As with all high profile managerial departures, the ultimate blame for Jurgen Klopp’s exit lies squarely at the feet of the players.
The critical difference in Liverpool’s case is he told them they were too darn good quicker than he anticipated. Time will tell if Klopp’s final major Anfield decision is right, but he no longer believes they need him like they did.
Klopp convened his squad on the training pitch shortly before 10.30am on Friday to deliver the news he had first given to Fenway Sports Group president Michael Gordon in November.
As is often the case with Klopp, the speech was part instinctive, part pre-planned.
He told the players he was only going to leave Liverpool in a position of strength. If he thought there was more work needed to restore them to the position of title challengers or major trophy winners, a sense of unfinished business would have kept him in charge. There was a strong hint he would have gone sooner but for the turbulence of last season.
Now Klopp is certain he will leave a legacy to be proud of, rather than a new building project for his successor.
Klopp had carried his secret for two months. He is relieved it is out in the open. The curious timing can be explained because once Klopp’s coaching staff knew and started making plans for their next employment, it was sure to leak.
The same can be said when Liverpool inevitably start to make calls to the representative of the manager they headhunt, presuming as we must they have not done so already, even if Xabi Alonso’s most recent press conference carried all the hallmarks of a shrewd coach choosing his words carefully.
November conversation involved asking if he would change his mind
Klopp’s first call to Gordon before the Christmas schedule offered no clue as to what was coming. He merely requested extra time to discuss an important topic at their next meeting. It was then he told him that Liverpool will need a new coach in the summer of 2024.
Gordon asked if there was a chance he might change his mind.
When the answer was no, the executive who will lead the pursuit of Klopp’s successor offered his fulsome thanks for the incredible work of rebuilding Liverpool. Gordon knows Klopp well enough that he is a man of his word, even if in this case it was the opposite of what the club wanted to hear.
Liverpool’s chief executive Billy Hogan reflected the shock around the city as he sat alongside Klopp at Friday’s press conference. But within Fenway Sports Group, that does not mean they are completely surprised, or had no sense that such a day would come.
When Klopp signed his last contract extension in 2022 - a four year deal which was supposed to run until 2026 - he said he fully intended to see it through.
But such is the strength of his relationship with Gordon, chairman Tom Werner and principal owner John W Henry, part of their negotiation was an open dialogue whereby Klopp would be honest enough to say when the time was right, independent of the year on that deal.
A long-term contract gives the manager and club space to breathe without the media or supporters placing timer on future talks.
Bulletproof from owners but last season took its toll
For those believing there must be more to it - Klopp refuted some of the wild theories about lingering transfer frustration during Friday’s press conference - one wonders why the manager’s words about running out of gas and needing a break are not taken at face value.
The toils of last season took their toll, especially when he was persistently asked to offer a detailed overview on what even to Klopp was inexplicable.
He misjudged the speed with which his midfield would tank. Consequently, he sapped more energy than intended trying to publicly explain and then fix it.
Whatever Klopp’s private thoughts, he has a policy whereby he would never openly criticise his players’ performances. Absorbing so much blame for the team’s failure to finish in the top four drained him more than he and others’ imagined - even if he had the internal support of his board and enduring love of the Kop.
What Klopp also discovered during that period is no matter how poor Liverpool’s performance, he was bulletproof where the owners and supporters are concerned. Sacking him was never on the agenda. The only way Klopp could ever leave Liverpool was on his own terms.
That sounds like the ultimate blessing. In a world in which Jose Mourinho’s severance pay-outs number £80 million, it could also be considered a curse.
Where failed managers are ushered out the back door, Klopp was front of house explaining that such tiring press conferences are what he will miss least when he takes at least a year off.
Just like Bill Shankly in 1974 and Kenny Dalglish in 1991, there were no obvious hints of this announcement. Not off the field, at least.
And yet on it, perhaps there were. Ask those closest to Klopp about his management style this season and they have noticed a difference.
There has been more willingness to take risks with team selections and substitutions; even more desire to blood Academy players, and on the training ground someone was heard to remark a few days ago ‘he is managing like it is his last year’ even though they were blissfully unaware of how accurate the observation.
Klopp’s biggest worry when he informed the squad he is going was that his words might suck the energy out of his group, even though he insisted he is “all in” for the rest of this season.
Moments after they’d finished training, Klopp walked past the dressing room fearing sombre silence. Instead, he heard overheard jovial voices speaking about their determination to make this a season to remember.
Klopp’s work at Liverpool is not quite done yet, but in that moment he was even more convinced he has covered enough of the hard yards to ensure the long farewell is a joyous sprint in pursuit of more emotionally charged celebrations.
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January 27, 2024 at 03:24AM
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The inside story of Jurgen Klopp's shock Liverpool exit - The Telegraph
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