THERE was no Philippe Coutinho, Nathaniel Clyne or Mamadou Sakho. Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke, Simon Mignolet and James Milner were not needed off the bench.
There were five changes to the starting line-up that scorched Manchester City, and yet, Liverpool still swatted six goals past Southampton.
Liverpool with outside-of-the-boot passes. Liverpool with chest-downs and crash bangs. Liverpool with precision at an angle. Liverpool with a divine touch. Liverpool with intelligent runs. Liverpool with expert finishing.
Liverpool put up their Christmas tree at St Mary’s and delivered joy to the world.
Where once it felt like Jürgen Klopp had to look under the tables in the medical room and behind the gym equipment at Melwood for playing options, it now does not matter which names are on his teamsheet; the German has unwrapped the potential of the collective by unlocking the confidence of individuals.
64% – Liverpool's 2015-16 win rate has increased to 64% under Jürgen Klopp from 27% under Brendan Rodgers. Uplift. pic.twitter.com/lN7bnTWZiO
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 3, 2015
Divock Origi helped himself to a hat-trick on Wednesday night. Brad Smith delivered a stellar assist. Think about that. Dine on that. The young and raw Belgian striker is the club’s fourth-choice forward at the moment. He’d be number five if Danny Ings was still fit and squeezing fighting football into every inch of his frame.
Three weeks ago, Smith may well have been flipping burgers at Maccies and hardly anyone would have noticed. He was unmissable in his cameo against Southampton.
Remember when Lucas was about to be recycled? How about when it looked like Jordon Ibe forgot what he should do with a football? When Dejan Lovren was the worst of the worst things? When Origi looked more Lost than the TV show?
Klopp came in and called for a restart and the Reds seem to have a team of Usain Bolts out of the blocks. There is a touch of “insert any name here” about Liverpool now: he can be a match-winner, and him, him, too…
Jordan Henderson is fit, but he hasn’t started a game yet upon his return. Can you imagine him being available but not absolutely needed at the start of this season? In 2014-15? Even in the glorious, glorious campaign before?
He is a crucial part of the club’s core, but doesn’t have to be the life-support machine. Daniel ‘The Difference’ Sturridge did it again last night. His double provided the platform for Liverpool to have a full-blown party on the south coast. But he was on the bench against City and not involved in the 3-1 spanking of Chelsea. The Reds are mustard with him, but they’ve shown they can be just that without him too.
6 – Daniel Sturridge has now scored six times in his last five League Cup games. Update.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 2, 2015
Coutinho doesn’t have to play his ‘shoot us out of trouble’ card. Benteke doesn’t have to be on the pitch for the side to be powerful in front of the posts. Options all over the place. To the left, to the right.
In Klopp’s first interview at the club, he said “I’m not a dream man, I don’t want to have Cristiano [Ronaldo] or Lionel [Messi] and all these players in one team. I want these guys [the current squad], it was a decision for these guys. Now we start working.”
When headlines focused on him needing to buy to bulk up the quality of the side, the 48-year-old quickly ridiculed such suggestions. When injuries flowed thick and fast, he deflected attention from those unavailable to those who could actually help him deliver results. At every opportunity, he has talked up his players.
There were few who fully believed Klopp when he walked in and declared his faith in every single member of the squad, those doubts will now be as relevant as Sadio Mane’s opener in the Capital One Cup quarter-final.
This Liverpool, where there’s a flood of names pushing for a place in the teamsheet let alone the starting 11, is a gorgeous Liverpool.
This Liverpool, where the getting better and better players could become the best players, is a wonderful Liverpool.
This Liverpool, this is Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. There’s plenty of work to be done but Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool live for work, they love work.
90 – Tonight is the 90th time in Liverpool's history that they've scored 6+ goals in a single game. Rampage.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 2, 2015
He came in and made it clear: “It’s our job to let supporters forget their problems for 90 minutes and then they can talk for three days about the last game and talk for two days about the next game.”
