Klopp master class merely on hold

EVEN by the shoot-on-sight standards of 2016 it was outrageously premature. Some smart alec had revealed that Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool had won just 1.59 points per game compared to 1.88 under Brendan Rodgers. The inevitable headline followed: How long will Liverpool keep faith in Klopp?
Making it worse was that the story beneath it was largely supportive of the Liverpool manager and pointed out that Bill Shankly needed three years to get the club promoted from the old second division. Brian Clough also languished in those same doldrums at Derby and Forest before going on to win the league with both. Alex Ferguson did not take the title until his seventh season at Manchester United.

Those three are unarguably among the half-dozen greatest managers of all time and the long gestation periods for their successes beg the question of how long they would have lasted under today's searching forensics?
And how many brilliant careers have been aborted?
What prompted a critical look at Klopp was the shock defeat at Burnley that followed the opening day win at Arsenal, while the return to White Hart Lane just 10 months after his debut on the same ground seemed an occasion to take stock.
"Inconsistency" was the preferred stick with which critics attacked the German, claiming that after almost a season and with his own players, Liverpool should not be prone to such wild fluctuations in form as they displayed in their two opening games. Two games!
Liverpool did morph from ponderous to electrifying and back but did not even wait until Burnley – they did it at Arsenal when they allowed the Gunners to take the lead and then come back from 4-1 down to 4-3.
But the Reds were without several key players and bedding in new ones while their gegen-pressing is more susceptible to swift fluctuations in fortune than a more normal modus operandi.
After all, there is an all or nothing element to certain incarnations of the original Dutch concept of total football.
Mercifully, we do not have to be overly concerned about the future of the German manager.
He has the Kop in the palm of his hands and impressed his doting owners enough to have been rewarded with a six-year contract. If that is not enough to silence the Doubting Thomases, let's look at his achievements.
Taking over a club in disarray at the end of the Rodgers regime, he re-energised the players whom he took to two cup finals and now has a vibrant young squad that looks capable of a serious top four challenge – and all without spending much money.
His presence has also galvanised the fans who have not had such a charismatic manager since Shankly.
Let's not forget that the Kop was losing its voice under Brenda.
Home gates were just over 30,000 and there were times you could hear a pin drop. 'Is this Anfield?' away fans would cheekily inquire.
But those from the red half of Manchester, Villarreal and Dortmund were in no doubt during last season's Europa League campaign when the place reverberated on yet more "great European nights".
Although failing to snatch a Champions League place was a bitter blow, the absence of European competition may enable Liverpool to benefit from more time on the training ground just as they did during "the Luis Suarez season".
Indeed, there is no one better than Klopp to take advantage of this and inculcate his methods even more deeply. As he showed when exasperated by questioning about new signings last week: "You don't believe for a second in improvement on the training pitch?" he asked one reporter.
Besides a greater collective effort and understanding of his ideas, he can point to several individual players that he has improved and, in a couple of cases, transformed.
Most notable are Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren who were probably Exhibits A and B for those accusing Rodgers of vastly overpaying for what looked like second-raters from Southampton.
Lovren was a recurring accident in his first season while Lallana was no more than a willing trier.
They were prominent in the queue to be sold off at massive losses. But both have embraced the Klopp work ethic and gained in confidence to be worthy members of the side.
Roberto Firmino has also now justified his £29 million price tag and is keeping Daniel Sturridge out of the side.
Ah, Sturridge. As for his injuries, Klopp seems to have put Humpy Dumpty back together, but as we saw on Saturday, Firmino, Coutinho and Sadio Mane look the best options for a slick-passing, quick-countering front three which is Klopp's preferred method of attack.
Sturridge expressed his displeasure last week about being asked to play wide but he must learn to adapt his game or he will be following the same route as Joe Hart in being unable to change to suit a new manager's style.
The only other quibbles with Klopp from this vantage point are playing Jordan Henderson as a defensive midfielder when his only asset is lung power – surely Emre Can is destined for that role? – and the £25m he spent on Georginio Wijnaldum. There must be something the rest of us cannot see in the Dutchman but it is still early doors. And Mane's turbo-charged pace and Joel Matip's promise make up.
At Spurs, the difference between last season and this was palpable.
All we saw in 2015 were exhausted players collapsing into a grateful manager's arms when they were pulled off, and reasonable contentment with a draw. On Saturday, it felt like Liverpool were robbed.
Had the referee not intervened twice to Liverpool's detriment, we would now be lauding a Klopp masterclass instead of merely defending him against unfair criticism.
But we suspect there will be many more occasions in which to do just that.