Trophy collapse could make life easier for new Liverpool boss says Jurgen Klopp
Arne Slot looks set to become the man who succeeds the German at Anfield
Arne Slot needs to be his own manager. Replacing Jurgen Klopp is an impossible job. Don’t try to emulate him. If his gloomy facial expression and defeatist body language did not give the game away, Jurgen Klopp has now confirmed what many suspected.
Liverpool lost 2-0 to bitter city rivals Everton, the first time they had fallen to defeat on the trip across Stanley Park since 2010. The connotations around Merseyside added salt to Klopp’s wounds, plus the fact it all but ruled them out of the Premier League title race.
The most bitter pill to swallow for the German, though, was his team’s lack of fight.
Of course, he would never throw them under the bus — he has taken the blame — and this campaign will end around par for the course given the pre-season expectations.
Liverpool suffered their first defeat to their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park since 2010
Klopp said the defeat was the most disappointed he’s felt after a game in his whole career
‘It’s really strange but I hated our game,’ he said.
‘We were not even close to what we want to be. You saw the game. It wasn’t the first (below par) one but it was the worst one. I see two teams (Arsenal and Manchester City) who play really positive football and go for it. We can do that – but we don’t in this moment. And who can I make responsible for that?
‘It is not about individuals – ‘you and you and you’ – that doesn’t make sense. It’s my job until the last day to make sure that the boys feel that. The game (against Everton) was just horrible to watch.
‘In Germany when the crowd is not happy with the team and they think they are not fighting enough, they sing a song which translates into ‘we want to see you fight’ – I was close to singing that! Never has one of my teams heard that ever. Never.
‘We found a way to concede a goal… the goal was a joke. We kicked the ball at each other and then he was free in the box… please! And it is just when you’re not yourself. (Jarrad) Branthwaite mishit the ball and it rolls in… you can laugh about it but it was incredible.’
Earlier, he had said: ‘I can’t remember ever being as disappointed or frustrated after a game as I was after the Everton game. I lost a lot of games in my life but it was special, we were not there. I blame myself 100 per cent because we were not in the mood.’
So while opposite number Sean Dyche returned to his flat to enjoy a couple of lager shandies, Klopp went back to his home in Formby and has not long come out of his bad mood. Asked how he handled the emotional trauma, the 56-year-old said: ‘Time!
‘I know it didn’t work out properly. When I went home, it (his mood) was not great, when I woke up it was not great. I went to the office (on Thursday), it was not great …but it got better, step by step. So that is how it is.
