Sturridge A Problem Or The Solution

     When Sturridge missed yet another game with a foot injury, I, like almost wverybody else, was incredibly frustrated, I remember some of the goals he scored whilst alongside Suarez, I knew he was good but to be honest I had forgotten how good he was and I think after reading my Twitter timeline so had many others.  Enough is enough, we need to get rid, get what cash we can for him and farm him out, he is no longer worth the wages, we must get rid, he has become a liability were all comments posted by Liverpool fans and you can certainly see why people were this frustrated injury after injury, constant stories that Sturridge has broken down again, returns to the team only to break down again after only a couple of starts and then this time injured before he even got back on he pitch, it did start to feel like we were paying him for nothing.  Then Klopp worked his magic and Sturridge was encouraged back on to the pitch and within a half had two goals and had inspired Liverpool to a 6-1 win away to Southampton and we all remembered why we love him.

      For most of this season we have been lacking in goals, with only Benteke and Coutinho looking to me like they could get a goal, certainly on a regular basis, far to many draws were the outcome of not having a player  who can tuck the ball away on a regular basis.  It took 45 minutes for us to realise what we were missing not only a goalscorer but a player who can create space, who makes intelligent runs, who lifts the rest of the team who can do the simplest yet most difficult task and put the ball in the net, a player who can turn those draws into wins and who could just possibly turn our dreams into reality.

     Nobody single player is more important than any other, but a striker is responsible for scoring goals and if you as a team don't score you don't win its that simple.  I can't think of any championship winning team woo it a top quality striker, without somebody who can turn those draws into wins, who can break the deadlock when it seems the goal is never going to come.  We have strikers and I am reasonably hopeful that Benteke will turn out to be a good signing for us, Ings had looked like he was finding form just before a season ending injury and Origi despite his three goals recently still has a long way to go despite looking like he may have the potential to achieve but not one of them can compete with Sturridge for goal scoring, match wining ability.

     So yes that statement is always there, "if we can keep him fit" Sturridge is the key man to us challenging for and yes we can dream, winning the title. Not a problem, not a waste of money, we should pay anything for a chance, just a chance that our dreams may come true.  So it turns out that Sturridge may be the solution to our problems the solution we have been waiting for.

@lfclumo

We are coming !

Jurgen Klopp has turned us into something special already and we have so much more to come 3-1 away at Chelsea, 4-1 away at Manchester City and now 6-1 away at Southampton, results that have made everybody sit up and take notice, we are in the semi finals of the league cup, have qualified from the group stages in the UEFA league and are only six points of the top of the league and have played everybody, all the top teams away from home, they all need to come to us.  We are coming and they all know it.  

We have achieved this following having a bad enough start to force the sacking of a manager, Klopp has arrived and made an immediate impact but there is so much more to come from him he has only been working with the players for a few weeks as time passes his messages and tactics will develop the team will get better able to respond to difficult situations.  His management style seems to be bringing the best out of the players, he is certainly instilling confidence in them and they want to play for him they want to achieve, just look at the big soft smiles he can get just from giving one of his famous hugs.  Every player seems to have improved since Klopp took over imagine how much he can achieve and where we could be in three months time.  

We still have huge injury issues our squad and team can only get better as players return Sakho, Gomes, Ings all out at the moment with Henderson, Sturridge and Coutinho all just returning now, our squad can only get better.  At the start of the season Henderson, Sturridge and Coutinho were our three most important players, Sakho our best defender, Gomes looks like our best young signing for years and Ings was breaking into the first eleven when his injury cut him down, any other team would have really suffered with there three best players missing, we have gone through this and are still challenging on all fronts, seriously challenging.

Klopp asked the supporters to believe, he has said he felt alone when supporters left early, he has told Sturridge to learn to tell the difference between pain and real pain, he is sorting out the issues at the club we do believe or are starting to we are not so anxious in the ground heads don't go down when the team falls behind and we can see it in the players we are coming from behind and can hold on to leads, supporters are staying in the ground we all want to create an atmosphere to please the manager and within four days of Klopps comment Sturridge was back on the pitch playing and scoring when he had been mostly injured for a year and a half.  The manager gets his own way and his way is working.

