Liverpool Football Club is the most successful English football club in terms of winning trophies. No club from England can better the Reds’ total of 67 trophies won. When it comes to the English top-flight title, the majority of Liverpool’s 19 league titles came before the Premier League era.
However, the men from Merseyside are still the second most successful team for top-flight titles won, as only arch-rivals Manchester United can better their league title count.
The early titles
Liverpool were founded in 1892 after a land row led to the Reds splitting off from the then well-established Everton. The Toffees moved across Stanley Park and bought a plot of land, which became Goodison Park. The rest, as they say, is history.
Liverpool won promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1896. Their inaugural First Division title didn’t take long to arrive, as in 1901 and also in 1906, they won the English top-flight crown. However, the Reds had a long wait for another top-flight title, as they didn’t claim the title again until 1922, although they did also claim the trophy the following season too.
There was another wait for the next title, as it didn’t arrive until 1947. In season 1953/54, Liverpool suffered relegation to what was then the Second Division.
The ‘Boot room’ is established, and success returns
In 1959, Scottish boss Bill Shankly arrived at the club and allowed 24 players to leave the club as he sought to get the Reds back into the First Division. He also converted an old boot room into a place where Shankly and his staff could go to discuss tactics and strategy. The famous members of the ‘Boot room’ were bosses Joe Fagan, Bob Paisley, and Reuben Bennett.
Liverpool won promotion back to the English top-flight in 1962 before claiming the title two years later and in 1966. In season 1972/73, not only did the Reds win the English top-flight, but also their first European trophy in the shape of the UEFA Cup.
Shankly retired in 1974, and his replacement Bob Paisley went on to enjoy unprecedented success. Liverpool went on to win the title in seasons 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, and 1982–83 while also winning the European Cup on three times in 1977, 1978 and 1981. Paisley retired in 1983, and his assistant Joe Fagan took the role in the ‘Boot room’ tradition. The Reds Fagan won the title in his first season in charge as Liverpool’s boss, but he was in charge for just two years and quit in 1985.
His replacement was Kenny Dalglish, who had starred for the club on the pitch and took over as player manager. The former Celtic star was highly successful in the role when it came to winning the English title, as he guided the Reds to three First Division titles, with the likes of John Barnes, Ian Rush and Bruce Grobbelaar playing key roles. His last title as Liverpool boss came in the 1988/89 season, and it turned out to be their last English title for three decades. He quit his role in 1991 after a derby match.
The legendary Scot has since talked about the influence that the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 had on him as one of the main reasons he quit the role.
The barren years
For a club that had enjoyed such success in the past, Liverpool then endured thirty years of no English top-flight title. They won other trophies in that time, such as the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
However, everybody connected with the club yearned to win the Premier League title. In season 2013/14, Brendan Rodgers’ team headed into the final straight of the league campaign top of the table and seemingly ready to end that long wait for an English title.
Somehow, though, the Reds surrendered a nine-point lead, and Manchester City nipped in to win the title. It was a major disappointment for a fanbase that had waited an unusually long time for title success.
Jurgen Klopp’s team finally ended the title wait
Liverpool ended their wait for an English top-flight title in season 2019/20 after finishing as Premier League runners-up in the season before. The Reds broke several records during their title-winning season. They won the English title with a record seven games remaining, collecting a club record of 99 points and also equalling a Premier League record of 32 wins in a single league season.
Unfortunately, Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy without fans in Anfield due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The Reds couldn’t repeat the fate in the following two seasons, as they finished third and second place, respectively, in the English top-flight table.
One of the most successful clubs in Europe
There is no doubt that even with a 30-year absence from winning the English top-flight title, Liverpool has been one of the most successful football clubs in European football for over a century. The history and tradition of the Merseyside club will no doubt live on forever.
No matter how far Liverpool fall, they always seem to bounce back and just as strong or even stronger than before. Football works in cycles, but Liverpool will seemingly always be a constant at or near the top of the English football tree.