Liverpool Under Brendan Rodgers And Jurgen Klopp – A Comparison

Liverpool finally seems to be making some progress after four matches without defeat. On a positive aspect, they have achieved three victories in these games. The latest came in the 2-1 win over Chelsea – the second win against a ‘big team’ this season after the opening day’s 4-3 win over Arsenal. The Reds finally seem to be stepping up their game under Jurgen Klopp, but the comparison between him and Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool will continue as long as he waits for his first trophy at Anfield.

In almost 3 years at Liverpool, Rodgers had his positives and disappointments. The period under the Northern Irishman may very well be regarded as the most entertaining football supporters have seen in the last decade. Undoubtedly, the best period for Rodgers at Liverpool was during the 2013-14 season when the team came within a whisker of winning the league title. Here are the comparisons between Rodgers’ Liverpool and Klopp’s Liverpool:

The Good

Entertaining football was always the biggest target for Rodgers. Even though the team was massively helped by the presence of Suarez and Sturridge during the 2013-14 campaign, Rodgers came up with the suitable tactics and formation to get the best out of the pair. Suarez himself concedes that he would not have been the player he is if not for Rodgers.

But after his big money move to Barcelona, the current Celtic manager failed to find a suitable replacement and went on to buy the players like Mario Balotelli and Christian Benteke, who faced utter humiliation during their times. Klopp, though, has done a great work in the transfers and has bought some creative names; most notably, Sadio Mane, who could well be the replacement for the Uruguayan.

The Bad

Rodgers tried to play a creative football, but what was lacking was the end product; once Suarez had left the club. Replacing a player of Suarez’ quality is always tough, but Rodgers could have ended with the situation better to prevent a collapse in the 2015-16 season, which turned out to be his last at Anfield. Easily the greatest disappointment for Rodgers would be the lack of a major trophy. The closest Liverpool came to a top honour was reaching the final of the Carling Cup.

Klopp also had his share of the Cup disappointments, but he has just started his reign at Anfield and is yet to even complete one full year. It is too early to judge him on this aspect, but he already has one final appearance to his credit. If Liverpool continues this progress, Klopp’s vision of the high intensity football could well work wonders for the side.