30 steps to bringing an end to 30 years of hurt
AFTER a 30-year wait, Liverpool have finally lifted the trophy they have pined for and prized above all. At Melwood, there has been a regular reminder that “a title is not won in a season, but through actions over a long period”.
This success has been carved through a series of smart decisions, learning from failure, patience through development and sticking to a way of working even when it might not be popular.
From the moment Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group finally secured Jurgen Klopp as manager at the third time of trying, the club have built towards being England’s best again.
Here, we underline 30 crucial steps to them being crowed champions…
Right man, right structure
IN September 2015, Liverpool’s owners knew they had to strike. The manager they had always coveted was on a sabbatical. Brendan Rodgers, the man in the dugout, had ended the previous season with a 6-1 defeat to Stoke and had amassed three wins in 11 games across all competitions at the start of 2015-16.
That September, Liverpool’s chief executive at the time, Ian Ayre, made a call that would put the most crucial part of the club’s restoration in motion. He dialled Klopp’s agent, Marc Kosicke, which led to a Skype call and then a face-to-face interview with FSG in New York.
During a six-hour meeting, Klopp outlined how he would reconstruct the Merseysiders into a domestic and continental powerhouse again. The process would be gradual, but effective. Everything he spelled out nearly five years ago has been put into practice.
On his three-year anniversary in charge, with silverware still elusive, Klopp said: “The only thing I can do is to put all I have — my knowledge, passion, heart, experience, everything — into this club, 100%.”
Liverpool have gone on to become champions of Europe, the world and now of England.
One voice
WITH Klopp’s appointment, there was no longer dual policies in operation at the club. Liverpool, while being collaborative, were united under a common purpose.
Everything from on-pitch identity, profile of transfer targets to the work at the Academy were joined up. A great example of this ‘one voice’ strategy was the priming of Trent Alexander-arnold at Kirkby to become Liverpool’s right-back.
Through talks with Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards, Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe calculated the smoothest pathway to the first team was defending that flank and switched the Scouser from midfield to full-back.
For three months, under the guidance of then U18s manager Neil Critchley, Alexander-arnold was put through gruelling training sessions to prepare him for the German’s demands.
Liverpool have one of the best right-backs in the world, aged just 21, in a nod to how having a clear vision across all departments can have effects.
The crucial trinity
AT the crux of implementing Liverpool’s united strategy is the triad of Klopp, Edwards and FSG president, Mike Gordon. Their relationship is informal, open and honest with a basis of trust and respect.
Edwards sifts through the recruitment analysis and pinpoints the right players for Liverpool. The pair also strategise over improving the club off the pitch, as evidenced in the new state-of-the-art training facility under construction in Kirkby.
Gordon underwrites their wishes, but also provides whatever support is necessary.
Removing the doubts
WHEN Klopp arrived at Liverpool, he found a squad devoid of belief in themselves, a fan base so accustomed to disappointment they anticipated it and staff who felt disempowered.
There was a toxic disjoint across the club, which needed immediate remedying. The manager’s appointment was universally celebrated and so it presented an opportunity to flag the issues from the off and go about eroding them.
At his unveiling, Klopp addressed the supporters, urging them to turn from “doubters to believers,” and to stop “carrying history around in a backpack” because it was time to write a new story.
Away from the cameras,
Klopp had gathered the squad. For their first meeting together, he “wrote in big letters the word ‘TEAM’ and I said that is what I want us to be.
“‘T’ is for terrible to play against. ‘E’ for enthusiastic. ‘A’ for ambitious. ‘M’ for mentally-strong machines.”
Displays away at Chelsea and Man City early into his tenure showed the squad what they were capable of and they lost the League Cup final to the latter on penalties. Liverpool’s Europa League run further cemented the notion that something special was brewing.
The doubts were rapidly dissipating.
Everyone is responsible
WHILE the team believing in themselves was necessary, Klopp needed them to have faith in, appreciate and respect the operation around them.
After the first big meeting with the players, he made all the staff at the training complex come in to share who they are and what they did.
“All of these people are here to help you perform
Party time: a young Liverpool fan celebrates outside Anfield, (right) a supporter poses with the Bill Shankly statue, and (far right) the scenes after the title was confirmed
at 100%,” Klopp said.
Implementing on-pitch identity
WHEN Klopp and FSG spent hours talking through Liverpool’s future in October 2015, the ownership group did not noose the manager with points or position targets. They wanted a complete overhaul of the state of play and understood that meant looking beyond results.
The directive to Klopp was to impart a recognisable on-pitch identity. FSG wanted Liverpool to be so unmistakable that even if they weren’t in club kits it was obvious that it was still them.
The first rule the manager laid down was “counter-pressing is not a requirement, it is the law.”
In the aftermath of the scorching of Crystal Palace on Wednesday, which virtually secured them the title, Klopp remarked: “I cannot remember a 4-0 after 80 minutes or so when, if a player from the other team wins the ball, there are four players chasing like it is the only ball. I really like that.”
Ignoring the noise
DURING the opening months, Klopp (below) stressed that every decision Liverpool took would be questioned but the club had to remain unwavering.
From criticising his use of Roberto Firmino as a No.9, his commitment to signing Van Dijk and not just another centre-back for the sake of it, or his aversion to spending if he doesn’t believe it is absolutely necessary, Klopp has taught the club to switch off the noise.
Re-energising the fan base
ON December 13, 2015, when Liverpool secured a 2-2 draw with West Brom after a Divock Origi strike on 90 minutes at Anfield and Klopp led the players arms interlinked to salute The Kop, he was derided.
That, however, was the start of the manager underlining to the fans how pivotal they were.
Then, Barcelona happened. And last June, Liverpool were back and lifted a sixth European Cup.
Strengthening the backroom
IN 2016, Bayern Munich unhappily ceded two of their most esteemed staff to Liverpool. Mona Nemmer joined as head of nutrition with Andreas Kornmayer becoming the club’s head of fitness and conditioning.
Klopp has steadily established a “world-class operation” at Melwood.
Shared responsibility
IT is not and has never been a one-man show with Klopp. Each head of department in football has full jurisdiction over their area of expertise.
“In the end, there’s always that one person that makes the decisions and that’s very often me, but we’ve created a situation where I can have all the best information from the best people before I reach it,” the manager has explained.
Respecting development process
“OUR process has been step by step,” Klopp has been keen to stress. “You cannot give everyone a book, where you write all your requirements down and players read it and immediately understand it.
“You have to do it plenty of time over and over on the training ground and get used to it.”
Learning from failure
WHEN Liverpool lost the League Cup final on penalties to City in 2016, Klopp said “only silly idiots stay on the floor”. His main message to the squad was getting to finals is the hard part and must become a habit. Losing them is okay if you learn, because it primes you to win.
“Each missed chance is not a failure, it is information — use it and go again,” Klopp preached.
Building a squad of mentality monsters
LIVERPOOL are renowned for having the best recruitment analytics team in the game, but their due diligence on players extends far beyond the num