Klopp's exit marks Liverpool's biggest managerial shock since Shankly
Nine years is a long time in football management, and Jurgen Klopp rebuilt Liverpool in that time.
Fifty years ago this year, Liverpool were in shock following the announcement that Bill Shankly would be retiring and leaving the club. A couple of months earlier, they’d won the FA Cup at a canter against Newcastle United. Everything seemed set up for a serious tilt at the title, with Don Revie having left Leeds United for the England job. The seeds of what Shankly had been growing were just starting to sprout. A League Championship and the UEFA Cup in 1973. The FA Cup—still pretty much the pinnacle of English club football— in 1974. But at 60 years of age Shankly felt “tired”, though it should be added that he soon came to regret this decision.
Liverpool, arguably, did not. Bob Paisley continued what Shankly had built, winning six of the next eight League Championships and three European Cups, three League Cups and another UEFA Cup. There was one transitional season, when they were beaten to the League title by Derby County by two points and knocked out of the FA Cup by Ipswich Town, the League Cup by Middlesbrough and the Cup Winners Cup by Ferencvaros, but that 1976 UEFA Cup win proved the springboard for unprecedented success for an English club in European competition.
It says quite a lot for the influence that Jurgen Klopp has had on Liverpool that the announcement of his departure from the club at the end of this season has been treated with a similar level of shock. In our media-saturated world it can take quite a lot to actually cause that involuntary, reflexive “WHAT?”, but that was the definite response of social media users after the video was released on the official Liverpool Twitter account on Friday morning. You even had to check that this wasn’t some sort of deep fake AI sent out by a fake account, but no. This was from “@LFC”, not from “@LiverpooolFC”. It was coming straight from the source. Within minutes, “Devastated” was trending.
It might also be added that there may be no greater tribute paid to Klopp over the next six months than the general wiping of brows and champagne bottle uncorking from the supporters of rival teams. Nothing says “this was a very successful manager” like a feeling of relief being evident from rival supporters upon their departure. It’s difficult to imagine, for example, that news of Erik Ten Hag leaving Manchester United at the end of this season would be met by a similar reaction.
But this isn’t really about the reaction of the supporters of other teams. This is about the relationship that the supporters of Liverpool have with him. Is he the most successful Liverpool manager since Shankly? It could be argued that Bob Paisley was a more successful manager. He certainly was in terms of trophies won. But Paisley also trumps Shankly for that, and beloved though both of these great former managers are among Liverpool supporters, it would be a stretch to suggest that Paisley is held in similar affection to Shankly. And regardless, Bob Paisley retired forty years ago. Under 50-year olds deserve someone to idolise, too.
And what Jurgen Klopp achieved with Liverpool was a Shanklyesque reinvention. He returned the Premier League title to the club for the first time in three decades. Short of the Europa League—in which they were the runners-up at the end of his first season in charge—he completed a full sweep of everything that an elite club manager can win. The Premier League? Check. The Champions League? Check. The FA Cup? Check. The League Cup? Check. The Community Shield? Check. The Super Cup? Check. The World Club Cup? Check. Seven trophies in eight years, with four still to play for this season.
The decision to make the announcement this early makes sense. Liverpool are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and pretty clear favourites to win the Europa League. They’re in the final of the League Cup and have a home draw against middling Championship opposition in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. With so much silverware up for grabs, Liverpool don’t need the inevitable swirling of rumour starting to circle. If everybody knows where they stand right now, it’s best to get it out of the way a like short, sharp shock.
There is an obvious name as a replacement. Xabi Alonso only started his full managerial career in October 2022 when, after four years with the Real Madrid youth set up and Real Sociedad ‘B’, he was appointed into the vacant position at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen were in the relegation places when he was appointed following a dreadful start to the season, but they ended it in 6th place and qualifying for the Europa League.
This season has been even better. In the Bundesliga, Europa League and DFB-Pokal combined this season, Leverkusen have played 27 games, of which they’ve won 24, drawn three, and lost precisely none. In the league, they’re four points clear of Bayern Munich and fourteen clear of third-placed Stuttgart. They’ve scored sixteen goals in their three DFB-Pokal games, while in the Europa League they won six out of six in the group stage, scoring 19 goals in the process. It’s entirely likely that they will play Liverpool in this very competition at some point later this season.
Alonso played more than 200 times for Liverpool over six years, so the history is there. The only potential snag could be that he signed a contract extension until 2026 last year, or that he might consider it a little too soon to leave. After all, he’s only in his second season, and his first full season of managing at this level. But all things being equal, if he was offered the job it would be surprising if he turned it down. Graham Potter seems to be the popular choice among Chelsea supporters. Can’t imagine why.
Whatever comes next will be different. When a manager stamps their personality on a football club to the extent that Jurgen Klopp has done with Liverpool, that’s inevitable. On both of the occasions that Manchester United lost a legendary manager, the club was sent into a state of apoplexy that would take more than a decade to resolve. They’re not even out of the second of these yet.
But on the whole, Liverpool have been pretty good at handling managerial successions in the past. If we disregard that five year blip that took in Roy Evans for some reason, the return of King Kenny and Brendypops Rodgers, they’ve only had five managers since the formation of the Premier League, and only three this century. If Xabi Alonso is the anointed successor and carries on the startling success he’s shown at Leverkusen, he might just end up as the Bob Paisley to Jurgen Klopp’s Bill Shankly. And while Liverpool supporters will feel ‘devastated’ at the manager’s departure for some time to come, that eventuality is wayyy better than many of the alternatives.