List of Liverpool F.C. managers

Liverpool FC supporters with a banner of their five most successful managers: Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish and Rafael Benítez

Liverpool Football Club is an English association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. The club was formed in 1892 following a disagreement between the board of Everton and club president John Houlding, who owned the club's ground, Anfield. The disagreement between the two parties over rent resulted in Everton moving to Goodison Park from Anfield, which left Houlding with an empty stadium. Thus, he founded Liverpool F.C. to play in the empty stadium.[1] Liverpool won the First Division title for the first time in 1901; since then, the club has won a further 17 league titles, along with seven FA Cups and eight Football League Cups. They have also been crowned champions of European football on five occasions by winning the European Cup/UEFA Champions League in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005.[2] The club was one of 22 members of the Premier League when it was formed in 1992.

Liverpool have had 21 full-time managers. Kenny Dalglish is the only person to have managed the club on two separate occasions. He first managed Liverpool from 1985 to February 1991 and then January 2011 to July 2012. The most successful person to manage Liverpool is Bob Paisley, who won six Football League titles, five Charity Shields, three Football League Cups, European Cups, one UEFA Super Cup and one UEFA Cup in his nine-year reign as manager. The club's longest-serving manager was Tom Watson, who managed the club from 1896 to 1915, totalling 19 years.

This chronological list comprises all those who have held the position of manager of the first team of Liverpool since their foundation in 1892. Each manager's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care. Caretaker managers are included, where known, as well as those who have been in permanent charge.

Managerial history

1892–1959

Black and white photograph of a man wearing a bowler hat. He also has a thick black moustache
Tom Watson, Liverpool's longest-serving manager who managed the club from 1896 to 1915, totalling 19 years.

The first Liverpool managers, William Edward Barclay and John McKenna, were appointed in 1892. Barclay acted as secretary-manager, overseeing the administrative side of the club, while McKenna took charge of matters on the field. The two worked in tandem as Liverpool won promotion from the Lancashire League in the club's first season.[3] However, in 1896, McKenna appointed Tom Watson as manager.[4] He went on to win two Football League championships. As the First World War broke out, Watson was embarking on his nineteenth season in charge at Anfield. It was to be his last, as he died in May 1915, aged 56. David Ashworth was appointed manager when football resumed after the War.[5] Ashworth won one league title, but left for Oldham Athletic soon after this. He was replaced in February 1923 by a Liverpool director, Matt McQueen, who won one league title for the club. However, this marked the beginning of a barren spell spanning more than 20 years before Liverpool finally regained the title in 1947 under the stewardship of George Kay. Kay also led Liverpool to the FA Cup Final in 1950, but lost the game 2–0 to Arsenal. He retired the following year due to ill health.[6] The next manager, Don Welsh became the first Liverpool manager to be sacked after leading the club to relegation in 1954. His successor, Phil Taylor, also failed to win a trophy or gain promotion back to the top flight during his reign as boss.[7]

1959–91

On 1 December 1959, Bill Shankly was appointed manager, beginning a fifteen-year spell as manager that brought three league titles, two FA Cups and a first European trophy, the UEFA Cup to Anfield.[8] Shankly's reign as manager is famous for the establishment of the Anfield boot room as the location for his tactical discussions with his coaches.[9] When he was not managing the club, Shankly was usually at his typewriter, personally replying to the letters which arrived at Melwood. Shankly even called some supporters at home to discuss the previous day's game, while the accounts of him providing tickets for fans are endless.[10] When Shankly retired in 1974, he was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley. During the next nine seasons, Paisley proceeded to win six league titles and three European Cups to become the most successful manager in the history of the club.[11] When Paisley retired in 1983, his assistant Joe Fagan took over, and continued the Boot Room tradition, and winning a treble of League, European Cup and League Cup in his first season. He again guided Liverpool to a European Cup Final, but the match was overshadowed by the Heysel stadium disaster, and he retired soon after.[12] Striker Kenny Dalglish was then made the club's first player-manager and in his first season in charge, Dalglish led the club to a League and FA Cup double.[13] After that great first season, Dalglish led Liverpool to a further two league titles and another FA Cup. However, Dalglish's reign was also synonymous with the Hillsborough disaster and was one of the reasons for Dalglish resigning on 22 February 1991.[14]

Manager Bill Shankly during a lap of honour at Anfield in April 1973, wearing the scarf thrown to him by a Liverpool fan.

