Liverpool FC Second Division Record

Nowadays, the idea of Liverpool playing in the second tier of English football seems laughable. The Reds were revolutionised by Bill Shankly, who turned them from Second Division stragglers into the best team in the country, completing for league titles on a regular basis and soon to conquer Europe.

There was a time, however, when Liverpool would often bob up and down between the First Division and the Second Division. As a result, watchers of the club prior to the 1960s would be more than used to the Reds playing outside of the top-flight.

There are doubtless some that actually miss the days when practically any team looked as though it could be relegated out of the top-flight, making for much more exciting seasons. In the modern era, it seems as if the same old teams win the title year after year, which is what made Leicester City’s title win in 2015-2016 all the more remarkable.

There was a time when Nottingham Forest were able to gain promotion out of the Second Division one season and win the title the next, but that kind of thing could all but never happen in the era of the Premier League.

That is good news for Liverpool, at least as long as the status quo is maintained. If there were to come a point at which the Reds were somehow relegated, it would doubtless be the desire of all supporters of the club for us to return to a world in which you could move from one division to the other and win the title a year later.

Thankfully, Liverpool are the country’s most successful football club in terms of major trophies won, so the days of having to worry about the Second Division, which is now the Championship, are long gone.

@guess_funfacts Liverpool Parade #premierleague #fypシ #emiratesfacup #carabaocup #fy #fyp #uefachampionsleague #lfc #liverpool #liverpoolfc #liverpool_fc #reds #lfcfamily #football #footballtiktok #football #lfcfamily #lfcfans #skysportsfootball #btsport ♬ original sound – fun_facts_figures

On this page we will look at how Liverpool got on in the Second Division, up to the point that the Reds were promoted out of it at the end of the 1961-1962 season, never to look back. Rather than listing every season between 1893-1894, the first that the Reds spent in the second tier, and the one that led to the club’s final promotion out of it, many of which were spent in the First Division, we will just be looking at the campaigns in which Liverpool were a Second Division side.

Looking at Liverpool in the Second Division

Taking a Closer Look at Liverpool’s Second Division Winning Seasons

Although you might think that Liverpool would’ve won the Second Division repeatedly given the club’s long and illustrious history, the truth of the matter is that the Reds spent 11 seasons in the second tier during the 20th century but only won the title four times. That was in the age well before play-offs and the likes, so you needed to be part of the title conversation in order to even hope of gaining promotion.

Here is how the Reds got on the years that they won it:

1893-1894

It perhaps says something about the ambitions of Liverpool Football Club that the 1893-1894 season was just the second in the side’s existence and its first in the Football League, yet they won the Second Division title at the first time of asking. The first ever match in the Football League put them up against Middlesbrough Ironopolis on the second of September 1893, with Liverpool winning 2-0. It set the Reds up for a season of success, playing 28 matches and going unbeaten across all 28 with 22 wins and just six draws.

Liverpool FC 1893-1894. The moustache Pete’s on “The team of all the macs”. pic.twitter.com/jQjvQqVRUT

— MIANO (@MianoDennis) February 9, 2014

One of the big problems that Liverpool had at that point was that there was no system of automatic promotion as there is nowadays, meaning that their unbeaten season could’ve been for nought if they had not been successful in their ‘Test Match system’ game. In a sign of the rivalry that would grow in the years that followed, Liverpool defeated Newton Heath, the side that would later become Manchester United, to gain election in the top-flight. They set the groundwork for an unbeaten season that would later be followed by other sides.

1895-1896

It is a sign of how tough the First Division was during the Football League’s more formative years that Liverpool were able to gain promotion into it one season before being relegated back out of it the next. As a result, having enjoyed a brief foray into the top-flight during the 1894-1895 season, the Reds returned to the Second Division for the following one. They were not good enough for the top-flight but too good for the second tier, however, and won the league again in the 1895-1896 campaign, winning 12 of the final 14 games of the season.

That meant that they qualified to play in the Test Matches, once again coming up against Newton Heath and winning against them once more. They also defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and lost to them 2-0, which was enough to secure their promotion back into the First Division. All told, having won seven of their first eight games of the season, Liverpool finished the campaign with 22 wins, two draws and six defeats. The most impressive win came on the 18th of February when the club defeated Rotherham Town 10-1 at Anfield.

1904-1905

Having spent a good few seasons in the First Division, the Reds were relegated back out of it at the end of the 1903-1904 season after finishing 17th. They were still too good for the Second Division, though, and proved it by immediately winning the title in 1905. They ended up winning 27 matches, which was the same amount of Bolton Wanderers in second, but only lost three times compared to the five matches that Bolton lost. Liverpool also drew four times to end the season with a points total of 58, two clear of Bolton’s 56.

The Reds also ended the campaign with a Goal Average of 3.720, which was well clear of all of the other teams in the second tier. As if to prove that they were always too good for the Second Division, Liverpool’s following season in the top-flight was a title winning one, finishing four points ahead of Preston North End in second.

The two teams from Liverpool 1905/6 season. Liverpool won the First Division for the second time. Everton were 11th. Everton did win the FA Cup Final, though, by beating Newcastle 1-0 . The final was held at Selhurst Park. It was Everton’s first FA Cup win. pic.twitter.com/CsV5QzUMTJ

— Louise (@LouiseLacy) October 15, 2024

This kick-started a period of First Division safety for the Reds, adding another three titles before they were relegated back to the Second Division again. It was all thanks to their success in 1904-1905.

1961-1962

The last time that Liverpool played in the Second Division was in the 1961-1962 season. Having been relegated into the second tier of the English game at the end of the 1953-1954 campaign, the Reds struggled to get themselves back out of it for the best part of a decade. Having finished 11th, then third twice, fourth twice and third twice once again, Liverpool were able to climb back out of the Second Division thanks to the work of Bill Shankly. The man who is considered to be the father of modern day Liverpool was on his journey of turning the club’s fortunes entirely around.

@1min_footballBill Shankly – Arguably Liverpool’s Greatest-Ever Manager! ⚽👨‍💼🙌 The story of arguably Liverpool’s greatest-ever manager! When Bill Shankly took charge of Liverpool in December 1959, they were a second-division side. There was a lot wrong at Liverpool football club at the time, from the training pitch that was in shambles to the at-best average squad of players Shankly had at his disposal. But he decided to be the pioneer for change. In the 1961–62 season, Liverpool gained promotion to the top division; in the 1963–64 season, they won their first League title under the Scotsman; and in May 1965, they won their first FA Cup trophy. In his 15 years as Liverpool manager, Shankly won 3 league titles, 2 FA Cups, and a UEFA Cup as well. He left the club in 1974 and paved the way for another legendary Liverpool manager, Bob Paisley. While Paisley is largely considered to have had just as big of an impact at the club, the seeds of his success were sown by Bill Shankly. #liverpool #liverpoolfc #bill #shankly #klopp #jurgenklopp #kop #kopites #lfc #ynwa #premierleague #anfield #liverpoolfans #lfcfamily #weareliverpool #liverpoolfootballclub #lfcfans #liverpoolfcfans #ucl #pl #football #soccer #1minfootball♬ Whoopty (Instrumental) – DJB

The signings of both Ron Yeats and Ian St. John in the close season meant that they could line up against the likes of Ronnie Moran, Ian Callaghan and Roger Hunt as Shankly’s men won the Second Division at a canter. They won 27 games, drawing eight and losing seven on their way to a points total of 62, which put them eight clear of Leyton Orient in second. The Reds also managed a Goal Average of 2.302, which was once again significantly better than anyone else. It was the last time Liverpool played in the Second Division and hopefully will be forever.