Here comes the Klopp

We all knew going into the month of October that Brendan Rodgers days as Liverpool FC manager were numbered but like many, I thought the owners, FSG would give him till the end of the month to prove his worth at the helm of one of English footballs most prestigious clubs. Little did we know that his fate was already sealed come the day of the derby between Merseyside's biggest two teams. Regardless of the result, the time on the Anfield clock was up for Brendan, even though his team put on a fantastic first half and should have went in at half time in the lead thanks to a Danny Ings goal, only for a shoddy clearance by Emre Can, who I feel was played out of position to find its way to Lukaku off Martin Skrtel to which he cooly slotted past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to level the scores before half time. 

Brendan's career at Anfield was a roller coaster of note, whether or not he was fit for the position was questionable but after witnessing the drastic fall of the team after that dramatic season in which we narrowly finished second, it was clearly evident that Rodgers was batting above his weight. In time I suppose he would turn out to be a stellar manager but in today's game, many are not afforded that luxury as results are needed almost immediately. When hearing his closing comments after the decision was made to release him from his duties at the club, you can see that the man is passionate about the game, about the club and understands the values that go along with it. It's with this I wish him nothing but the very best for the future and in time he will become a manager that is ready to take on a role at a big club.

Now with FSG taking the decision to relieve Rodgers of his duties, it would be stupid of them to do so without having a plan in place. Everyone knew that there were two contenders for the position, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti. Jurgen was always the favourite with rumours doing the rounds that FSG had always been chasing for his signature even prior to Rodgers but he stayed true to Borussia Dortmund and had a magical 4 seasons with them, not so great in the last one which saw him take a sabbatical from the game. He said at the time he will take a year off but with the timing in place, I'm sure there was an approach from FSG which had to be behind closed doors as it would be in breach of their contract with Brendan to lure him back into the game. 

FSG announced that a manger would be in place before the end of the week and they were true to their word. Negotiations took place in Germany with Jurgen and by Wednesday he was on a plane to England. With half of England in a scurry to get pictures of the German on English soil you could sense there was a new buzz not only in Liverpool but in England as a whole. A new life as such that has reignited the flame on the red half of Merseyside and has instilled belief in the supporters again. Jurgen is no miracle worker but it's the first time the club has brought in a manager of such high calibre. Hence one has to commend the owners on securing the signature of such a highly sort after manager with a club that's performing mid table with no Champions League football and no superstar players. 

Jurgen's first presser with the club on Thursday was even more enlightening to the faithful as he gave us a brief view into his vision of the next 3 to 4 years in which he said he is confident we can win the elusive Premiership in that time. Like I said, he is no miracle worker but he is a worker! If one has to look at his playing career in which he called himself an average player and what he did at Dortmund, it speaks for itself. He works hard and expects his players to work as hard, it's like that old saying, hard work pays off in the long run and that's the mentality he will bring to the club. The kind of stuff that motivates players again and in term motivates the fans in the stands. His first game in charge will be against Spurs in London, a tricky game but we've had a good run there. He has quality players at his disposal but we will have to wait and see the strategies he will use with the players and the formation he chooses. 

It's exciting times at the club once again but I urge fans not to expect us to turn things around with immediate effect as it will take some time but not as long as we would think. He is a quality manager, one that's already got the others fearing because they know what knowledge he brings to the team but apart from that, he has and understands the passion that it brings to Liverpool. He has experienced this with Dortmund as it is a very similar setup between the clubs with the fan base also being identical, so he knows how much it means to the people of the city for the club to be doing well. He is a winner and with that winning mentality in place, it's very hard to stop a person. It won't be long when Klopp will be King of the Kop. 

It's On!

Yup, in little under 3 days time the most important football league in the world will kick off the 2015/2016 campaign to see who will be crowned Champions of England. Yes while the competition might be just for teams in England, it's fan base knows no boundaries as I'm sure if there were intelligent life out there in the universe, they to would have vested interest in the Barclays English Premier League. 

