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Showing posts with label Jurgen Klopp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jurgen Klopp. Show all posts
Donal O'Driscoll ⚽ writing on the morning Jürgen Klopp left Liverpool FC.

I'm not a crier. It's not a macho thing, I don't choose not to cry, it's just the way I am. However I'm at home now with tears in my eyes, there will probably be plenty today. I've been dreading today since the end of January.

Yes I became a Liverpool fan like a lot of Irish people do, because my older brother was. If we were both five years younger, I'd probably be a Manchester United fan *shudder*, but I fell in love with the city of Liverpool and its people the first time I set foot there. I'm rarely happier than when I'm in Liverpool. It's the city of Larkin, a proud people who will give you the world, but won't be fucked about. I'll never be a Scouser, I wouldn't claim to be, but I do feel a deep connection to that wonderful city, even more so than to the football club.

I wasn't born in Shankly's time, I wasn't even 3 months old when Paisley resigned. Klopp is my generation's Shankly. From the minute he came in there was a sense that 'this guy gets it'. Liverpool is not just another club, it's special. Even if you don't like them, you have to admit as an entity, LFC is special. I would have no problem saying the same thing about Manchester United, I don't like them, but they're also a special club.

Jürgen understood Liverpool's specialness and got the fans. It was love at first sight, for him and for us. There are loads of great managers out there, but only one Klopp, and he was all ours. The same way Shankly was. He wasn't just a manager, he was a symbol, a father figure, an activist. He knew managing LFC was a vocation, not a job, and he served his vocation impeccably.

I knew today was coming, but nothing can prepare you for it. I don't normally put so much importance on sport, but this is different. This is like a family member leaving. I'm devastated. I think it will take a lot of time for this to sink in.

I welcome Arne Slot and wish him well, but he needs to understand just what we have lost. No one can replace Jürgen. He's not just a manager, he's an icon.

I want to wake up and have this be a dream. The thought of no more pearly whites showing as he belly laughs at a press conference, no more fist pumps, no more 'brain fuck' . This is the closest I've ever felt from sport of understanding 'its better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.' On a selfish level, I don't want to face the prospect of LFC without Jürgen, but I know our club will go on. This though, is a massive void to fill. Thank you Jürgen, not just for everything you've done, but for everything you are.

As the saying goes 'He made the people happy.'

⏩Donal O'Driscoll is a Liverpool supporter.

Thank You Jürgen

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ On the door leading into this study, pretentiously so-called, hangs a Jurgen Klopp flag.


It was my good fortune to pick it up in a charity shop, a year or tow back. In this home Jurgen Klopp is revered for what he has brought to the wonderful republican city of Liverpool, where a kaiser but not a king is welcome. If my wife were to believe in saints, he would be at the top of the heavenly heap.  

Today after nine years in charge of Liverpool Football Club, in which he oversaw 489 matches, the German maestro rides off into a Majorcan sunset. 

It would be churlish on such an occasion to comment on the team's failure to lift a league championship this time around which would have put a silver shine on the departure of this mercurial manager. Comment on that can wait for another day.

Perhaps it is age with me but the nine years Klopp spent at the club seem to have passed in the bat of an eyelid. Bob Paisley, who was at the helm for the same length of time, seemed, back in the day, to have been in the position forever. 

Klopp may not have brought the same degree of silverware to the club as the prodigious Paisley - nineteen trophies in all between 1974 and 1983 - but he was a much more charismatic and coherent character than the wily but dour and inarticulate Hetton-le-Hole soccer genius. Still, the points required to win a title in today's finance saturated environment are astronomical. 

Klopp produced one of the best ever Liverpool sides, runaway English Premier League champions in the 2019-2020 season. He also created the only team to pause the dominance of Manchester City. The wry eye might see matters with a certain tinge - that Klopp was the only manager to have won the title fairly. 

He had a connect with the fans and the city of Liverpool. As one pundit said today managers are more often being run out of town whereas Klopp, who has never been sacked in over twenty years of management, was given a huge sendoff at Anfield this afternoon. The city of Liverpool wants to pull him in rather than push him out.

I hope the supporters of Liverpool Football Club manage to extract success from the replacement coach next season but already there are echos from the time when David Moyes replaced Alex Ferguson. Manchester United have never looked forward since. There is more to this than the changing of the guard, a feeling that the end of an era has just kicked in. I have this foreboding that I will never see another Liverpool side lift the league title. In my lifetime I feel I have seen with Klopp's departure the last of the great Liverpool managers. I also believe I have seen the last of the great Liverpool teams even if this current side was not one of them. 