Talk about Southampton. Talk about Newcastle. Talk about points. Talk about trophies.
Liverpool are saying it all with their performances. Liverpool want do to the business. Liverpool are doing the business.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
You say it well Melissa. Was chuckling a few paras in. Well done. All hail Jurgen Klopp.
As I pointed out on another post, it won’t be unusual for us to start with Mignolet, Clyne, Milner, Hendo, Firmino, Coutinho & Benteke on Sunday.
That’s 7 sets of fresh legs for a match 3 days away, all of which you’d be happy with to start the game.
That’s a proper squad!
Great piece Mel,
Apart from watching us play that well and seeing lads grow into the jersey over the last few weeks the sense that we really have depth in this squad now is very pleasing and reassuring for the months ahead,
I love the way the gaffer justs shrugs off injuries/suspensions and brings it all back to whoever is available will do a job for the team, nobody on a pedestal, as it should be,
Love that quote from him at the end of your piece, buzzing from last night and cannot wait for Sunday myself, the Christmas fixtures never looked so appealing.
Great post that Nick, Han Solo on the big screen in 2 weeks again,
Christmas 2015 could well be good un.
mignolet / clyne sakho gomez flannagan / henderson milner coutinho/ firmino ings benteke >>> our side made up of players who didnt feature last night (bar henderson with 10 mins at the end), or are out injured.
Pretty decent squad we’ve got here.
Forgot Markovic as well….
does opta joe offer amount of back heels in one game ?
It’s incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a greater show of management. Let’s not forget that we now know the names of Randall, Smith, Rossiter and a host of other youth players that he is taking an interest with.
Combine that with the fact that he seems to be dispelling the aura that the scouts and committee were bringing in average players.
He gives the impression that it is all back to basics and keeping things simple, but Shankly did that too, when the opposite was true. It’s a combination of unique personality, drive, hard work and, ultimately, a complete faith in his understanding of the game and what can be accomplished when everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Ultimately, it is winning that unites everyone and his tactical acumen is the best we’ve had since Rafa. But, his personality has won everybody over. Our rival fans like Klopp. It’s the biggest man crush I’ve had since Han Solo.
I understand it’s ridiculous to say so right now, but once he starts winning and if we get CL, there are very few players we won’t be able to sign and I’m not sure he will want to sign the players we can’t afford. That said, this brand of football , like 13/14, and combined with the marketability of the Klopp factor will see us top the TV earnings charts again. I didn’t think the 13/14 feeling would be back for a long time. But it is back. Make no mistake about it.
I get the feeling Klopp wont care about money – its not his problem.
But I can also see him not suddenly making a big play for superstars. he seems like he’d much rather unearth them through clever use of scouts etc. much like Wenger did in his early years at the goons.
I think any thoughts we may be raiding Bayern, juve etc for their best players will be shot down quickly by Jurgen Klopp – he wants those who want to make it, not those who think they have.
I reckon Klopp’s worth 500k a week. That’s 26 million a year. We easily waste that on new players that don’t deliver, before we even start paying their wages.
I like our new signings, but Klopp would have done fine with last season’s squad. He’d win the league for Everton!
They say you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but I’m convinced that Klopp’s success is down to him having the widest upper dental arch in the game.
Next time we need a new boss, just give the candidates an apple each and tell them to bite into it.
Mel, always a pleasure reading your pieces and always brings a smile to my face.
Nick T; absolutely spot on, especially the “biggest man-crush since Han Solo”. That made me chuckle and I completely agree. What is it with Klopp? He’s so magnetic, has ENORMOUS charisma and manages to be serious (when needed), no nonsense tells it how it is but still be unbelievably likeable! In all my years I can honestly say I’ve never seen the combination of what he has in ANY manager. What a guy. I literally love him.
Southampton asked quite a few questions at Man City last weekend in the 2nd half . 2nd Half against us, at home they let ANOTHER 3 in.
