Klopp is no messiah, but he’s pretty damn good

It’s safe to say that both the fans and the national media got completely swept up in the Klopp love-in that occurred when he first arrived at Melwood.

Here was a guy that had seemingly worked miracles in Germany, taking a team with a fraction of the financial power of Bayern Munich and leading them to two league titles and a Champions League final during a 7-year stay.

This was a man with the power to turn Brendan Rodgers’ underperforming squad into top 4 contenders at the very least and maybe even win a cup or two before finally landing number 19.

So far, that potential has not diminished. But the timeframe has definitely been extended. While we seem to have a good chance of winning the League Cup this year (Klopp won’t let us underestimate Stoke and we’ve shown we can beat Man City), it’s clear that this squad needs a great deal of work before they become champions.

Now that everyone’s calmed down, I’ve seen certain sections of the media start reporting that Klopp had the same amount of points from his first 8 games as Brendan Rodgers did from the eight games he resided over this season. While that is indeed true (he’s gone to register another two wins and a defeat since) they seem to be overlooking some crucial points.

This isn’t Klopp’s team yet. He’s working with another manager’s squad. That’s not to say that these players are bad and he needs to recruit more, but it’s still going to take some time for the players to adjust to his playing style. Especially when you consider that some of these players have only just arrived (Firmino’s still adjusting to a new league and culture) and had been spending the season trying to get around whatever new system Rodgers was trying to impress upon the team in the summer. And that’s not even mentioning the horrific injury list that both managers have had to deal with this season.

There’s going to be a learning curve, so bumps in the road are to be expected. For every 3-1 win against Chelsea and 4-1 win against Man City, we’re going to get a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace or depressing 3-0 defeat to Watford. The players and manager need more time together, that’s all. Once they have that, we’ll start to look more consistent.

You can already see the effect Klopp is having on some of the players. Emre Can looked like a starting spot had come too early for him under Rodgers, but he’s looked good on occasion under the German (though improvements can and must still be made). Jordon Ibe had been stagnating under Rodgers, but since Klopp arrived he’s been rejuvenated. Moreno looks a lot better and Dejan Lovren, the player everyone had given up on, has actually looked pretty good recently.

Klopp has made Lovren look good. He’s no miracle worker, but that’s some pretty impressive stuff right there.

I was impressed by something Klopp said before we travelled to Sunderland.

“We don’t want to go there and show how football should be. We want to go there and win, that’s the only reason why we travel there.”

We won the game 1-0. In time, the players will get to grips with his teachings and we will look more like “a Klopp team” but in the meantime, there is a willingness to just turn up and get the win. Right now, that’s the most important thing and it seems to be working.

If Klopp can make this work right now, it’ll say a lot about what he’s capable of in the future. Despite how depressed we were by the end of Rodgers’ reign, it’s still possible for us to get a League Cup and a top 4 place by next May.

I’ll be incredibly excited to see what he can do with a full pre-season and a couple of transfer windows under his belt.