“When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky and the sweet silver sound of the lark.”

It’s been sung at Anfield thousands of times but the lyrics of Liverpool’s famous football anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone never ceases to provoke tremendous pride and passion. Grown men have been reduced to tears by the Gerry Marsden song which symbolizes everything the club has been built upon. Courage, fortitude, hope, bravery and much much more.

Even one of Liverpool’s most famous of players, Kevin Keegan admits to being moved to breaking point on hearing the Kop burst into song minutes before kick-off and, many a time, he still had tears in his eyes when play began.

One thing is for sure. Liverpool Football Club will never, ever walk alone. Founded in 1892, it has a legion of fans throughout the world, not just around Liverpool, and no other English club can match its roll of honour. League Champions 18 times, FA Cup winners on seven occasions, League Cup winners seven times over (including four years in a row in the 1980s), five-time holders of the European Cup and winners of the UEFA Cup three times. Liverpool FC is a legend and the red shirts of the supporters and the players are recognised and acknowledged wherever they go.

There have been glory years and times of heart-break but guts and determination have always got the club back on track. Perhaps their whole ethos is summed up by Bill Shankly who once famously said: “Football is not just a matter of life and death. I am disappointed by that statement. It is more important than that.”

Liverpool’s closest neighbour and perhaps biggest of rivals are Everton and even close families are known to have divided loyalty. If you come from Liverpool, you are often asked the question: “Are you a red or a blue?”

Ironically, it was Everton, or the Toffees, who helped to shape the future of Liverpool. In 1892, Everton left Anfield following a dispute over rent but club chairman, John Houlding was not to be defeated. The story goes that he stayed behind, along with a handful of supporters and three team players, absolutely determined to keep football at the ground. A new team was formed from scratch and it was named Liverpool. The rest has become history.

There have been so many highs and lows. In 1901, Liverpool secured their first title win, against all the odds. They went from losing eight games and conceding 31 goals to winning nine games and drawing three and ended up topping the league.

In 1950, Liverpool made their first Wembley appearance, losing 2-0 to Arsenal. In 1965, the club won the FA Cup for the first time, with Ian St John scoring the winner against Leeds. Liverpool became Euro Champions for the first time in 1977 and were treble winners under Gerard Houllier in 2001. And who could forget that incredible Champions League final of 2005 when Liverpool trailed AC Milan 3-0 at half-time. Supporters walked out in their droves and all around the country, fans switched off their televisions in disgust. Many did not even realise their team had made a miraculous come-back, winning on penalties, until they switched on their televisions or radios the next morning.

That fight-back was inspired by Stevie Gerrard and in 2006, the captain did it again. He famously rescued Liverpool in the FA Cup final against West Ham, equalising in the last minute to force extra time and penalties. Liverpool won in a match now regarded as Stevie’s final.

But there have been terrible tragedies too which have left their mark on the club in the most terrible of ways. Fans still weep at the memory of Heysel. On May 29, 1985, at the start of the European Cup final against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, rioting fans caused a wall to collapse. Thirty nine Juventus supporters died.

There was even worse to come. In 1989, on April 15, Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest also ended in disaster. Ninety six fans were killed when the crowd surged through gates. Hillsborough was the worst sporting disaster in British history and led to the creation of all-seater grounds.

The Kop saw the same fate. Where once thousands of fans would stand and chant Liverpool’s name, now they had to sit, although virtually a match goes by without an announcement across the tannoy of “Would fans in the Kop end please refrain from standing up!”

It was in the Kop that the singing began, inspired by the Beatles era of the 1960s. And it was here that fans adopted the anthem of You’ll Never Walk Alone. It’s often said that the Kop End is Liverpool’s 12th man and legend suggests that the Koppite roar has on more than one occasion helped the ball to cross the line!

Just inside the main gates of Anfield stands the statue of Bill Shankly, with the words “He made the people happy.” He did indeed. Shankly, who was manager from 1959 to 1974, used to say: “The very word Anfield means more to me than you can describe.”

Liverpool have had many famous managers, including Bob Paisley from 1974 to 1983, another name synonymous with the club. Manager from 1985 to 1991 was Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness was in charge from 1991 to 1994, Roy Evans from 1994 to 1998, teaming up with Gerard Houllier for the 1998/99 season and then Houllier by himself from 1999 to 2004. Houllier said he used to stand in the Kop in 1969 and the atmosphere and passion on the pitch and terraces was intoxicating, making Liverpool a part of him that day.

Today, the club is managed by Rafael Benitez and is owned by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett, a very far cry from the Liverpool of 1892. There have been many great names on the pitch since, from Emlyn Hughes, Phil Neal and Bruce Grobbelaar to David James, Steve McManaman and Jamie Rednapp, all of whom became household names. The greats throughout Liverpool’s history would echo Bill Shankly’s declaration: “Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool.”