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

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: L1 = Football League First Division/Premier League L2 = Football League Second Division/Lancashire League FA = FA Cup FL = Football League Cup CS = FA Community Shield EC = European Cup UC = UEFA Cup US = UEFA Super Cup

Managers

Information correct as of 6 May 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	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	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]
Brendan Rodgers	Northern Ireland	1 June 2012	4 October 2015	166	85	39	42	51.20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	[45]
Jürgen Klopp	Germany	8 October 2015	Present	48	22	14	12	45.83	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

• "Managers". LFC History. Retrieved 29 September 2007.

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. "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. "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

• Liversedge, Stan (1991). Liverpool:The Official Centenary History. Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. ISBN 0-600-57308-7.
• Pead, Brian (1986). Liverpool A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 0-907969-15-1.