Liverpool F.C - It's Always Darkest Before Dawn

14 December 1959 is a day that will forever be etched into the history books of Liverpool Football Club. The day Bill Shankly joined the club as manager.


Over the span of 15 years, Shankly transformed the club from a team in the English second division to one of the best clubs in Europe, and in the process won 3 first division league titles, 2 FA Cups, 4 Charity Shields and 1 EUFA Cup.

As Shankly retired from football at the age of 60, it was a member of his backroom staff that took over his job – Bob Paisely.


In the nine years that Paisley managed Liverpool, he proved himself to be one of the best managers in England. Such was the success of Paisley with Liverpool, who won six of the nine league titles they contested for during his management, that the manager himself once said: Mind you, I've been here during the bad times too – one year we came second. The only season under Paisley in which Liverpool did not win a trophy was his first – the 1974-75 season. Under Paisley, a new era of stars such as Graeme Souness, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalgish emerged.

Paisley’s successors didn’t fare much worse either, with Joe Fagan and “King” Kenny Dalglish bringing 13 trophies to the red half of Merseyside between 1983 and 1991.


The departure of Dalglish caused the club to fall into decline – despite having the likes of Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen in their ranks - and in an indifferent 13 year spell, Liverpool only won six major trophies.

The arrival of Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2004 appeared to be something that could have changed the Reds’ fortunes. Although they finished a dismal 5th in the League, Liverpool surprisingly beat Milan in the final at Istanbul to win their 5th European Cup, completing one of the greatest comebacks to win the game on penalties, having trailed the Italian club 3-0 at half time. The following season under Rafa, the club went on to win the FA Cup and the EUFA Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield a year later.


After a couple of unremarkable seasons, Liverpool had one of their finest league performances since the 80s in the 2008-09 season, finishing second – four points off winners Manchester United. The departures of key players Sami Hyypiä and Xabi Alonso, as well as Alvaro Arbeloa the following summer proved to be the reason for yet another decline, with Liverpool finishing in 7th place, causing Benitez to be sacked.

In the following two seasons, Liverpool failed to spark any sort of revival, and even though King Kenny returned, the club only managed 6th and 8th placed finishes in the Premier League. In spite of lifting the Capital One Cup and finishing runners up in the FA Cup, the board thought that it was time to end Dalglish’s second spell as manager.

Liverpool's next manager, Brendan Rodgers only managed a seventh placed finish in his first season. After getting off to the club's worst start in 50 years, and spending most of the season in the bottom half, a post-January revival helped the Reds to finish right behind fierce rivals Everton. Some are calling for the Irishman's head, while others say that stability is the need of the hour.

The story of Liverpool is one long history lesson. They seem to be a club stuck in the past. But they need to wake up and realize that the future is in their hands.

These are dark times for Liverpool Football Club. But as the saying goes – It’s always darkest before the dawn.

What a great post, I wonder what will happen next :o

Great post.. Intrigued to see how this story goes good luck

Gotta love a Liverpool story. I still think FMRookie's is one of the best I have read. I am confident you can match it however! Good luck.

I love a good liverpool story and it was a very good first post good luck

Great start and good luck

Good luck man! YNWA

Seems a little bit familiar... ;). Keep the BR way and don't waste money just for the sake of it

Rodgers to stay at Anfield

Henry insists Irishman is going nowhere

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is set to stay for a second season at Anfield.

The 40-year-old replaced club legend Kenny Dalglish at the start of last season, having previously lead Swansea into the Premier League and keeping them out of the relegation battle, earning several plaudits for his team's style of play along the way.

However, the Northern Irishman endured a poor start to his tenure as Liverpool manager, and won the dubious honour of getting off to the club's worst start to a campaign in 50 years. Some sections of the Liverpool fan-base expressed their doubts about his ability to lead such a big club, but owner John Henry has dismissed all speculation about Rodgers being on his way after just a year on Merseyside.

"Brendan is a great coach." he said. "I know that the expectation from such a big club like Liverpool is extremely high, but we sincerely believe that Brendan knows what he's doing and that he's the right man for the job. He's got his own principles on how to play soccer, and though we did get off to a bad start, you could see the team improving by leaps and bounds after they became more familiar with him."

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Indeed, Rodgers' side did seem to play noticeably better after the half-way point of last term, with the signings of Brazilian wizard Phillipe Coutinho from Internazionale and England forward Daniel Sturridge from rivals Chelsea having a big impact on the team's form.

Henry, the head of the Fenway Sports Group, also made it clear that no bids for star striker Luis Suarez will be entertained this summer, despite continued interest from Spanish giants F.C Barcelona.

"We realise the importance of a player like Luis in the team. He's one of the most exciting soccer players in the world today, and his presence in the squad is crucial to our success. We don't hand out £200k p/w contracts to just anybody. He's happy at Liverpool, and he won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

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And Suarez will be expected to have yet another productive season if Liverpool are to match Rodgers' expectations of a top four finish.

"We need to be trying to finish in the top four." explained Rodgers. "We showed how well we can play in the second half of last season, and if we carry that form into this term, then there's no reason why we can't do it, especially if we make some smart moves in the transfer market."

While Liverpool might be a recognized contender for the top four, they will face stiff competition from the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton, as well as giants Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United who will likely be challenging for the Premier League crown.

Awesome update and keep the BR way please

Woah, that video made me shiver with excitement! Great posts mate, can't wait!