Has Jurgen Klopp done enough to have Liverpool honour him with a statue?
Steven Gerrard thinks so. And you don’t get a better nominator than Stevie G.
The legendary captain did it all for the Reds. But it’s the one thing that Gerrard never achieved that Klopp will most earn a unique place in Liverpool folklore - winning a league title.
Is it enough, though?
Let’s slip into Gerrard’s boots and see exactly what case he wants to build for Klopp to join the club's pantheon of greats.
Looking at it up and down, Klopp has got a long way to go and lots more success to achieve to be mentioned among the great managers hailed by the Kop.
Even when the German lifts the Premier League trophy in the next month, he will only have equalled Rafael Benitez’s tally of four of trophies.
Plus Rafa has arguably THE greatest Champions League comeback victory of all time to trump Klopp’s win over Spurs last year, plus the Spaniard also led the Reds to two elite finals.
With those four, Klopp will still be behind Gerard Houllier - who led the Reds to six pieces of silverware, including a treble.
Houllier’s treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup (Europa League) came just two years after Manchester United’s famous feat. At that time, silverware in the face of their great rivals was a big deal.
Back then United and Arsenal were dominating the English game.
MIRACLE WORKERS: Gerrard and Rafa Benitez
Michael Owen’s double at the Millennium Stadium to turn the 2001 FA Cup final against Arsenal on its head to win 2-1 is rated as one of the best performances in a Liverpool jersey.
Owen went on to win the
Ballon d’Or that season, but Houllier is hardly hailed.
Klopp wasn’t an instant hit, even though he led club to two losing finals in his first season - so a promising start.
But Rafa won the Champions League in his first season and had Djimi Traore in his first XI in Istanbul. Ask a die-hard Red if you don’t know who Djimi Traore is.
If Klopp survives another year, then he will have spent as much time as Rafa in the hot seat.
So where is the monument to Rafa? The poor guy never gets enough credit.
If Stevie G gets his way, Klopp will be honoured alongside Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.
These legends had the gates to Anfield named after them before they got their statues at the ground.
And this after being part of a legacy that brought in 13 league titles, four European Cups, two Uefa Cups and eight League and FA Cups from the mid-1970s until 1990.
And what an important place the year 1990 in the case for Klopp.
LEGACY BUILDER: Legendary boss Bill Shankly
But let’s go back to that Reds legacy.
Founded by Shankly, the Boot Room - as it became known - saw the Reds management pass from master to apprentice.
Shankly handed over to Paisley and the torch passed to Joe Fagan and then Kenny Dalglish.
Of those four men, only Fagan’s name doesn’t have a prominent place at Anfield, where the former main stand was renamed the Sir Kenny Dalglish stand.
So how does Klopp compare? We have to go back to 1990.
May 1990 was the last time Anfield celebrated a league title.
To give you some perspective of how long ago that was, just five of the current squad were born when Dalglish lifted the old First Division trophy.
Since then Liverpool have lost their status as England’s premier club.
That was title No.18 - Manchester United had just seven at time, now they have 20.
Liverpool had well and truly been knocked off their perch by Alex Ferguson and his United teams.
But Klopp is about to put them back on their pedestal.
At the beginning of 2020, the Reds held the Champions League title, the Super Uefa Cup, the Club World Cup.
And they finished second in the league last season with a points total of 97; in any other year but that one and the year before they would have claimed the title.
This season, though, there will be no stopping them.
COUNT THEM: Paisley's three European Cups
Having dropped just five points in the league all season, they are just another two wins from the title.
And if Klopp has it his way, his manne will finish with the best points tally in a league season - ever, anywhere.
It will be a totally unique achievement.
It will underline that the Reds are the most dominant team in England.
It will put Liverpool back on their perch.
And for the haters, this will just be the start for Klopp and his team - when you realise that last year’s Champions League trophy was the just the start of them winning.
So maybe Stevie G has a case for Klopp. He may just have to wait a few more years though.