5 reasons why Liverpool will challenge for the league title soon

As the sun shines on the green grass of Anfield on the opening day of the season.“This year will be our year” is what Liverpool fans feel deep down in their heart. The magic of the Kop end, the rendition of the Beatles song - You'll Never Walk Alone and the storied history of the club moves even the firmest of hearts.But then that dreadful moment comes when the cruel realization is that it was all but a dream, disconnect to reality.“Next year will be our year”.This is the popular internet joke about Liverpool fans and their tragicomic wait for a Premier League title for almost 3 decades. If Shakespeare was alive today he would be a Liverpool supporter. A fan base forever in a romance with its club only to have its heart broken each year.While Manchester City is well on their way to win the league title this year, Liverpool fans have reason to be optimistic about the next 2-3 years.In the last decade, only two Liverpool sides had come close to winning that elusive Premier League title. The first time was under Rafael Benitez and the second was in the 2013/14 season under Brendan Rodgers.While Rodgers's side was noted for its dazzling attacking football and the sheer roller coaster ride that was the 2013/14 season, the squad at that time was massively imbalanced.The Famous “S-A-S combination” carried the team with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge contributing a massive 50+ goal tally between them and Raheem Sterling playing a supporting role.However, what was clear from the start that the team was abysmally imbalanced when it came to the defence. As many sweet memories, Liverpool fans have of Suarez playing as a “false 9” they still remember the nightmare of defenders like Kolo Toure playing as a “false 5&quot;.Although many remember the infamous Steven Gerrard slip as the moment Liverpool lost the league title, the game that followed against Crystal Palace summed up exactly what was wrong with Brendan's Liverpool team as they lost a 3-0 lead in the final 20 minutes of the game.Rafa Benitez's side was far more balanced all-around. The almost Rush / Dalglish-esque chemistry between Fernando Torres and Gerrard. A stable double pivot of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano and a defence that could hold it's own. Added to this the spine of the team was surrounded by good utility players like Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, and co.However, while this team did very well in cup competitions or in big games in the league, they could not show the level of consistency needed to win the league.But what makes the Klopp’s Liverpool the team that can finally break the long wait?#1 Jurgen KloppJurgen Klopp, the man Liverpool hope will deliver them that elusive league titleThe manager is the most important ingredient to win a league title as winning it requires a team that can be consistent for 10 months.What Klopp has going for is his recent experiences with building a team and getting that team to punch above its weight to win a league title given his experience at Borussia Dortmund.An added advantage is his heavy metal style of football that is not all about beautiful attacking patterns alone but based on hard work all around.The average distance covered by a Dortmund player at times under Klopp's reign was 1 km per player, far more than the opposition.However, let's also keep in mind that he does not have the kind of financial resources Pep Guardiola has at Manchester City. This means his work on the team both in training and in recruitment has had to be slow and gradual.Klopp, however, has his flaws. In Germany, as regular Bundesliga fans will note, the culture of football is very different from the Premier League. Inferior sides, almost as a matter of principle, try to play the ball out of the back on the ground. In England, however, managers and teams of lesser sides could not care less about sitting deep and playing the long ball by-passing Klopp's &quot;gegenpress&quot; in its entirety.Klopp's one-dimensional tactic certainly shows when he is successful against the bigger teams in England but repeatedly gets tripped up by the lesser opposition as recently witnessed in the loss to Swansea after being the first team this season to beat Manchester City in the league.Klopp, while talented has to evolve and find a plan B and a plan C if he is to succeed.Where he does get unfairly criticised is the comparison of his winning percentage to that of Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers benefited massively from having two players in Sturridge and Suarez scoring 50+ goal together in a single season. Something Salah and company don't even come close to replicating.We will now take a look at the signings Klopp has made and is in the process of making to take Liverpool to the next level.The author wishes to add the caveat that signing players alone don't win you titles and a lot of it will depend on Klopp's own evolution as a coach and how he integrates them.

5 reasons why Liverpool will challenge for the league title soon

#4 The defence