Jurgen Klopp’s legacy at Liverpool should not be diminished – and two words explain why

Jurgen Klopp hasn’t even said his emotional goodbye and already the revisionism of his tenure at Liverpool is in full swing.

And the most immediate takeaway is that rather than being praised for his achievements at Anfield, the Reds boss is attracting criticism for what is seen in some quarters as a period of poor results.

The fact that Klopp has won as many Premier League titles as Claudio Ranieri, the same number of Champions League triumphs as Roberto Di Matteo and Thomas Tuchel, along with equal FA Cup final wins with Roberto Martinez, is seen as justification for point of view.

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Such numbers are a statement of fact, although of course there is a significant caveat that taking Klopp’s trophies in isolation removes necessary context from the argument. How many times, for example, have Di Matteo or Tuchel won the Premier League?

As far as Liverpool are concerned, Klopp’s legacy is assured. It would have been enough to end a 30-year wait to be crowned champion of England, but that he managed the club’s sixth European Cup, a first Club World Cup, while on loan at an FA Cup, two League Cups and a UEFA Super Cup – we’ll throw in the Community Shield for finishers – underlines his undoubted impact at Anfield.

Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley are the undeniable standard-bearers in the pantheon of great Liverpool managers, but Klopp’s reign means he is pushing Kenny Dalglish for a place on the podium. The German has always been about more than just results, even though everything he built and shaped initially at Melwood and later the AXA Training Center was focused on ensuring success on the pitch. In the end, winning is all that matters.

However, those looking to play down his career at Anfield should not forget the unique landscape in which he ensured Liverpool are once again one of the pre-eminent forces in English football. And that can basically be summed up in two words – Manchester City.

The unique financial advantages that the Etihad side have enjoyed over the past decade have allowed them to build a car of a kind that has simply never been seen before in the country. Their dominance is far, far different in scope compared to the glory days of Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s and Manchester United in the 1990s and 2000s.

Whether it was entirely legal remains to be seen, with City accused of 115 breaches of Premier League regulations, most of which relate to financial matters. Klopp, of course, will be long gone by the time the result finally emerges. Meanwhile, all he could do was focus on his own team and give City a run for their money. And in any other era, Liverpool would have had more than one Premier League title to show for their efforts.

Think about this. In eight full seasons in charge, Klopp has been involved in four title challenges, two of which saw City push to the final day only to lose by a point, despite recording 97 in 2018/19 and 92 two years ago.

Since moving to three points for a win in 1981, the former total would have been enough to win the league every season bar, when City collected 100 points in 2017/18 and, of course, 2019/20 when Liverpool succeeded in the title. they accumulate 99 points. And the only other campaigns where the title winners took more than 92 points were Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2016/17.

Leicester City’s title triumph under Ranieri remains the big story of the Premier League, but it’s worth remembering that Arsenal only collected 71 points to finish second. This, however, is not the second-lowest tally, with Newcastle United winning just 68 in 1996/97, when Liverpool achieved the same total but infamously finished fourth in a two-horse race. This season, Arsenal could earn 89 points and still finish second.

It’s not just about the Premier League though. The naysayers will point to Liverpool losing in the League Cup and Europa League finals in Klopp’s first season and later being beaten twice by Real Madrid in the Champions League final. But all but the latter were finals appearances above expectations, while circumstances often conspired against the Reds – Mohamed Salah’s shoulder injury and Loris Karius’ collapse against Real in 2018, the off-field scenes that efforts to beat the same opposition in 2022. There wasn’t much Klopp could do about it.

Could Liverpool have won more trophies under the German? Of course. Should he have won more? That’s another question. And the reality is that until Arsenal’s recent resurgence, Klopp’s Liverpool were for several years the only team capable of stopping City from completely destroying the Premier League.

Those away at Villa Park on Monday know exactly what Klopp did at Liverpool. And to suggest otherwise is to be different for its own sake. Sufficient.