With Liverpool sitting in the middle of the table, 11 points behind the top four after 20 games, patience is clearly wearing thin at Anfield.
Few exemplified this more than Jurgen Klopp, who raised eyebrows after refusing to take questions from Athletic reporter James Pearce following the Reds’ humiliating 3-0 defeat to Wolves.
However, the German tactician’s thoughts on the ongoing hangover from playing every single game possible in the 2021/22 campaign were arguably more significant: “Yes, definitely, it’s clear that [last season] had an impact on the first half of the season.
“But how long do we want to put up with it? The second half of the season has begun.
“On my watch it’s February, we had a full week to prepare, we have another eight/nine days to prepare for the next game.
“We’re in shape, and we’ve arrived. Injury may have been an issue earlier in the season, but today it is the first 12 minutes that are prohibited.”
The former Mainz head coach went on to say that his team was in the game for the majority of the final minutes, but it’s telling that this was the point at which he chose to draw a line in the sand regarding the fallout from the quadruple hunt.
He has every right to. If the World Cup break wasn’t enough time for some players to reset and recover, questions about the Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, and Fabinho, to name a few, are having difficulties because the schedule (except for a period between January 14 and January 21) has not been consistent of late.
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Why are we even bothering to debate whether Klopp should be fired?
My editor, Jordan Chamberlain, has already spoken out on the subject, and I have a strong suspicion that the views of the team here at Empire of the Kop are in line with the majority of Liverpool fans: we do not want Jurgen Klopp to leave.
In fact, it would be the most self-destructive decision we could make between now and the end of the season.
Is it necessary for him to accept some (but not all) of the blame? It’s reasonable to believe so, given that his selections and tactical adjustments haven’t been as spot-on this season as they have been in the past.
Regardless, the notion that the Premier League-winning coach is fighting for his job, whether from pundits or reactive fans on social media, should be met with snorts or sniggers – or, better yet, just keep scrolling.
The treatment of a manager who nearly led Liverpool into the history books – while up against a financially doping Manchester City, if the facts are correct. An independent commission backs up the allegations, and last term’s campaign was unlike any other.
As far as we’re concerned, the seventh-season syndrome, which some tinfoil hat merchants claim deprives Jurgen Klopp of all managerial powers, is complete nonsense.
Just ask Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO of Borussia Dortmund and a close friend of BVB’s former head coach, what the German club should have considered doing before parting ways when things began to unravel.
Klopp faces a new challenge… but one FSG can help him overcome it.
Make no mistake: it’s clear that the players on the field are fighting for their futures at Liverpool Football Club.
That’s a frightening prospect in and of itself, especially when you consider that Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory.
glory, while all three of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita’s contracts are set to expire this summer.
On paper, it may appear easier for some to re-energize the current team by installing a new face with fresh ideas at the helm – but we’ve already established that this would be the illogical approach. After all, managers of Jurgen Klopp’s caliber are much more difficult to find than any player we might look to part ways with this summer.
Of course, we know that a single window in the market for Jude Bellingham, let alone the next two, will not be enough to solve the problem.
The midfield obviously takes precedence, but
If players like Matip and Gomez, to name a few, can’t prove their worth in the coming months, it’s clear that more surgery is required to resurrect this beleaguered squad.
That leaves one question unanswered by FSG following a relatively ineffective January transfer window: will Jurgen Klopp be given the necessary backing – both financially and in terms of the overall decision-making apparatus around him, which has been rocked by exit announcements from Julian Ward and Ian Graham – to begin a rebuild?
If the answer is ‘no,’ can Fenway guarantee that a buyer will be in place by the summer to provide the manager with the tools he needs to face the challenges ahead?
Whatever the outcome,To that end, the German coach’s future should not be debated until he has had a fair shot at turning our fortunes around.
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