Next week will mark the 50th anniversary of the most significant event in the history of Liverpool Football Club. On 1st December 1959 a statement issued by the club’s chairman, T.V. Williams, announced the appointment of Bill Shankly as the club’s new manager. Shankly arrived at Anfield on 14th December and took charge of his first game on 19th December, halfway through the 1959/60 season. As most fans will know, Liverpool were in the old Second Division and had been since being relegated at the end of the 1953/54 season.
In 1961/62, Shankly’s second full season in charge, Liverpool won the Second Division championship and were duly promoted to the First Division where they have remained ever since.
In 1962/63, Liverpool’s very first season back in the top flight, they finished in a very respectable 8th place and have never finished lower than that in all of the years since. That's a top 8 finish in every one of the 47 seasons from 1962/63 to 2008/09 and counting!
During this time Liverpool have won the League 13 times, been runners-up 10 times, third on 7 occasions and fourth on 5 occasions. That's a top 4 finish (or a Champions League place in today’s currency) in 35 out of 47 seasons. They finished in the top 7 (or in a UEFA Cup place in today’s currency) on 45 of those 47 seasons, finishing 8th on the other two occasions. No other English team can boast such consistency over such a long period. In fact there are possibly only a handful of teams in the world that can boast such consistent success in one of the world’s top leagues over nearly half a century.
By comparison, Manchester United have finished as low as 18th in 1973, 21st in 1974 (when they were relegated), 11th in 1987, 11th in 1989 and 13th in 1990. Those last three under Alex Ferguson.
Arsenal have finished as low as 13th in 1965, 14th in 1966, 12th in 1970, 16th in 1975, 17th in 1976 and 12th in 1995.
Chelsea have finished as low as 12th in 1973, 17th in 1974, 21st in 1975 (when they were relegated), 16th in 1978, 22nd in 1979 (when they were relegated again), 14th in 1987, 18th in 1988 (when they were relegated yet again), 14th in 1992 and 14th in 1994.
During the last fifty years other great teams have come and gone. Leeds United in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Derby County in the early 1970s. Nottingham Forest in the late 1970s. Everton in the late 1980s. But where are they all now?
Of course Liverpool’s peak period in the League was during 1972/73 to 1990/91 when they finished either first or second in 18 out of 19 seasons. The greatest League campaign of all was in 1978/79 when Liverpool achieved a total of 68 points out of a maximum 84 available (42 games played under the two points for a win system). That equates to 80.95% of the total points available. This has only ever been bettered once by Chelsea in 2004/05 (who achieved 83.33% of the total available points).
Looking at the points achieved in a season as a percentage of the total maximum points available is possibly the best way to compare the performance of teams over different seasons as it allows for variances in both the number of league games played and the points awarded for a win.
Liverpool’s second greatest league season, using this method, was in 2008/09 (yes last season!) when they achieved a total of 86 points out of a maximum 114 available (38 games played under the three points for a win system). This equates to 75.44% of the total points available. Unfortunately Liverpool still only managed to finish in second place despite surpassing every other season in the club’s history with the sole exception of 1978/79. That’s a greater points tally than in 17 of the club’s 18 title-winning seasons. So much for the myth that Benitez does not understand the Premier League.
The club’s third greatest league season was 1987/88 when they achieved 90 points out of a total of 120 available (40 games played under the three points for a win system). This equates to 75.00% of the total points available.
Following this Liverpool’s fourth and fifth best league seasons were in 1965/66 and 1968/69 (a year when they again only finished second). In both of these seasons Liverpool achieved 72.62% of the total available points.
What is again interesting is that the club’s sixth greatest league campaign came in 2005/06 when, despite only finishing in third place, they amassed a total of 82 points out of a maximum 114 available (equating to 71.93%). This represented a higher percentage than in 15 of the club’s 18 championship winning seasons. Again, Rafa Benitez was at the helm.
Liverpool have only achieved in excess of 70% of the total available points on five other occasions. In 1922/23, 1972/73, 1975/76 and 1979/80 they achieved a total of 71.43% of the total points available and in 2001/02, under Gerard Houllier, they achieved a total of 70.18% in Liverpool’s eleventh greatest league campaign (although, unfortunately, it only merited a second place finish).
The club has clearly shown incredible consistency over a period of some 47 years and counting. Liverpool might not have actually won the League title since 1989/90 but they have managed three of their greatest ever performances in a league season, in 2001/02, 2005/06 and 2008/09 despite only finishing second, third and second respectively. The problem has been that the standard achieved by the other top teams (Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea) has also been exceptionally and consistently high (especially since 1999/2000). In eight of those ten seasons (1999/2000 to 2008/09) the eventual champions achieved in excess of 75% of the total points available. The average winning points tally during those ten seasons represented 77.46% of the total points available.
By contrast, during the previous ten years (1989/90 to 1998/99) the average winning points tally represented only 69.47% of the total points available. There can be little doubt that the standards set by Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool over the last ten years have been incredibly and historically high. All four teams, even when finishing in second and third place have done so with point tallies that would have seen them romp home to the league title in any other historical era. Liverpool’s failure to secure a 19th league title under both Houllier (in 2001/02) and Benitez (in 2005/06 and 2008/09) needs to be viewed in this context.
