Past managersDon Welsh

The Manchester-born boss was brought in from Third Division (South) outfit Brighton & Hove Albion to try to boost the club's flagging fortunes.

It was a welcome arrival, particularly as he had made a good impression guesting for the Reds as a player during the war in the 1939-40 season.

However, Welsh took charge of an ageing team and despite bringing in a number of new players, he could not halt the slump.

The Jack Balmer/Albert Stubbins era would shortly come to an end and the team relied too much on the mercurial Billy Liddell, who had become so important and influential that some supporters nicknamed the club 'Liddellpool' in his honour.

But even Liddell could not stop the team's slide down the table.

Liverpool survived the drop in 1953 with a last-day-of-the-season victory at Chelsea, but there would be no escaping their fate.

A year later, Welsh became the first Reds boss in more than 50 years to oversee relegation. They finished bottom of the pile with only nine victories and just 28 points.

These were difficult times for the club and the writing was on the wall for Welsh when Liverpool could only manage an 11th-placed finish in 1955 - a season that included a terrible 9-1 humiliation at the hands of eventual champions Birmingham City.

The directors believed that a change was needed and Welsh was dismissed towards the end of the 1955-56 season.