I'm going to try and respond to this question as openly and honestly as possible, without trying to revert to the "head in the clouds" vs "not enough ambition for Liverpool" circular argument that seems to infect any discussion of the future here.
In the spirit of honesty, I may as well confess that I am a tireless optimist. I will always look for the best in any transfer, try to defend players or managers where possible, and generally try to avoid the doom and gloom that engulfs a fair number of people. However, I would say that I am far from being a blue-sky idealist. I remember, distinctly, bashing my head against the keyboard when I heard we'd bid Ł35m for Andy Carroll. I never liked Hodgson. I also was open-mouthed with disbelief when a friend of mine told me we had "the strongest squad for a while" going into the 2010-2011 season. But I digress.
If you look at our record since Klopp took over, we've been pretty good. Take out the fact that we threw the last couple of games by playing the kids, ad take away the three reverses of 2-0 leads and we'd have been challenging for second. Since the turn of the year we've scored a very impressive number of goals, and we've seen transformations in a number of players - principally, Lovren and Origi. Quite apart from that, we showed we were more than capable of holding our own against the likes of Dortmund, Man City, Chelsea, Spurs, Villareal, Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal. At one point or another we outplayed all of those teams, and it's no coincidence to say that the vast majority of those performances came as Klopp was beginning to exert his influence over the squad.
No, as we go into the next season, we already have a number of reasons to be excited. We have already signed one of the 3 best goalkeepers and one of the three best defenders in the Bundesliga last year. We have our captain returning from injury, and if his performance against Slovakia in the Euros is anything to go by, he'll be just fine at the heart of our midfield (so lon as he takes no free kicks or corners). We have an absolute gem in Emre Can who will keep getting better. We're a few more "aggressive negotiations" away from one of the best young midfielders in the Bundesliga. We are about to sign a 1-in-3 wide player for under Ł30m. We have a star in the making in Origi, the second best striker in the league in Sturridge, Firmino entering his second season having shown more than enough from his first.
Now, topping all of that we have possibly the best coach in world football and only one thing to focus on. Don't get me wrong; Liverpool F.C. belong in Europe, but this season we need a trimmed squad so Klopp can focus on what he wants and needs. My hope is that we will win the thing, because it's just going to get harder after this.
