The Reds’ season has hit a new low at Brighton, but the club and fans still have complete faith in the manager.
Jurgen Klopp doesn’t even need to work hard to continue to earn that trust. How could that be?
It’s been a tense season for the Liverpool manager, and his side’s latest horror show, a dismal 3-0 loss at Brighton as the final score showed left him racking his brains in the post-match press conference.
“I’m not sure if it’s only been a few minutes since the game, but I honestly can’t remember a worse game,” he said. “And I mean in all of them [karier saya]not only at Liverpool.”
Few who were at the Amex Stadium on Saturday (14/1) might disagree – notwithstanding defeats at Watford in 2015 and 2020, 7-2 defeats at Aston Villa a few years ago, or one of six successive defeats at Anfield during ‘pandemic season’ is actually worse.
It’s no surprise, then, that Klopp praised the Liverpool supporters after the game. He knew he needed them now.
It should be noted that the away stands were almost half empty when the players, led by Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson, approached Kopites after the match with the intention of apologizing.
Several other players, such as Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita, didn’t mind it, went straight to the stadium tunnel. Robertson covered his face in despair as Alisson Becker screamed his name.
The Brazilian, however, appeared to be spared any criticism directed at his South Coast teammates.
Klopp, meanwhile, offered an apology to those who had made the 10-hour round trip from Merseyside, clasping his hands together and bowing his head.
“They were amazing, to be honest,” he later said. “They realized it wasn’t our day, and they showed they are true supporters.”
This is a bad precedent for Liverpudlians. The joy of last season, which saw them witness a team that almost made history, is now a distant memory.
Klopp’s men are ninth in the Premier League, behind Fulham, Brighton and Brentford and are closer to the bottom of the table than the top flight.
They have picked up just eight points from nine away league games, they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and must win a tough replay at Wolves this week to keep their chances of going further in the FA Cup open.
The thing is, there won’t be many supporters traveling to Molineux with optimism, given the team’s recent results.
The pressure is mounting, with Klopp having to rack his brains for answers to his team’s drastic drop in form compared to last season, and with the need to buy new players especially for the midfield, it’s becoming increasingly evident.
At some clubs – Chelsea, for example – the manager’s position will be in the spotlight, but that is unlikely at Liverpool, where Klopp maintains the firm backing of the club’s owners.
Indeed it is, given his incredible run on Merseyside.
The fans also keep supporting him.
There were some disagreements over the past weekend. Jordan Henderson, who has been inconsistent this season, was rebuked for not playing quickly enough in the first half, while there were howls of anger when Liverpool allowed Robert Sanchez, the Brighton goalkeeper, to hold the ball with his feet for 30 seconds or more without pressure in the second half.
In fact, the criticism has been directed at Fenway Sports Group (FSG) for their inability, or unwillingness, to spend more money to improve the quality of the team.
The US owners, of course, could say otherwise having splashed out £44 million to sign Cody Gakpo earlier this year, having smashed the club’s transfer record to sign Darwin Nunez in the summer and having made Salah the highest-paid player in history. club history in july.
They tied Klopp to a new four-year contract last spring, and have taken steps to give him a new, younger team by bringing in the likes of Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz, as well as Nunez and Gakpo – all of whom signed for a sizable fee. since winning the Premier League in 2020.
What they haven’t done is correct the weaknesses in midfield, and until they do that at least by bringing in quality players, it will be difficult for Liverpool to challenge for the championship.
They need at least two central midfielders, maybe three, and there are also emerging problems at centre-back, with Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip well into their 30s, and Joe Gomez’s form has taken a dive since returning from serious injury.
That’s going to be four big signings, key signings. What a task, even for a manager as talented as Klopp.
Klopp insists he is still as committed and motivated as ever, and we have to take his word for it, despite the clear signs this season that his frustrations are growing.
Comments in the press conference about financial constraints and the “way done for team transfers” by FSG did not go unnoticed, while his comments regarding the performance of the club’s medical staff also hinted at internal problems.
Of course the club’s injury list, which currently contains Van Dijk, Jota, Diaz, Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Arthur Melo, was a big factor in Liverpool’s decline, even though the struggles of the key players – Henderson, Van Dijk, Fabinho, and even Salah – also did not automatically get released. from criticism.
The team’s lack of pressure, energy, and physicality, meanwhile, was as decidedly as insignificant as the Liver Bird on the chests of the players.
“Come on, the team we put together today really isn’t a bad team,” Klopp said at Brighton, but just like at Brentford and in the cup game against Wolves, Liverpool’s players were unable or unwilling to do what he asked of them.
They lost on every front, outplayed quickly and energetically by an opponent who looked like they played in the past: fast, sharp, confident and dangerous.
“I think the players are listening, actually I’m sure it is,” said Klopp, “but I know where you’re coming from because I can see that it doesn’t look like that.”
What has become clear is that there will be no improvement for his squad in the near future. Even another January transfer would not change their fortunes overnight, and at this stage there is no sign Liverpool are headed in that direction, looking to prioritize “long term targets” in the summer.
How the fate of the team next, will also be determined by the club’s sales plans and sporting director, Julian Ward, who will resign at the end of the season.
In the midst of it all, Klopp and his staff had to find answers, on the training pitch, in the analysis room and in the dressing room.
There is still plenty of elite talent in this Liverpool squad and finding ways to make the most of them must be the manager’s priority. It takes character, it takes courage, and players with big names need to be the difference.
Meanwhile, the away match at Wolves will probably still be enlivened by the support of Liverpool fans. They may not be enjoying what they are watching at the moment, but Klopp knows he can still count on their unwavering support.
And that will be crucial if the Reds are to get out of the current predicament. The time to show unity at Anfield is now.