From Hail the Chief to Farewell the Kaiser, despite the setbacks and disappointments for Liverpool fans, it was an amazing nine year journey to be remembered for its highpoints of panache, passion, brilliance, exhilaration and scintillating soccer. A friend just texted me to say 'he changed football and society for the better.' If that is to be his epitaph in the decades after we have all shuffled of this mortal coil, his footprint will be much more than a face sketched on the sand, to disappear with the first lapping tide.

Slan, Jurgen. 

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Kaiser Klopp

Peter Anderson ⚽ It looks like there is going to be a changing of the guard in elite management circles come the summer.

Last week saw Liverpool's Klopp and Barça's Xavi announced their intention to leave their respective clubs at the end of the season. Tis true that Klopp will be missed by his fans more than Xavi's, but what is really important is that it will potentially start a musical chairs situation at the elite clubs.

Klopp's decision came as a complete shock. He said he is tired and he does look it, but the fact that he changed his midfield last summer gave me the impression he was going to stick around and build another team. But on reflection now is the time to go. I would imagine Salah will leave sometime during the next two windows, so that will mark the end of an era for Liverpool. Also, by announcing it now, he will give his players extra impetus to go for the league title. 

I know from my red supporting buddies that it grinds on them that they have only won one EPL title under Klopp and that was won in empty stadia due to Covid. In two separate EPL seasons they chalked up 97 and 92 points but still finished second to City. This season Liverpool are performing so well they are starting to smell another title. City are just not at the races this season. In so many games they are dominating but not getting enough goals to put the game to bed. It is a similar story at the Emirates. There is nothing certain in football, but all Liverpool fans will be dreaming of a proper title winning send off for one of the best managers they have ever had. And it certainly is on the cards, given current form.

So, who will take the hot seat next? Xabi Alonso is the current front runner after performing miracles at Leverkusen. An ex-fan favourite at Anfield, he defo fits the bill. Brighton's De Zerbi is also in the mix. One pundit on Sky said that if Gerrard had stayed at Rangers and won another SPL he would have been a shoo-in. Apparently Klopp favours giving his assistant, Pep Lijnders a shot. Whoever it is will have extremely big boots to fill.

Meanwhile over in Catalunya, rumour has it that Arteta is the number one favourite to take the Barça job. I don't know what to think of that one. Would he leave a stable, viable club competing at the top of the world's best league for a skint has-been? I can't see it happening unless Arsenal want rid. If they don't win the EPL this season will they consider a change? That would leave another of the top positions in England vacant.

We also have Ineos taking partial control at Man U. Will they also want change? You have to admit that Erik ten Bob is looking increasingly out of his depth. If they sack him will they be able to attract a new manager with sufficient stature in the game given that they will have no Champions League footy to offer? And given what has happened to the last 5 or 6 managers, can they afford to gamble on an up-and-coming manager like De Zerbi? The sporting direction of several of the biggest clubs in world footy have big, big decisions to make.

Finally, I have to say a word about Klopp. He really has been a breath of fresh air for English football. He has great character and charisma, which is much needed in today's game. His brand of Heavy Metal Football will be remembered for many years. There was a time when Liverpool had the best front 3 in the history of English football and were a joy to watch. Pep has given the best speech on Klopp's departure so far, saying that he cannot define his time at City without mentioning Klopp's Liverpool. They have been City's biggest rival and driven City to reach new heights in the English game. Pep also said that going away to Klopp's Dortmund with Bayern, and Klopp's Liverpool with City gave him sleepless nights. 

I think in the future we will look back on the Pep-Klopp rivalry like we look back on the Fergie-Wenger rivalry, that is as a rivalry that pushed teams to new levels of performance and ultimately entertainment for the footy fanatic. What Klopp has done for Liverpool and English football cannot be under estimated. He is up there with Shankly and Paisley as the greatest in Liverpool's history and he ain't done yet. I expect a slew of trophies before he's done. Unfortunately.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Changing Of The Guard

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Eight Hundred And Forty Three

Peter Anderson ⚽ Last weekend the EPL saw two "flagship" games, games that would showcase English football to viewers around the world.

Liverpool-Chelsea in the Saturday morning slot and Arsenal-Man U in the Sunday evening slot.

What transpired was a massive difference in quality. Liverpool-Chelsea was an absolutely awful nil-nil draw, while Arsenal-Man U was an absolute thriller. 

Given Chelsea's massive injury list, we can forgive the west Londoners for their tepid form, but what has happened to Liverpool is beyond me. Klopp's heavy metal football is looking rather country and western at the mo. I would love to know exactly what is happening in that club, and who exactly is to blame for such a massive drop off in form. I suspect Liverpool fans have their own ideas, but I always presumed it was the club's recruitment policy that was primarily to blame. Now, I am seriously wondering if it is Klopp himself. We have talked about recruitment before. Liverpool have spent £227.5m on forwards in the last 3 years (Minamino, Jota, Diaz, Nuñez and Gakpo) none of whom are as good as the one they let go, Mané. Why was such a critical part of the team's success allowed to leave for £20m feeling unloved? During those 3 years Liverpool have been crying out for quality midfielders, but have only bought old or young ones, no top players at all. Certainly none as good as the the one they let go also feeling unloved, Gini Wijnaldum. 

