Why Jurgen Klopp Would Be the Perfect Fit If Liverpool Axe Brendan Rodgers

This Liverpool team feels entirely of Brendan Rodgers’ creation—and that is proving to be a problem for the Northern Irish coach.

While other Premier League sides in transition can fall back on the mitigation of process, the team Rodgers presides over at Anfield can no longer be labelled a project. This is something near the finished product, so when things go wrong, he shoulders full responsibility. There’s nobody else to blame.

Indeed, after three years at the helm and over £260 million spent on players, Liverpool should be closer to full fruition than they currently find themselves.

This season will prove pivotal in the judgement of Rodgers’ tenure at Anfield, and it will provide defining coloration on how he will be remembered as Reds boss.

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But just a few games into the new campaign, things aren’t going so well.

After heavy defeats to West Ham and Manchester United, followed up with disappointing draws against Bordeaux and Norwich City, Rodgers is seemingly just a few poor results away from losing his job. Defeat to Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup—as unlikely as that may be—could in fact be the end for Rodgers at Anfield.

If the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, do make the call to fire Rodgers, it will have been a long time coming. The Boston-based consortium were close to canning the Northern Irishman after a dismal season last term, only retaining him on the mandate that clear progress would be made this year.

But if FSG do sack Rodgers, it might be largely attributable to the array of potential replacements on offer across the European game at this time. One option in particular stands out more than any other: Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool, with Rodgers not exactly distinguishing himself right now, might have their head turned.

Should Klopp be truly interested in replacing Rodgers on Merseyside it would be natural if Liverpool were tempted to make the switch. The former Borussia Dortmund boss is European football’s most-sought-after coach and would certainly be an upgrade on what the Anfield club currently have in the dug-out.

As Andy Hunter of the Guardian suggested, FSG allowed Rodgers to replace members of his backroom staff over the summer per the manager's request.

Since selling Luis Suarez to Barcelona last summer, the former Swansea and Reading boss has also been significantly backed in the transfer market—spending nearly £180 million on new talent which has largely proved sub-standard (although transfers are sanctioned by committee at Anfield).

Liverpool should be much closer to their grand ambition of finally becoming an elite side than they currently are—and that is down to Rodgers. He is the one who has built the team in its present form, he is the one who has fallen short in his briefing.

Rodgers could have few complaints if FSG finally decide to pull the trigger, especially if Klopp is waiting in the wings.

Frank De Boer, Andre Villas-Boas and Ronald Koeman would also likely make a shortlist of potential replacements for Rodgers, but Klopp has the pedigree to raise Liverpool in the way their current manager has failed to. What’s more, the German coach would surely be keen on taking charge at Anfield.

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While other coaches of a similar stature might have their sights set on a job at one of Europe’s truly elite clubs—like Barcelona or Real Madrid—there is a sense that Klopp is more likely to embark on another project after restoring Borussia Dortmund to the top of the German game after years wallowing in the lower echelons of the Bundesliga. Liverpool could be his next enterprise.

For the time being, though, Rodgers is tasked with turning things around with what he has. The Northern Irishman concedes that his side have lost their identity over the past year or so, with so many contrasting ideas and methods leaving Liverpool as something of a mish-mash on the pitch. So many new signings have also contributed to the feeling of transition when the Reds should be nearing fruition. 

Rodgers’ Liverpool future could be decided by what happens over the next nine days, with the Reds playing three Anfield matches in such time. Anything less than three wins could call into question whether the Northern Irishman is the right man for the job.

Rodgers explained after Sunday's draw with Norwich, per Paddy Davitt of the Eastern Daily Press:

"

We have got these four games here to get our performance level to where we want them to be.

Anfield is a real special place to play. You have to have courage and bravery to play here. There is a great history, but embrace it. You have to play positive football.

There was a feeling of anxiety when I came in. We made it a fortress. Now we are having to build it again.

I am disappointed and frustrated with the result, but I thought the second half there were more signs of fluency and creativity. We were a bit static when we had the ball in decent positions, the movement in front of the ball wasn’t what we would like.

"

PATRIK STOLLARZ/Getty Images

Existentially, Liverpool have more to consider than just a change in management, though. The Premier League’s final classification tends to follow a pattern, reflecting just how much money is spent on wages by each team. And so with the Reds ranking fifth in the division’s wage table, it’s no surprise that they finished there in the Premier League standings last season. Are their ambitions, to break through the top-four’s glass ceiling, therefore unrealistic? 

FSG need a coach with a track record of attainment beyond expectation. At Borussia Dortmund, Klopp took a club with a huge fanbase renowned for underachievement—which adopted 'You’ll Never Walk Alone' as an anthem—and turned them into title challengers.

Could he repeat the trick with Liverpool?