Liverpool Football Club is one of the most high-profile and highly successful in the European game.
The men from Merseyside have won the English title on 19 occasions, with only north west neighbours Manchester United bettering that tally of English top-flight titles.
They are also one of the six clubs to have not suffered relegation since the rebranding of the English top-flight to the Premier League in 1992, alongside United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton.
When did Liverpool last suffer relegation from the top-flight?
Liverpool have been relegated from the English top-flight on just three occasions in their history. The first time came in season 1894-95 when they finished 16th place in the table.
Having won promotion the following season, they spent eight years in the English top flight before suffering the same fate in 1903/04, when they finished a disappointing 17th place in the standings.
However, once again, the Reds made an immediate return to the English top flight, even winning the First Division title in their first season back amongst English football’s elite.
Liverpool enjoyed a long, stable run in the English top flight from season 1905-06 until season 1953/54. During that period, they were crowned as league champions on four occasions.
Relegation in 1954 and a long spell in the Second Division
Their relegation from the English top flight in 1954 after finishing 22nd in the table led to one of the club’s worst spells in their history.
The team’s main issue in their relegation season was that they conceded an incredible 97 goals, a league-high. The Reds also scored 68 goals at the other end of the pitch, though, as they eventually suffered relegation alongside Middlesbrough.
As you can imagine, from the number of goals conceded and the team finishing bottom of the table, Liverpool suffered some massive defeats that season.
They lost 5-1 at Preston North End, Portsmouth and Manchester United while also suffering 5-2 defeats against Blackpool, Chelsea and West Brom. However, their worst loss of the campaign came in a 6-0 battering at Charlton Athletic.
The Reds managed to keep the opposition out on just five occasions in their 42 league games during the season.
That season, Liverpool’s team contained the legendary Scottish star Billy Liddell and future long-serving backroom staff member Ronnie Moran.
However, the most notable player in the squad was Bob Paisley. Not only did he go on to become the assistant to the great Bill Shankly, but Paisley later managed the Reds to six league titles and three European Cups, among numerous other trophies in the 1970s and 80s.
The club from Merseyside struggled to win promotion back to the English top flight. In fact, Liverpool spent eight years in the Second Division, missing out on promotion on a number of occasions, including finishing 3rd place on four occasions.
The arrival of Shankly turns the fortunes around and leads to glory
In 1959, a certain Scottish football manager named Bill Shankly arrived at the club from Yorkshire outfit Huddersfield Town.
Shankly seemed to unite the club. During his tenure on Merseyside, Liverpool adopted the now famous all-red kit, and the club started playing the club’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off at every game.
Shankly took a while to have an effect on the team, but in season 1961/62, the Reds were crowned champions of the Second Division.
Two pre-season signings, Ron Yeats and Ian St. John, would go on to become club icons. Another Reds icon, striker Roger Hunt, finished the season as the division’s top goalscorer, bagging 41 goals.
Hunt’s goals contributed to a highly prolific campaign, as Liverpool fired home 99 goals and conceded 43 to win promotion back to the English top flight.
The Reds would then win the First Division titles in 1964 and 1966. From 1964 until 1991, the Reds never finished outside the league’s top five. Shankly built a legacy, which his friend and former assistant Paisley expanded upon in his tenure with the club, including winning those first three European Cups.
Unthinkable for Liverpool to suffer relegation
Although Liverpool has not been as successful in the English top flight in recent decades as they were in the mid-1960s, 1970 and 1980s, it is unthinkable that Liverpool could suffer relegation from the English top flight in the near future.
They have never even finished in the bottom half of the table since their return to the English top flight in 1962. In fact, the Reds’ lowest finishing position in the league was eighth place, which occurred in seasons 1993/94, 2011/12 and 2015/16.
Liverpool presence in the English top flight has now spanned over six decades. For most of that time, Liverpool has been striving for success and not worrying about relegation. That seems unlikely to change anytime soon.