Let me take you back to the 4th October 2015. Liverpool Football Club had just drawn 1-1 with Everton at Goodison Park. The game was notable for the coming to the fore of Danny Ings, who had impressed so far during his young career at Anfield. It was mostly seen as a decent result given Liverpool’s penchant for inconsistency against lesser sides at the beginning of that season which Everton were. It had been a tricky start to that campaign. An opening day away win over Stoke avenged the 6-1 thrashing we took at the Britannia on the final day of the preceding season. We followed that up with a 1-0 home win over newly promoted Bournemouth and a credible, yet uninspiring, draw at the Emirates with Arsenal. For Brendan Rodgers though the fourth game of that season was to be the death knell.
West Ham United came to Anfield didn’t look to stand much of a chance. They walked away comfortable 3-0 winners. Our following game was a 3-1 hammering at Old Trafford with a 1-1 home draw with Norwich hot on the heels of that defeat. An extra-time win over Carlisle United that midweek meant Brendan Rodgers’ job was hanging by a thread and a win over Everton a couple of games later may not even be enough to save it. So it transpired and apart from announcing Danny Ings’ arrival to Liverpool fans, that Merseyside derby was to be the last game of the Northern Irishman. He had thrilled us two seasons earlier when he nearly led us to the Premier League title, but our fall from grace since then had be jarring. His position was simply untenable.
Rodgers left the club in ninth position in the Premier League. Manchester United were in transition still as Louis Van Gaal struggled to make a mark on the Premier League, Manchester City were looking a spent force under Manuel Pellegrini. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were floundering as reigning champions, Spurs were surging but were still, well, Spurs. Leicester were on the verge of glory. A run at the title seemed clear for anyone who wanted it. The fact we were nowhere near was desperate for any Liverpool fan to see.
Over in Germany at this time sat one of the hottest free agents in world football. After leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer Jurgen Klopp had, at one point, seemed certain to join Real Madrid. He turned down their advances though and preferred to take a sabbatical from the game. A man with such boundless energy and relentless work ethic needs time to recharge his batteries every now and then. Rumours began to circulate that Liverpool were in talks with Klopp and another of football’s great managers, Carlo Ancelotti. This certainly was a step up from Rodgers yet was a testament to the job he had done with the club. That one magical season had put us back on the map and these two stars of the dugout could now see the potential in this side. They were his parting gift to the club.
There would be an international break after the Merseyside derby and it was during that break that club made their move. Due to his track record of working with young players, which Liverpool had an abundance of talent of in that area, Jurgen Klopp chosen over Carlo Ancelotti. The German signed a four year deal.
Klopp’s impact was immediate. Within a month we had gone to Stamford Bridge and The Etihad and smashed both of the occupants. In Europe we were comfortably making our way through games and we started to progress well in the Capital One Cup. We made it to the final of the both of those competition that season but didn’t manage to win either of them. That didn’t matter though. Klopp was showing that there was talent in this side that just needed unlocking. If his infectious personality hadn’t won over fans from the off then the two cup finals, flashes of the good times he could bring back to the club, certainly did the trick.
Klopp needed a big summer after reaching the Europa League final. Everyone could see he was building something but his first signing had to be a statement. Bringing Sadio Mane to the club for £34 million from Southampton was exactly that. Not only had Manchester United been chasing the Senegalese winger the summer before but Mane fit the bill perfectly for what the manager wanted; young, hungry, pace to burn, eye for goal. It was the first signing Liverpool had made in a while that actually made sense tactically. He would be a roaring success too, along with Gini Wijnaldum who also signed during that transfer window, as Liverpool qualified for the Champions League at the end of the 2016/17 season.
Klopp’s reign has been a series of statements really. The Capital One Cup final, the Europe League final, the signing of Mane, Champions League qualification. They have all been mini-wins really for the German, even the defeats. They have all convinced the fans that we are heading in the right direction. Fans and potential new players. Klopp needed another of these mini-wins. At first it looked like Virgil Van Dijk would be that. It wasn’t so much the player we were after that would cause ripples but the price we were willing to pay for him. £75 million was a huge sum of money and a show of financial posturing from the Liverpool. Southampton made sure that that move didn’t materialise at that particular time but we would eventually get our man and he would be the man too.
Klopp needed to move on from Van Dijk that summer and focus on another player, one that definitely did make people sit up and take notice. It looked like Mohamed Salah’s transfer wouldn’t come to fruition at first but both parties – Liverpool and Salah – wanted the move too much. We eventually got our man for £36.5 million. In attack, he was the final piece of the puzzle.
This has been a project Jurgen Klopp has been building brick by brick since he came to the club. He doesn’t rush into the market for any player, the singing of Virgil Van Dijk proved that. When we didn’t sign the Dutchman in the summer we didn’t blow all of that money on an alternative. We bode our time, we held our nerve and we eventually got our man. The same occurred with Salah. We didn’t panic, we simply waited and gave Rom what they asked for. We added the pace we desperately needed the summer before when he signed Mane but there were too many unselfish players in our team. Salah made selfish runs, added to the speed up front and had no concern with defending. That was exactly what we needed. That was exactly what took us to the next level.
Everything you see that is good about Liverpool today is down to Jurgen Klopp. The style of football we are playing – high intensity, counter pressing, tons of goals – is all because of him, the good and the bad. The players who have signed for the club during his time here are all because he targeted them and because he feels they fit his tactics. The players who are here now who looked done under Rodgers – Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson, even Roberto Firmino – have all been resurrected under Jurgen Klopp.
It isn’t just the results on the pitch we have to be thankful to Jurgen Klopp for though. We now see more fan representation at corporate events, such as media days. Redmen TV and The Anfield Wrap are often invited to such events and have interviewed players this season. This isn’t all down to the manager of course and the media department at the club deserve a huge amount of credit for this, as well as the quality content they have produced for the clubs website, TV channel and social media this season. But the personality of the manager has resonated with the fans. His laid back demeanour and passionate approach to the game not only justifies his claim to being the “normal one” but also make him feel like he’s one of us.
On Saturday evening, 26th May 2018, two years and seven months after taking charge of Liverpool Football Club, Jurgen Klopp led his side into a Champions League final against Real Madrid. That afternoon Liverpool Football Club held a fan event, independent of UEFA, at Shevchenko Park in the centre of Kyiv. At the event were shows hosted by Redmen TV and The Anfield Wrap, as well as music from Boss Mag, a now defunct magazine which still hold parties and gigs in Liverpool city centre. Success on the pitch has seen a resurgence in fan culture which the club has embraced like no other club would. Gone are the days of mid-table finishes and fan protests. Here are cup finals in May and club organised concerts with independent fan organisations. None of this would have been possible without Jurgen Klopp.
Thank you Kloppo.
