Daniel Storey: Jurgen Klopp repeating Dortmund decline as Mourinho abdicates again
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reacts during the Premier League defeat to Everton. Picture: Phil Noble/PA Wire.
Liverpool supporters might just reason that this was a defeat that taught us nothing that we do not already know. Jurgen Klopp was forced to field another new central defensive combination after Jordan Henderson went off with injury. It’s clear that Ozan Kabak is going to take time to acclimatise to life at a new club in a new country, but also that fitting into Liverpool’s high defensive line is far from easy.
But this does matter and it should cause even greater gloom at Anfield. They have now lost four home games at Anfield in succession for the first time since 1923 and their long home unbeaten record in the Merseyside derby has also been destroyed. Anfield is no longer a fortress and no opposition side should feel wary about attacking their hosts.
And each defeat only increases the suspicion that Klopp is suffering the type of post-success decline that haunted his final months at Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool clearly haven’t fallen off as sharply, but then they have far greater resources and haven’t had their squad picked off in the same way that Dortmund were by Bayern Munich.
The return of first-choice defenders next season will obviously give Liverpool an instant shot in the arm, but the psychological damage of this slump is far harder to fix overnight. Right now, you wouldn’t confidently predict that Liverpool will be in the Champions League next season. That only makes summer recruitment more difficult.
After Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham, Jose Mourinho was asked about the reasons for their continued struggle to accumulate momentum in the Premier League. "I feel that we are not in the position in relation to our potential — even if I think for a long, long time that we have problems in the team that I cannot resolve by myself as a coach,” Mourinho told . When asked if he was questioning his own methods, Tottenham’s manager refuted that suggestion.
It seems an extraordinary thing for a high-profile manager to say. Even if Mourinho is attempting to deflect attention from his own underperformance — hardly unusual for him — that quote is effectively an abdication of all responsibility. It is a resignation letter in all but name.
Which begs the question of what the point is in keeping Mourinho in his job (other than the financial cost in making a change). If he says that he cannot resolve the issues, perhaps it is worth appointing a coach who can?
This has gone sour very quickly for Mourinho, which only adds oxygen to the argument that his time at the top is over. Even if he might be a specialist in entering an elite club and instilling a winning mentality to get them over the line, which elite club would take a chance on his vast salary when he hasn’t won a league title in six years? Perhaps international management is the next natural step.
No player wants to be substituted having earlier been brought onto the pitch; Thomas Tuchel knew that his decision would provoke a series of post-match questions. Chelsea’s manager hardly sidestepped them, insisting that Callum Hudson-Odoi hadn’t pressed as per his instructions and so made life more difficult for his team.
But this does not need to be disastrous for Hudson-Odoi or Chelsea. Tuchel knows that he needs to get Chelsea into the top four to enhance his reputation at Stamford Bridge and is adamant that high pressing is integral to him pulling off that mission. He has sent a message not just to Hudson-Odoi, but every member of the squad.
Tuchel must now manage the situation properly, taking Hudson-Odoi to one side and explaining that this was not a vindictive, personal attack but a challenge set to a young winger to respond positively and take on board the criticism. Get that right and it may well prove to be an effective piece of man-management.
With the title race virtually over and West Brom and Sheffield United seemingly accepting their fate at the bottom, we desperately needed Fulham to apply some pressure to Newcastle and Brighton directly above them. With the European Championship to follow in June, the last thing this Premier League season needed was an absence of tension over its final months.
And Fulham are doing their bit. With their late summer signings — Tosin Adarabioyo, Terence Kongolo, Joachim Andersen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all joined on October 5 and 6 — fully integrated into the squad, Fulham’s recent form has been mid-table at worst. They’ve only lost four of their last 16 league games and are finally turning frustrating draws into the victories that will be the lifeblood of their survival bid.
This revival has been built upon Fulham’s solid defence; only Manchester City have kept more clean sheets since the two clubs met in November. The challenge for Scott Parker was to improve Fulham’s attacking output without compromising that defensive solidity (and it will be needed against better teams than Sheffield United), but Fulham have given themselves a chance.