When Liverpool beat Chelsea we were told Chelsea were out of form, struggling, players like Costa, Hazzard, Fabregas and Terry were playing badly, it wasn't Liverpool doing well it was Chelsea doing badly.  When we destroyed Man City again City had had an off day, Silva was injured and Aguero was only just returning and unfit so again no credit to Liverpool despite several of our first team players not playing due to injury, then we mullered Southampton a full strength Southampton whilst reintroducing injured players,meeting star players and blooding youngsters and did it at their ground after falling behind after only 41 seconds 

They know we are coming and we are most defiantly a threat, we are on the verge of another serious title challenge and will challenge in the cups, nobody wants to play Liverpool and I don't think anybody is ready for Klopp.  We have to show we can get the big results at home and learn how to break teams down when they come for a draw but would you bet against Klopp sorting this, I wouldn't, he will sort it and we are coming so get ready for exciting times, Liverpool only ever know one way it will be a roller coaster, it will be exciting and it could just end in glory.

@lfclumo

What has Klopp Achieved

From the moment he was linked with us Jurgen Klopp gave us hope but since he arrived what has he achieved?  For me he has achieved more than I dared hope for, not necessarily with the results on the field we possibly wished for more than three draws and a win but under Rodgers we had fallen so far that it appeared there was no hope and in his short time managing our club he has given me it back, he said in his first press conference that he wanted us, the supporters, to believe and in this short time I already do. 

     In his first press conference he spelled out to us what was expected and what he wanted to achieve, it was music to our ears, he had the supporters eating out the palm of his hand almost the moment he walked through the,door, who could not like his personality and enthusiasm.  He has the past achievements, he has the standing in game, he has the reputation now could he prove it at Liverpool.

    His first game against Spurs and a 1-1 draw away from home, a decent result but more importantly we saw what we had been promised, hard work, pressing and a better organised, more compact team, with people playing in their natural positions.  For twenty minutes we looked a class apart but we did appear to tire and allow Spurs back into the game.  In just a few days we had seen a big improvement and a tantalising glimpse of what we could become, a fantastic start.

     Next up Klopps first home game against Rubin Kazan and we saw first hand how well his signing had United the support, we were desperate as supporters for his approval determined to impress with our support, again we looked organised and efficient with again a sensible selection but severely hampered by injuries we struggled to create or score a draw was a disappointing result but we again saw improvement on the field from where we had been under Rodgers

      At home to Southampton in the league and again big injury problems but the players appeared to be responding more understanding as to what was expected more working harder, better organised and one or two on their way back from injury.  Southampton are a strong team but I was still a bit down after a dram fen with injuries but yet again I think we could all see the improvements in the team.

     A first win for Klopp and a clean sheet with a solid defensive performance against Bournmouth in the League Cup better again a bit more going forward but again very compact a higher defensive line, looking more confident, four games and only two conceded not perfect but a huge improvement and now we had the confidence a win brings.  Another step forward and we can now see that when we can get more players back we could start to look like a different proposition.

     Then against Chelsea, the champions of England at their own ground it came together we fell behind after three minutes and in the past under Rodgers I don't doubt that we would have collapsed but under Klopp no such thing we stuck with our plan, we stuck together and after the first ten minutes dominated the rest of the game, now not only looking compact, working hard, closing down, defending strongly, but now we were attacking quicker, more direct and creating chances and by the end of the game scoring goals three of them against an underperforming Chelsea but still Chelsea the champions.

      For me Klopp has achieved so much in a few short weeks we now have a compact, well organised team, who are defending strongly and now look like they can create chances, we now appear to be working on individuals who have been short of form or playing within themselves and getting more out of them, this can only help us get better especially as players, big players, return from injury.

     In a sort time Klopp appears to have united the manager, staff, players and supporters and we all know what happens when we achieve this, nothing can stop us.  Klopp asked us to believe and I think that now we are all believers.

@lfclumo

So Much For Klopp To Do

 I am fully behind Klopp, I believe he is the man to take us back to the top. I thought it was time for Rodgers to go and I thought Klopp was the ideal replacement, although I never really thought for a minute that we would get him.  Klopp will obviously need time, we have fallen a long way, but we need to be patient we have one of the very best managers or coach in the world we will improve.  Having said all that I have some concerns that I hope Klopp will address in time.

         

       

      Firstly and most importantly several of our first team regulars are simply not good enough, we have been poor in the transfer market and in my opinion we need to recoup some money by getting rid of players who should not be part of the squad never mind the first eleven.  My mane concerns are Mignolet,  Lovren, Lallana, Bogdan and Skrtel, but we also have Balotelli out on loan.  There are several other players such as Can, Moreno, Origi and Markovic who have received criticism but as yet are young and in with a good chance of making it so I would hope that coaching is the solution for these players, I am also concerned by Milner but again I'm prepared to give him a bit of time.  This is a minimum of five players that need changing just to have players of the required minimum standard never mind anything extra that our new manager requires already looking like wholesale changes for an unhealthy third year.

