Liverpool Fans Should Heed Jurgen Klopp’s Advice

Liverpool’s excellent 6-1 demolition of Watford last Sunday saw them claim top spot in the Premier League. That was an exciting day for the fans, yet Jurgen Klopp’s advice was to “stay cool,” which is easier said than done.

First is a position generations of Liverpool supporters became accustomed to during the 1970s and 1980s. They’d love to get that feeling back, as would the younger fans who’ve only ever had fleeting glimpses downward at the rest of the league.

Liverpool have scored the most goals and played the best football so far. That seems indisputable, yet Klopp always speaks of his team being in “a good moment.” It’s a charming idiosyncrasy and pretty accurate; a moment is all it is. This isn’t even the best start Liverpool have made in the Premier League era, which spans virtually all of their current title drought. In season 2002-03 they won eight and drew three of their opening 11 games. They then won two of their next 16 and finished in a frustrating fifth place. No start has ever been good enough to help land Liverpool the league title in these last frustrating 26 years.

Nobody is suggesting Klopp’s men will collapse as alarmingly as Gerard Houllier’s team. The difference in the football played by both is chalk and cheese, for a start. This is merely a gentle reminder of the sport’s unerring ability to kick you in the teeth; it’s cruel, unfair and ruthless.

Things were different in the years Liverpool ruled the game. A good start back then was helpful but not essential. The club could even win the league if they were in 12th place by Christmas, as in season 1981-82. True, their best starts also coincided with outstanding seasons. A Liverpool team already ahead of the pack by November was considered to be beyond reach and a waste of time chasing them.

Ironically, the first season of the title drought began in that fashion. By November 1990, 31 points were gained from the opening 11 matches. The reigning champions were considered uncatchable yet again.

Problems arose, though. A leaky defence missed the retired Alan Hansen and there were bad injuries for Steve McMahon and Ronnie Whelan. Worse still was the shock resignation of manager Kenny Dalglish.

A strong Arsenal side beat them twice in the league and came first. That began the long wait for another league title, and all from a start even better than the current one.

Quality attacking football early on is no guarantee of success either. The Roy Evans side of 1995 had Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore as its strike force. They went through a Black November worse than anything the current Arsenal ever experienced. One point from four games left them permanently chasing Newcastle United and Manchester United, however beautifully the Reds played from December onwards. That team will forever be known as the “men in white suits” because of their garish finery before the 1996 FA Cup final defeat against Manchester United.

It’s unfair because they were capable of football every bit as exciting as the current team but history is cruel to losers. One bad month made all the difference between success and failure.

Recent critique of the current team’s good run can be easily stifled. “They’ve not played anyone yet” is nonsense, since Klopp won seven points away to Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea very early in the season.

“They have problems with teams who set out to stifle and not compete,” has been made laughable by the 6-1 win over Watford after a 5-1 win over Hull City.

This team looks the part. Only someone who prefers to live in permanent gloom could deny it. Yet in another interview on Sunday, Klopp waxed lyrical about the other teams in the title race, humorously declaring Chelsea’s 5-0 thrashing of Everton as “not bad, huh?” At least he is mindful of the immense challenge to come.

There is a very long way still to go. Good starts in the modern era are different to those when Liverpool won titles regularly. Back then it was a helpful bonus for a team that always finished seasons better than everybody else. In 2016, it inevitably translates as “proof” Liverpool are returning to those days, no matter what recently happened to Rafa Benitez or Brendan Rodgers. They both led the rest of the league on Christmas Day but both eventually finished second the following May. Whenever this Liverpool team suffers another setback, it will be then that they face their biggest test.

Nobody knows how football can unravel better than Klopp. His Borussia Dortmund side, so talented and successful previously, plummeted to the bottom of the Bundesliga in 2015 during his final season there.

Are there reasons for Liverpool fans to be optimistic? Of course there are, plenty of them.

But the lessons of the club’s modern era suggest they should take Klopp’s advice and stay cool.