Anyway back to matters on earth and particularly, England, it's very hard to say if current Champions Chelsea have what it takes to retain their title. Yes, manager Jose Mourinho still has a very strong squad and the spine that turned out to be his winning formula is still very much intact, their summer signings aren't one to make the headlines apart from the signing of United flop, Falcao. Now we don't want to delve into why the Colombian wasn't a success in Manchester but Jose obviously feels that it had nothing to do with the league but rather the team and management. Time will tell whether he would be a worthy acquisition and if history goes to show anything, Jose gets out the best in the players he wants. 

Moving things across to Manchester, starting off with the biggest side, Manchester City... (see what I did there), their ever flowing cash reserves continued to flow during the summer transfer window with their biggest signing to date being Raheem Asswipe, I mean Raheem Sterling. Okay, take nothing away from the kid, he is a quality player and has a lot to offer any team, and he's British but I still think he is an unfinished product, he might have felt that he was wasting his time at Liverpool but no one knew him better than Brendan Rodgers and maybe just one more year at Anfield could have sharpened those skills he needed to be that great of a player but he and his dumbass agent chose to move on and things didn't start off too badly for the lad with him scoring within the first 5 minutes of his Citeh debut. City do have a strong squad that could prove to be one of the main contenders for this seasons title but this year might not be a two horse race, because the Wenger Boys are coming to the party. 

Yup, Arsenal of late are starting to show a lot of promise, besides beating Chelsea last Sunday in the Community Shield, they really did prove the doubters wrong last season, one of them being myself. Arsenal always get off the mark really well but fall down in the second half of the season, credit to them, even though they had a bad patch they still kept fighting till the end and with that in mind, I can see them pushing Cheslea and Man City all the way till the end. They have a young squad, they play some beautiful football and they have a manager that is out there not only to prove a point but to save his job! Whilst winning the FA Cup might have been a life line for Arsene, he knows he has to deliver again this season or he might find himself out of favour with the fans and the club board. 

Now that we got the certain top 3 out of the way, it's time to talk about who will take 4th, last season those Manc's pipped it and with that made it in to Europe. Their season wasn't the best and the star signings they made last season have all gone, in Falcao and DiMaria, their drunk manager van Gaal has however added another two big names during the summer break in German Midfield sensation Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneidelin. Both very talented midfielders but is that what they really needed? Their defence is currently in a mess and with the departure of Rafael, it's not looking any better, hence the biggest thing for them is keeping the services of DeGae in goal. Then again the window is still open and they'll be fighting harder than the Nights Watch at the wall against the white walkers to keep him there!

Next up my beloved Liverpool, I honestly don't know what is going to happen this season, from the total collapse of all things last season to the emotional goodbye to our stalwart Steven Gerrard and then Brendan completely formatting the backroom staff, who knows what to expect this season? It's going to be a fresh new look for sure as coaching styles will differ with the new men in charge, new players coming in the likes of Danny Ings, Christian Benteke and the man that everyone is looking forward to see play in Red, Firmino. I still think our key players will be Henderson, Coutinho and Skrtel with James Milner coming into play a pivotal role in midfield. Lovren needs to up his game this season, our defence has been shocking for the past two seasons but last season our lack of goals was more worrying. Hopefully with the new look strike force and a fit again Sturridge things might change and we will contend for 4th. 

Other teams that will cause a headache for these teams are Spurs, who with Harry Kane in the front could do damage to anyones goal average. Ronald Koeman still seems to be working wonders at Southampton, so they're another danger side. Alan Pardew and his Crystal Palace team will want to upset a few and at his old club Newcastle, long lost manger Steve Mclaren will want to prove he still has what it takes to manage in the Premier League. Another Premier League oldie returns, with Claudio Ranieri to Leicester City, but I doubt they will be a thorn in the side just yet.

One things for sure, given what happened last season, it's going to be an open race, if Chelsea have the start they had last season, they could runaway with it again but nothing can be predicted in this league, BRING IT ON!