Following Liverpool’s heavy defeat against Napoli on Wednesday night, Jurgen Klopp has been sounded out as the next ‘Big Six’ manager likely to face the sack, as per various betting agencies.
Under Klopp, Liverpool have gained the reputation for playing high-flying, hard-running, intense football that requires the very top level of physical performance. In the 2021/2022 campaign, The Reds played every game possible having made it to the final of each competition they participated in, as well as taking the title-race to the final day.
Last season’s exertions seem to have taken a heavy toll on Liverpool this year with the Club experiencing a relatively disastrous start to this campaign, only winning three of their first eight matches across all competitions, culminating in the 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Napoli this week.
Liverpool’s form at the start of the season is concerning as players such Salah, Van Dijk, Trent and Fabinho all looking like a shadow of themselves. It remains to be seen whether Klopp will be able to get his team firing again, as history suggests his reign at Anfield may be coming to its end.
Klopp’s first job as a manager came at Mainz in 2001. The German coach spent 7 relatively successful years in charge of Mainz, however, suffered relegation during his 6th season in 2006/2007. In spite of this, the Mainz board put faith in Klopp to take them back to the top-flight of German football. But unfortunately, Klopp was unable to repay their faith as Mainz missed out on promotion during his 7th and final campaign.
Following his stint with Mainz, Klopp was appointed Borussia Dortmund manager in 2008. It was in front of the Yellow Wall that he really made his name, leading Dortmund to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. Klopp also took the team to the verge of continental success, narrowly losing 2-1 to archrivals Bayern Munich in the UCL final in 2013.
In the two following seasons, Klopp struggled to wrestle the title back from Bayern before finishing 7th in his 7th and last season at the Signal Iduna Park.
This pattern has led many to believe that Klopp suffers from “7th season syndrome,” which is where his Club begins to exhibit the complete opposite in the quality of football as we’ve become accustomed to in the years prior. During his 7th season at the helm of a Club, the wheels seem to slowly come off.
This is unsurprising given that Klopp’s biggest quality as a coach is his man-management skills. And the lack of regular squad refreshing means many of the players at the Club have been there for a long time, making it more difficult for them to be motivated by the same voice.
This is Klopp’s 7th season as Liverpool boss, and given their start, many wonder whether history is about to repeat itself.
Similar to what happened to Tuchel on Tuesday following Chelsea’s defeat, the odds of Klopp getting sacked was majorly slashed after the Napoli result. Although they differ slightly, the odds are in a similar ballpark which leads to the question: Is Klopp about to follow Tuchel out the door?