Liverpool managers response to leaked FSG text seen in new light after Real Madrid deal
Liverpool head-coach Jurgen Klopp is facing up to the very real prospect that his historic team has reached it’s end.
The Merseyside Reds’ humbling 5-2 loss at the hands of the Los Blancos has put their need for a rebuild front and centre. Less than a year ago, Liverpool were on the verge of wining the unprecedented quadruple, winning both domestic cups, reaching the UCL final and taking the race for the EPL title to the last day.
However, there are the signals of “the end of an era”, with the Kop boss urged to reinvent his playing team. Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry both claimed that the current crop of underperforming players are no longer able to play on the same level as they used to under Jurgen Klopp.
Carragher insisted that the Merseyside Reds needed to invest not only in midfield players, however, also in the defensive end which has become positively porous in recent months. however, the need for investment in the team comes amidst a backdrop of uncertainty at the boardroom level.
The club’s owners Fenway Sports Group declared last year that they were on the lookout for new earnings, with many construing that as the club being put up for sale.
FSG have been criticised in some quarters for what is seen as a lack of financial firepower compared to their bitter Premier League rivals such as Man Utd and Man City at the top of European football. In the last five years, the Merseyside Reds net spend stands at £254million, in comparison to Chelsea and the Red Devils spends of £654m and £540m respectively.
Klopp has often defended FSG’s approach to spending money, however, recently admitted that they would need to strengthen their squad in order to compete with top teams in England.
“I believe in coaching, I believe in developing, I believe in team-building and using those things 100%, but meanwhile in the world out there the managers are really good, there are so many good managers out there it’s crazy,” Klopp said last month. “So they believe in that as well, and if they start really properly spending and do those things as well, then you cannot not spend or you will have a little bit of a problem.”
The task for Liverpool boss is now eerily reminiscent of the one in which he was presented upon his arrival on Merseyside. earlier in 2015, The German inherited a club which had reached its peak and facing a tough time.
Klopp revealed that FSG sent him a text message in those early days, apologising for the state of the team he was handling with.
“At the beginning I received a message from the US saying, ‘Sorry for the squad we’ve given you’,” Klopp revealed in 2021. “But all was good I replied, it just needs time.”
The American ownership proved that apology wasn’t an empty gesture by backing Klopp to give money for the upcoming summer transfer window.
“Something needs to change. I don’t think Klopp needs to go, but some of the players don’t have the level anymore to play for Liverpool. I think it’s the end of an era and it’s been like that this season,” Henry told CBS Sports.
Kop legend Carragher added: “My point is that they’re trying to play Jurgen Klopp football without players who can play Jurgen Klopp football. And that is maybe some players who have been brought in, but also some players who it’s just come to the end.
“I would never criticise those players, because they’ve done their job over the last four or five years. As Thierry said, this team has come to an end. Jurgen Klopp built a team and what we saw over the next four of five years was amazing. He needs to be allowed to do that again.”