The final goodbye to Jurgen Klopp from Liverpool is finally over. At Anfield, a new era is upon us.
The German years were awe-inspiring, deeply felt, and filled with awards. Honestly, there won’t be another like Klopp.
Much has been said about Jurgen’s tenure at Anfield over the last few weeks. Given what he accomplished, there will be a ton more in the future, almost all of it good.
But you don’t stay at a club for over ten years and expect everything to work out for you. Under Klopp’s leadership, there were certainly difficult moments, and those too need close examination.
The 2022–2023 season was unquestionably the weakest under the former boss. Liverpool’s team faded too many players severely, and as a result, they finished fifth in the Premier League. The AXA Training Center had numerous adjustments as a result of the subpar form, and not all of them were favorably received.
Some Liverpool employees are dissatisfied by Jurgen Klopp
A topic of debate throughout Klopp’s time at Liverpool was the extent of the 56-year-old’s influence behind the scenes.
As sporting director, Klopp collaborated with Michael Edwards for the most part, but during that penultimate season, he was forced to operate without him.
The manager seemed to take on more responsibility as a result and start making calls that he hadn’t made before. Additionally, several of Klopp’s decisions did not sit well with his backroom personnel, as reported by journalist Duncan Castles.
During his second season, which was marked by numerous injuries, Castles on The Transfers Podcast revealed that one of the things that happened under Jurgen Klopp was that he stopped using an AI-led analysis of players’ physical output on the field and in training, which was intended to flag up whether players were likely to get injured or not.
“I realize that led to some dissatisfaction within Liverpool’s backroom personnel because they believed Klopp had overridden the system, which had been functioning effectively.
“With Arne Slot, they have the chance to bring in a coach who they have deliberately chosen to meet their desired working style and try something new. However, there is a huge test to see if delegating all decision-making to the scientists is effective.
Was Klopp correct to remove the AI system?
If Klopp persisted in vetoing the AI injury tracker this season, Castles did not clarify.
Nonetheless, one would have to assume that the boss’ choice stood as there wasn’t really anyone to disagree with him.
If that’s the case, Klopp made a bad decision with this, and that much is clear. In particular, Liverpool has suffered greatly this season due to injuries.
In that regard, the previous season was challenging as well, although the 21/22 campaign had less issues. Even the infamously injury-prone Naby Keita made 40 appearances.
Of course, it’s hard to determine if Klopp’s decision to reject the established procedures was beneficial or detrimental. All of this could be a coincidence. However, it appears certain that Slot will restore the systems for the disgruntled Liverpool employees.