That's exactly what this is. There's always been teams who have used the front line especially to press intently and be the 'first line of defence'. It's all derivative. All changes in football are just tweaks or incremental in nature and never are the revolution that the footy industry tries to sell them to us as.
How is Klopp's approach substantially different to Royle's when he turned up and got a dilatory team at Everton to tighten up and compete ferociously for the ball and then when it broke our way rely on players like Limpar or Kanchelskis to do their stuff, spearheaded by players like Rideout? I was reading that Limpar once described to Swedish journalists that Everton's style under Royle was like hunting with wolves. We've seen Klopp's 'full throttle' football on Merseyside before. Royle's team was the prototype. Of course, when that Everton side pressed it was mocked by the Kopites as anti-football; now they're doing it and it's the blueprint for European ascendancy.
They're gullible and laughable clowns. They'll eat up all the nonsense about gegenpresse and full throttle and heavy metal football and believe themselves to be on the cusp of a new way of playing...when it's all old hat. Hilarious.
This is absolutely the case. I think Klopp will do this into overdrive because ultimately with the exception of two players (Coutinho/Sturridge) it is about the best he can get out of his squad.
High pressing football has been tried and ridiculed by most though. You mention Royle but I'll throw another couple of names out there, Sherwood and Moyes. This is in essence what they both did when they first arrived at the clubs. On both occasions in heralded some impressive immediate results but in both cases (particularly Sherwood) he has very little to offer beyond that (it's why I knew the Villa bubble would burst).
I've played in the odd team where the manager has adopted that strategy. As a player it is great. All you need to do is work hard and be fit. As long as you try you are not criticised. The problem is, when the results turn and sides work you out and you get demoralised it becomes a lot harder.
I see a lot of worrying signs for Liverpool with Klopp in charge. 0-0 is a decent result at Spurs but he's been telling the press that 0-0 in a decent "natural" result for a football game. It reminds me very much of how Moyes/Smith were but with a more demented smile and a trendy pair of trainers instead of his mums cardie. Treating 0-0 as a satisfactory result will not go very far though. I think he is slowly waking up to the fact that his squad is very limited with attacking options and all he can do is keep it tight. Anyone who thinks Lallana, Coutinho and Sturridge are going to be Goetze/Reus & Levandovski needs to smell the coffee. Clearly Klopp has after 1 week.
I would also see worrying signs from Klopps first game. 0-0 and he made no attempt to go for the win and brought on defensive substitutions. He had a German right back playing central midfield alongside an Anchor man. He substituted off Coutinho then for Joe Allen and kept Milner (who is a one paced defensive midfielder now) on at right wing ahead of a natural right winger (Ibe). He finished the game with Can, Milner, Lucas and Allen in his midfield. Compare that with our manager. Who talks of not fearing losing 5-4 or preferring to win 5-4 that 2-0. Someone who wherever he is willing to make attacking changes to win the game if we are drawing.
That performance at Spurs has alarming signs to me already. If you'd have asked me how Moyes would have managed that game I'd have said exactly that. Bigging up 0-0's before the game. His whole strategy based around how to press the opponents. Starting ageing defensive midfielders as creative wide men while leaving creative players on the bench. Hooking off the one creative player they had left for another Defensive midfielder (the 4th one) to settle for the 0-0. This sounds rather familiar eh?
As a final aside there have also been a Speight of injuries one week into the job. It would seem obvious to almost anyone that Sturridge is a major injury problem for them and will not be able to survive the boot camp approach that Klopp is employing. He is the only guy they've got who can convert a chance out of nothing. A sensible manager would be tailoring a strategy for him. But who needs strikers who score goals when you are playing for 0-0! I think Origi will hold down his place. Ultimately a terrible footballer but a willing runner who will work the channels (ah la Marcus Bent).
