NOT ALL KLOPP’S FAULT
Failure to get cover after Van Dijk’s injury may prove fatal to Liverpool
ONE OF the most astute observations I have read about Liverpool since Thursday night’s defeat to Burnley is this: “They have been superhuman for three years. Now they look human.” That puts into perspective the recent loss of form. When you have attained extraordinary standards, you need to readjust to normality.
Since 2015, Liverpool’s owners have allowed Jurgen Klopp to be the symbol of the Anfield revival, the figurehead as well as the coach and inspiration behind the Champions League and Premier League triumphs.
The relationship between a lowkey, overseas ownership group and charismatic front-of-house leader has worked. Fenway Sports Group have been the first to acknowledge the club would not have restored its elite status without Klopp, and he has been generous in his praise for how they support him, and granted him the freedom to manage without boardroom intrusion.
But when I heard Klopp assume all the responsibility for Liverpool’s latest defeat it did not sit comfortably with me, especially when he pointed out that it is not for him to decide if the club acts in the transfer market.
In the midst of the first significant backwards steps since Klopp’s appointment, there must be a collective effort to ensure this is a just blip.
I believe the club’s response should have been activated on October 19, the day Virgil van Dijk’s cruciate knee operation was confirmed. Hindsight is unnecessary. I said then I did not think Liverpool could win the league unless they had a new centre-back in place on January 1. They needed one before Joe Gomez was injured. His and Joel Matip’s appearance record was informative of that.
Frankly, it is preposterous that three months on and with the transfer window now open, Klopp felt compelled to use Jordan Henderson in the position against Manchester United. And although Fabinho has been outstanding, he would be more influential in midfield. It has caused a chain reaction throughout the team.
Maybe the club thought Klopp is so good he can overcome any situation. If so, the last few weeks are a reality check for them.
Impediments
At the moment, the impediments – albeit many of them were unforeseen – look too much to overcome in order to meet the highest ambitions.
I have long felt that what Klopp has achieved at Liverpool is incomparable to what managers at other leading Champions League clubs have done. I know rival fans always point at expensive signings like Van Dijk and Alisson Becker and say Liverpool are as big spenders as Manchester City or Manchester United, but the facts will always show how Klopp subsidised his biggest deals with sales.
That is why whenever he is asked about refreshing the squad, there is hesitancy. He bought into the Liverpool self-sustaining model, accepting there is not the bottomless pit of cash as at other clubs.
Since 2018, it has felt like FSG have looked at the quality and age of the squad they assembled over the course of the previous three years, and saw a lifespan of around four or five seasons for the core of the team that reached the Champions League final in Kiev.
The proof of that is investing only £7.5 million in the three transfer windows preceding last summer. Liverpool’s net spend in the Premier League since Klopp took over in 2015 is less than Everton, Brighton and Aston Villa.
Look at the side which was beaten by Real Madrid and you see minor alterations. The goalkeeper is a massive upgrade, as is Fabinho, but if I was to pick Liverpool’s best XI, it has been the same for three years.
Although Thiago Alcantara is a stellar name and we have yet to see enough of him, and Diogo Jota hit the ground running before his injury, no signings have demoted the established stars. That means the first dip – or series of injury setbacks – has led to a significant quality drop. Xherdan Shaqiri, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are back-ups. Divock Origi and Takami Minamino have opportunities but will never be regular starters. We are seeing the consequences of that recently.
The club has stuck to the preferred and so far successful option of patience, knowing Van Dijk and Gomez will recover for next season, and the high standards of the worldclass players like Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will eventually return.
I believe this time the club needed to react in the transfer market to ensure these most trying of times do not undermine Liverpool’s upward trajectory. I said in the summer successful teams need refreshing from a position of strength, and the club bought Thiago and Jota. Now, because of injuries, a response was needed to address a visible and serious area of weakness. That requires players good enough to start the biggest games, not to step in and do a job occasionally. To be more specific, it demanded a new centre-back.
The consequences of the pandemic, lockdown football without Anfield’s major weapon of a vibrant crowd, and the loss of key players for a prolonged period, means there has to be a contingency plan to go alongside the more measured, long-term one. Nobody ever wants to panic buy, but sometimes circumstances demand flexibility. Otherwise – even though they will never admit it – it will seem like the club is prepared to tolerate some pain until normality returns next season.
Liverpool are still only six points off the top at halfway, so Klopp does not need to rebuild his title-winning side. This summer he needs to re-energise it. Roberto Firmino has been a warrior for six years, but his struggles have been obvious for a while. Although Jota started well, Liverpool need another attacker before next season. Next year’s African Nations Cup will be a headache in 2021/’22.
The more Salah keeps mentioning a new contract with two-and-a-half years
to go, the more I think he or those around him must be tone deaf. When the next significant deals are dished out, Alisson and Van Dijk must be first in the queue.
The club appears to have decided Gini Wijnaldum does not merit a significant pay rise and a new contract, so a midfielder of similar profile and quality will be needed to replace him.
Others will emerge from their current struggles. We too easily forget that Trent Alexander-Arnold is only 22. Trent could do worse than share a private call with Steven Gerrard. I remember well how Stevie overcame a slight dip after his initial breakthrough into the first team and was guided back to his best. It happens.
Adding to that, Klopp’s Liverpool is built upon intensity and higher emotion – feeding off the energy of the fans. Inevitably, they have suffered as much as any side without that. In truth, the team has not been the same since football returned. Few teams have. That must be taken into account.
Liverpool’s fixture schedule shows the situation may deteriorate before it improves, with trips to Old Trafford, Tottenham and Leicester City upcoming, and Manchester City and Everton heading to Anfield.
We will know by the end of February if Liverpool are still fighting for the title or to stay in the top four.
Klopp may be prepared to accept all the burden, but when the tools he needs are unavailable – or worse still are not provided when needed – it is his to share. (© Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2021)