    My second concern is injuries, not that we are having so many or that some of the injuries probably more than our share are long term this is just bad luck, every team goes through unlucky periods.  I'm more concerned about the apparent lack of knowledge, skill or expertise in the club we continuously seem to be unable to diagnose problems or how serious they are and are left with statements such as Firmino appears to have damaged his back, We think Lovren has picked up an injury, Henderson has done something to his foot.  We should be able to say more than I think and we will know more after a scan these are multi million pound talents, no wonder they all head of to America for treatment as soon as they get a chance it appears that at the club, we haven't got a clue.  Players are out for too long Sturridge has now missed three games with what we were told was a very minor knock when he comes back he will only play a few minutes for a couple of games meaning he will have realistically missed at least five games, Benteke and Henderson we were told only had minor knocks yet have been missing for weeks, these are all players we need on the pitch, not forced back early but fit and playing.

     My third concern is around the coaching at the club and I am hoping that bringing in Klopp will already have solved this but for me with the notable exception of Suarez and possibly Henderson every player we sign appears to go on a downward trajectory they simply get worse year on year until we eventually sell them.  I accept that the Liverpool shirt is a heavy one and some transfers just fail but everybody?  The latest two players who we signed in the summer and who have played just about every game are Milner and Clyne and in my opinion both fit into this pattern so far in that Milner has just failed to show the quality he did at City, running ability yes but quality not yet.  Clyne was setting the league alight whilst at Southampton but like Lallana and Lovren before him has not looked anything like that standard with Liverpool and is now starting with the individual errors that will start to knock his confidence.  I hope that Klopp and his team can reverse this very worrying trend on the training pitch.

    Lastly I'm concerned about us the supporters we have gone to sleep, perhaps battered into submission by Rodgers' teams but Klopp has asked to us to believe because he knows that once we do we can and will give the players the confidence they need and then we will truly be the twelfth man that they need.  We need to change the atmosphere in the ground from one of worry and doubt to one of belief and celebration.

     Klopp and his team can turn things around but it's going to take time we are a long, long way from the team we want and deserve but at least now are taking steps, baby steps yes, but steps in the correct direction.

@lfclumo

The Normal One

For most of his time at Liverpool I fully supported Rodgers, I wasn't against his appointment and liked what he did and the style of play he implemented and then of course there was that season and we all owe him a huge thanks for making us dream, we were so close, and he lifted us all.  But then things started to go wrong, one or two strange transfer decisions, some bad team selections and formations and some poor tactics led to some embarrassing results and then for me the worst thing was he refused to change and couldn't stop the slide.  So in the end it was time to go, perhaps even past the time but Rodgers leafs with my thanks and best wishes I really do hope he goes on and achieves.

Then Klopp arrived.  When we were linked I couldn't believe it he seemed the perfect man for the job but he wouldn't consider us, would he?  I wanted him everybody in the world can see that Klopp and Liverpool are a perfect match, but there was no way our owners would get Klopp.  Then the news was breaking that we had approached, that we were in talks and all of a sudden I'm looking at Twitter every two seconds I'm plotting planes from Germany on my computer and he's here, he's our manager.  Almost before we knew it Liverpool have appointed a world class manager but on top of that we have one with personality and charm the man who is a perfect fit for Liverpool.

I not only wanted a good manager, I wanted one who understands our club, one who shares the passion with our supporters, who can walk the walk and go toe to toe with the other big managers in the country, who will fight for Liverpool, they need to have a proven track record , they need to be able to develop players, to buy players in he transfer market who can reach the very top, to attract those players to a club who has fallen from grace a little and to do all this whilst under pressure to win not just games but the biggest trophies available.  Is there a manager in the world who can do all this, yes, just one Jurgen Klopp he certainly has the passion and the charm we have seen that in his time in Germany and already in his first interview and press conference for Liverpool.  Proven track record, check, the man has achieved in Germany whilst taking on Munich one of the world giants.  Can he develop players and work in the transfer market, of course he can look at the players he took to Dortmund and then coached to become some of the bigger names in world football, if I was a Liverpool player I would be very excited at what he can do for me.  It's a big job at Liverpool, no doubt, but it was at Dortmund we a very similar clubs and they were in a very similar position anybody want to bet he can't do it again.

Klopp has spoken about a restart at Liverpool, the passion he will I still into players and the team, promising full throttle football 

again that's what we wanted to hear a very impressive man who has spoken so much sense in his first press conference that if there were any doubters surely their minds have been changed already.  He has asked the supporters to turn from doubters into believers.  I believe, just watch us go, they are all looking over their shoulders and they are scared, Anfield will soon be rocking again under "the normal one"

@lfclumo