It’s okay to question Jurgen Klopp’s squad building

It’s okay to question Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

Because of his achievements over the past five years, the German has been untouchable in the eyes of many.

That’s right and proper. He has made several excellent decisions and turned the fortunes of the side around faster than anyone could have imagined.

Jurgen Klopp wanted to make Liverpool believe again, and he has done.

Winning the Premier League and the Champions League put enormous credit in the gaffer’s bank, and rightly so. It means that when he makes hard choices, fans back him to the hilt.

Which might seem like the point of this article doesn’t exist, but it’s an important one. When does it become okay to question the judgement of a highly successful, and loved, manager?

You can argue that nobody would have foreseen Jordan Pickford hurtling into Virgil van Dijk’s standing leg like he did, or that Richarilson would try to turn Thiago’s shin into a jelly worm in the same game.

You could argue that Liverpool already had fine strength in depth with Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Fabinho ready to play next to van Dijk when required.

You’d also be right to argue that, as Klopp did.

But here comes the rub. All of those beliefs come with caveats.

A quick look at the past two seasons should have been enough warning to the Liverpool squad builders. Gomez started the campaign badly, like he did in 2019/2020, and Joel Matip has seen more of the treatment table than the pitch. Like he did in 2019/2020.

The one big fear was an injury to van Dijk could derail things, but that should have been planned for. The Matip and Gomez basket is riddled with holes, so it’s no surprise that when Klopp put all his eggs in it a few fell through the gaps and smashed on the floor.

Klopp’s plan made sense and it was a good one. The problem was it hasn’t really accounted for Doomsday, which we’re not in the middle of.

I’d say that we’re allowed to criticise the boss for that.