Soccer

Jürgen Klopp’s departure echoes Bill Shankly – but what comes next for Liverpool?

Two legends, separated by 50 years, have striking similarities but potentially one fundamental difference

Klopp has informed the club’s ownership of his decision to stand down, having taken charge at Liverpool in 2015. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
Klopp has informed the club’s ownership of his decision to stand down, having taken charge at Liverpool in 2015. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
Andy Hunter
Fri Jan 26 2024 - 19:30

Tony Wilson stands on the corner of Lime Street and London Road and breaks the news to disbelieving Liverpool fans that their beloved, charismatic manager is leaving. The young reporter for Granada TV breaks their hearts too. For Bill Shankly in 1974 read Jürgen Klopp 2024. The news may be relayed differently half a century later but the profound sense of shock and the despair that a transformational era is ending are exactly the same.

The famous old footage of “Mr Manchester” seeking reaction to Shankly’s exit was all over social media within minutes of Liverpool dropping the bombshell news that Klopp’s nine-year reign will finish at the end of this season. It seemed appropriate.

Both were announced on a Friday, as was Kenny Dalglish’s surprising but ultimately understandable departure as manager in 1991. But parallels between Klopp’s and Shankly’s decisions run deeper than dates or the shock upon hearing the news. The two men cited tiredness and the intensity of the job as reasons for stepping away from a club and a city they loved; the Scot after 15 years of turning Liverpool from a second division outfit into the force we know today, the German after nine years of reviving a club that had lost its way and placing it back on its perch at the summit of English, European and world football. Nine years must feel like an eternity given the demands of the modern game.

Shankly left his team in a position of strength, as Klopp will do. Liverpool had just won the FA Cup when Shankly stepped down. Klopp still has the possibility in the final four months of his reign of adding four trophies to a Liverpool collection that includes the Champions League, Premier League (after a 30-year wait), FA Cup, Club World Cup, Carabao Cup and Uefa Super Cup. Young talent is flowing through, senior players are thriving and the midfield has been successfully and swiftly rebuilt from scratch. Getting Liverpool “back on the rails”, to use Klopp’s words, as the biggest threat to Manchester City’s dominance was the 56-year-old’s primary objective before confirming it was the right time to go.

READ SOME MORE

There is, however, a fundamental difference between the two managerial upheavals, one that renders legitimate the concerns that Liverpool fans will feel today over what comes next.

Liverpool had a natural successor in place in 1974 in Bob Paisley. He may have been deeply reluctant to take over but, with the boot room intact and united behind him, Paisley made the transition seamless and elevated the club to even greater heights. The succession plan rolled on and the trophies rolled in until Dalglish’s departure in 1991. A clean slate awaits Liverpool this summer and, as they, Manchester United and Arsenal have all discovered to their cost, a legendary manager leaves a considerable vacuum regardless of the talent left at the disposal of their successor.

Liverpool manager Bob Paisley: continued on Shankly's good work. Photograph: AP Photo/PA
Liverpool manager Bob Paisley: continued on Shankly's good work. Photograph: AP Photo/PA

Not only is Klopp leaving Liverpool at the end of the season but his entire backroom staff too. That includes the assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders, who had been touted in some quarters as a potential replacement for Klopp, and Vítor Matos who, as elite development coach, has played an instrumental role in promoting so many academy graduates to the first team. Mohamed Salah turns 32 in June and, while he remains as influential and prolific as ever, clubs in the Saudi Pro League will most likely test during the summer window whether he is unsettled by Klopp’s departure. Virgil van Dijk will be 33 in July. The Liverpool captain has returned to outstanding form this season but another pillar of Klopp’s success will have to be replaced in the near future.

Klopp’s bond with his players is close and genuine, as it is with his adoring public and grateful employers at Fenway Sports Group. “A friend, but not their best friend,” is how he once described his relationship with players who, through elite coaching and a personal connection, he is able to push to sustained achievement in an era shaped increasingly by nation-owned rivals. Liverpool will be stepping into the unknown with his replacement.

In a pitch-perfect interview announcing his shock decision, Klopp looked to reassure Liverpool about their future. He said: “The outside world want to use this decision, laugh about it, want to disturb us. We are Liverpool, we went through harder things together. And you went through harder things before me. Let’s make a strength of it. That would be really cool. Let’s squeeze everything out of this season and have another thing to smile about when we look back in the future.”

Klopp could end his Liverpool reign by lifting the Premier League at Anfield on 19 May against Wolves, or the Europa League trophy in Dublin three days later. Could success rekindle the energy he claims to have lost and prompt a dramatic late change of heart? You wouldn’t rule it out. Have a word, Ulla. – Guardian

  • Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
  • Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
  • Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here