{"id":253,"date":"2015-10-08T15:50:01","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T15:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=253"},"modified":"2015-10-08T15:59:40","modified_gmt":"2015-10-08T15:59:40","slug":"klopp-for-the-kop-an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/klopp-for-the-kop-an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"Klopp For The Kop – An In Depth Look At The New Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today the news broke that Jurgen Klopp will put pen to paper and become Liverpool Football Club\u2019s new manager, with a press conference announced for 10am tomorrow. The 48 year old becomes the first German to take control over the club and only the third non-Brit to sit in the Anfield hot seat.<\/p>\n

What will he bring to Liverpool? What does he need to do to get the Reds back on track? Is he the season changing appointment that many think, or will he prove to be a disappointment like other managers before him? We ask all of the big questions about Liverpool\u2019s new manager and explain why we think he\u2019ll be a great addition to the Merseyside club.<\/p>\n

Klopp v Rodgers: How Big Of An Upgrade Is It?<\/h2>\n

When Brendan Rodgers arrived at Liverpool Football Club he was always going to find it difficult to win over the doubters. The club had been in a state of flux for too long, fighting too many battles on too many fronts to come out swinging without hitting a couple of speed bumps along the way. From Rafa Benitez running himself into the ground to save the very soul of the football club, through to Fenway Sports Group needing to go to the high court in order to rescue the club from the hands of two cowboys desperately trying to bleed it dry, Liverpool FC has been put through the wringer in its recent history.<\/p>\n

When they arrived in 2010 and realised that Roy Hodgson was an absolutely clown who should never have been allowed anywhere near the Anfield dugout, FSG apparently wanted to try to persuade Jurgen Klopp to leave his post at Borussia Dortmund and see if he could work his magic again on Merseyside. They failed in their attempts to lure him there then and they also failed when they tried it again in 2012 \u2013 Klopp, it seems, is a man of loyalty.<\/p>\n

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almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

So if they couldn\u2019t get Jurgen Klopp himself why not try to make their own version? All you need to do is find a forward thinking, progressive manager who hasn\u2019t achieved much but is heading in the right direction, give him support and the right tools and he\u2019ll be able to propel the team straight to the top, right? Well, almost.<\/p>\n

In some ways FSG really did get close to creating their own Jurgen Klopp. In the aftermath of his dismissal it\u2019s easy to think that Rodgers\u2019 entire Liverpool career was one long disappointment; that the whole time he spent at Anfield was just like the last fifteen to eighteen months. Yet the reality is that the second half of Rodgers\u2019 first seen was one full of excitement and progression \u2013 not enough to suggest what was going to come next, of course, but progression nevertheless. We all know what happened next.<\/p>\n

The Northern Irishman\u2019s second season came agonisingly close to being perfect. It was a win against Chelsea away from being the most improbable league victory of Liverpool\u2019s entire history. Rodgers came achingly near to writing himself into the history books as the first manager to win Liverpool a Premier League title.<\/p>\n

When his team missed out on it and started to be disbanded was when the wheels began to fall off the wagon. From Suarez to Barcelona to Sturridge to injury, Rodgers lost his best players and then lost his way. If he had won the title in 2013 \u2013 2014 would he have been given his notice last week? Would the players have given him more faith and trust than they appear to have done over the last couple of months? Would the fans? Would he have become Liverpool\u2019s Jurgen Klopp? It\u2019s possible, but sadly for everyone connected with the club it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Rodgers was always likely to struggle to win over the fans because of his lack of experience; the only trophy he\u2019d won was the Championship Play Off Trophy before he succeeded in establishing Swansea as a Premier League team. Klopp might have had some sympathy with his predicament.<\/p>\n

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360b \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

The German started his career at Mainz when he was made their player-manager and he led them to their first appearance ever in the Bundesliga. He also oversaw their relegation from Germany\u2019s top flight and left the club when he failed to get them back up again. When he joined Borussia Dortmund in 2008 he arrived at a club that had finished thirteenth the year before. It was a club with a storied history; a place where the fans expected them to be fighting for honours at the top of the table despite the fact that they an outlay similar to Queens Park Rangers. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

The Dortmund fans weren\u2019t initially blown away by the appointment of Klopp. After all his only real experience was getting a lower league club into the Bundesliga before promptly getting them relegated again. He started slowly there, too, taking time to get them playing the type of football that he wanted to instil in them, but crucially he guided the team to victory in the T-Home Supercup, defeating German giants Bayern Munich in the process. They finished sixth in his first season in charge and moved up to fifth in his second. Unlike with Rodgers at Liverpool the progression was slow and he showed that he could make them winners at the first time of asking. It was enough to convince the Dortmund fans to give him their support.<\/p>\n

FSG wanted to find their own Klopp when they couldn\u2019t get the man himself and Rodgers arrived at Liverpool with a not dissimilar CV to his German counterpart\u2019s when he arrived at Dortmund. He came close to replicating Klopp\u2019s achievements but failed, meaning he had nothing to fall back on when things went wrong. The Reds have now gone from appointing a Klopp-like figure from the start of his Dortmund career to the master of all he surveys at the end of it.<\/p>\n

If things don\u2019t work out for the eccentric German immediately he has got two Bundesliga titles, four German cup medals, a Champion\u2019s League runners up medal, two German Football Manager Of The Year awards and a second place finish in the FIFA World Coach Of The Year awards to fall back on. In a recent fourfourtwo.com article he was voted the sixth best coach in world football. In short, he\u2019s one hell of an upgrade on Brendan Rodgers.<\/p>\n

Why Is He So Right For Liverpool Football Club?<\/h2>\n

Liverpool is a very special football club. Their critics might not like to admit it, but it\u2019s true. It not only has an incredible history that is rivalled by only one club in the entire country, it also has a large and loyal fan base that will never allow the club to slip below the standards they expect of it. Fans of other clubs are quick to call Liverpool\u2019s supporters \u2018deluded\u2019, keen to point out that the club has only won one League Cup since 2007. But it\u2019s that willingness to be deluded that not only allows Liverpool\u2019s fans to keep going but also to achieve the impossible. Here\u2019s Roy Henderson on Twitter:<\/p>\n

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If a football club, or anything else in life, is gonna overachieve, the starting point is everyone having unreasonable expectations.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Roy Henderson (@royhendo) October 7, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n