1991–present

First-team coach Ronnie Moran took charge of team affairs for several weeks before Graeme Souness was named as Dalglish's successor. Under Souness, Liverpool won the FA Cup in 1992, but nothing else. He made way for Roy Evans, who also won just one trophy, the League Cup, before Gérard Houllier was appointed joint manager with Evans in 1998. This arrangement lasted only 18 games before Evans resigned, leaving Houllier—Liverpool's first non-British manager—in sole charge. Houllier won nothing until the treble in 2001 consisting of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Houllier underwent major heart surgery during the 2001–02 season, but the squad was unaffected and managed to hold on to a second-place finish. Although Phil Thompson stepped in as temporary manager while Houllier was recovering from heart surgery, the matches played under Thompson are included in Houllier's record.[15] Another League Cup was won in 2003, but this was to be Houllier's last trophy as Liverpool manager as he and the club parted by mutual consent at the end of the 2003–04 season,[16] to be replaced by Valencia manager, Rafael Benítez.[17]

In Benítez's first season in charge, Liverpool reached the UEFA Champions League Final, where they beat A.C. Milan on penalties, after the match finished 3–3 after extra time. The following season, Liverpool reached the FA Cup Final, where they beat West Ham United, again on penalties after a 3–3 draw. Benítez again guided Liverpool to a Champions League Final in 2007, but this time A.C. Milan beat them 2–1. On 3 June 2010, Benitez paid the price for a disappointing 2009–10 season when Liverpool announced he had left the club by mutual consent after six years in charge. Benitez, who was one year into a five-year contract, finalised his departure after agreeing a severance payment. Benitez's assistant Sammy Lee took over the reins at Liverpool until Managing director Christian Purslow and former manager Kenny Dalglish found a replacement. On 1 July 2010, former Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was confirmed as the new manager.[18] After a poor tenure, which included Liverpool being 18th after 6 games, and only one away win during Hodgson's time in charge, Hodgson was sacked on 8 January 2011 and was replaced by former manager Kenny Dalglish the day before a 3rd Round FA Cup game against Manchester United.[19] Dalglish signed a three-year contract as permanent manager in May, but was sacked a year later.[20] Although the 2011/12 season ended with a poor 8th-place finish in the Premier League, Dalglish guided Liverpool to two Cup finals at Wembley, ending a six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup. The second Cup final appearance was the FA Cup, which Liverpool lost to Chelsea. He was replaced by Brendan Rodgers on 1 June 2012.[21]

Rodgers led them in the 2013–14 season to a surprise title challenge, however Liverpool ended the league season in second place, despite scoring 101 goals scored, the club's most since the 1895–96 season and the third-highest in Premier League history.[22] Rodgers was the first Liverpool manager to win the LMA Manager of The Year Award.[23] However, he was the first manager of the club not to win a major trophy in his first three years at the helm, and on 4th October 2015, he was sacked.[24] On 8 October, he was replaced by former Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp.[25]

Key

Key to record:

  • P = Matches played
  • W = Matches won
  • D = Matches drawn
  • L = Matches lost
  • Win % = Win ratio

Key to honours:

Managers

Information correct as of 29 November 2016. Only competitive matches are counted

Key
* Caretaker manager
Liverpool F.C. managers
Name Nationality From To P W D L Win % L1 L2 FA FL CS EC UC US Notes
Record Honours
Barclay, William EdwardWilliam Edward Barclay
John McKenna		 Ireland Ireland
Ireland Ireland		 15 February 1892 16 August 1896 127 77 20 30 60.63 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 [26][A]
Watson, TomTom Watson  England 17 August 1896 6 May 1915 742 329 141 272 44.34 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 [27]
Patterson, GeorgeGeorge Patterson  England 1 June 1915 14 December 1919 18 7 2 9 38.89 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [28]
Ashworth, DavidDavid Ashworth England England 18 December 1919 12 February 1923 139 70 40 29 50.36 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [29]
McQueen, MattMatt McQueen  Scotland 13 February 1923 15 February 1928 229 93 60 76 40.61 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [30]
Patterson, GeorgeGeorge Patterson  England 7 March 1928 6 August 1936 366 137 85 144 37.43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [28]
Kay, GeorgeGeorge Kay  England 6 August 1936 January 1951 357 142 93 122 39.78 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [31]
Welsh, DonDon Welsh  England 23 March 1951 4 May 1956 232 81 58 93 34.91 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [32]
Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor  England May 1956 17 November 1959 150 76 32 42 50.67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [33]
Shankly, BillBill Shankly  Scotland 1 December 1959 12 July 1974 783 407 198 178 51.98 3 1 2 0 4 0 1 0 [34]
Paisley, BobBob Paisley  England 26 August 1974 1 July 1983 581 380 131 70 65.40 6 0 0 3 5 3 1 1 [34]
Fagan, JoeJoe Fagan  England 2 July 1983 29 May 1985 131 71 36 24 54.20 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 [35]
Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish  Scotland 30 May 1985 21 February 1991 307 187 78 42 60.91 3 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 [36]
Moran, RonnieRonnie Moran*  England 22 February 1991 15 April 1991 10 4 1 5 40.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [37]
Souness, GraemeGraeme Souness  Scotland 16 April 1991 28 January 1994 157 66 45 46 42.04 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 [38][B]
Evans, RoyRoy Evans  England 31 January 1994 12 November 1998 226 117 56 53 51.77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 [39]
Evans, RoyRoy Evans
Houllier, GérardGérard Houllier		  England
 France		 16 July 1998 12 November 1998 18 7 6 5 38.89 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [40]
Houllier, GérardGérard Houllier  France 16 July 1998 24 May 2004 307 160 73 74 52.12 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 [41][C]
Benítez, RafaelRafael Benítez  Spain 16 June 2004 3 June 2010 350 197 74 79 56.29 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 [42]
Hodgson, RoyRoy Hodgson  England 1 July 2010 8 January 2011 31 13 8 10 41.94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [43]
Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish  Scotland 8 January 2011 16 May 2012 74 35 17 22 47.30 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 [44]
Rodgers, BrendanBrendan Rodgers  Northern Ireland 1 June 2012 4 October 2015 166 85 39 42 51.20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [45]
Klopp, JürgenJürgen Klopp  Germany 8 October 2015 Present 69 36 20 13 52.17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [46]

