Jurgen Klopp’s decision making an ‘absolute disgrace’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been labelled an ‘absolute disgrace’ following his decision making against Chelsea in the Premier League.
It was a nightmare of an evening. This was a game the Reds couldn’t afford to lose, but one that you always thought they might.
Anfield no longer has its power. The fortress has crumbled, like those sad little piles of rocks you find scattered across England. If you concentrate really hard, you can conjure the ghosts of what might have been; the power the place might have had. Anfield is like that now.
Liverpool are in trouble
Liverpool seems to have lost their confidence, but has Klopp lost his as well? The German has been criticised for his substitutions in the past and the Chelsea game has only amplified those voices.
The Reds are now down to seventh in the table and are four points behind Thomas Tuchel’s side, who used their win to widen the gap between themselves, West Ham and Everton.
Something has to change – is it Klopp’s decision making in regards to the substitutions that he makes? When Liverpool were chasing the game, the German chose to bring off the most creative players in the side, Thiago, and sent on James Milner.
Naby Keita has left on the bench, too, and he would have been incredibly useful as the Reds tried to find a way back into the game.
Does Jurgen Klopp need to improve himself?
What’s his addiction to keeping Gini on for 90minutes every game? We need a goal get Keita on to play with Thiago not Milner to play with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wijnaldum. Absolute disgrace.
— Elliot (@Ifcelliot) March 4, 2021
But the biggest grumblings seem to stem from Gini Wijnaldum staying on the pitch for the full 90. Wijnaldum is a lot of things, including important to Liverpool, but creative he is not. The way he plays for Klopp limits the Dutchman moving forward, and keeping him on the field when the team was chasing things hasn’t sat well with fans.
Run agendas on whoever you want to make you feel better, blame Klopp, Mané, Gini like every other week, bottom line is, we didn’t look likely to win that game at any point, whether it was before Salah went off or after, and we haven’t looked likely to win any home game in months
— Josh (@KloppStyle) March 4, 2021
Another important decision was the one to play Fabinho in defence, as opposed to midfield. The result indicates Klopp got this wrong, too. He also took of Mohamed Salah, the only forward who has looked to be in decent form this season.
The question remains: Is this season getting to Klopp a little bit? Is his thinking becoming muddled as the team tries desperately to finish in the Champions League places, or is he doing the best he can in an unprecedented season?