Former boss urges Klopp to avoid Rodgers mistakes at Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers & Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool managers past and present

Former Liverpool manager Roy Evans believes Jurgen Klopp will take Liverpool to the next level providing he avoids the pitfalls that predecessor Brendan Rodgers fell into.

Rodgers came probably the closest of any Liverpool manager to winning the Premier League title when he led the Reds to second place in 2013/14, but his scattergun approach to the transfer market left the Reds with a squad brimming with players, but perhaps lacking in top quality.

Klopp is now suffering from the opposite issue, with Liverpool’s strength in depth clearly telling over the course of the season, with their one-time title ambitions instead being swapped for a battle to reach the top four.

Evans believes that Klopp is making great progress at Liverpool, and focusing on quality rather than quantity is the way forward.

“I like what he says, he wants the fans to enjoy watching the game and the players to enjoy playing it. They’re massive parts,” Evans told the Liverpool Echo.

 

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“This is an industry where, for me, entertainment is the main thing and results come along with that. He’s getting there with his team. We’ve had a few chances to win trophies, but failed. But I do feel we are going the right way.

“Hopefully we can stay in that top four, and that’s a big possibility, and then come the summer I hope he starts to make three or four big signings, rather than going the way Brendan Rodgers went in making seven or eight – and maybe not getting the same quality as a result.

“I don’t think it’s about spending the money, it’s about making sure you get the right player for your team. Just because a player is available doesn’t mean you go and spend £15m on him just for the sake of it.

“The manager will work it out. Jurgen is a bright lad, but what he shouldn’t be frightened of is spending the money, because it’s not his, it’s the football club’s, and it is there to make you a better team.”

The interview was part of a wide-ranging chat with Evans for a Liverpool Echo podcast.