Jürgen Klopp - Liverpool FC Manager

Dunno mate Gerrard made 44 appearances Torres 38 that season, maybe in the league? Gerrard made 31 apps Torres only 24. 

Billy is right Saint.
Injuries limited them in playing together.

Rafa was a stickler for the one up front and his stubbornness I believe cost us.

A leader, goalscorer, and something we miss now imo is that he really got stuck in.
Damn, starting to reminisce again now 

Is he the best in the world?

He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but yes, I think he just might be.

He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief.

You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."

—Zinedine Zidane on Gerrard

We could have done with him in Basel.

Is he the best in the world?

He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but yes, I think he just might be.

He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief.

You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."

—Zinedine Zidane on Gerrard

We could have done with him in Basel.

The 2005 version Skip, not the 2016 version 

For all the moaning on here, Brendan was actually very tactically flexible and did his best to shoehorn Stevie in.

FFS


 









Madrid ?

The 2005 version Skip, not the 2016 version 

BMCK .....     The man said reminisce ....... I closed my eyes and was taken to a different place Debs .

Is he the best in the world?

He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo but yes, I think he just might be.

He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief.

You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."

—Zinedine Zidane on Gerrard

We could have done with him in Basel.

He could very well be the best... For me Suarez,Messi and Ronaldo are the best players in the world and on another planet from everyone else

He could very well be the best... For me Suarez,Messi and Ronaldo are the best players in the world and on another planet from everyone else

Err how can they be best in the world if their from a different planet............. From everyone else?   


YNWA

Klopp thread?

Will be interesting to see whether Klopp ends up buying a player in Stevie's mould.

Will be interesting to see whether Klopp ends up buying a player in Stevie's mould.

There aren't really any around though mate are there? Daft c**** down here tell me that Lampard was better (he wasn't obviously but he was a very good player) and at least he was cut from a similar cloth. These days though who is there that scores heavily from midfield? Not only would they need to score and assist heavily, they'd have to be capable of hitting it from distance to such effect that it causes you to formulate plans to counter him. Gerrard in his pomp dictated to teams that they simply had to come out and meet him when he got the ball 30 yards out otherwise he'd strike at goal. This alone opened the door for many an assist or goal for someone else.

Football goes in trends, in fashion waves. It always has and always will. Modern midfielders sit in and hold, but that's because IMHO there aren't any around that can do what Gerrard could. If Gerrard were available today, he would be coveted by every single club in Europe, not unlike when he was around before infact. For that reason alone, there s no way on earth Jürgen could buy him, simply because we would've outbid to a factor of three on both fee and wages.

Would he want him though? Of course he would.

EDIT: I've thought of one. When he's not injured Aaron Ramsey tries to do a Gerrard and he's bloody good at it. Probably about 20% as good as the original which isn't a bad effort. Yaya Toure of four seasons ago probably got as high as 50% of Gerrard in his pomp. Can't think of any others right now.

EDIT: I've thought of one. When he's not injured Aaron Ramsey tries to do a Gerrard and he's bloody good at it. Probably about 20% as good as the original which isn't a bad effort. Yaya Toure of four seasons ago probably got as high as 50% of Gerrard in his pomp. Can't think of any others right now.

Remember a young SG with the skinned head exploding on the scene, massive energy, direct, no fear, started scoring great goals from the off, no respect for older, more experienced players, just got stuck right into them, didn't care who he pissed off on the pitch. Ross Barkley imo had a similar bustling, energetic, direct style - but he hasn't come on since he broke through.

Tbh I could talk about SG all day. Even though he was waning when he left, still miss him a lot, he brought so much.

Remember a young SG with the skinned head exploding on the scene, massive energy, direct, no fear, started scoring great goals from the off, no respect for older, more experienced players, just got stuck right into them, didn't care who he pissed off on the pitch. Ross Barkley imo had a similar bustling, energetic, direct style - but he hasn't come on since he broke through.

Tbh I could talk about SG all day. Even though he was waning when he left, still miss him a lot, he brought so much.

In the nearly season mate he was basically finished, well past it. Even then though, he was good enough to completely re-invent himself and become an integral part of what was that year the best team in the league IMHO. Unbelievable player.

Going back to Jürgen ...

.... can he talk young Mario Gotze around, or is Mario just playing "pick me please" with Carlo

Tony Evans

It might be time to revive "Being Liverpool." The much-derided behind-the-scenes-at-Anfield television series was conceived and created four years ago, the last time Liverpool reached two cup finals. It failed because the central character, Brendan Rodgers, came across as a smug spouter of clichés and management-speak. His sidekick, the risible managing director Ian Ayre, posed on a motorbike. It was the wrong vehicle: This was car-crash TV.

