Lijnders: The Brain Heading for the Enemy Camp
Do Liverpool need to look over their shoulders as Pep Lijnders heads to Manchester City?
Pep Lijnders never fitted the mould. Loud, book-writing, hands-on; a coach who fancied himself more than just Klopp’s water-carrier. And for some, that was the problem. But scratch beneath the surface, it’s hard to ignore his fingerprints all over Liverpool’s best work in recent years.
This wasn’t some clipboard carrier clapping in the background. He ran the training ground, shaped sessions, and influenced signings. Luis DÃaz, Darwin Núñez, Cody Gakpo; not just names pulled out of a hat. He scouted, vouched, and pushed. And when Liverpool needed a lifeline, his idea pulled Trent into midfield and made sense of a side losing its way.
Still, half the fanbase never took to him. Too loud, too visible, too bold. The book didn’t help. Nor did the timing. But the idea that he single-handedly derailed a season is daft. Klopp backed him to the hilt, gave him space and even gave up a pay rise to keep him.
Now he’s off to Man City. To Guardiola. From being the tactical brains behind Liverpool’s evolution, to working with the most significant rival in the land. That stings. It should. Because for all the eye-rolling and half-baked blame, #Lijnders was part of the fabric.
Maybe too ambitious for his good. Perhaps not quite the genius some want to believe. But he brought something. Something real. Now the fella across the M62 gets it. Liverpool lost a coach who knew how to fix things. And if he’s half as clever as he, and some others think, we’ll be looking over our shoulder next season.