Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015 with the club 13th i…

Despite having a clear idea of which areas of the team needed strengthening (in particular, defense), it obviously didn't happen Immediately. Liverpool finished the 2016/17 season in 4th place, having conceded the 2nd most goals of any team in the top 7.

Ahead of 2017/18, LFC spent big [£168m]. But Klopp's side were still very much a work in progress - conceding 16 in the first nine (including a 4-1 loss at Spurs with Lovren subbed on 30'). They signed van Dijk in January, righted the ship, finished 4th and lost in the UCL final.

Having sold off dead weight (£185m) in 2017/18, LFC once again spent big in 2018/19 [£175m]. Key acquisitions bolstered a core who by then knew Klopp's tactics inside out. They lost just once in PL, narrowly missed out on the title by a single point to City and won the UCL final.

With the desired team assembled, LFC only spent £4.5m in the summer before 2019/20. They hit the ground running and bossed the league, winning it comfortably. Klopp's arrival had marked a transformation at Anfield - patience and belief in his project yielded legitimate results.

But it wasn't all peaches and cream. There were some poor runs of form, some head-scratching signings (Caulker, Karius come to mind) and frustrating results against rival clubs. But that should be expected with a 4-5 year project. It doesn't happen overnight. Patience is a must.

Which brings me to Chelsea. Lampard's project has (literally) been bought into [£200m] by the club hierarchy, but patience is not necessarily something they're known for. Having sacked a slough of managers while still enjoying success, it's hard to argue that it hasn't 'worked.'

Many fans were hoping that Lampard's arrival would also coincide with a transformation at Chelsea. A more serious consideration of academy players (aided by transfer ban) a strong, recognizable philosophy from youth to first team and a manager who 'gets' the club.

Compared to Klopp's tenure at LFC, Lampard is still in the stage of drilling his philosophy and weeding out dead weight. It likely won't be until the end of the season or the start of the next that he has his desired team. And there are probably more frustrating periods to come.

Chelsea will undoubtedly need to spend (and sell) significantly once again in order to assemble a team that is solid in all areas, with depth in key positions and a strong core. The majority of players are also quite young and very few have distinguished themselves as leaders.

The Chelsea hierarchy needs to decide what kind of club they want to be, and whether to pursue the project Lampard has begun. But backing him halfway and balking at the team's first poor run of form under his tenure will see us back at square one with nothing to show for it.

While some Chelsea fans are impatient for success, many understand the reality of pursuing a project like this. It hurts to lose to rivals (or at all) but a reactionary fanbase can be absolutely toxic during such a period (as has been the case of late). But perspective is needed.

In his first season, with a transfer ban, Lampard managed the club into the UCL places and lost in the FA Cup Final. Few (fans, media or otherwise) believed he would even achieve that. Mere weeks ago, CFC went 17 matches unbeaten, won their UCL group and were top of the league.

But it's important to also be honest with ourselves. Lampard has shown a certain naïveté when it comes to certain aspects of managing. Whether that's sticking with an underperforming partnership for experience sake or simply setting a team up for failure. But he'll learn.

Chelsea surely had to expect the sorts of mistakes Lampard is making as a third year head coach. It's simply impossible that they wouldn't have included it in their risk assessment before his appointment. That being said, they also clearly believed in his potential to succeed.

This team was always going to endure growing pains. If anything, the run earlier in the season created unrealistic expectations of the current squad and where they 'should be.' But it's a results business - losses are glaring no matter what part of the rebuilding stage you're in.

The same was true for Klopp's Liverpool over the past five years. The 4-1 loss at Spurs must have hurt. The 5-0 loss to City must have hurt. Losing to United at Anfield must have hurt. The UCL Final loss must have hurt. But nobody thinks about those results anymore, do they? Why?

Because the project has come good. They've avenged those losses and won the league. They've won the UCL. Hard to think about growing pains when you've achieved something. The achievements don't come without periods of struggle. But it makes them that much more special in the end.

TL;DR - Trust the process, believe in the project, back the manager. We've got a ways to go yet - at least, I hope so. #KTBFFH

full thread ---> https://t.co/9z3sHGzUQV

interesting timing haha https://t.co/ysxMmiGsBx

The gaffer gives his thoughts on the long term project \U0001f4aa\U0001f535
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 23, 2021

Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015 with the club 13th in the PL. Having inherited Brendan Rodgers' squad, he saw them finish the season in 8th. To rebuild, FSG made wholesale changes from the front office to the first team, and they experienced their fair share of poor form.

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