Notes

A. ^ The official Liverpool website lists Barclay and McKenna as joint managers. Barclay held the post of "secretary-manager" and McKenna held the post of "coach-manager".

B. ^ Souness underwent heart surgery in April 1992, and Ronnie Moran took charge of the team until the 1992 FA Cup Final.

C. ^ Houllier was absent from October 2001 to February 2002, due to illness. During this time, Phil Thompson stepped in as temporary manager (P33 W16 D12 L5). These matches are included in Houllier's record.

Footnotes

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "Liverpool Football Club is formed". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Honours". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "William E. Barclay: 'Joint Manager' (1892–00)". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  4. ↑ Liversedge 1991, p. 28
  5. ↑ Liversedge 1991, p. 30
  6. ↑ Liversedge 1991, p. 31
  7. ↑ Pead 1986, p. 387
  8. ↑ Pead 1986, p. 388
  9. ↑ Shetty, Sanjav (21 December 2001). "The legacy of the boot room". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Shankly – legend who forged the Liverpool way". icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  11. ↑ Pead 1986, p. 391
  12. ↑ Pead 1986, p. 392
  13. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Kenny Dalglish story – an end of an era". LFC History. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  15. ↑ "Gerard Houllier manager profile". LFC History. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  16. ↑ McNulty, Phil (24 May 2004). "Houllier to leave Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  17. ↑ "Rafael Benítez manager profile". LFC History. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  18. ↑ Hunter, Andy (1 July 2010). "Roy Hodgson confirmed as new manager of Liverpool". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  19. ↑ "Roy Hosgson exits and Kenny Dalglish takes over". BBC Sport. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  20. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish sacked as Liverpool manager". BBC Sport. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  21. ↑ "Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to 'fight for his life'". BBC Sport. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  22. ↑ "Liverpool: Premier League near-miss offers hope for the future". BBC. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  23. ↑ "Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool boss named LMA manager of the year". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Liverpool FC part company with Brendan Rodgers". Liverpool FC. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Liverpool FC confirm Jürgen Klopp appointment". Liverpool F.C. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "John McKenna". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  27. ↑ "Tom Watson". LFC History. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  28. 1 2 "George Patterson". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  29. ↑ "David Ashworth". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  30. ↑ "Matt McQueen". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  31. ↑ "George Kay". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  32. ↑ "Don Welsh". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  33. ↑ "Phil Taylor". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  34. 1 2 "Bill Shankly". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  35. ↑ "Joe Fagan". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  36. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  37. ↑ "Ronnie Moran". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  38. ↑ "Graeme Souness". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  39. ↑ "Roy Evans". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  40. ↑ "Evans/Houllier". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  41. ↑ "Gérard Houllier". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  42. ↑ "Rafael Benitez". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  43. ↑ "Roy Hodgson". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  44. ↑ "Kenny Dalglish (2nd term)". LFC History. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  45. ↑ "Brendan Rodgers". LFC History. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  46. ↑ "Jürgen Klopp". LFC History. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

References

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