There is a genuine superstar at Anfield now. Jürgen Klopp has real star appeal. He is watchable, charismatic and the cameras love him.

Klopp dazzles. He is fun. The German is animated on the sidelines, quick with a quip and has a winning smile. A winning team would add to his lustre.

In 2012, Kenny Dalglish won one of his finals, delivering the League Cup and a Europa League place to Anfield, but only managed an eighth-place finish. He was summoned to Boston by Fenway Sports Group, the owners, for a post-mortem after the season and sacked. There is more chance of a "Being Liverpool" revival than Klopp being treated in a similar manner.

Yet there is a case for holding an inquest into Liverpool's performance since Klopp took over from Rodgers in October. Klopp, 48, has had a huge emotional impact on the mood of the club but the feel-good factor has not been reflected on the pitch. Liverpool finished the season with the same number of points as the previous campaign and in the same position: eighth.

Klopp is clearly an upgrade on Rodgers but that has barely shown in results. He had 31 Premier League matches to organize and inspire the team. Before Klopp, the team were averaging 1.5 points per game. After the German's arrival that figure rose to 1.6.

It is true the squad that Klopp inherited is substandard but top-class managers find ways of covering weaknesses and promoting strengths even where they lack quality in the squad. Leicester City are a prime example of how a team can become greater than the sum of their parts. Liverpool rarely looked like that.

No one should judge Klopp until he is able to recruit the sort of players he can trust but it is a surprise that he was unable to adapt the players bequeathed to him into a more cohesive unit. After all, when he arrived in October Klopp was optimistic enough about their prospects to suggest to FSG that the team could compete for all four trophies available to Liverpool. The new manager soon found out that any hope of a title challenge was illusionary.

If Klopp is building a team to play in his trademark gegenpressing style, that is fine. Yet at some point opposition managers will work out a way to nullify his tactics. There have been few signs of pragmatism and flexibility from the manager in his first eight months in charge.

Klopp's disciples -- and the deification of the man is so strong that it justifies the use of the word -- point to the two cup runs this year as proof of forward motion. That overlooks that Liverpool reached two semifinals in Rodgers's final season and were somewhat unlucky to lose to Chelsea in a two-legged League Cup tie.

The other semifinal, in the FA Cup against Aston Villa, was one of the most shambolic performances in recent Liverpool history. It was only slightly worse than the second half of the 3-1 defeat by Sevilla in Basel last week. While Rodgers stood watching haplessly and hopelessly at Wembley, his successor reacted to the Spanish side's goals and dominance by trying to rouse the crowd. Any post-season inquest should be focused on this moment and the owners should be asking why their manager was not concentrating on rousing his team. Connecting with supporters is one thing, but Klopp's attention should have been on the pitch. He looked like a man devoid of ideas.

The suspicion is that FSG are so in thrall to their manager that few tough questions will be asked this summer. That can never be good for the man in the dugout. Arsene Wenger's total control over Arsenal has yielded a splendid cash flow at the Emirates but only two FA Cups in the past 11 years. It took Sir Alex Ferguson 15 years and unparalleled success at Old Trafford to get anywhere near the hero-worship that the Liverpool manager has been granted like a birthright.

Klopp is a brilliant acquisition for Liverpool. He was the best manager available to the club. He needs time to get things right and has many of the hallmarks of someone who can join Anfield's pantheon of greats. It may take the entire length of his three-year contract to turn things around.

Yet the absence of proper analysis of his first part-season is worrying. If they were making "Being Liverpool" now they would probably call it "Being Klopp". The deification of the manager shows how far standards at Anfield have fallen -- and the huge job he has ahead of him.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/liverpool/364/blog/post/2878333/Jürgen-klopp-deserves-criticism-for-liverpools-mediocre-season

Hatchet job or fair comment?

Hatchet job or fair comment?

Bit of both imo.

I'm taking a wild guess here, but I think Klopp was assured when taking over he was under no pressure and he could use this season to evaluate the playing squad.

Tony Evans

It might be time to revive "Being Liverpool." The much-derided behind-the-scenes-at-Anfield television series was conceived and created four years ago, the last time Liverpool reached two cup finals. It failed because the central character, Brendan Rodgers, came across as a smug spouter of clichés and management-speak. His sidekick, the risible managing director Ian Ayre, posed on a motorbike. It was the wrong vehicle: This was car-crash TV.

There is a genuine superstar at Anfield now. Jürgen Klopp has real star appeal. He is watchable, charismatic and the cameras love him.

