Who is Accrington Stanley? Liverpool's FA Cup opponents ready for 69-year first
“Accrington Stanley, who are they?”
Countless Liverpool fans across the UK will no doubt have had the same reaction after the Reds were drawn against their FA Cup third round opponents.
Arne Slot’s side will host the League Two outfit in January as Premier League and Championship sides enter the competition in the New Year. The tie is set to be played across the weekend of January 11, with a specific date yet to be confirmed.
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The two sides could not be much further apart in terms of their standing among the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs. While Liverpool sits right at the top of the top flight, Accrington is currently 19th in League Two, just five points off the relegation zone which could see them drop into non-league.
The Lancashire-based side was reformed in 1968 after the original Accrington Stanley collapsed two years earlier. Liverpool has only ever played one game against either iteration of the club, having met their original incarnation in the FA Cup back in 1956, when Billy Liddell scored twice in a 2-0 win for the Reds.
Since its reformation, Accrington has spent much of its time outside the Football League, eventually returning to the big time in 2006 after 46 years away. Since then, it has remained in League Two bar a five-year stint in League One following promotion in 2018.
The club is currently managed by Liverpool native and former Reds academy coach John Doolan, who took the reins back in March of this year after long-serving manager John Coleman was sacked. Another familiar face for Liverpool fans is former academy star Liam Coyle, who now plies his trade with Stanley.
Accrington though is perhaps most well known in the UK for a 1980s advert by the Milk Marketing Board featuring two young Liverpool fans.
In it, one of the boys is seen pouring himself a glass of milk, to which the other exclaims his disgust. However, his friend tells him that Liverpool legend Ian Rush drinks it, before adding: “And he said if I didn’t drink lots of milk, when I grow up, I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.”
The second boy then delivers the immortal line in his classic Scouse accent: “Accrington Stanley, who are they?”, to which his friend replies: “Exactly.”
It’s a commercial that fans in the United States may have to become accustomed to in the build-up to next month’s game, as they will no doubt be hearing that line a lot.
A trip to Anfield will no doubt represent something of a dream tie for many of Accrington’s players, and of course the Reds will know that the cup is capable of throwing up some major upsets. Slot will be hoping his debut in the competition doesn’t result in a shock exit.