Jurgen Klopp: Could Liverpool really sack him?
The Premier League has already seen 13 managerial exits this season and with Liverpool's precarious position, Sam McGuire analyses whether Jurgen Klopp should be next to go.
At any other club, Jurgen Klopp would likely be out of a job right now.
Liverpool failed to retain either of the domestic cups they won last season, losing to Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and crashing out of the FA Cup at the same stage to Brighton.
A 6-2 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the round-of-16 clash against Real Madrid brought their Champions League run to an abrupt end and there are serious doubts over whether the Reds will even be playing European football next season.
While it wasn’t a season-defining game, the trip to the Etihad had the potential to shape the rest of the campaign for the Reds.
Win there for the first time in the league since 2015 and it could’ve sparked a late surge up the table.
Lose and the task at hand meant they needed near perfection in their remaining 11 matches to gatecrash the top four. The manner of the defeat would also be pivotal.
A narrow loss after a strong performance wouldn’t be the end of the world but an implosion would be damaging to morale and momentum.
Fans hoped for a reaction following back-to-back losses prior to the international break. They didn’t get one though as the hosts ran riot. The visitors put in a lacklustre performance.
No cohesion in decisions
For periods of time, it looked as though this XI had been put together on the day. There was just no cohesion.
Following the match, Klopp seemed grateful that the home team weren’t at their ruthless best, saying: “We were lucky that City weren't in a greedy mood. They could do whatever they wanted. I can't explain it.”
It was yet another sobering, frank answer from the Liverpool boss.
It has been a regular thing recently.
A couple of weeks ago, the German tactician used his post-match press conference following the first-leg loss to Real Madrid to essentially say the tie was over.
In previous years, the tone and message would’ve been much different.
He might not have lost the dressing room but if he can’t get the players up for these games, there is a problem. Klopp is fully aware of the optics.
Last man standing
Speaking ahead of the match against Chelsea, he was asked about Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter losing their jobs.
"What can I say? The elephant in the room from your point of view is probably why I am still sitting here in this crazy world! Last man standing.
"I respect them a lot, I like them both. Fantastic managers still, but things can go the wrong way. We all accept that in the football business. It's a strange week, Conte, Nagelsmann, and now these two."
Nagelsmann was dismissed with Bayern a point behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and with a Champions League quarter-final clash booked in against Manchester City.
Antonio Conte parted ways with Spurs even though there is still a chance they finish in the top four.
Leicester are in a relegation battle so the decision to call time on Rodgers’ spell at the King Power was probably justified.
Potter can feel hard done by. Results haven’t been great but he has had to bed in a number of players while still trying to put his stamp on things.
The underlying numbers also show the Blues have been unlucky under the former Brighton boss.
Inconsistencies can't be ignored
While Klopp has a lot of credit in the bank at Anfield, the inconsistency and false dawns throughout the campaign cannot and should not be overlooked.
The Reds followed up wins over Manchester City and West Ham United earlier in the season with losses to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.
Their four-match winning streak across November and December ended with emphatic losses to Brentford (3-1) Brighton (3-0) and Wolves (3-0).
Liverpool strung together a five-match unbeaten run - keeping five clean sheets in the process - before losing to bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth and Manchester City.
This level of inconsistency is what you expect to see from a team just starting out under a never manager who is trying to bed in a new philosophy at the club.
This isn’t the sort of thing you see when you are eight years into a project.
Poor runs under the one-time Mainz boss have been previously excused because the reasons for it have always been apparent.
During the 2020/21 campaign, for example, Liverpool have no fit senior centre-backs from October onwards and this has a ripple effect on the midfield and then the attack.
But even during all of that, there was a clear plan in place in terms of style and tactics.
Players suffering without clear plan
This season, that just isn’t there. Klopp switches it up every few weeks, not to keep things fresh but because the previous tactics weren’t working.
This is having a negative impact on the players too. Darwin Nunez, for example, looked more dangerous earlier on in the season than he does now.
He’s still having an impact on the team but the more time he spends with this group, the less impactful he’s becoming in games as a result of his positioning and deployment within the team.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s game has suffered too. Mohamed Salah was criticised earlier in the season having been used as more of a creator.
Virgil Van Dijk is the target for a number of pundits over recent weeks after a series of questionable performances and moments during matches.
The midfield department have suffered this season and, if reports are to be believed, it was Klopp’s decision to hold off on adding reinforcements last summer. It isn’t solely his fault but he isn’t innocent in all of this.
Should Klopp be sacked?
If Liverpool did decide to axe Klopp, their decision would be justified if he is being judged on this season alone.
But the club will likely hold off on this sort of decision until they have been able to see what Liverpool 3.0 is going to properly look like.
The first two versions were a success, why wouldn’t this iteration be just as successful? This won’t be seen until next season at the earliest with everything geared towards adding Jude Bellingham to the mix in the summer.
Judge Klopp now on what we’ve witnessed this season but you can’t truly assess the plan until you’ve been able to see it in action.
He called time on stints with Mainz and Dortmund when he knew it was the right time to part ways, the fact he’s been fairly vocal in saying he’s not going anywhere points towards him thinking he can turn this around, so why wouldn’t the owners of Liverpool keep him around?
Though things are tough right now, finding someone who can do what he does isn’t easy, and that is why so many teams go through managers at an alarming rate.
When they do decide to call it time, the club needs to be ready. Right now they aren’t. The separation wouldn’t be straightforward either.
Klopp has helped assemble the team behind the scenes and he’s involved in recruiting the new Sporting Director.
Trying to untangle this now would see the Reds essentially have to go back to the very start and they cannot afford to do that right now.
Football is usually a very reactive industry and managers are only as good as their last result. But the relationship between Klopp and Liverpool is different, so he will be treated differently.
If one bad season turns into two, then he’s in trouble. For now, though, it will be written off as a blip in a successful stint at a club.