Klopp dazzles. He is fun. The German is animated on the sidelines, quick with a quip and has a winning smile. A winning team would add to his lustre.

In 2012, Kenny Dalglish won one of his finals, delivering the League Cup and a Europa League place to Anfield, but only managed an eighth-place finish. He was summoned to Boston by Fenway Sports Group, the owners, for a post-mortem after the season and sacked. There is more chance of a "Being Liverpool" revival than Klopp being treated in a similar manner.

Yet there is a case for holding an inquest into Liverpool's performance since Klopp took over from Rodgers in October. Klopp, 48, has had a huge emotional impact on the mood of the club but the feel-good factor has not been reflected on the pitch. Liverpool finished the season with the same number of points as the previous campaign and in the same position: eighth.

Klopp is clearly an upgrade on Rodgers but that has barely shown in results. He had 31 Premier League matches to organize and inspire the team. Before Klopp, the team were averaging 1.5 points per game. After the German's arrival that figure rose to 1.6.

It is true the squad that Klopp inherited is substandard but top-class managers find ways of covering weaknesses and promoting strengths even where they lack quality in the squad. Leicester City are a prime example of how a team can become greater than the sum of their parts. Liverpool rarely looked like that.

No one should judge Klopp until he is able to recruit the sort of players he can trust but it is a surprise that he was unable to adapt the players bequeathed to him into a more cohesive unit. After all, when he arrived in October Klopp was optimistic enough about their prospects to suggest to FSG that the team could compete for all four trophies available to Liverpool. The new manager soon found out that any hope of a title challenge was illusionary.

If Klopp is building a team to play in his trademark gegenpressing style, that is fine. Yet at some point opposition managers will work out a way to nullify his tactics. There have been few signs of pragmatism and flexibility from the manager in his first eight months in charge.

Klopp's disciples -- and the deification of the man is so strong that it justifies the use of the word -- point to the two cup runs this year as proof of forward motion. That overlooks that Liverpool reached two semifinals in Rodgers's final season and were somewhat unlucky to lose to Chelsea in a two-legged League Cup tie.

The other semifinal, in the FA Cup against Aston Villa, was one of the most shambolic performances in recent Liverpool history. It was only slightly worse than the second half of the 3-1 defeat by Sevilla in Basel last week. While Rodgers stood watching haplessly and hopelessly at Wembley, his successor reacted to the Spanish side's goals and dominance by trying to rouse the crowd. Any post-season inquest should be focused on this moment and the owners should be asking why their manager was not concentrating on rousing his team. Connecting with supporters is one thing, but Klopp's attention should have been on the pitch. He looked like a man devoid of ideas.

The suspicion is that FSG are so in thrall to their manager that few tough questions will be asked this summer. That can never be good for the man in the dugout. Arsene Wenger's total control over Arsenal has yielded a splendid cash flow at the Emirates but only two FA Cups in the past 11 years. It took Sir Alex Ferguson 15 years and unparalleled success at Old Trafford to get anywhere near the hero-worship that the Liverpool manager has been granted like a birthright.

Klopp is a brilliant acquisition for Liverpool. He was the best manager available to the club. He needs time to get things right and has many of the hallmarks of someone who can join Anfield's pantheon of greats. It may take the entire length of his three-year contract to turn things around.

Yet the absence of proper analysis of his first part-season is worrying. If they were making "Being Liverpool" now they would probably call it "Being Klopp". The deification of the manager shows how far standards at Anfield have fallen -- and the huge job he has ahead of him.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/liverpool/364/blog/post/2878333/Jürgen-klopp-deserves-criticism-for-liverpools-mediocre-season

Hatchet job or fair comment?

Hatchet job mate. 

Evans has become a very bitter Red since FSG appointed Brendan over his more favoured Paul Lambert and has never forgiven them, nor had a good word to say about anything the Club has done since.

Of course none of us know these days what's going on in the background as all the leaks about TC conflict, the stats guys reporting blow for blow on every part of a game to Boston via email and all the other sh*t that engulfed us over the past few years seems to have dried up this season. 

It could all still be happening of course but it's just not making it into the public domain.

Tony Evans

It might be time to revive "Being Liverpool." The much-derided behind-the-scenes-at-Anfield television series was conceived and created four years ago, the last time Liverpool reached two cup finals. It failed because the central character, Brendan Rodgers, came across as a smug spouter of clichés and management-speak. His sidekick, the risible managing director Ian Ayre, posed on a motorbike. It was the wrong vehicle: This was car-crash TV.

There is a genuine superstar at Anfield now. Jürgen Klopp has real star appeal. He is watchable, charismatic and the cameras love him.

