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Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images
The banner has been gracing the Kop since the 2009-2010 season.
One of the iconic Kop flags is getting an update.
The Irish Kop created the banner including the five most iconic Liverpool managers at the time - Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish, and Rafa Benitez - with the image first being shared on their website, before being made into a banner and flying in the actual Kop in the 2009-2010 season.
The criteria used by the Irish Kop states that to be added to the banner, a manager would have to win the European Cup and/or the league. Naturally, the first chance for the banner to get updated was when Jürgen Klopp led the Reds to European glory in 2019, and so Klopp’s profile was added to the pantheon.
Now that Arne Slot has secured the clubs’ iconic 20th league title, plans are underway to include the Dutchman on the banner ahead of the next season.
“We were coming over to games from Ireland so often, we wanted to add to the atmosphere, and we considered various ideas before going for that one,” Paul Larkin, the founder of the Irish Kop, told The Athletic.
“Not many clubs put managers on a pedestal the way we do. Most clubs have banners just about current or ex-players, but Liverpool is different.
“Some people think it’s too soon, but the criteria has always been that if you either win the league or the European Cup, you go on it.
“The majority who help out with the banner think we should get it updated and I agree with them. I’ve asked a graphic designer to come up with some new designs. Then we’ll pick one and get a new version made over in the United States in time for August.
“Slot deserves it.”
The supporters group Spion Kop 1906 have managed the flags that grace the Kop, including this legendary banner. Though there is one manager who has won trophies missing from it, Liam Flanagan insists it wasn’t an intentional snub.
“Some people overthink it,” he said. “Whenever it’s pictured on TV, you get people on social media saying, ‘Where’s Gerard Houllier? Why isn’t he on it?’
“There’s no snub. It’s as simple as Houllier wasn’t on the initial painting that the banner was based on. He won everything else for Liverpool, but he didn’t win either the league or the Champions League. That was the criteria from the artist.”
Held up by four poles when unfurled at games, the banner will make a final appearance in its current form when Liverpool host Crystal Palace on May 25, the day Slot’s squad will get their hands on the Premier League trophy for 2024-25.
