stage. Most of this rivalry however, is as much to do with history as it is location, with Liverpool only being founded after an internal dispute at Everton many years ago.

It all started in 1878 when local businessman and future mayor of Liverpool formed Everton FC – they began playing at Anfield Road, which, at the time, was a rented field. For many years, the club enjoyed successes and as it became more established, Houlding began to build football stands in a bid to draw more attention to the club. In 1892 however, a dispute, which is believed to have started between the Everton FC committee and brewer John Houlding after the committee questioned Houlding’s political and financial agenda, saw the club split into two groups – hence the birth of Liverpool Football Club. After the incident, Houlding remained at Anfield as did some of his supporters, and adopted the name Liverpool Football Club, whilst the remaining group decided to move over to Goodison Park, home of Everton FC. Because Liverpool was a brand new club however, Houlding had to move quickly to get new players -this saw his friend and newly appointed manager, John Mckenna, head to Scotland, in search of new talent.

This move upset many locals however, with many unimpressed that they would have to watch a team of Scotsmen – which in turn meant that many went to support Everton instead. This was a blow to Houlding, but it didn’t stop his ambition for the club, and after the first year which saw relative success, Liverpool applied for entrance into the Football League.

In many people’s eyes, this was the start of the real Liverpool – although not many people could predict that after many ups and downs, the team would turn into one of the most elite and prestigious clubs in English football that during its time has won eighteen League titles (second most in English football), seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups. The club has also won more European titles than any other English club, with five European Cups, three UEFA Cups and three UEFA Super Cups.