Topic: LFC What If's Week One: What if Everton had paid the rent?

[Sheer Magnetism]

As everyone is so down right now and seemingly going round in circles, I thought this would be a fun diversion. If people are interested in this then each Monday from now until I get bored, I'll ask a different What If question about the club's history for general discussion.

Week one: What if the Everton directors had paid the rent?

Liverpool Football Club was formed on 15 March 1892 following a disagreement between the directors of Everton Football Club and its president, John Houlding, who owned the club's ground, Anfield. A dispute over rent resulted in Everton moving to Goodison Park, which left Houlding with an empty stadium. Thus, he founded Liverpool F.C., and they joined the Lancashire League. After winning the league title in their first season, Liverpool were accepted into the Football League for the 1893–94 season, following the resignations of Accrington and Bootle.

In this reality there is no disagreement, Everton stay at Anfield and Liverpool FC never gets formed in 1892. Bearing in mind Everton were reigning league champions at the time, does a second club still spring up or does Liverpool remain a predominantly one-club city like Newcastle or Leeds? Does Everton keep its name or does it name itself after the city like the other city-centric clubs? Does it keep the black shirt and red sash or does it change colour to something else? How successful would a single Liverpool club have been and what characteristics would it have? What would the last 130-odd years have looked like? Be as expansive as you want.

[rob1966]

The ribbons would have been blue

[rob1966]

A lot would depend on who the club, whether it stayed as Everton or rebranded itself Liverpool FC, brought in. If they fully followed the EFC path from 1878 until now, then I don't think they would have much more success than what they have had, although not making decisions based on the jealousy of what we were doing might have changed things.

The biggest influence on our direction as a club was Shanks being appointed. He started the ball rolling and it was his assistant Bob would brought the huge success of the 70's and 80's and it was a player Bob signed, King Kenny, who carried that on until he had to stop.

The club could have followed a similar path to us, but in 1991, chose not to have appointed Souness - that would have changed things, both for us and for Man Utd...

[Crosby Nick]

Would we be one weird one club city like Newcastle I wonder? Just a bigger, better version?

[bradders1011]

Very likely they'd have changed their name to Liverpool something FC in the 1890s-1900s like Newton Heath->Man United and Ardwick->Man City.

Wonder how it would have affected other teams in the area. With only one major club in the city, would there have been less impetus to choose it above local suburban/Lancashire/Cheshire sides than with the Liverpool-Everton rivalry?

[Son of Spion]

I think it would still be a one club city, with the club called Liverpool Football Club.

The Everton name would definitely have been dropped long ago. I have no doubt about that.

Whether that version of LFC would have been anything like as successful is anyone's guess. All I can say is I'm so glad the toxics never paid the rent.

[Billy Elliot]

If they'd have paid the rent they'd have done the treble in 1986, or so you'd believe if you listen to them.

Nah, we'd have still split into two teams. Scouse bell ends need a different team to Scouse none bell ends. They got bitter about the rent increase, just like they get bitter about anything. They'd have found something else to be bitter about and left to build Goodison.

There was a really funny article once, in one of the fanzines. Can't remember if it was RAOTL or TTWAR (I used to alternate). It was on about things they were bitter about up to 1920. Dead funny, wish I'd have kept it. There was a Liverpool Senior Cup match where we beat them and they complained to the FA about the ref, stuff like that.

If we'd have been one team there'd have been cushions all over the Anfield pitch when we got beat in the 70s. Not everyone in Liverpool is bitter. Just half the people.

[Terry de Niro]

They're in the process of building their third stadium, dontcha know?
I have actually heard blues utter those exact words.   

[Son of Spion]

They're in the process of building their third stadium, dontcha know?
I have actually heard blues utter those exact words.   

I've heard that loads of times. It's amazing how many of them don't actually know their history after all. 

[Terry de Niro]

Ifithadnabin4notpayingtherent

[Kemlyn 28]

I reckon Bootle might have become a much bigger club if we hadn’t have started.

[Bobinhood]

Football as a sport would have failed due to the shitness of it all and we'd be on the rugby right now.