Not too long ago, Chelsea fans were doing their best to force Thomas Tuchel into an argument over who is the best manager in the Premier League.
But even during Liverpool’s injury-plagued and Covid-plagued 2020/21 season, Jurgen Klopp finished above his German counterpart domestically.
Last season, Manchester City scored 93 points, Liverpool 92 and Chelsea 18 from 74, despite spending £100m on striker Romelu Lukaku.
It should never have been an argument. Pep Guardiola and Klopp are the giants of management and all the others swim in their wake… and Tuchel’s dismissal proves it.
If the ‘Best of the Rest’ gets kicked out after six games, how good were they really?
Tuchel spent £253m this summer (Transfermarkt) on the likes of Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly, but somehow it got worse.
Chelsea suffered a 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb last night, with a miserable-looking Tuchel telling the press once again how poor his side were. Enough is enough, Todd Boehly thought, channeling his inner Abramovich to give Tuchel his marching orders this morning.
It seems that Todd Boehly has a similar mindset! https://t.co/zoQUNOAIw2
— Jordan Chamberlain (@Jordan_AC90) September 7, 2022
Antonio Conte is a great manager and will bring out the best in his Spurs side. But with Conte, it never lasts. The angry Italian stays two or three seasons at a top team (often earning a lot, to be fair) before taking the board, his own players, and leaving a club in crisis. He wins, but at a long-term cost.
Klopp and Guardiola have been in their posts for seven and six years, respectively, and their genius lies not just in their tactical understanding of the game, but in their ability to keep great squads of superstars happy and working for them for so long.
They never throw their players under the bus. In private they will obviously have doubts and problems with certain individuals, but it never shows in the media. Take Klopp right now with Naby Keita. Is something going on behind the scenes with the Guinean? Definitely. Will Klopp discuss it openly? Absolutely not. Do you remember years ago when he decided that Mamadou Sakho would not play for us again? He also kept that private.
Other managers will enjoy good seasons and become the flavor of the month. Mikel Arteta is on the up at the moment, as is Graham Potter. Both may eventually join the elite, but at the moment, they are not in Klopp’s or Pep’s league.
Maybe Potter will get the job at Chelsea and get a chance to prove otherwise, but managing big egos with big expectations is a different game. Just ask David Moyes about working at Manchester United.
Where Klopp and Pep differ is the money they have had to spend, and also the teams they joined. Pep had David Silva, Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Agüero, true world-class players, and to be fair, he brought out the best in those he trusted and bought well to form the most consistently impressive team on the planet. He has benefited from billions, but don’t be fooled into thinking that anyone could achieve what he has: he is exceptional.
However, Klopp has been neck-and-neck with Pep on a fraction of the budget. Incredibly, Erik ten Haag already has a higher net spend than Klopp, despite only being in charge of Manchester United for three months.
Can you imagine the team that Klopp could have built if he had been able to buy the best players on the market, most of whom wanted to play for him because of his style of football and charisma?
Such is the appeal of working under him and playing at Anfield, he would have been able to nab the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe if Liverpool spent like City.
Still, we don’t, and while it’s annoying, especially this summer when the midfield was once again ignored, it means our achievements mean a little more.
Let’s see what Klopp can get out of his current squad before next summer’s much-needed overhaul. Don’t rule out more greatness, and be careful not to praise the next pretender to the throne too soon.
