It may have been 24 years since they won the last of their 18 league titles in England — the First Division in those days — but if you stop by Docksiders whenever Liverpool are playing you would find a club with huge local support.

On Tuesday they turned out in great numbers at Docksiders, their official home in Bermuda, to watch the Merseyside derby with Everton. Two hours later at the end of a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Everton, the fans were singing club songs, toasting another famous victory and looking forward to the next match on Sunday against West Bromwich Albion.

Many of the fans are old enough to remember the good old days of Liverpool, when they won five European Cup titles, seven FA Cups, eight League Cups finals, three UEFA Cup Winners success, three European Super Cup titles and 15 FA Charity Shield wins. Support for the club is fierce and there is even an official Liverpool Supporters Club in Bermuda which enables fans here to feel a strong connection to their club.

Gilbert Pitcher is the chairman of the Liverpool Supporters Club and with the help of other committee members, including secretary Allison Chadwick, run the affairs of the club on behalf of the fans.

“‘Gilly’ had the idea for some time but it never got off the ground,” said Chadwick, who is Liverpool born and bred but has lived in Bermuda for 30 years. “We just had a meeting and got like-minded people together and started an unofficial club.

“Then we applied to LFC and we had the criteria to become officially affiliated with LFC which we are now. That became official in 2009, so now we follow their policies, have ticketing for the first half of the season and second half of the season, so that anyone who is a financial member of the club can apply for any ticket in advance. I make the application and LFC come back and let us know how successful we’ve been with each amount of tickets for each fixture.

“We’ve got 12 tickets for the Chelsea game at the end of April so there is a good contingent from Bermuda going over for the game.”

Pitcher, who has supported Liverpool since he was a young boy, estimates there are many more Liverpool supporters in Bermuda who are not members of the club.

“The fact that we got a few more in here, who would probably have watched it at home is a bonus,” said Pitcher. “We like to sing here like we’re at Anfield, and in a way it is good training because when we do go there we know the songs and kick right in.

“I’ve been a supporter since 1972,73 when I was at St George’s Grammar School. [Kevin] Keegan was my first hero. Two years ago there was a black-tie affair here in Bermuda and a group bought Liverpool legend Allan Kennedy in to speak. We ended up getting him to officially open the Supporters Club on the same trip.”

Pitcher has been to Anfield on several occasions and at one time used to take in about 12 matches a year. Others, too, have travelled to watch the team. “We do get a good contingent of fans going away yearly, two here, six there, 10 here. The most we had was 14 when we went to see Liverpool play Manchester United,” Pitcher said. “I would say most of the members here have been to Anfield on a number of occasions, but it is not just the members who can go.

“We also have a raffle draw here where we raffle off a match ticket and airplane ticket for a match of the winner’s choice. So it’s more than just coming here, shouting and screaming at the television and drinking beer. We try to give back to the fans.”

Other committee members include Andrew Exell, Allan Lindo, the treasurer, Bryan Paul who takes care of the Facebook page, Graham Coxall and Tim Stewart.

“Tim did all the hard work getting our sign sorted out,” Pitcher pointed out. “We ended up getting the official supporters crest from Liverpool football Club and incorporated that into our sign. The one that hangs behind the bar is a replica of the one in the tunnel at the club. Whenever you see players getting ready to go onto the pitch you see most Liverpool players touch the sign.

“This supporters club could have happened 20 years ago, we’ve had that many people asking about a local supporters club, but it never really caught on. Then one day it was just a case of making this happen and we did. To be fair United, Arsenal and City have been the more successful teams over the last few years but when you consider we may not have won the championship for 24 years, Liverpool has still been relatively successful in the cups. When you’re a Red, you’ll never been anything else.” Added Chadwick: “We have over a 100 fans on our list but we need to give a few of them a nudge to get financial.” Fan Meshach Swan was at the pub and enquired afterwards about becoming a member of the supporters club.

“Definitely, I’ve been a Liverpool supporter since 2003-04 season, basically all my life because my daddy, Michael Baker, is a Liverpool supporter,” he revealed. “I was more into track and field back in the day, then became a football fanatic and it was Liverpool straight off the bat.”

Swan is proud of the team’s accomplishments so far this season, but is not sure they can sustain it against the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.

“I think we need more depth like Chelsea and Manchester City, but I think we can qualify for Champions League next season,” he stated. “If we don’t, Suarez is gone because I think he will leave.”

The supporters club is not just a male domain with schoolteacher Tammisha Francis-Wainwright another die-hard fan who watched Tuesday’s match. She’s been a fan for about eight years and has been to Anfield three times. Her two adult sons, 21 and 23, support London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham, but for both she and her husband, Kennedy, it’s Liverpool all the way.

“I got into watching football with my husband, I would watch it off and on and finally we went to a football match,” she said, showing off a Liverpool scarf that she wore to work that day. “I was hooked after going to Anfield the first time in 2009, on Boxing Day.

“I’ve always been a sports fan, always watched soccer but it was more domestic. I like the atmosphere here [at Docksiders], but I’ll watch matches anywhere. My husband could be at work and I’ll have football on all day. The legacy at Liverpool means a lot to me and every team goes through a rebuilding stage and we went on that journey.

“When I became a member of Liverpool we weren’t winning but it didn’t matter to me. I’m really interested in finishing in the top four so that we can rebuild for the Champions League, attract more quality players and eventually vie for the Premier League title. In the last five years this has definitely been our strongest team.”

She added “I’ve also been to Villa Park when they played Aston Villa and in that match I stood in the snow and rain the entire match. It was 0-0 and then [Fernando] Torres scored in the 93rd minute. That was something, we won 1-0. I was also at Anfield when Liverpool beat Manchester United.”

For more information contact Chadwick at achadwick979@hotmail.com or Pitcher at gilbertpitcher@gmail.com