Other managers who MAY be linked are:-
Marcelo Bielsa is currently out of work having resigned at Marseille. Is he a winner though? Would he be vocal about his perceived problems with FSG?
Harry Redknapp I think will talk himself up for the job.
Unai Emery - Only signed a 1 year contract extension in the summer when he was tipped to take over Napoli & West Ham. Have been very impressed with him in Europe for Seville. However, he was never able to break the Real & Barca stranglehold in several years at Valencia and hasn´t finished above 5th for Seville.
Cesare Prandelli Runners up in the Euros is probably his main achievement as manager. Tactically believed to be one of the best in the game.
Phillip Cocu Not entirely sure why De Boer would be on the shortlist and Cocu not. A far better coach in my opinion. Although not what we need IMO.
Roger Schmidt Impressive things in Switzerland. Seems to be continuing his work in Germany. There is a touch of Rafa about him. Control freak who seems to go into details other managers just don´t even think of. Sets his team up in the style we as fans want to see now. High, aggressive pressing. High intensity in attack also. His team took Bayern all the way before losing in penalties in the German Cup. Did the same in Europe with Simeone´s Atletico Madrid.
Out of all the names I´ve seen, Schmidt would be very high up my list if he can be tempted to leave Bayer Leverkusen.
My worries about Klopp are:-
1 - He isn´t a manager that brings instant results. His first 2 seasons in Dortmund produced 6th and 5th place finishes.
2 - I also worry that he had a supporting cast at Dortmund that worked well for him. He didn´t identify Lewandowski, Kagawa, Hummels, Reus etc Plus look at some of the quality that came through the Dortmund youth system for him too. Now MAYBE he gets the same support from the youth system here. I doubt he will get the same support in terms of transfers though.
3 - Possible clash with FSG. Regardless of what you think of the owners, whatever manager comes in will need to have their support to succeed. Klopp doesn´t seem the type who will sit quietly by while they fail to put a proper structure in place to support him.
He has a lot of qualities I love and as a man, I can see the Kop getting behind him and growing to love him. I just worry that we would expect (and need) instant success from him (be it a trophy or a top 4 finish) and he may not deliver, if nothing else because the club is a bit of a mess right now. That said, our squad is far superior to what he took over atDortmund. So who knows.
Ancelotti seems the stand out name for me. Although people say he only succeeds where his side is the most expensive in the league, he did great things with Parma - had a weird spell with Juventus where they sacked him at half time during the final league game of the seasons despite Juventus still having a chance at winning the league - then took over a Milan who need rebuilding having gone a few years without a trophy and made them a force domestically and in europe once again building a fearsome team in the process.
Of course at Chelsea, PSG and Real, he had the best or one of the best squads in the country. That said, his win records are not to be sniffed at and he broke goal scoring records too. Finishing above Barcelona is no small achievement, nor is winning the Champions League against Barca, Bayern, Juve, Chelsea, City and others. In two years in Madrid he had a 75% win rate and a 220+ goal DIFFERENCE.
Simeone, Schmidt and Klopp would be my backups. I wouldn´t bother with any of the rest.
Great post, good insights.
Having read quite abit abou De Boer's tactics but being relatively unfamiliar with Cocu's, I'm curious to know what it is that you think sets them apart?
Also, what's your take on Mazzini? He did some great things at Napoli playing a vibrant ciunterattacking styr with a back 3 that might suit us, though I'm not sure he's the right sort of character for Liverpool.
Another name I see thrown about it Favre, though admittedly I know relatively little.
Your concerns about Klopp seem well-founded, and make me think Ancelotti would be a better choice. But then I think about why I watch football and it's because I think it's fun and entertaining, and I'd much rather be looking forward to Klopp's crazy press conferences than Ancelotti's boring but super professional style (plus the escaping eye brow!). I think our young squad would do very well with a leader like Klopp, and is perhaps a couple of years too early in its collective development for someone like Ancelotti who has generally found success with more veteran players.