Of course, Liverpool have not only enjoyed phenomenal consistency in the league but have also been the most consistently successful football club in terms of silverware in general. Since winning the Second Division Championship and gaining promotion to the top flight in 1961/62 Liverpool have won a total of 35 major honours. As well as the 13 League Championships there have been 5 European Cups, 3 UEFA Cups, 7 FA Cups and 7 League Cups. Also, during this period, Liverpool have been losing finalists twice in the European Cup, once in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, four times in the FA Cup and three times in the League Cup as well as being runners-up in the League 10 times.
Between 1972/73 and 1991/92 (a golden period of 20 years) Liverpool fans never had to endure two consecutive seasons when they did not win one of the major trophies and they only finished empty-handed on four occasions in total (1974/75, 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1990/91). During those 20 years Liverpool won the League title eleven times and were runners-up seven times. They also won 4 European Cups (from 5 finals), 2 UEFA Cups, 4 FA Cups (from 6 finals) and 4 League Cups (from 6 finals). 25 major trophies in a 20 year period bookended by the League Championship and UEFA Cup double in Shankly’s penultimate season and the FA Cup win in Souness’ first.
Prior to this golden period there was the five year period between 1961/62 and 1965/66 when Liverpool won the Second Division title, the League Championship twice, the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history, were runners-up in the European Cup Winners’ Cup and semi-finalists in the European Cup. Little did anyone know at the time that this was just a prelude to the main act that was to follow just a few years later.
Sandwiched between this 5 year prelude and the magnificent 20 year glory days were 6 trophy-less seasons. A transitional period which saw Shankly’s great team of the 1960s evolve into the great team of the early 1970s. Of course there were highpoints, runners-up in the League in 1968/69, third in 1967/68 and 1971/72. Finalists in the FA Cup in 1970/71 and semi-finalists in the UEFA Cup the same year. Nevertheless, six seasons without a trophy under the great Bill Shankly. From here on in, future transitional periods would be seamless and the club have never gone as many consecutive seasons without silverware since.
This brings us to the second barren period since the promotion and rebirth of the club in the 1961/62 season. The “dark ages” of the 1990s. Between the FA Cup win in 1991/92 and Houllier’s magnificent treble of 2000/01 Liverpool won just one trophy in 8 years, the 1994/95 League Cup win under Roy Evans. Just as no one could have predicted Liverpool’s unprecedented and unequalled 20 year period of dominance between 1972/73 and 1991/92, no one could have imagined the trophy-drought of 1992/93 to 1999/2000.
Of course, this second barren period felt a lot “darker” than the one in the late 1960s and early 1970s because of what had gone before. The weight of expectation was higher. The feeling of disappointment greater, a situation not helped by the fact that Manchester United had embarked upon a period of dominance almost on a par (domestically if not in European terms) with that enjoyed by Liverpool in their golden period.
However, success and failure are relative concepts. The 8 year period 1992/93 to 1999/2000 is comparable to the 6 year period 1966/67 to 1971/72. It too had its highpoints. As well as the League Cup win in 1994/95, Liverpool were finalists in the FA Cup in 1995/96 and semi-finalists in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996/97. They finished third in the League in 1995/96 and 1997/98 and fourth in 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1999/2000.
The renaissance of Liverpool Football Club began in 2000/01 with the fantastic treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup under Gerard Houllier. It was like a throwback to the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s. After 5 seasons without a trophy the fans were treated to 3 in one year.
Looking back at the 9 years from 2000/01 it is beginning to look like the treble was indeed the start of a new golden era in the club’s history. It was followed by another League Cup win in 2002/03 and a place in that competition’s final in 2004/05. There was the miracle of Istanbul, a fifth European Cup success, also in 2004/05. The FA Cup followed in 2005/06 and another European Cup Final in 2006/07 and semi-final in 2007/08.
That’s six trophies in 9 years and two other cup final appearances. I have already mentioned the great League campaigns of 2001/02, 2005/06 and 2008/09 when Liverpool achieved their eleventh, sixth and second greatest seasons ever in terms of the percentage of the total available points attained.
Liverpool may not have won the League Championship since 1989/90 (19 years and counting) but they have nevertheless continued to be one of the top teams in England and Europe throughout the last 47 years. No other team has been able to maintain such consistently high standards over such a long period of time.
Fifty years ago next week, Bill Shankly, with Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan at his side, embarked on the road to build Liverpool Football Club into a “bastion of invincibility”. Half a century later, having endured two of the worst tragedies in sporting history, Liverpool are still one of the most feared, most respected, most admired and most consistently successful sporting institutions in the world. For almost fifty years Liverpool fans have witnessed triumphant highs that most other football fans can only dream about. And, if inevitably, there have been some seasons when we have not quite reached the same peaks, then let us be thankful that we have at least always had the top of the mountain in sight and often, tantalisingly, within reach.
Let us be thankful that a poor season for us is one where the team only finishes third or fourth in the league or only makes the semi-final of the European Cup or is a beaten finalist in the FA Cup. Be thankful that this is down to great managers like Kenny Dalglish, Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez who have kept the spirit of Shankly and the power of Paisley alive. The bastion has survived the twin tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough. It continues to stand strong and proud.
Keep things in perspective. Here’s to the next 50 years.
