One year of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool - how he restored the club’s spirit

It didn’t take long for Liverpool, and English football as a whole, to find itself completely enamoured with Jurgen Klopp. The German only needed to flash a toothy grin for his utterly compelling character to come across, to compel. He has a natural manner that commands attention and a personality that captivates all that encounter it. When Klopp smiles he tends to receive a smile back.

But football managers are judged on more than just their public persona, as entrancing as Klopp’s is. One whole year has now passed since the German was appointed as Brendan Rodgers’ successor at Anfield and a lot has happened in that time. There have been a lot of soundbites, a lot of successes and also a lot of failures. Leicester City were the defining story of 2016, but on an individual level the past 12 months have been The Year of Klopp.

Some claim Liverpool have tread water in their time under Klopp, and they might have a point. On the basis of binary results and league position the Reds have made scant progress since the dismissal of Rodgers. They missed out on Champions League qualification by six points, finishing two places lower than they did the season before.

However, the progress Klopp has made at Liverpool cannot be quantified by points and league positions. He has restored the spirit of one of English football’s most romantic clubs. The Anfield side has its identity back, with signs of stylistic and technical development clear under the German than any results or points tally can illustrate.

Liverpool have been undoubtedly the most entertaining team in the Premier League so far this season, with Klopp’s side the division’s top goalscorer alongside Manchester City. There is a sense that at their very best the Reds possess the firepower to blow away any opponent, backing up that theory with whirlwind performances away to both Arsenal and Chelsea.

Klopp and Liverpool are the perfect fit. At some clubs his cavalier style wouldn’t be appreciated, but not at Liverpool. Anfield is an arena built for exciting, dynamic football and that is what the German has brought to Merseyside, borrowing much of what made him so popular and successful at Borussia Dortmund. The blueprint has been carried over, with You’ll Never Walk Alone a familiar soundtrack.

While the Premier League table is still settling into a natural order, with just seven games of the 2016/17 campaign played, Liverpool are widely expected to be top four, not title, challengers this season. Klopp must address his side’s defensive deficiencies before he can truly target English football’s biggest prize.

But has already achieved the most challenging of objectives. Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world game, could have engulfed Klopp, much in the same way Manchester United enveloped David Moyes. Borussia Dortmund are certainly no minnows, but nothing could have prepared Klopp for the intensity and all-consuming zeal of the Premier League.

Klopp has instead thrived on all that English football has thrown at him. It’s not just that he’s a perfect fit for Liverpool, but for the Premier League as well. This is a mutual love-in for all concerned. Even Man Utd and Everton fans must struggle to muster any real hatred for the manager of their biggest rivals.

This season could still make or break Klopp at Liverpool, though. While he has indeed instilled a sense of renewed belief at Anfield he must now show some results for what he is professing. Whether Klopp is leading a revolution or evolution at the club, progress must be apparent in the league table when the 2016/17 campaign comes to a close. What constitutes progress in the league table is another matter altogether.

In the grand pantheon of great Liverpool managers Klopp is still a long way short of being featured. The club has taken the German to its heart, holding us all in captivation, but he has only succeeded in establishing a platform at Anfield. What he builds on it will define his Liverpool tenure.

For now his success can be felt in the atmosphere around Anfield whenever Liverpool play there. Something was missing under Rodgers. Now that thing, an intangible quality of confidence, belief and swagger, has returned under Klopp. Now the silverware must also return.