He is fucking amazing and doing his stuff when Liverpool are without Mane, Coutinho and Lallana. Considering Chamberlain is starting to look the part, Sturridge is back scoring goals and Solanke is beginning to get minutes (not to mention Ings is back in training) the attacking prowess of Liverpool at the moment is phenomenal.
It's the reason I have so little patience with all the grinches moaning about Klopp not setting Liverpool up properly. Normally getting the attacking talent is so much harder, but Liverpool is legion with fast, skillful, hard-working scorers. After that it should be relatively easier to identify 2-3 defenders and a holding midfielder to take the team to the next level. It's like Klopp and the TC have done all the hard work and now, just as they are about to move to the easier stage fans are impatient because they did it the other way around.
Agreed.
I think it's a case of habit. We''ve been nurtured over the latter 15 years or so to prioritise team building starting from the defense and then moving to the forward position. To the degree whereby we'll heavily value improvements that sprout from the defensive side of the game (i.e how many more clean sheets this season vs last) rather than the improvement on our attacking displays. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Rafa (t-r-e-m-e-n-d-o-u-s!), however, under Rafa whenever we played a top side, more often than not we let them control the ball and we controlled the pitch. With Klopp, we're playing against top sides and actually dominating posession against them. We're creating chances galore, and rather than complaining about not creating enough chances (think Rafa years), we're complaining about not being clinical enough. The system is working, however it requires the right players within it to truly see it flourish.
It's frustrating to see us concede silly goals on a consistent basis. Goals that we'd never, ever, EVER, have conceded under Rafa or Houllier, and that might be the crux of the matter. We're just not used to being weak defensively, and strong going offensively. I would have loved us to have pushed a defensive target this past summer, but it seems the club and Klopp prioritised the attacking targets (Salah+ locking up Keita) rather than the defensive side. But that's how Klopp wants to build his team, and I can't judge the picture until I see all the pieces of the puzzle.
Just remember, under Rafa we failed to bring in any sort of winger that resembled Mane or Salah. In fact, that was our biggest gripe during that time, why aren't we bringing in a quick attacking winger with goal scoring in their resume. Apparently, that wasn't how Rafa saw the game, or rather, that wasn't how Rafa prioritised his targets. Closest signing to them I can remember was Riera (not as fast, not a goal scoring) and Kewell (actually come to think of it, he was the closest, though he was injured most of his time here and we never found a similar like-for-like replacement). Maybe that's just how it is, every manager has an achilles heel that they'll have to overcome. Success tends to be closely connected with their ability to taper over their blindspots.
Personally, I think it's easier to find defenders than it is to find wingers like Mane and Salah.