Klöpp suggests a reporter self-examines himself to ask better questions? Check.
The team performance challenges fans not to be shackled by fixed ideas of First Team Players. Check.
We took a 6-1 at The Brittania a few months back, on the way to here.
and Saints 11 against us were supposed to be strongest 11, compared to the team against ManC…
Mel, great piece. Two comments from JK have struck me this week. The first was his rejection of any goalkeeping controversy, specifically mention press stories about Jack Butland and German goalkeepers. The second was his post-match comment last night that his training sessions aren’t much fun for the players, which damn near quoted the Moreno story that ran yesterday morning. Perhaps I’m reading too much into coincidences, but I find it interesting that JK seems to be acknowledging that he pays fairly close attention to what’s being said about his team.
The ones that got me was “I cant stop thinking about that fucking palace defeat” – 3 wins (now 4) on the spin and its the defeat thats still bugging him.
I like that.
Melissa, it wasn’t too long ago that you were writing about the desperate need for pace, mobility, and a clinical finish. The very things that Balotelli and Lambert lacked, which meant the very things that Rodgers lacked. With Sturridge, Firmino, and Benteke struggling for fitness in a squad of new faces, the comparisons between Klopp and Rodgers is not entirely fair. Kind of like two gunfighters, but only one has bullets.
Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to have a manager with such immense tactical understanding and charisma, but piling on Rodgers seems divisive and somewhat misleading. In fact, part of the thrill of watching the 6-1 masterclass was its reminiscence of the Rodgers era when we had proper strikers. Outside of the boot passes? When have we seen them before? Back when we had players to get on the end of them!
Perhaps not for others, but I find it hard to imagine that we could have seen this kind of performance from Klopp with the tools available last season. Would he have chosen Balotelli or Eto’o? Either way, you are negating the strengths of the rest of the squad, as you argued so well against singing Benteke a few months back.
Honestly, these debates are hopelessly tiresome, yet many writers feel that downplaying Rodgers will make Klopp shine even brighter. I disagree. I think Klopp is a phenomenal manager, I’m a believer drinking deeply of the electric kool-aid, and the time has come to look forward. Making comparisons between the managers almost inevitably means choosing which part of the Rodgers era to highlight and which to obscure.
I am all for a “one club” mentality, so I prefer to bury the Rodgers era in a dignified manner, appreciate the dreams he afforded us, and move on respectfully and joyously into the Klopp era. YNWA
Thank you, Timmo. I hope your Christmas wish comes true!
walter please stop with the Rodgers talk….if the change Klopp has made doesnt show u just how limited he was then youll never ever see it. Youre mind is set and youll never get over him. Truth is, Klopp has come in, took players that Rodgers thought werent good enough and made them play to their true potential. Rodgers was rightly given his praise in 13-14…but since then, hes been mediocre at best and deserved the sack…END OF
well said….you saved me typing similar message on my phone.
Walter lad…I said this before…time to let go…I was not BR hater. I just wanted FSG to make a quick decision. And they did the best possible one… Klopp came in..and he has turned my life into fun again…(not talking about players, not about Liverpooll, not about profit of the club) I am talking about me…my life…I am living and breathing Liverpool again…every moment…
If you read my post, you’ll see that I am actually arguing for a moratorium on the endless comparisons to Rodgers. They’re tedious, misleading and divisive. Rodgers didn’t have fit strikers of quality since losing Sturridge in the spring, so it’s comparing apples and unfit apples. Which doesn’t make any sense. So can we just enjoy the Klopptabulous times we are privileged to live in? YNWA
agreed, and cheers…
Walter, are you Brendan Rodgers love child?
Enough harking back and ‘burying’ his era ‘in a dignified manner’. Give it a rest ffs.
The fella tried his best, was found to be out of his depth, wish him all the best in Quatar or wherever.
Never again do I want to see our club hire someone who is learning on the job at our expense.
