A broken clock is right twice a day. If you throw enough paint at a wall, some will stick to it. Liverpool fans saying “It’s Our Year” Some things are inevitable over the course of time. These 3 phrases are just a couple. But it’s the last one I will be taking a look at today.

I remember as a kid Liverpool fans taunting Manchester United about the years since their last League Championship. As an Everton fan I should know about that now from both sides of the M62. Everton will enter their 30th year without winning the top prize in British Football, and yet it’s the fact Liverpool have failed 4 years less that is the bigger talking point.

Yes I know Liverpool have won FA Cups, League Cups, UEFA and Europa Leagues, as well a historic 5th European Cup in 2005, on a night where I said at half time that I would wear a Liverpool shirt if they came back. Yes I did it, yes there is photographic evidence. And yes this does cover the fact that Liverpool Football Club have gone 26 years since winning the English League Championship.

Don’t be under any illusion, they have come close on a few occasions during this period, one of which became the subject of many a meme, short video, and much mockery. And yet I recall so many of my friends who are Liverpool fans being both heartbroken and pragmatic about it. They saw it as a hell of a ride but unfortunately came up just short.

Liverpool are still regarded as one of the biggest clubs in England, and in Europe, however when you read a lot of the media, both here and abroad, their credit is starting to run low amongst journalists. They are talked about, included in conversations about who are title contenders, but not in the same hushed revered tones of the 70s and 80s. The cup treble of 01, the European Cup win in 2005, have kept them in the loop and part of any debate, but they are more of a dark horse than a favourite in the race. Until this season.

In October 2015, a man arrived who fit the mould of the Boot Room. A man who would not have been out-of-place in the Shankly, Paisley or Dalglish era. That man was Jurgen Klopp. He was made for Liverpool, and Liverpool for him.

When he arrived, it was like a soppy mushy love affair. Two kids at school who always liked each other but were too shy to say, or in the situation where one or both were attached to another. But now they were both single and nothing was standing in the way. So Liverpool asked Klopp to move in. And he did.

Since then he has quietly, compared to other managers, gone about the business of rebuilding the club. Taking them to both a League Cup and Europa League Final were nice bonuses, coming up short against Manchester City at Wembley and a Sevilla side who won their 3rd successive Europa League were nothing to be ashamed about. In fact it proved to Klopp how he needs to rebuild.

But it wasn’t just about spending money in the transfer market, its been about rebuilding a brand, rebuilding a club, almost from the knees. Brendan Rodgers had been found out. He was never a Liverpool Manager, not one the fans were totally convinced by anyways, and when Klopp replaced him, he brought an air of optimism that even Blues like me were jealous of. You see with Jurgen Klopp, it is so hard to dislike him. Even when you lose a Derby 4-0, its hard to dislike the fella. He’s just so nice. But so transparent as well.

He knows he’s a nice guy. We know he’s a nice guy. But this isn’t a man who suffers fools gladly. And he certainly isn’t one who will settle for 8th place in the League and 2 Cup Final losses. This season is his first full one. And he isn’t messing around. Look at the start of it.

Liverpool sit 2nd, albeit on goal difference to Arsenal. Their best start since the 2013-14 campaign, and only 3 points behind the 08-09 season. In both of those seasons Liverpool finished in 2nd. Again, something not lost on either fans or Klopp. He will realise that starts like this will have some fans already making the quote in my first paragraph. This is the expectation that needs to be managed almost as much as the players.

Back during those days of Flares and the roads around Anfield being full of flare waving fans, when the t-shirts proclaiming the Championship were on sale in March, nothing was done or said that would dampen fans expectations, the Championship was returning to what they believe is their spiritual home. The Mancs were being knocked off their perch. It was all coming back.

At this time I worked with a man who was an ardent fan. Every day during the “We Go Again” phase, he would get daily motivational text messages from the guy who led their group of Ultras. They were propaganda of the highest level, phrases like “We win the battle of the terrace, the battle on the pitch is a formality” and “We install fear with our war cries” I didn’t know if I should laugh or shake my head.

In 2016, and heading into 2017, Liverpool are in this same early position of being top of the table, people, fans and media talking about them as early contenders for the Title, but yet fans aren’t as boisterous as back then. They sound more cautious, optimistic yet cautious. It’s a good start but championships aren’t won in October. However they can be lost.

And this is the attitude that comes from the manager. A man who broke the Bayern Munich dominance, is looking to repeat the feat here in England. In the same manner he did it for Dortmund, he is working his spells around the Anfield and Kemlyn Roads. The fans love him for it, rival fans cant hate him for it, is he The Normal One?

No, he’s Just Jurgen. He’s good for the game, and sadly, being an Evertonian, hes good for Liverpool Football Club.

And if he does deliver Liverpool’s 19th League Championship in May, I do believe it would be their greatest.

As always, thank you for reading this. Any and all feedback is much appreciated and welcome. I get the feeling this one will certainly get that.

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Until next time

That Sporting Guy