I'm not worried about him. He needs at least one or two summers before being judged.
Interesting. Don't you think it's more of a backbone deficit than an intellectual one?
It's often overlooked by outsiders, but the great Liverpool teams didn't just have top class players, and tough players, but they were also really, really clever - Kenny, Souness, Hansen, Molby, etc: they knew every trick, every insight, every tactical trick.
Too often in games you'll watch us build an attack and then think, 'Oh for feck's sake, why did you do THAT?' It must drive Klopp absolutely crazy.
Obviously he'll try to find those who do but there are no guarantees. And our recent history is littered with managers who bought players in good faith only to find their attitudes were utterly lousy.
Which would be bold because in order to succeed with this lot he will have to transplant their mentality.That's why I expect him to stick with what he has unless he knows the player coming in.
I'm worried about him. I'm worried that the job and the people around him aren't living up to his expectations. He's obviously figured out by now that his squad is not short on talent but is almost completely bereft of bottle. Where he oozes fight and effort his players are weak of body, mind and spirit.
He's falling out with other managers on an almost weekly basis...and while I don't mind that I sense Klopp loves to be loved or at least respected and outside of Anfield, he's not getting much of either.
And then there's the press. He's doing a great job of keeping his spirits up during pressers but it's not hard to spot his understandable disdain towards some hacks and their lazy reporting. If results don't improve he's going to quickly grow to hate the English press and their intrusion on his private life.
It must be frustrating to him that he's having to try to instill a bond between players and fans that clearly doesn't come naturally any longer. He's putting an arm around the shoulder of the players who need it (eg Mignolet) and he's taking a harder line where it's required elsewhere (Sturridge). It must be doing his nut in that his coaching and management methods are so far not cutting through.
So I worry that while Klopp might be the man for Liverpool, are we the right club for him? Or is England the right country for him? This is already the biggest test of his managerial career and for him to stick around long enough to succeed, he's going to need a hearty appetite for it.
No need to panic just yet but before too long Klopp's commitment to the job is going to be tested...either by interest from elsewhere or just a sense of disillusionment. The club has to be in better shape when that time comes otherwise I fear it'll be auf wiedersehen Klopp.
Sorry LTW, I fundamentally disagree with that. The ability is there. The mentality, ambition and energy are sadly lacking.
He took a big risk coming to Liverpool and taking on a massive job but having done that there is no going back for him really. He needs to try make it work - he doesn't seem like the surrendering type.
As for the touchline antics, my understanding is that they were a common feature of his reign in Germany. He's not all teeth and fist pumps.
Klopp knew that Liverpool is a challenge, he knew about the British Press, Klopp has been assured funds to fix the damage and he gets paid £5million pounds a year.
I've stopped expecting us to win enough to be in the top 4 and just want us to end up in the top 6. Unlike many of you I don't expect Klopp to sign anyone because he has said that he doesn't want anyone.
He is putting faith in players and hopefully they will repay his loyalty, as the players don't have hunger and Klopp has asked them where is their hunger?
[article]
"I can understand why everybody makes January transfers. It seems to be the only possibility everyone is satisfied with," he told BBC's Football Focus.
"It is impossible to say 'No, we won't do it'. I can understand that other people feel pressure.
"It is better to do something than to stay together so you can buy somebody and say 'I tried'.
"You take a player for a horrible or crazy price to say 'we did it', and not be sure he can help you, because you cannot be sure."
[/article]
In the full interview he said it was a huge gamble buying in January, because you cant be sure the player will work out, he finds easier to work with what he has. He also said, The best time is in the summer as you don't have the pressure or the next game .
Even prior to the window he said when pressed by the press about jan signings, he asked the press how would they like it if their employers brought in other stuff to do their jobs?
Thats why I am not expecting too much activity
Im not worried about Klopp in the slightest, i think we are onto a winner with him i really do...
What i am concerned about is one fit striker out of 4 more or less all season and two good midfielders out and skrtel out with a game every three fucking days... and injured fringe players...
We took a beating...
I just want a fit firing squad and to see what he can do with one.
I don't think anyone is doubting Klopp's managerial and coaching abilities.Im not worried about Klopp in the slightest, i think we are onto a winner with him i really do...
Perhaps the word "and" would serve in my previous post...You're more of a stick than carrot man, I see
As for managers, it's a humanitarian disaster. They get here full of the joys of spring and leave in tears, with heart conditions, needing therapy. They don't seem to do much better or worse than each other, so this unchecked soul destruction is pointless, and expensive. How much has it cost to hire and fire Houllier, Rafa, Hodgson, Dalglish, Rodgers and now Klopp? Hundreds of millions?
I propose that instead of a manager we hire anonymous coaching staff who do their work behind closed doors, and they pick the team with the help of the captain, and we build a wickerman outside the Kop. When things are going well we leave trinkets and offerings to the wickerman and make funny memes about him for Twitter. If we lose three on the bouce we burn the wickerman and dance and sing through the night, expelling the evil, then in the morning we build a new one, and honour it as our new god.
It's not too dissimilar to what happens now, I reckon the results would be the same, it would be a hell of a lot cheaper - and we wouldn't have to go through this awful process of destroying a good man like Klopp.
Im not worried about him on a personal 'can he handle it level', hes made all the right noises so far and he basically called the team a bunch of pussies after the game yesterday, which is good to see. Hes got a fiery temperament and he will rub some people the wrong way, inside the club and out. So be it, the club seems to be stuffed full of people devoid of the sort of passion to take us to the very top.
The one reservation I have about him, and I had it before he joined, was whether hes flexible enough tactically. Was his last season at Dortmund a perfect storm of injuries and top players leaving or was he simply figured out by other managers? So far hes struggled badly against teams that have sat deep and tried to deny us space. He can expect to see that on a weekly basis now that its become an obvious achilles heel. Added to that hes put out a few sides, like yesterday, that you have to say were as clueless and disorientated as anything we saw in Rodgers time. Firmino and Benteke play like 2 guys who have never met before. A midfield of Can Lucas Ibe and Coutinho were always going to get bullied by West Ham. The learning curve is steep in the premier leauge, its up to Klopp to prove hes actually climbing it rather than repeating the same mistakes. Its going to be this time next year before we really have any idea what hes building here but judgement so far has to be reserved.
Considering that the only other fit midfield option was Joe Allen and up front it was either Benteke or no one, I'd like to see how you would put out a less "clueless and disorientated" team in these circumstances.
[article]
"I can understand why everybody makes January transfers. It seems to be the only possibility everyone is satisfied with," he told BBC's Football Focus.
"It is impossible to say 'No, we won't do it'. I can understand that other people feel pressure.
"It is better to do something than to stay together so you can buy somebody and say 'I tried'.
"You take a player for a horrible or crazy price to say 'we did it', and not be sure he can help you, because you cannot be sure."
[/article]
In the full interview he said it was a huge gamble buying in January, because you cant be sure the player will work out, he finds easier to work with what he has. He also said, The best time is in the summer as you don't have the pressure or the next game .
Even prior to the window he said when pressed by the press about jan signings, he asked the press how would they like it if their employers brought in other stuff to do their jobs?
Thats why I am not expecting too much activity