Liverpool could finish the current Premier League season as low as 14th in the table.
That’s the view of pundit and former player Chris Sutton. Speaking on BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club last night, Sutton gave his view on Liverpool’s struggles this campaign.
“I think the biggest problem at Liverpool is there is uncertainty which is filtering through the whole club,” he said. “There’s uncertainty with the owners, uncertainty in terms of the way they are performing on the pitch and there has to be uncertainty over Jurgen Klopp and I’m not saying he should be sacked in any way shape or form. He has plenty of credit in the bank.
“But what I would say, and I don’t know the answer to this, but this level of performance – and that’s the biggest thing for them this season, the results haven’t been there – but when do Liverpool fans or the owners run out of patience with Jurgen Klopp? It’s not impossible with Liverpool this season, the way that they have played, that they could end up finishing in the season in 12th or 14th place. I don’t think that’s impossible, I really don’t.
“Then, is there that belief that Jurgen Klopp because of what he has done previously can lift the club back up? Because it looks like, on the face of it, that the club needs a massive overhaul in terms of playing personnel.
“I just don’t know when enough is enough for Jurgen Klopp. I cannot work that one out. Because I do think credit in the bank is important, but is his race run at Liverpool?”
Klopp still the best man for the job
Prior to this season, the suggestion that Klopp could leave Liverpool was seen only one way – farcical. The German has undoubtedly been the club’s best manager of the modern era.
What he’s achieved at Anfield will go down in folklore. Many Liverpool supporters would rather sell every single player and lose every member of staff before handing Jurgen his P45.
And by and large, that’s definitely still the case. As it should be. But there’s also the inescapable reality of where Liverpool are right now. 10th in the table is new territory for the Reds under Klopp. Although there are mitigating factors, the manager has to take his portion of blame for this.
As a result, it’s fair to ask the questions that Sutton is here. There have been other points during Klopp’s tenure that the same things have been posed. But this time, the decline feels a little more permanent. It’s fair to say that any other manager would likely have been sacked at Liverpool this season.
Of course, it still feels like an impossibility that Klopp will fall to that fate, no matter the outcome this season. A finish of 9th would represent Liverpool’s worst of the Premier League era, and that may yet be beaten further.
But in terms of points, the gap still isn’t that great to the European places. With respect to the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Fulham, they’ll all drop points between now and May. There’s still plenty of time for Liverpool to finish the season respectably. After that, the rebuild begins. And now matter the story of 22/23, Klopp still remains the best man to lead that.