17 August 1896

Newcastle-born Tom Watson arrived at Anfield with quite a track record having led Sunderland from obscurity to the League Championship.

Another two titles followed before Liverpool chief John McKenna made a financial offer Watson couldn't refuse which saw him swap Wearside for Merseyside in 1896.

The 37-year-old was relatively young for a football manager – not that his inexperience showed as he set about turning the Reds into one of the country's top teams.

His newly-promoted side finished a respectable fifth in his first season in charge, and before the turn of the century they would reach two FA Cup semi-finals.

Watson, who was responsible for bringing legends such as Alex Raisbeck, Sam Hardy, Elisha Scott and Sam Raybould to the club, masterminded a first League Championship in 1901.

Though relegation followed three years later, the Reds bounced back with successive Second and First Division titles.

Watson's reign also brought a first Cup final in 1914, an occasion which ended in a 1-0 defeat to Burnley.

A year later, with World War I underway, he passed away. Watson would be a hard act to follow when league football commenced in 1919.