Klopp dazzles. He is fun. The German is animated on the sidelines, quick with a quip and has a winning smile. A winning team would add to his lustre.

In 2012, Kenny Dalglish won one of his finals, delivering the League Cup and a Europa League place to Anfield, but only managed an eighth-place finish. He was summoned to Boston by Fenway Sports Group, the owners, for a post-mortem after the season and sacked. There is more chance of a "Being Liverpool" revival than Klopp being treated in a similar manner.

Yet there is a case for holding an inquest into Liverpool's performance since Klopp took over from Rodgers in October. Klopp, 48, has had a huge emotional impact on the mood of the club but the feel-good factor has not been reflected on the pitch. Liverpool finished the season with the same number of points as the previous campaign and in the same position: eighth.

Klopp is clearly an upgrade on Rodgers but that has barely shown in results. He had 31 Premier League matches to organize and inspire the team. Before Klopp, the team were averaging 1.5 points per game. After the German's arrival that figure rose to 1.6.

It is true the squad that Klopp inherited is substandard but top-class managers find ways of covering weaknesses and promoting strengths even where they lack quality in the squad. Leicester City are a prime example of how a team can become greater than the sum of their parts. Liverpool rarely looked like that.

No one should judge Klopp until he is able to recruit the sort of players he can trust but it is a surprise that he was unable to adapt the players bequeathed to him into a more cohesive unit. After all, when he arrived in October Klopp was optimistic enough about their prospects to suggest to FSG that the team could compete for all four trophies available to Liverpool. The new manager soon found out that any hope of a title challenge was illusionary.

If Klopp is building a team to play in his trademark gegenpressing style, that is fine. Yet at some point opposition managers will work out a way to nullify his tactics. There have been few signs of pragmatism and flexibility from the manager in his first eight months in charge.

Klopp's disciples -- and the deification of the man is so strong that it justifies the use of the word -- point to the two cup runs this year as proof of forward motion. That overlooks that Liverpool reached two semifinals in Rodgers's final season and were somewhat unlucky to lose to Chelsea in a two-legged League Cup tie.

The other semifinal, in the FA Cup against Aston Villa, was one of the most shambolic performances in recent Liverpool history. It was only slightly worse than the second half of the 3-1 defeat by Sevilla in Basel last week. While Rodgers stood watching haplessly and hopelessly at Wembley, his successor reacted to the Spanish side's goals and dominance by trying to rouse the crowd. Any post-season inquest should be focused on this moment and the owners should be asking why their manager was not concentrating on rousing his team. Connecting with supporters is one thing, but Klopp's attention should have been on the pitch. He looked like a man devoid of ideas.

The suspicion is that FSG are so in thrall to their manager that few tough questions will be asked this summer. That can never be good for the man in the dugout. Arsene Wenger's total control over Arsenal has yielded a splendid cash flow at the Emirates but only two FA Cups in the past 11 years. It took Sir Alex Ferguson 15 years and unparalleled success at Old Trafford to get anywhere near the hero-worship that the Liverpool manager has been granted like a birthright.

Klopp is a brilliant acquisition for Liverpool. He was the best manager available to the club. He needs time to get things right and has many of the hallmarks of someone who can join Anfield's pantheon of greats. It may take the entire length of his three-year contract to turn things around.

Yet the absence of proper analysis of his first part-season is worrying. If they were making "Being Liverpool" now they would probably call it "Being Klopp". The deification of the manager shows how far standards at Anfield have fallen -- and the huge job he has ahead of him.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/liverpool/364/blog/post/2878333/Jürgen-klopp-deserves-criticism-for-liverpools-mediocre-season

Hatchet job or fair comment?

Evans for a die hard red never has anything positive to say about LFC.
I would ignore anything he has to say related to LFC.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/liverpool/364/blog/post/2878333/Jürgen-klopp-deserves-criticism-for-liverpools-mediocre-season
Hatchet job or fair comment?

Without rehashing many of the points made, think it's pretty much what we've been discussing on this forum for a while now.

Disappointing enough season in the PL but can see progress is being made, great to reach two finals though massive let down not to win the Europa and the 2nd half display, too early to be truly critical of Klopp until he gets a chance to put a real stamp on the side/squad, BUT everyone pretty much agreeing that we expect better next season and that we have a top manager.

And even though I do think that some objective analysis of Klopp has been taken out of context (by some), spun into over-the-top criticism, and seen as not getting behind the manager, I'd still disagree with -> "The deification of the manager shows how far standards at Anfield have fallen".  Don't think people have completely lost their faculties.