However, on Saturday there were signs that Klopp himself is beginning to lose his shine. He started with Keita, Bajcetic, Elliot and Thiago in midfield, it didn't work. So he replaced the first three with Jones, Hendo and Fabinho, that didn't work either. Also, he brought on Trent A-A, but he looked disinterested. He strolled around the pitch with his socks rolled down like he was in a training match. The lad has all the talent in the world to be a top player, but not the required application. It is no wonder Southgate won't start him. On Saturday he was useless, giving the ball away on a few occasions and generally not putting in a shift. Has Klopp lost the changing room? It would appear so. Certainly it is a possibility. Next summer's recruitment will be key, especially the bid for Bellingham. Aside from him, they need more quality in midfield which may prove difficult if they don't qualify for the UCL.

By contrast, the game at the Emirates Stadium was a belter. Arteta's young gunners beat ten Hag's rising Man U team by 3-2, scoring the winner in the final minutes. Liverpool and Chelsea can only look on as bystanders while the top four pull away. The quality on show from both Arsenal and Man U was impressive, but ten Hag's side sorely missed Casemiro as they were overrun in midfield during the final 20 minutes as Arsenal seeked (and got) a winner. You would imagine that if ten Hag can get 3 or 4 quality players in next summer they will challenge for the title next season. For now, top four looks nailed on. For Arsenal, first or second looks nailed on. No matter what happens, you would expect them to challenge next season, can you say the same about Liverpool?

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

From Heavy Metal To Country & Western

Anthony McIntyre feels that despite defeat on the soccer field, greater losses are to be found elsewhere.

Despite an atrocious run of form from Liverpool it would be a cold heart from which no warmth could emit for its coach, Jurgen Klopp. Unable to return to Germany for the funeral of his mother, Klopp stepped up to the plate for his team, a forlorn pallbearer for its championship hopes.

The team's fall from grace has been every bit as swift as it has been astounding. A most painful spectacle for the fans who have watched the decline with utter disbelief, the implosion beyond their comprehension. Perhaps they and the players believed the PR spun about the team although not by it: world and domestic conquerors, simply the best, better than all the rest, reminiscent of the great Barcelona, going to sweep all before them into the foreseeable future.

It was all hype. Even at their best there were signs that there was a flaw in the side that would be susceptible to pressure. Performances like the Champions League semi-final comeback against Barcelona were the exception rather than the rule. More frequently, victories were ground out. For sure there was an efficiency, but one which at the same time masked a deficiency that has in recent weeks been all too evident.

Citing the absence of Virgil Van Dijk as a reason for the title challenge faltering is an excuse rather than a reason. The Dutch man was at the heart of the defence when Liverpool were humiliated in a 7-2 trouncing at the hands of Aston Villa, the team Bobby Sands followed. A side that concedes 7 is simply not in the running for the championship.

Yesterday’s collapse against Leicester and last week’s routing at the hands of Manchester City fail to show the depth of the chasm Liverpool have fallen into. Brendan Rodgers has put together a formidable force at Leicester, while Manchester City are a sterling outfit able to Blitzkrieg their way past mediocre opposition. And mediocre is what Liverpool have become this season. Successive home defeats to Burnley and Brighton offer a better measure of the abyss into which this side has plummeted.

A forward line that has been so flat footed hasn’t managed this all on its own. There is a serious midfield deficit. For all of Thiago’s reputed successful passing, if the bulk of the passes are square balls, then the penetration of defences that allow forwards to finish off is going to be absent, leaving Liverpool more like Crabpool where sideways is the sole momentum. Probably putting Henderson in the backline has robbed the centre of the park of a forward oriented midfielder, while the injury prone Alex Oxlade Chamberlain can only breath a sigh of relief that he is not a racehorse. They tend not be transferred. Ultimately, there is no creative midfield, nothing to bridge that crucial space between the centre circle and the penalty box. The dots are all in place, their names emblazoned in neon lights, just nobody there any longer who is capable of joining them.

And when all else failed, when the team was on the skids, when the chips were down, there remained the comforting reassurance that between the posts there would be a last man standing. But after a few howlers and poor judgement in the last two games, even that rock of reliability looks wobbly.

The crisis of confidence is now contagious and it will be next season before we know if the club has managed to pull itself up by the bootstraps. Hope dies last.

Important not to lose focus. Former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, whether quoted or misquoted, is often remembered through immortalised words: Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.

Au contraire, the greatest loss this week was Jurgen Klopp’s mother. 

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Au Contraire

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