Klopp is our most important managerial signing since Shankly.
We are on the march again and it feels good.
That was a good read. (I’m still right about the eye shadow.)
Weight of the shirt my arse
What’s impressed me most about Jurgen Klopp, is his ability to make subtle tactical changes to the team during a match to negate teams strengths, but keeping our attacking strength going forward. Last night was a prime example. Poor Randall was exposed early doors, especially for the first 15 mins, but with a slight alteration to midfield, this was nullified and they were never a threat down the left again. This is in stark contrast to BR, (who I really liked, by the way), who would swap the entire system, more than once during a match, in a kind of knee jerk reaction.
The other impressive thing is the ability of JK to get more out of his players during a match, to lift their work rate to another level. How many games did we see under BR where the players started in 2nd gear and couldn’t get out of 2nd gear all match, making for a dour affair, and usually a loss or a lucky draw. Again, it seemed to be like that last night for the first 10 mins, then the entire team upped their work rate as JK shouted at the players, especially Lucas and Can. What an incredible man!
Jesus, let’s all be happy can’t we? We’ve got the best manager in the league, maybe in the world (who knows?). He fits us like a glove, he’s fucking ace and he’s ours. There’s no-one else like him in top flight football today, he’s utterly unique and perfect for where we are as a club. I wouldn’t want swap him for anybody.
Kudos to Ian Salmon: I’ve hated being managed. I’ve hating managing. I’d love to be managed by Jurgen Klopp!
This man could have made stars out of Lambert and Balo. It’s the difference between a world class coach and Mr potato head flying his half built plane by the seat of his pants
By “half built plane,” do you mean amassing 84 points with our:
A) most wins,
B) most goals,
C) best goal difference, and
D) best home record of the PL era?
See, Mel, this is what I’m talking about. Like throwing a carcass to the vultures.
E) Luis Suarez
I see people still wanting to have ‘it was just Suarez all along’ Rodgers arguments even now after that last night. Christ.
Mel~ three comments
1. this is the best piece from you so far, in my opinion…but I might be feeling this because of Klopp effect…I don’t know. I might even think that Susan Boyle is super model if she’s managed by Klopp..maybe :)
2. one day, when I am rock bottom, down, out, shite, whatever else adjectives, I may need to commission you to write a piece about me, just to turn my life around, just to read and re-read by myself, about me, written by you. and make myself feel a million bucks…
3. correction: “Smith may well have been flipping burgers at Maccies” should be “Smith may well have been flipping burgers at Hungry Jack” :)
thank you…always.
Walter, honestly dude just let it go…. You will never really enjoy the good feeling that Liverpool and Klopp are dishing out right now if you continue being hung-up and fantasysing about BR.
Yes 13-14 was brilliant under Rodgers but did we beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Bridge or City 4-1 at Etihad, no, we lost both games 2-1. If you cant see the difference between this team and Rodgers teams then you are supporting the wrong club dude. Please google Brendan Rodgers Middle East and maybe you might find the correct team to root for.
Up the Reds.
Great read. You have a way with words, Melissa. Thank you.
The choice of highlights from Saints perspective. Priceless.
The ‘moaning’ about the alleged ‘handball’ by Randall was only outdone by the repeated whinging at the change to 3 at the back by Southampton.
Priceless, indeed!
Never used to like your columns much melissa , used to only propogate more negativity during the recent tough times under BR. you are picking up now with some good articles. So are the reds! delighted.
Listening to the pink and reviews of the game on TAW player (subscribe if you don’t already!), it was just so crystal clear to everybody but the hosts. Man of the Match? Ibe, Origi, Sturridge, Lucas, Can, Allen? No.
The Man of the Match has comprehensively been Jurgen Klopp for quite some time. The others… they just bask in his glow on the field. They are but extensions of his will and power on the field. Jurgen Klopp doesn’t care if he goes one down early. Jurgen Klopp doesn’t care if we haven’t won at the bridge for how ever long. Jurgen Klopp isn’t affected by visiting the champions elect.
