Many are already sniffing the beginning of the end of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, as former Tottenham and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has joined the group. Liverpool are struggling to turnaround their season after a rocky start, as they still are languishing at 8th place in the Premier League, 12 points adrift of the leaders Arsenal and 10 behind arch rivals Manchester City who sit second. The title hopes are gone for the Reds, as Klopp himself admit, but their recent loss against Nottingham Forest who sit rock-bottom in the league has fans and pundits wondering a top-four finish too could be out of their hands.
Liverpool have picked just 4 wins from 11 league games, and have already surpassed their tally of 2 defeats in the entirety of last season, by sustaining 3 so far. Klopp is evidently failing to work his magic and bring a change in the fortunes of the Reds. Moreover, their inconsistency has been astonishing, as they thrashed Rangers 7-1 in the Champions League, beat a City team lead by the free-scoring Erling Haaland 1-0 at home, picked all three points against a sturdy West Ham and then went on to suffer a defeat at Forest.
Jurgen Klopp’s days numbered at Liverpool, feels Sherwood
Liverpool saw an all important piece of their team Sadio Mane leave this summer to join Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. While there was enough firepower to replace the Senegalese at Anfield in Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, the Reds also brought in Darwin Nunez for a club record fee of £85 million. However, the former Benfica striker who scored a brilliant 34 goals in all competitions last season has been misfiring so far, adding to the slow start of last season’s Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah who has only 3 goals to show in 11 games so far.
With an ageing midfield as well where many of their crucial players are well above 30, it is being sensed that there will be a shake-up at the Merseyside club next summer. A complete overhaul is being touted, of which Sherwood feels Jurgen Klopp will be a part of as well. The former Premier League winner with Blackburn even claims the Reds’ manager will be gone even before the end of this season as there serious possibilities of them missing out on Champions League football next season. He said while speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show:
“The problem Liverpool have got is this team is used to challenging for titles. It’s gone for them this season, they’re not going to win the Premier League, so where’s the motivation and drive from the players?
“The club will say they cannot be out of the Champions League but it can be tough for players when they’ve challenged for titles and all of a sudden it’s taken away from them. I think it’s very difficult for them.
“I don’t think Jurgen Klopp is there next season, I think there’s a conversation to be had. I’m not sure Jurgen picks them up from where they are and makes them challengers again, I really don’t. History says he doesn’t do that. He’s very good and drives teams all the way. But it’s going to be a fight to get in the top-four now. If they miss out on the top-four it’s a rebuild, a total rebuild.
“I don’t think they’ll sack him but there will be a conversation where both parties agree that Jurgen has taken them as far as he can and they go for a new challenge. That’s just my hunch when I look at him and the team.”
While Klopp’s inability to lift up his side is evident, injuries have played a crucial part in Liverpool’s underwhelming season so far as well. Long-term injuries have victimised Diaz and Jota who will be out for over four months now, and minor knocks have haunted some important players in Thiago Alcantara, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones, Naby Keita, Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
These injuries from time to time have massively hampered Liverpool’s season as Jurgen Klopp is screaming for new recruitments in the middle of the park, only to get Arthur Melo on loan, who too underwent a surgery on his muscle injury which will keep him out for 3 to 4 months. Amidst a squad torn by recurring injuries, Klopp will have to find solutions somehow if he is continue beyond this season and fulfill his contract at Anfield which runs till the summer of 2026.