Team Focus: Has Klopp Failed to Have the Desired Effect at Liverpool?
The hysteria surrounding Liverpool upon the appointment of Jurgen Klopp in October was understandable. Here was a manager revered in the game not only for his man management skills but his ability to come up trumps tactically in big matches. On both counts the German has been success at Anfield thus far, but broadly speaking Klopp has failed to have anything close to the impact on results the fans were not only hoping for, but expected.
25 games into a season in which the former Dortmund boss has taken charge of 17, Liverpool sit ninth, six points closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table. While there tends to be a bedding in period for any new manager, Klopp was appointed to arrest a run of underwhelming displays and improve results quickly. Most would say that he has achieved the former but that hasn't led to the latter coming to fruition.
Indeed, with 23 points from 17 league games, Klopp is averaging fewer than Brendan Rodgers had managed in the opening 8 matches of the season (1.35 per game down from 1.5). Liverpool have scored more goals since the new manager's arrival but conceded more too. Slipping below local rivals Everton on goal difference at the weekend brought into focus another concerning statistic.
Their goal difference is 16 worse off than that of the Toffees, whose defence has been lambasted at times despite conceding two fewer than the Reds. Liverpool are in fact on track to end the season with a negative goal difference. The last time the Merseyside giants ended a campaign with such a record goal difference wasn't even used as a qualifier to separate teams on equal points, over 50 years ago (1964/65).
In that sense there has to be a degree of sympathy and indeed lenience when looking at the team Klopp has inherited. It wasn't merely one that had endured a gradual decline but a rapid one. A goal difference of +51 from the season that Liverpool really should have won the title in 2013/14 dropped to just +4 last time out, with no secret as to why that happened.
Departures and injuries to key players in attack cost Brendan Rodgers, and Jurgen Klopp is finding it equally difficult to grind out results. Deciding to resist dipping into the transfer market last month, a complete overhaul of the squad is not only expected this summer but becoming a necessity. Until then the manager will be given a pass, but his infectious character was ultimately touted to have a far greater impact on Liverpool's success on the pitch than it has.
Having initially bought into Klopp's aggressive pressing ethos, that has unquestionably tailed off in recent months. They may have put in stellar displays against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in the league but the intensity from those matches too often hasn't been present when the cameras are off, so to speak, this season.
The defensive mistakes that have made the club something of a laughing stock in recent years remain, now having only conceded 4 goals fewer than bottom club Aston Villa. The fact, then, that the club decided to offer the hapless Simon Mignolet a new 5-year contract must surely just have been as a measure to protect his resale value.
The Belgian has been a liability all too often at the club. Since his transfer to Liverpool Mignolet has committed more errors leading to goals than any other player (9) and while some say a good goalkeeper will win you 10 points a season, the opposite is true of those prone to making costly mistakes. Of the 22 goalkeepers to make 10 or more appearances in the Premier League this season, only Wayne Hennessey has a lower rating than the Reds' number 1 (6.41).
The current backline doesn't offer a great deal more encouragement. Dejan Lovren has progressed but at times proven to be the centre-back equivalent of his goalkeeper, Mamadou Sakho will fall under the ‘raw' category of defender until the day he retires given his cumbersome playing style and Kolo Toure is merely a Vine magnet at this stage. Klopp will no doubt be after at least two new centre-backs to go along with an upgrade in goal, competition at left-back, a third player to complete his midfield and stronger options out wide and up front. A new team, essentially.
Where the likes of Suarez and Sterling have been poached by better sides though, it's hard to see any European powerhouses circling over Anfield to swoop for a Martin Skrtel or an Adam Lallana. Klopp will not only be tasked with encouraging players to come to Anfield but also encouraging many that it would be best to move on. It promises to be a crucial period in the club's history and perhaps a defining one in terms of the German's success at the club.
Now out of the FA Cup having fielded a team of youngsters once again at West Ham, Liverpool's only chance of glory this season lays in waiting against Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final. While a trophy would no doubt mask the inadequacies of the campaign to some degree, there's no getting past the fact that Liverpool, having sat just three points off a Champions League place upon Klopp's appointment, are now as close to the drop zone as they are to the top four (12 points).
