Robbie Fowler thinks Jurgen Klopp may have made a deliberate change at Liverpool ‘that isn’t working’. The boss has big games ahead.
Liverpool are struggling right now. They don’t look like themselves, failing to overpower teams and looking quite weak. Napoli embarrassed them last week, of course, as they made the Reds look amateurish at times.
Naturally, everyone is trying to figure out what’s changed. Liverpool won two trophies last season and were incredibly close to winning two more – the drop-off has been dramatic.
Robbie Fowler has a couple of theories, though, and wonders if Jurgen Klopp has deliberately made a chang that’s hurting Liverpool. It’s not an easy one to pull back on, however.
The clue seems to be in their running stats,” Fowler told the sports. “Less distance covered than every opponent so far this season, less intense runs, less sprints.
“Why? It’s not that they suddenly can’t run, that’s far too simplistic. Maybe Klopp has decided to try and control games, run less to see them through a ridiculous season with a bloody World Cup in the middle.
But that isn’t working because he doesn’t have his midfield controllers in Thiago, Naby Keita and Curtis Jones.”
Jurgen Klopp needs to change
It’s a very viable theory. Liverpool do look slower this season and it could be deliberate. After all, several stars will go to the World Cup midway through the season and that promises to have a big effect on the season.
If Liverpool can reduce the stress on those players, however, perhaps things are easier post-tournament. It makes sense, even if it isn’t working. The only reason we’re not 100% sure this is the case is that Pep Lijnders labelled the run-up to the World Cup as ‘a sprint’ before the campaign kicked off. It doesn’t sound as though Liverpool planned on taking it slow.
Fowler goes on to suggest that a shortened pre-season may play a part. There’s also the fact that Liverpool played every possible game last season – you’re bound to pay some sort of price for that.
Whatever the reason, Liverpool need to react. Perhaps that’s by upping the running, perhaps it’s by finding a way to win without it. What’s clear, tough, is that Klopp isn’t getting the performances he needs right now.
The next few weeks – and the boss’s decisions – will be massive.
