Three Wise Men: Being Liverpool

Football can be  inconsiderate at times. The Sunday you are free from all work-related and social obligations, the only game to whet your football appetite is Watford vs Crystal Palace; while the following Sunday serves up so many derbies and heavy-weight clashes you are forced to sacrifice one for the other. The week you sell Agüero on fantasy football, because you are fed up and finally decided the return was not worth the investment, he scored five goals in a 6-1 win (a moment of silence for those of us affected). But most of all from this weekend, while we were all still coming down from Arsenal’s blitzkrieg on Manchester United, Liverpool announced that they had parted ways with manager Brendan Rodgers.

Admittedly, for United supporters the news was a sort of welcomed respite. Your closest rivals had come to your aid by doing their best to lighten the mood. Liverpool, 10th in the league, massively underwhelming in the Europe, and now in search for a new manager.

However, if the rumors are anything to go by, Jürgen Klopp is set to take the wheel at Anfield as soon as Friday. As far as searches go, that did not take long.

On paper, the former BVB man seems the perfect candidate. Liverpool are in dire need of fresh ideas and applications. The tenacity in his approach and football philosophy, reflects on the field and in his players. Ironically, this is the same style that Liverpool displayed when they were at their most thrilling and entertaining under Brendan Rodgers, almost leading them to a first league title in 23 years. Klopp has shown he can be successful against the odds, going toe-to-toe with the mythical monster that is Bayern Munich, using unknown players and while operating on a shoe-string budget in comparison. A distinct quality he has over Rodgers is his experience and success on Europe’s biggest stage, where Liverpool want to be. His personality and blunt humor are enchanting at press conferences and his passion is endearing. On paper, he is the perfect candidate.

Though “on paper” doesn’t cut it. At one point in time, a certain Northern Irishman that had secured promotion for Swansea from the Championship to the Premier League seemed the perfect candidate as well.

The situation inclines me to draw parallels between Liverpool and Tottenham. Two clubs, outside the top four, yet markedly bigger in stature than the rest of the Premier League. Whenever the managerial positions at Liverpool, and to a greater extent Tottenham, become vacant, there is always a subtle excitement. Anticipation to see who will be the next man the helm and whether he will be their Moses, leading them to the promised land of Champions League football. It’s very easy to get caught up in all that, even for a neutral.

For me though,  the jobs are more of poisoned chalices. Whoever comes in, is almost guaranteed eventual calamity. Partly because the current clubs above these two are such dominant forces, but most of the damage is self-inflicted, or rather inflicted from within. Both clubs know what they want to achieve: play attractive, winning football, and get into the top four. The “what” is not the issue, the issue is the “how”. And as we have all heard, “A vision without a plan is just a dream”.

Liverpool’s recruitment strategy has been baffling to say the least. There  is a “committee” or tribunal in place that identifies targets and handles transfers. Of course, the manager is part of this committee but does not have the final say. Again, in theory this is a sound idea. However, when the committee consistently overpays for par/sub-par talent or is always looking to bring in that one English player that had an above average season, the application of idea has to be questioned.

This invariably leaves a manager trying to build a running engine with ill-fitting parts. Even if the manager does have a style of football he wants to achieve, it does not help if the players at his disposal do not suit that kind of play or if there are too many of the same type of player and  not enough of another.

This in return leads to discontent and disillusionment among players, who they felt they were brought here to play and win, and among fans, as what they see on the field does not register with what they hoped the manager would be able to achieve. This leads to the investors (Fenway Sports Group in Liverpool’s case) having to take action, as the results and ambitions set out before hand are not being met. Liverpool will be in search for a new manager, and the vicious cycle continues.

What Liverpool need, even more than a new manager, is a new ideology. A culture that transcends managerial changes or investor takeovers. A clear, well-thought out plan dictating style of play, quality of football and as a result the recruitment of the type of footballers that fit these criteria. The whole club simultaneously needs to be pulling in one direction to get out of this rut they find themselves in. One may think it sanctimonious for me to even suggest that arguably the biggest club in England’s history needs to find culture, but they are no longer that Liverpool. The club needs to reestablish what the phrase “Being: Liverpool” means. Could Jürgen Klopp be the man to do this? Could he be the manager that breaks the cycle? Perhaps. He definitely has the charisma to cause ripples in the club’s structure. Of course, the rumors are not confirmed and he may still not take the job in which case Liverpool’s search continues. But if he does, the biggest question with all this talk of tradition and culture is still yet to be answered: will Klopp suit up or will he be wearing a full LFC tracksuit and cap in the Anfield dugout? Let’s wait and see.