Will Liverpool ever be serious Premier League title contenders with Jurgen Klopp?

Sport360 staff 09:34 18/09/2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Liverpool have no trouble scoring against teams but their draw against Burnley once again exposed defensive frailties.

    With this in mind, we ask: Will the Reds ever be serious title contenders under Jurgen Klopp’s tutelage?

    What side are you on in our debate?

    Share with us your thoughts by using Twitter or getting in touch via Facebook.

    CHRIS BAILEY, SAYS YES

    They certainly won’t with a defence anchored by Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren, but that’s the real hope Liverpool fans should cling on to – their deficiencies are so obvious that they have surely now hit Jurgen Klopp in the face.

    Though Klopp is not so oblivious to think that all is well at the back, that there was no Plan B in central defence after their pursuit of Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk got ugly was one of the most baffling story threads in the transfer window.

    The results are goals like the one conceded against Burnley, where the Reds did their best to interpret The Who’s Pinball Wizard on the football pitch.

    Even Joel Matip, a star performer among some dim defending last season, has seemingly been dragged down to his inferior team-mates’ level. Alberto Moreno, who is as embarrassing as a defender as he is electric going forward, is apparently back in vogue and Nathaniel Clyne’s injury has seen inexperienced pair Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold form a tag team on the right flank.

    Jurgen Klopp is wary of overburdening 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.

    Klopp is wary of overburdening 18-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.

    You’ll start to be wondering where my defence of Klopp kicks in – but just take a moment to reflect on that jumble of players. Any combination of them, shorn of confidence, is going to struggle against most top-level attacks. Personnel, rather than Klopp’s system, is to blame.

    Don’t forget Liverpool kept five clean sheets out of six to end the 2016/17 Premier League season, though admittedly they were hardly facing the most menacing of forward units. But then there is history to look at – on Klopp’s watch, Borussia Dortmund conceded just 22 league goals in 2010/11.

    Simply put, Liverpool need to restock their back-line. The likes of Klavan, a £4 million bargain buy, are never going to cut it. The Reds will always have a fairly soft underbelly under Klopp given the attacking inclinations of the front six, but individual errors can be fixed by better individuals.

    A couple of reinforcements will ultimately work wonders.

    Klopp has been left in a spin defending Liverpool’s recent failings.

    ALEX REA, SAYS NO

    Liverpool possess an attack which could contend for Champions League success but it is offset by a defence which wouldn’t look out place in the Championship.

    It’s an easy narrative to point to in assessing their title credentials and in this era of snap opinions, they have swayed from contenders to mere top-four hopefuls already this season.

    While a degree of realism should always reign over panic, it’s hard to ignore the obvious signs that under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds may never truly challenge for domestic honours.

    Indeed, their problems are beginning to stretch further than just their defensive deficiencies.

    Granted Dejan Lovren’s inadequacy, Ragnar Klavan’s limited ability and even Joel Matip’s bad habits are all glaring handicaps but the manager has personal shortcomings.

    The German’s tactical capacity has a clear ceiling and the Burnley stalemate was another example in a list of many.

    Before the 5-0 hammering suffered at Man City their record against top-six opposition was practically exemplary reading: P19, W9, D9, L1.

    Klopp’s style of attacking ferocity lends well with teams who get on the front foot but facing sides outside the top six has been a notorious issue. It’s already a theme again this season having dropped four points in five games to teams who will likely finish outside those six spots.

    It goes back to his reign at Borussia Dortmund, too. Between 2010-2014 his men in yellow and black lost once to Bayern Munich but dropped points to weaker teams.

    Ultimately his tactics are a factor and he seems incapable of breaking down sides who sit in with two banks of four like Burnley. His philosophy is reactive and when the Reds are required to be assertive, they’ve faltered. Klopp seems flummoxed by it and if he can’t find the answers then it’s unlikely the Merseysiders will lift the Premier League title.

    Recommended