Is Jurgen Klopp running out of ideas at Liverpool?

Following another frustrating draw, Jurgen Klopp finds his Liverpool side knocked off the top of the Premier League and facing an uphill battle to win their first ever Premier League title, but is the enigmatic German running out of ideas?

If you look back at the Premier League table on December 26th, you’d find Manchester City third in the Premier League following a lackluster 2-1 defeat to Leicester City. Conversely, Liverpool were flying thanks to a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United. The Reds found themselves seven points clear of Man City, and six points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in second. Klopp’s men were undefeated, firing on all cylinders and a maiden Premier League title was surely just beyond the horizon.

Where has it gone wrong at Liverpool?

However, since then, Liverpool have faded. Their attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, so often a terrifying threat to any back line, have faltered. Their midfield, usually so powerful and dynamic, have begun to look lethargic and legged. Their defence, whilst maintaining exemplary levels of performance (see goalkeeper Alisson’s clean sheet records), have been swapped and altered due to injuries, resulting in disruptive performances and Fabinho often finding himself at right back.

Klopp has tried his best to continue to motivate his players, claiming a debut Premier League title is still well within their reach. But many believe that the wheels are beginning to fall off and the results are beginning to evidence this. Whilst Liverpool have still only suffered one defeat all season, away at rivals City, they have drawn four of their last six games, and the goals (barring a 5-0 demolition of a lifeless Watford side) have began to dry up.

Klopp blaming the wrong things

It is not uncommon for managers to look to blame other factors, aside from their own players, for below stand performances. Typically, they would tend to look at injuries or squad fatigue due to a large build up of games. However, Klopp has become infamous (and frequently mocked on social media) for frequently and bizarrely blaming weather conditions for Liverpool’s poor results. Some of his strange excuses are as follows:

• Liverpool 0-1 Southampton, January 2017 – the wind, which apparently only affected Liverpool, made things much more difficult for his side
• Liverpool 2-2 West Brom, April 2018 – Klopp blames an overly dry pitch on his side’s inability so grab a winner
• Liverpool 1-1 Leicester City, January 2019 – snow interrupts the game at Anfield, which made things more uncomfortable for only his side
• Everton 0-0 Liverpool, March 2019 – yet again, the wind returns to only disrupt Klopp’s men and their rhythm

Aside from that, during the recent 0-0 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, United succumbed to three first half injuries which all resulted in substitutions. Klopp was unhappy with this, as it apparently severely disrupted his side’s momentum – even though it meant United played the majority of the game with a severely weakened side.

These bizarre excuses are leading people to believe that Klopp is not only running out of ideas, but is demonstrating that he has no plan B. Blaming the weather which would effect both teams evenly, is a peculiar thing for a manager to do when looking for excuses for his side’s shortcoming. Klopp has always said that the league is his biggest priority this season, but he is looking a lot like a manager who is beginning to panic.

Stubbornness on substitutions

Following the recent Merseyside derby draw with Everton, Klopp came under strong criticism for his choice of substitutions when chasing a win that would have taken his side back to the of the table. With the game at 0-0, Klopp opted to bring off Mane for Adam Lallana, and Firmino entered the pitch for striker Divock Origi in a straight swap.

Fans were screaming for the likes of Danniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri to try and change the game, yet Klopp preferred to stick to his favoured 4-3-3 formation and play Lallana as part of the midfielder three, instead of perhaps switching to a 4-2-4 and really placing the emphasis on attack.

It could be that Klopp was happy with a draw, and the potential threat of a loss when pressing for a win would be too damming to his side’s chances of League glory. However, in a Merseyside derby, against a limp Everton side with next to nothing to play for, fans would have expected Klopp to fully release his heavy metal football and go for the win. A win which would have taken his side back to the top of the Premier League. But Liverpool slumped to an uninspiring draw, and suddenly the title was back in City’s hands.

The psychological advantages of having your own destiny within your control cannot be understated, and it could be that come May, the draws which first seemed so pivotal to Klopp and Liverpool, were their biggest downfall.

Klopp’s bizarre excuses, unadventurous substitutions and an apparent lack of plan B all points to a man who may be running out of ideas. He has repeatedly refuted the claim that his side are wilting under the pressure, and that they are relaxed going into the business end of the season. However, recent evidence has suggested that Klopp may be panicking, and that a man so often praised for enthusiasm and positivity, is beginning to get very worried.

Featured Image Credit – “Klopp” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by cchana