Liverpool fans are celebrating four years since Jurgen Klopp came to the club and can’t believe how terrible the bench was for his first game in charge.
In four years Jurgen Klopp has taken Liverpool Football Club from tenth in the Premier League to the top of Europe. Today marks the anniversary of his arrival at the club and fans are looking back on his first lineup with horror!
Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers on October 8th 2015 and inherited a squad that was not built to challenge at the highest level.
Despite the Reds putting together a title challenge just 18 months prior, the departure of Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard had exposed the dearth of quality on the roster.
It is a long way from today where Liverpool have one of the most envied first team squads in world football with many international stars.
Take a look at the lineup from Klopp’s first game against Spurs in 2015 to Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City:
https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1181555114257108992
There are only four players from the original 18 still at the club – Adam Lallana, James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne and Divock Origi – with only Milner making the team this weekend though Origi and Lallana made the bench.
However, it is the substitute options for Klopp’s first game that really eye-opening. That bench included Adam Bogdan, Kolo Toure, João Carlos Teixeira, Jerome Sinclair, Joe Allen, Jordan Ibe and Connor Randall.
The career direction of that septet tells you all you need to know about the quality of the squad on Klopp’s arrival.
There will be a sharp contrast in the quality of the squads when Liverpool face Manchester United in the Premier League after the international break as the Reds look to maintain their perfect start to the season at Old Trafford.