Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup last night by West Ham after Angelo Ogbonna managed to score a last minute header in extra time. Following the tough loss, all I have noticed Liverpool fans do is to blame the players.
In a way that is acceptable, but a portion of the blame has to be taken by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as well.
The charismatic manager has tried his best to inspire his team from the touchlines, but the harsh reality is that Reds have won only 12 of the 29 games, Klopp has been in charge of. Further 8 losses and 9 draws do not paint a pretty picture of his time at Anfield.
Klopp took charge of the club back in October, thus he can no longer shy away from the poor results. He had the January transfer window to bring players in, but given the nature of winter window, he opted to stick with the squad he inherited from Brendan Rodgers.
The sad fact for Liverpool fans is that, Klopp is not doing something drastically different than what Rodgers managed since the turn of 2015/16 season. The only shining light for Klopp is Liverpool’s performance in bigger games.
But then, those results will mean nothing, if Liverpool are surrendering games against the lesser opponents. Despite the erratic start to his Anfield career, Klopp seems to be the right man for the job, but he needs to build a degree of consistency within his squad.
Liverpool travel to Villa park next weekend and one gets the feeling, a win will be crucial for Klopp and his team. They need to finish this campaign strongly in order to have any hopes of fighting for top honors next season.
Image credit: getty