Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently oversaw his 500th day in charge of the team, with many ups and downs occurring over his reign.
The German took over from Brendan Rodgers on 8 October 2015, becoming an immediate fan-favourite with his passion and admiration for the club. He helped drive Liverpool to two finals in his first season in charge, although ultimately losing both the League Cup and Europa League finals to Manchester City and Sevilla respectively.
He has witnessed 86 games in charge at Liverpool, winning 42, drawing 25 and losing 19, giving him a 48.8% win rate. Incidentally this rate was higher from 318 games at Dortmund (56.3%), yet lower from 270 games at Mainz (40.4%).
The Reds finished eighth in Klopp’s debut season; however the German has been given much more time and resources to develop his own strategy and playing squad this season. His side has received criticism this year for once again fading away from a title challenge; however the club has improved in just one season under Klopp.
Last season, Liverpool finished with 16 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses, scoring 63 goals and conceding 50. Compare that to this season after 25 games, Liverpool have 14 wins, seven draws and four losses, with 54 goals scored and 30 conceded. There are of course plenty of games remaining, but the standard has been set much higher this season than last.
The title is by no means out of the question, but Chelsea are seemingly on their way to another Premier League, while other stern opposition stands in the way of a Champions League place. Football is growing increasingly competitive, and Klopp will be aware of this as summer approaches. This will present him with an excellent opportunity to finally remove any players that he feels are not up for the challenge, while more importantly allowing him to bring in his ideal signings who are more than willing to compete for him and for the club.
Regardless of another season at Liverpool without silverware, Klopp will be praised and respected if he can bring back Champions League football to where it belongs at Anfield. He has had a positive impact on adoring fans of this historic club, who will hope he has many more days left in charge to bring back success back to the red half of Merseyside. With Klopp and his coaching staff receiving six-year extensions to their deals, keeping them at the club until 2022, the board unquestionably backs the German to do exactly that.
