Matty
Well-Known Member
If the rumours are to be believed (and it's media rumours involving Liverpool so a mountain full of salt needs to be taken with them) then Klopp is the one that Liverpool want, and he's very interested.
I can see why Liverpool would want him, he's got a track record of success at Dortmund, he's got experience of managing a team which is clearly not the biggest player in it's domestic market, he's seemingly able to work with younger players and develop them, and he's accepting of the financial realities of a club not at the top of the food chain, in that your top players will be open to leaving.
What I can't see is why Klopp wants Liverpool (if, indeed, he does). Their one, and only, pulling power is brand recognition. Liverpool remain a "big name", a team people in Europe pay attention to, that will clearly have some appeal. However that's where it ends. Liverpool are some way adrift of being a Champion's League qualifying side, and on the trophy front they've gone a quarter of a century without a domestic title, and it's now over a decade since their last Champion's League title. Liverpool are not legitimate challengers for any trophy, aside from the possibility of a domestic cup run and, lets face it, how excited is Klopp going to get at a League Cup victory? I don't see Liverpool having the ability to push themselves to greater things, certainly not in the short term, with or without Klopp.
The issues Klopp, or any manager, who takes over Liverpool will have is twofold.
1 - Expectations, both from those in charge and, more importantly, the fans.
Liverpool, when you consider their pulling power for players, their current squad, and the last couple of decades, are a side which should be considered alongside Tottenham Hotspur. They'll finish top half. They should finish between 5th and 7th, which may, or may not, be good enough to get them into the Europa League. They might, at the absolute best, as a one off, like Everton and Spurs before them, make the top 4, but it won't be a forbearer of consistent top 4 finishes. That's where the club finds itself. However, that's not how the majority of fans see the club. Their illustrious past has coloured what they see as acceptable for Liverpool. 19 domestic titles, 5 European Cups, it breeds a sense of entitlement to success. The fact the vast majority of that "success" came during the 1970's and 1980's seems to have escaped their view. 5th, 6th and 7th is not success to Liverpool fans. It is not acceptable. A top 4 finish is a minimum. That means any Liverpool manager must over achieve just to be considered to be doing an ok job. That's not an environment where you'd want to place yourself.
2 - Ownership strategy.
FSG have clearly developed a process, a methodology, by which they want to run the club, and through which they believe they can achieve success. Rodgers was fired because he wasn't achieving what they felt could be achieved with the money spent, and the players bought. I agree on the former. If you spend nearly £300m you should do better than Liverpool have done. I disagree with the latter. If you sign the players Liverpool have signed you should not expect a top 4 finish. FSG's approach to squad strengthening at Liverpool is a mirror of the one they employed at the Boston Red Sox, with success. Don't spend huge sums on proven talent, at their career peak, sign players who can be statistically shown to be of a higher "worth" than their monetary value. Bring in youth, with the potential to develop into top talent. Don't bring in top talent. The issue is that baseball is a hugely statistically measured sport. You can measure absolutely every single action within a game, and accurately compare individuals using those statistics. You can't do that with football. It's a more dynamic game, less stationary. How do you accurately measure, statistically, a players ability to find space in the box? Explain Frank Lampard's success when compared to other midfielders via statistics. Why was he so much more successful? It's just not possible. This means that a high number of Liverpool's "value" signings turn out to be of inferior quality. FSG haven't ditched this process with Rodgers, they will still pick signings by committee, they will still shy away from true world class talent. They will still end up with a squad which is incapable of competing with City, Chelsea, United and Arsenal, all of whom have a track record for being willing, and able, to purchase top level players.
I can see why Liverpool would want him, he's got a track record of success at Dortmund, he's got experience of managing a team which is clearly not the biggest player in it's domestic market, he's seemingly able to work with younger players and develop them, and he's accepting of the financial realities of a club not at the top of the food chain, in that your top players will be open to leaving.
What I can't see is why Klopp wants Liverpool (if, indeed, he does). Their one, and only, pulling power is brand recognition. Liverpool remain a "big name", a team people in Europe pay attention to, that will clearly have some appeal. However that's where it ends. Liverpool are some way adrift of being a Champion's League qualifying side, and on the trophy front they've gone a quarter of a century without a domestic title, and it's now over a decade since their last Champion's League title. Liverpool are not legitimate challengers for any trophy, aside from the possibility of a domestic cup run and, lets face it, how excited is Klopp going to get at a League Cup victory? I don't see Liverpool having the ability to push themselves to greater things, certainly not in the short term, with or without Klopp.
The issues Klopp, or any manager, who takes over Liverpool will have is twofold.
1 - Expectations, both from those in charge and, more importantly, the fans.
Liverpool, when you consider their pulling power for players, their current squad, and the last couple of decades, are a side which should be considered alongside Tottenham Hotspur. They'll finish top half. They should finish between 5th and 7th, which may, or may not, be good enough to get them into the Europa League. They might, at the absolute best, as a one off, like Everton and Spurs before them, make the top 4, but it won't be a forbearer of consistent top 4 finishes. That's where the club finds itself. However, that's not how the majority of fans see the club. Their illustrious past has coloured what they see as acceptable for Liverpool. 19 domestic titles, 5 European Cups, it breeds a sense of entitlement to success. The fact the vast majority of that "success" came during the 1970's and 1980's seems to have escaped their view. 5th, 6th and 7th is not success to Liverpool fans. It is not acceptable. A top 4 finish is a minimum. That means any Liverpool manager must over achieve just to be considered to be doing an ok job. That's not an environment where you'd want to place yourself.
2 - Ownership strategy.
FSG have clearly developed a process, a methodology, by which they want to run the club, and through which they believe they can achieve success. Rodgers was fired because he wasn't achieving what they felt could be achieved with the money spent, and the players bought. I agree on the former. If you spend nearly £300m you should do better than Liverpool have done. I disagree with the latter. If you sign the players Liverpool have signed you should not expect a top 4 finish. FSG's approach to squad strengthening at Liverpool is a mirror of the one they employed at the Boston Red Sox, with success. Don't spend huge sums on proven talent, at their career peak, sign players who can be statistically shown to be of a higher "worth" than their monetary value. Bring in youth, with the potential to develop into top talent. Don't bring in top talent. The issue is that baseball is a hugely statistically measured sport. You can measure absolutely every single action within a game, and accurately compare individuals using those statistics. You can't do that with football. It's a more dynamic game, less stationary. How do you accurately measure, statistically, a players ability to find space in the box? Explain Frank Lampard's success when compared to other midfielders via statistics. Why was he so much more successful? It's just not possible. This means that a high number of Liverpool's "value" signings turn out to be of inferior quality. FSG haven't ditched this process with Rodgers, they will still pick signings by committee, they will still shy away from true world class talent. They will still end up with a squad which is incapable of competing with City, Chelsea, United and Arsenal, all of whom have a track record for being willing, and able, to purchase top level players.