Q&A'A love of LFC and Jürgen' - the making of I Feel Fine: The Klopp 100

It has been an historic spell under Jürgen Klopp since he arrived at Anfield seven years ago and the book celebrates the team's achievements under his stewardship.

I Feel Fine: The Klopp 100 recaps the journey so far in 100 unforgettable, magical moments – from the 'Hendo shuffle' to cheeky chants, no-look goals and Alisson Becker's incredible header.

Find out more from those who wrote the book below in our Q&A – and order your copy here.

Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about the book and what it entails?

Roy: I Feel Fine is a book that celebrates loads of different aspects of Jürgen Klopp's time as Liverpool FC manager; the things that spring to mind when you think back over seven years of pulsating matches, fantastic finals and the whole experience of being a Liverpool fan during this time. But also the things Jürgen himself brings to the club that make him unique and definitively the right man for us.

We tried to condense that into 100 tangible labels and added stats, quotes and great photos – starting with that first, fascinating 'normal one' press conference and ending up at the start of this season. If you look at the cover, beautifully put together by Rick Cooke, it's bright, busy, chaotic and joyful – and we hope what is inside the book matches that.

• This official Liverpool FC book is available to order here.

What was the main inspiration for you both in wanting to put the book together?

Roy: Put simply, it's a love of Liverpool FC and Jürgen Klopp. It's amazing to think of some of the things we've witnessed over the past seven years and the positivity we've all been part of. I used to have depressing conversations with my brother Kevin, wondering if we'd ever see Liverpool win the league again. No club has a given right to do it. Klopp turned us sceptical doubters into believers, as he promised he would do – although that faith was tested severely when we got 97 points in 2018-19 and still didn't win the title. To think he now has a better win percentage than the likes of Bob Paisley, Bill Shankly and Kenny Dalglish speaks volumes. It's an era that deserves a book!

You've chosen 100 moments, memories and characteristics from the Klopp era, that's quite a lot, how did you go about selecting and finalising those?

Roy: 100 seems quite a lot, but when you think about just the memorable matches alone, we could have selected 100 of those – and lots of them would have featured Divock Origi! Maybe there will be an I Feel Fine II in the future. In the end, we whittled it down to a final ton of memories, making a few swaps towards the end, and hopefully creating a decent mix of on-field and off-field memories, including things like outrageous bits of skill, records that have been broken, chants – and the way we celebrate big trophy wins.

Chris: There's an element of slightly-less-obvious things that personally struck a chord with us too. For instance, and without wishing to relive bad times, when football was paused due to the pandemic and we were all worried that our inevitable first Premier League title could be in danger if the season was declared null and void, Jürgen found the right words to say and led the club through video updates. The boost those videos of his conversations with the players gave to me personally was huge, so I thought it was important to include it.

I also wanted to highlight how well Jürgen does when talking about Hillsborough, given he was a 21-year-old new dad playing German amateur football at the time of the disaster. When you're the manager of Liverpool, Hillsborough is a subject you have to speak about, for various and ongoing reasons, and given English isn't his first language he does so incredibly well to deal with that. Taking the time to learn and understand what we have gone through as a club, as supporters and as families, friends and survivors since 1989 says a lot about him.

It's been quite a period to write about, are there any moments in the book that maybe don't get the recognition they perhaps deserve, but stand out for you?

Chris: It's goals from substitutes, I think. At the time we went to print I think it was something like 84 goals had been scored by 26 different substitutes since Klopp took charge. It's an incredible number and some of those goals have been absolutely gigantic in the history of our club.

Football moves at such a quick pace, did reflecting on the last seven years give you a greater appreciation for what has happened at Anfield?

Chris: It absolutely gave me a greater appreciation of the last seven years under Jürgen Klopp's management. To be sitting here now having seen Liverpool win seven different competitions in seven seasons – while enjoying some of the best days and nights of our Liverpool-supporting lives, watching some of the greatest players we've ever had – is something to be truly appreciative of.

Roy: To me, the book is a reminder that being a Liverpool supporter and loving Jürgen Klopp isn't just about results on the pitch – it's about the connection he's built with the fans and the unity that he clearly values so much. You can see that unity in what he does – for example, the fist pumps after a big result – but also how everyone else continues that philosophy, like the foodbank contributions, the murals around the city, the messages in banners etc.

Like Chris said, the way he became a figurehead and said all the right things towards the start of the COVID lockdown just summed him up. Having a leader like Jürgen rubs off on the whole club. He's not just a great football manager, he's a great man. Football is about results, but it's great to have someone who represents us so well in everything he says and does.

If you had to choose one, what is the favourite moment you wrote about when compiling the book together?

Chris: An impossible question to answer. I was incredibly privileged to be inside Anfield for the Chelsea game when Liverpool lifted that elusive first Premier League title in 2020, but it wasn't what it should have been due to the pandemic meaning it was behind closed doors. I was also in Madrid and Doha for the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup successes, and of course Wembley and Leicester for our domestic triumphs this year, but the semi-finals against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League and against Manchester City in the FA Cup epitomised the Klopp era, for me.

Barça was all about momentum, belief, collective desire and the power of Anfield, and I will never, ever forget the way the Liverpool end was bouncing after Sadio Mane made it 2-0 in the FA Cup semi-final against City at Wembley. In the moments after, with Allez, Allez, Allez ringing out amidst twirling scarves, anything and everything seemed possible. That is how it has felt to me to have Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, something I can only imagine older Kopites felt when Bill Shankly was in charge in the 1960s.

Roy: I'm not sure if it's my absolute favourite, but one of the memories I wrote about that has lots of aspects of the Klopp era wrapped into one is the 5-4 win at Norwich City during his first season in charge. Clearly, the team was nowhere near as good as it would become, but it was a manic match. We were 3-1 down in the second half away from home, managed to get ourselves in front, conceded a 90th-minute equaliser, but still won.

Klopp went berserk, joined in the celebrations, had his glasses broken, then had everyone laughing when he said after the game, "I have a second pair of glasses, but I can't find them. It's really difficult trying to find glasses without glasses." Victory, character and humour. That's why the last seven years have been so good.

Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about the book?

Chris: On behalf of us both, thank you to everyone who buys and reads I Feel Fine. We see it as a gift book – a keepsake – that hopefully reflects an incredible era to be a Liverpool supporter. It hasn't been perfect. The Reds have come so close to winning so much more, but often people wait until the era is over to celebrate it. We wanted to do it now because, quite simply, we're so glad that Jürgen is a Red.

• I Feel Fine: The Klopp 100 is available to order here.