BUABOOK TRADE TIP
The one player to emerge as a bright spark under Klopp in recent months has been Roberto Firmino. With 5 WhoScored.com man of the match awards to his name as well as 6 goals and 5 assists he will be confident of continuing his impressive form at bottom club Villa this weekend, so I’m a buyer in the Brazilian’s shares south of £0.40 in the upcoming match market.
How much has Klopp improved Liverpool since his appointment? Let us know in the comments below
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To say Klopp is failing is so ridiculous I find it hard to believe. He came in after the season had already started, with a squad that he had not developed, and is trying to turn around a club that has been regressing since its title challenge of 2013/14. Failing expectations? At one point (especially after the Man City victory) people were suggesting LFC could challenge for title or top 4. It was as ridiculous for people to suggest that they might challenge for the title as it is for the writer to suggest that he is failing. After less than a full season and you believe he is failing? Looking at his track record with Mainz and Dortmund, he grew the clubs each year. There are certainly times when it is frustrating to watch Liverpool and one wonders how he will fix things but failure is way too strong a word use concerning his performance as a manager thus far. Reactionary analysis without a proper sample to draw from is fallacious and so is this article. Try again.
@prattle Sorry but I have to disagree. If you come to a new team a good manager works with the players he has available and uses a strategy and tactics that suit the players abilities. Klopp didn`t care for that. His only playing card and idea is pressing, counterpressing and physical play. He is not very good in strategic things but focuses on high intensity only. So dispite having a squad that was build to play possesion type football he forced his idea on them. His assistant manager Buvac has been the main man for 8 years when it comes to strategies and game plans. Also Klopp doesn`t really look on single players and how to improve them individually but is only interested in team formations. As a conclusion I`d say that Klopp isn`t very good in adapting to new situations and still lives of the game plan that ones worked for him. But times have changed and teams have progressed to that type of football. But Klopp hasn`t ...
Well Klopp more or less said recently that he under-estimated the strength of the league. Unlike in Germany, in the Premier League you have to be playing well every week or any team can take points off you, and the games come thick and fast, so his favourite tactic of high-energy pressing has its consequences. The Bundesliga is significantly less intense, so Dortmund could could prepare better for European games, leading him to get carried away a bit. So let's give him a bit more time to see if he can adapt to the new league.
Of the squad Klopp inherited, if he had the option to sell any player at no loss, the only players that would remain would probably be Firmino, Coutinho, Can, Sturridge, Origi, Clyne, Moreno, Skrtel, maybe Lallana and one of Henderson or Milner. The rest are not good enough for neither for the type of football he expects nor a top 4 side. You can't expect him to fit in so quickly in a new league in a new country with intense media pressure because that is not what Klopp does. As seen by his SEVEN years and both Mainz and Dortmund, Jurgen is a throwback to the time when a manager would take over a club and implement changes from a grassroots level up to the first team and achieve remarkable success while doing so. Think Brian Clough, Rinus Michels, and Alex Ferguson. Therefore, it was equally ridiculous to think Liverpool would challenge for the title during the honeymoon period, as well calling Klopp a failure now that the side is struggling. Judge him in May 2017.
@LP7004 Well said. Sensible. Klopp is one of those special managers you roll the dice with and give plenty of time to build a winner from the ground up. May 2017 is indeed a more appropriate time for Klopp's first assessment.
Hard to argue that he hasn't failed to have a desired impact on results, surely? Article doesn't suggest he's failed entirely or that his job should be on the line in any way. Needs his own players but majority would have expected Liverpool to do better since his arrival
Most inconsistent team ever, but can also surprise anyone on there day, thats what liverpool has became
If you come to a new team a good manager looks at the players he has available and than creates a strategy and tactics that suit the players abilities. Klopp didn`t care for that. His only playing card and idea is and has been pressing, counterpressing and physical play ! He is not very good in strategic things but focuses on high intensity only. So dispite having a squad that was build to play possesion type football he forced his idea on them. His assistant manager Buvac has been the main man for 8 years when it comes to strategies and game plans. Also Klopp doesn`t really look on single players and how to improve them individually but is only interested in operating team formations. I`d say Klopp isn`t very good in adapting to new situations like different league,different style and different types of players and rather still lives of the game plan that had ones worked for him. But times have changed and teams have progressed to that type of football. But Klopp hasn`t ...