FSG have a huge decision to make after the bombshell news about Jurgen Klopp\’s Liverpool exit
Liverpool owner John Henry and manager Jurgen Klopp
There is a famous clip from back in 1974 in which a roving television reporter – the late journalist turned music mogul Tony Wilson, no less – accosts a number of people on the streets of Liverpool to inform them Bill Shankly had announced he was leaving his role as Reds boss after 15 years.
“You\’re having me on, aren\’t you?” came the response from one disbelieving younger fan.
Some 17 years later, there was as identical response from those who were told Kenny Dalglish had decided to quit, mere days after Liverpool had drawn 4-4 at Everton in one of the most epic FA Cup ties of all time.
Now Reds supporters are reliving those moments in similarly unexpected, unwanted fashion.
And it will pose a question no Liverpool fan wanted to consider but to which they will forever recall the answer: where were you when Jurgen Klopp revealed he was stepping down as manager?
While there had been no inkling of Friday’s shock announcement, journalistic instinct among those who regularly follow Liverpool suggested something wasn’t quite right this week. There appeared no real reason for Klopp’s regular Friday press conference to be brought forward a day, nor for the usual briefing of Matt Beard, the manager of the women’s team, to be shifted to Saturday.
Nobody, though, had anticipated the real reason the decks were being cleared. And in a sport in which hyperbole and overstatement are wearying trademarks, the news Klopp is calling it quits is a genuine bombshell.
Not for the hierarchy at Liverpool, however. They had been informed by Klopp in November of his intention to leave and have subsequently been considering their succession plan.
And it will be a major overhaul, with assistant managers Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, elite development coach Vitor Matos and, as was confirmed a little later on, sporting director Jorg Schmadtke all on their way. The beating heart of the football operation at Liverpool is being ripped out.
Of course, Klopp was always going to leave at some point. In fact, this summer was when he was initially expected to depart before signing a two-year contract extension in April 2022 with Liverpool chasing down a quadruple. Was Klopp, an emotional person, caught up in the moment back then? It\’s a possibility.