There are bits of the article which resonate, but most of it is bollocks. Yes I agree that there has been a lack of "analysis" over the league performance (and some of us were onto the fact that things weren't actually improving much in that regard long before we threw the towel in), but to call the manager "devoid of ideas" in the final is being disrespectful. "Devoid of options" would have been closer, and my ONLY criticism in this regard was a failure during the season to develop one with the players at his disposal.

In this sense I think Evans has a fair point, and going forward it's going to be something we're going to have to address if we are going to prosper. The "gegenpress" will not work every week in England, simply because a number of teams make no attempt whatsoever to play constructive football in their own half. In that sense perhaps the Premiership differs from the Bundeslega (I don't know as I don't watch it) but we did show a bit of a lack of an ability to win football matches in more than one way last season.

Jürgen though and his backroom boys are clever people and I'm sure they'll work it out. In the meantime, two finals in one season makes it a bloody good one, regardless of the league position.

There aren't really any around though mate are there? Daft c**** down here tell me that Lampard was better (he wasn't obviously but he was a very good player) and at least he was cut from a similar cloth. These days though who is there that scores heavily from midfield? Not only would they need to score and assist heavily, they'd have to be capable of hitting it from distance to such effect that it causes you to formulate plans to counter him. Gerrard in his pomp dictated to teams that they simply had to come out and meet him when he got the ball 30 yards out otherwise he'd strike at goal. This alone opened the door for many an assist or goal for someone else.

Football goes in trends, in fashion waves. It always has and always will. Modern midfielders sit in and hold, but that's because IMHO there aren't any around that can do what Gerrard could. If Gerrard were available today, he would be coveted by every single club in Europe, not unlike when he was around before infact. For that reason alone, there s no way on earth Jürgen could buy him, simply because we would've outbid to a factor of three on both fee and wages.

Would he want him though? Of course he would.

EDIT: I've thought of one. When he's not injured Aaron Ramsey tries to do a Gerrard and he's bloody good at it. Probably about 20% as good as the original which isn't a bad effort. Yaya Toure of four seasons ago probably got as high as 50% of Gerrard in his pomp. Can't think of any others right now.

I agree it will be a long, long time before we see a player of Gerrards quality again - Lamoard was never as good but has to be given respect for his phenomenal scoring record.

Its a real shame that Gerrard lost his shot with his ankle and adductor injuries.

What I meant though was exactly the kind of playet you identified - not as good as Stevie but someone playing in a similar mould. Even those are incredibly hard to find.

In terms of a Klopp team I think the player we need would be  defensively aware but with an incredible passing range and fizzing with game intelligence. More of a Souness than a Gerrard.

But those players are just as rare.

I agree it will be a long, long time before we see a player of Gerrards quality again - Lamoard was never as good but has to be given respect for his phenomenal scoring record.

Its a real shame that Gerrard lost his shot with his ankle and adductor injuries.

What I meant though was exactly the kind of playet you identified - not as good as Stevie but someone playing in a similar mould. Even those are incredibly hard to find.

In terms of a Klopp team I think the player we need would be  defensively aware but with an incredible passing range and fizzing with game intelligence. More of a Souness than a Gerrard.

But those players are just as rare.

They are mate, which is why I suppose we'll end up signing "Klopp type players" who can fit into a team pattern, make the collective more than the sum of its parts etc. Lets be honest if we spent every window looking for a new Steven Gerrard we'd be setting ourselves up for disappointment. It's a million per cent more sensible to try and develop a system which works even if you don't have a 20 goals a season midfielder than it is to search for that player.

That said if such a phenomenal player, and absolute World beater at the peak of his powers falls into your lap as say Suarez did with Rodgers, you have to maximise his impact and challenge for the title each year you have him. I'm absolutely certain that if Jürgen did have a Gerrard come through the ranks or if one fell into his lap as Suarez did with Rodgers we would challenge for everything every season. I'm sure he's got half an eye out looking for that player too, but realistically so has everyone else in the world so the chances of us getting one are slim. 

Overall its a good article.

Evans is right to question that second half against Sevilla. The players totally collapsed and gave up. The tactical switches were made too late and throwing Benteke on to save the season seemed a bit desperate.

Given the occasion and the tine he has spent with the squad those things shouldnt have happened.

Because its Klopp and because he is charismatic these things are currently being ignored but he needs to fix the problem - and quickly.

All managers rely on faith in the message they are selling - when it starts being questioned authority disappears quickly and the margins are so small at this level.

So can't be arsed reading the last 13 pages of this thread since the the last time I looked at it. Can anyone give me a summary of what's been happening in here?