Liverpool football club: 127-years-old, 18 league titles, nine European triumphs and seven FA Cups.
It’s a pretty rich history, and here are all the facts and figures you need to know.
Most Appearances: Ian Callaghan – 857 (1959-1978)
Callaghan was part of the glorious Liverpool side that won promotion to the First Division under Bill Shankly in 1962 – and then won the league title two years later. In a career spanning 21 years, the midfielder was only booked once.
Most Goals: Ian Rush – 346 (1980-1987, 1988-1996)
Liverpool plucked Rush from Chester City, and the £300,000 the club were paid by the Reds for his services back in 1980 remained a record transfer sale for Chester prior to their bankruptcy in 2010.
Rush did not score his first Liverpool goal until September 1981, having played reserve team football for the majority of his first season. He spent two spells at Anfield, with a year at Juventus sandwiched in between.
Most Goals in a Single Season: Ian Rush – 47 (1983/84)
Liverpool’s most prolific marksman also holds the record for the most goals in a single season, as he scored 47 times in 65 games. Rush’s haul helped Liverpool to the Division One title and League Cup during the 1983/84 campaign.
Most Goals (Team) in a Single League Season: 106 (1896/96)
Liverpool’s goal scoring record dates back to their time in the second tier in the 19th century. The club stormed to the Second Division title, and promotion.
The club’s record number of goals in a top flight campaign came in the 2013/14 season under Brendan Rodgers, with Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and co. netting 101 goals between them.
Youngest Ever Player: Jerome Sinclair – 16 (2012)
Striker Jerome Sinclair made his Liverpool debut against his former side West Brom just six days after his 16th birthday. He only played five times for the Reds before moving to Watford in 2016. Sinclair is currently on loan at Dutch side VVV-Velo from parent club Watford.
Oldest Ever Player: Ned Doig – 41 (1908)
Old enough to be Jerome Sinclair’s granddad. Scottish goalkeeper Ned Doig spent the final four years of his 23 year career at Anfield, becoming the club’s oldest debutant in 1904, and setting the record for the oldest first team player when he made his final appearance for the club against Newcastle in 1908.
Lowest League Finish: 11th Division Two (1954/55)
Liverpool suffered relegation from the top flight in 1954, and slumped to their lowest ever league finish the following season. The club spent eight consecutive seasons in the second tier, before Bill Shankly guided the Reds to promotion in 1962. They have played in English football’s top flight every season since.
Record Transfer Fee Paid: Virgil van Dijk – £76m (2018)
If ever there was an example of big money well spent. Liverpool signed the Dutch centre back from Southampton in January 2018 as one of the missing pieces to the Jurgen Klopp jigsaw that was falling nicely into place. Van Dijk won PFA Player of the Year in his first full season at the club.
The £76m paid to the Saints eclipsed Liverpool’s previous record of £41m forked out to prise Christian Benteke away from Aston Villa. The striker scored nine goals in his first full season at the club. Big money less well spent.
Record Transfer Fee Received: Philippe Coutinho – £105m (2018)
After much toing and froing, Barcelona finally got their man, paying Liverpool an initial £105m for Coutinho, with the figure potentially rising to £142m. This broke the record of £72m that Barcelona had paid Liverpool two seasons earlier for Luis Suarez.
Biggest Win: 11-0 vs Strømsgodset (1974)
The Reds hit double figures in the European Cup Winners Cup against Norwegian outfit Strømsgodset. They won the tie 12-0 on aggregate, but it somehow wasn’t even the most emphatic win of the round, as PSV Eindhoven beat Irish side Ards 14-1 over two legs.
Biggest Defeat: 1-9 vs Birmingham (1954)
The 1954/55 season was not a happy one for Liverpool. They recorded their lowest ever league finish, and suffered their heaviest defeat.
Longest Serving Manager: Tom Watson (1996-1915)
Liverpool FC 1896 with Manager, Tom Watson middle row, furthest left. And giant, fair-haired Scottish Captain, Alex Raisbeck dead centre. pic.twitter.com/OeE6RvPBR4
— “YNWA” The Story of Liverpool FC (@LFCHistoryShow) August 21, 2017
In 19 years on Merseyside, Watson guided Liverpool to the first top flight first league title in the club’s history, followed by relegation three years later, promotion straight away and an instant return to Division One, and then another Division One title just a year after their Division Two title.
Watson doesn’t hold the record for the most number of games managed however, with that accolade belonging to the great Bill Shankly.
Shortest Serving Manager: Ronnie Moran – two months (1991)
After Kenny Dalgish’s shock resignation in 1991, former Liverpool captain Ronnie Moran took the reins for 10 games as caretaker manager. He took charge for one game again in 1992, when Graeme Souness was having surgery.
Highest Home Attendance: 61,905 (1952)
Liverpool’s record attendance came in a 1952 FA Cup fourth round fixture against Wolves.The Reds won 2-1 thanks to goals from Bob Paisley and Cyril Done.
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