Jurgen Klopp is our Man of the Match.
The highlights up the page are brilliant. I rarely watch them to be honest but the game was worth it. The whole thing was even more enjoyable with the Saints fan, second commentator having a complete meltdown as the goals fly in. By the end he can’t think of anything else to say other than it’s an embarrassment. ahahha pure gold.
Blown away by the change Klopp has engineered. Unbelievable. Not sure I’d even swap him for Pep tbh….
One thing I’ve started to notice is that, for the opposition, trying to hold a defensive line about 5 yards outside the area is proving to be disastrous for them. The diagonal ball (often met with a diagonal run) keeps exposing them. This is how we are getting a lot of our goals now.
Klopp has already got our players to time these passes and runs really well. We aren’t getting caught offside much anymore, even though the margins are very tight.
Teams are going to adapt, although that won’t be easy for them. It will be interesting to see what they try and do.
I would be interested to hear what the guys on the show think they would do, if they were an opposition manager looking to thwart our narrow attacks under Klopp.
Changing the point where you set your defensive line is very tricky. I think that teams could do worse than getting a lot more physical with our attacking players just outside the area, as we don’t look especially threatening from free-kicks in central positions.
Maybe they could ask their keeper to take up a slightly more advanced position, when it looks like the pass is on? The keeper would be closing the gap which the player can run into and could more-easily commit to getting to the ball first when it is played?
In doing this, they are obviously presenting a shooting opportunity to the man looking to make the decisive pass. Again, this is very risky for them but it at least creates uncertainty for the passer. When players are in two minds, they often make a mess of it.
There is probably no easy answer, but they are going to have to try and do something. We are carving teams open right now, with these passes. If Sturridge decides that he fancies returning to work for a bit, things are going to get even worse for opposing teams.
A matter of fact on the nearly men or managers of yester year, such as Evo, Houlier, Benitez and Rogers, is they almost led us to the Holy Grail and all of them narrowly missed out for different reasons. However 1 thing they all have in common is they took us as far as they possibly could. And time was never going to alter the outcome.
NB This Kaiser fella is a different beast altogether. He may possibly deliver at the 1st time of asking! But make no mistake he WILL deliver many Trophies. Making up for lost time.
Mel is spot on Walter. Let it go and enjoy mate. The good times are about to roll.
Apologies for banging on about this, but I think Sturridge’s second goal against Southampton really illustrates the point.
Their right back is close enough to Sturridge, at one stage, to get a hold of him and prevent that run. I’m not sure if the lad was on a booking or not. If he wasn’t, he can give a free kick away there without creating too much risk.
Look at where the keeper is positioned though and look where Can’s ball pitches. If the keeper is on his 6-yard line, he easily cuts that out. If Can attempts the shot (and the goalie is on his 6-yard line), I doubt he scores more than one time in ten with either his left foot or the outside of his right. He’s still going to have to find the top-corner.
It’s a great pass and a good first-time finish, but the goal is preventable.
At the other end of the pitch, I think Moreno’s defending from crosses is a real concern. He got done by Mane in exactly the same way as against Chelsea, when Ramires got the opener. Moreno didn’t even know that there was a man running past him, until the ball was in the back of the net.
In both cases, Moreno has his eyes fixed completely on the guy making the cross and then the ball. His lack of awareness, in these situations, looks awful and he appears to be starting games in a complete daze.
Well said indeed. Face is aching from grinning since Wednesday, and as the initial hope has become excitement, has become delight and is now turning to joy, I feels like Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit, where he climbs up the tree to escape the Orcs, and gets a cracking view for miles and miles. From the massacre of St Mary’s, onwards to St James’!
Living in the ‘States, some feller once accused me of being a communist because I didn’t know who Hans Solo was. When they told me he was some bloke fighting the dark side I said ” Oh, like Yosser Hughes then?”