...... The Coaching .....
*I'll leave the Klopp talk that a Utd's fans views on the season has devoulved into with this as this isn't really the thread, but your post deserved running with Ste.....
I've cut your -bang-on post down to highlight the key point you kept returning to mate. The most important part of what we are and what the manager lives for before he ever turns to the market.
The coaching.
He's currently the best coach/ teacher in the World bar none IMHO. Pep may currently have a greater trophy haul, but he does it a completely different way. As innovative as he's been, he's the preverbal cheque book manager ' and would be totally screwed working the way Jürgen has always worked.
Right from his first game that I put the line-up above at Tottenham after he'd had literally 3/4 days with them when they returned from Internationals, you were blown away by the immediate, massive difference in organisation and work-rate from the horrible to watch tedium we'd fallen to the end of Rodgers time. If he could bring about such an immediate change in half a week, to get them all to buy in to his style so quickly ...... Like
'WOW!!!!!' What would we be like after a few seasons under this man?
It's amusing as **** how there's
still this mad narrative about him that he's this all-out pressing, crazy football coupled with a load of hugs and fist pumps on the sideline. And nothing more. A gimmick manager. When there's neither not a more thorough manager out there in leaving no stone unturned in every last detail of preparation. Along with being as tactically savvy as anyone you care to mention.
I think one of his greatest strengths that doesn't get talked about much is being humble enough to recognise he doesn't know everything and readily surrounding himself with experts that do and delegating/ trusting them. For example, people look at our injury record as pure luck. But that's far more by design than luck given he's completely revamped the medical, nutrition and sports science departments with some of the best in their field out there. Taking Munich's top fitness coach and nutritionist. A couple of City's best physio's. Top medical doctors from World-renowned sports injury clinics etc. Folk laughed and mocked when he hired a 'throw-in' coach. We now retain possession from throw-ins 33% more than any PL club I think the last figures were. We have a full-time psychologist consulting with the first team. Top Australian surfers have been brought in to consult on the psychological side which you'd laugh at on the face of it but who's been credited with having a major effect in the mental preparation the last pre-season for the lightening fast start we had. The list goes on of innovative changes he's made to both bring in experts who know more than he'll ever know in their respective fields. And being open to trying anything, however crazy-sounding, that can give his players that tiny edge that makes all the difference. There can't be many managers that are as thorough in the attention to the little things like he goes into.
Which all ultimately aids what you've mentioned numerous times there and what's the key to everything he gets the most pleasure out of. Coaching/ teaching players and improving them to the maximum they can possibly be.
You can honestly count on one hand the number of players through his time here, either what he's inherited, or those that he's brought in, who he hasn't improved through repetitive hard graft on the training pitch. Which when you listen to ex-Mainz and Dortmund players, almost none of who ever have a bad word to say about him, is a theme right through his career. And why there are not many top players now that aren't fair begging us to take them to have the chance to work under him. And being as we train as we play, and go all out every session, that's some man-management ability to have every member of the squad willing to happily work their collective behinds off every day knowing for most there's little chance of playing at the weekend. But they all know they'll both be turned into better footballers for it and at some point, their chance will come and they need to be at that level of everyone else in our side or else it throughs the whole team/ intricate system off. And it permeates down to the youth ranks as the open pathway is there for them as he's a massive advocate of giving youth their chance as you noted. Naturally, a better calibre of player as you grow plays a part. But that ability to make them into even better players than you bought ..... even the very top ones like van Dijk ..... that's priceless and rare.
From what he did at Mainz, through Dortmund, to now restoring L'pool back to the top of the English and European mountains, he's a living example of not having to spend humongous amounts of money and having 20 plus perceived WC players in your squad. You just need to get your whole structure right to identify the perfect fits for you. And then trust in your own coaching ability and everyone you've surrounded yourself with to turn them all into better footballers than when they arrived with you.
I honestly think Klopp's one of the very few top managers you could put with a league two/ Conference/ Non-league side and you'd see a quick, marked improvement in all their players. He's just that exceptional at what he loves more than anything.
Coaching. It underpins
everything we are.
*Now back to your scheduled Utd thread haha.
