Jurgen Klopp two years at LFC: How do we rate his tenure?
By David Gate
We are now entering the third year of the Jurgen Klopp era and there has been some great improvement alongside some worrying stagnation.
The vacancy at Bayern Munich has stoked speculation about Klopp’s tenure at Liverpool. Reports from The Mirror today are that there is a potential buyer of the club in Dubai. While many fans are wishing for some dramatic change the reality is that both Klopp & FSG are in for the long haul.
The German didn’t choose to manage Liverpool because we had the best players or the most money. We weren’t offering him the biggest wages or the easiest road to success. That is how Jose Mourinho chooses clubs, not Jurgen Klopp.
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Klopp came to Liverpool because he believes the club to special and he believes that we can do special things together. Two finals in his first year gave us that hope. A Champions League place in the second year is another step of improvement. The current slump feels hugely deflating but there is a long way to go before we can judge if this year was another step forward.
When he arrived at Anfield the Liverpool attacking roster contained Danny Ings, Mario Balotelli and Divock Origi. We had just come off a season where Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini had played major minutes. The introduction of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and the development of Roberto Firmino has made our current attack one capable of devastating teams.
The midfield has been a mixed bag for the German. Gini Wijnaldum has been a good, if inconsistent, addition. Emre Can has improved but won’t sign a new contract. Philippe Coutinho is world-class but wants to be at a club that matches his ability. Jordan Henderson is not a defensive midfielder and has regressed under Klopp.
What can you say about the defense? Matip is a good player for a free transfer – though has had worrying form this year. Moreno isn’t a disaster anymore. The young players look good, but young. Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan, Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius all have mistakes in their bones just waiting to kill us.
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The Premier League has been a sharp learning curve for Klopp. He needs to take a good long look at our weaknesses. He also needs some real cash to spend. I hope that we can sit down in May and think this season was another step towards the Premier League title.