Writing off Liverpool now is the fanciful delusion of the jealous

IHAVE, regrettably, a little bit of form when it comes to writing off a great football manager and his club too hastily. When Manchester United lost to Benfica and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage in 2005, I said it was time for Sir Alex Ferguson to leave Old Trafford. That did not age well. He only won one more Champions League and five more league titles.

So you’ll forgive me if I do not compose an elegy for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool just yet. Sure, they lost a home game in the league for the first time in nearly four years when they went down to a 1-0 defeat by Burnley at Anfield on Thursday night but, if there had been fans in the stadium, my guess is they would have got a standing ovation to mark the end of that record, not virtual boos and brickbats.

No one — at least no one with an ounce of sanity — has ventured that Klopp’s time is up at the club he has built into a European superpower again but when he mentioned on Friday that his requests to sign a new centre-back had been rebuffed, some supporters turned the dismay they are feeling at the club’s recent poor form into anger against Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group.

Slipping six points behind Manchester United in the race for the title will do that after the recent dominance Klopp’s side have enjoyed but maybe it is time for a little perspective. Liverpool have reached the Champions League final in two of the last three seasons and won it once. Last year, they mashed their rivals into pulp when they won their first league title for 30 years.

And, yes, now they are six points adrift of the top and some have started to mention how it all went wrong for Klopp at Borussia Dortmund after six years in the job there. Even Klopp is saying that Liverpool should forget about retaining the title for the moment and concentrate on the fact that the club are locked in a battle just to finish in the top four.

That is true but it is also true that this season is only at its halfway point and that, largely because of the unique circumstances imposed on clubs and players because of the pandemic, it has already been one of the most volatile top-flight seasons we have ever seen. There have been plenty of twists and there will be plenty more.

It is way too early to write off Liverpool for the title this season. To suggest that this team have entered a terminal decline because they are going through a patchy run of form is the fanciful delusion of those who have grown jealous of their triumphs. Liverpool have got problems to address but a side with that manager and their class do not lie down and die.

It is not exactly a surprise that they are not quite the same team they were last season. They lost their best player, Virgil van Dijk, five games into this campaign. It is readily acknowledged that he made a huge difference to the side when he was signed from Southampton, so it is hardly rocket science to accept that his absence has also been a significant blow.

Liverpool are not alone in having to cope without their best player, of course. Kevin De Bruyne has just been ruled out of Manchester City’s title challenge for the next six weeks. It happens. But Liverpool’s loss of their three best centrehalves — Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip — for large chunks of this season is freakishly bad luck.

So Liverpool are diminished. And they will continue to be diminished until their best defenders return. That does not mean there is evidence of some systemic failure at the club.

Yes, buying a new centre-back in this transfer window would have helped but these are difficult times, and those of us who have been critical of other teams’ lavish spending during the coronavirus crisis have to accept that Liverpool splashing out now might not be a good look. FSG have not become bad owners overnight.

It looks as though Klopp and Liverpool will have to make do with what they have got. They will have to try to win the title without central defenders. And, yes, as Jamie Carragher pointed out last week, they will have to evolve, too. They have had the same front three for four years and they have been unstoppable but nothing lasts for ever. Diogo Jota has been brought in to challenge them. Again, it is unfortunate that he is injured.

So Klopp and Liverpool face a huge challenge to retain the title. Maybe the hill will be too steep to climb. Manchester City are a brilliant team. Manchester United have made a great leap forward. Leicester are formidable under Brendan Rodgers.

But don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s over for Liverpool. Don’t think that, sooner or later, Klopp won’t turn this around. Experience tells you he deserves way, way more credit than that.