Liverpool icon Jamie Caragher believes Jurgen Klopp ’s refusal to set his side up differently is costing the Reds as their woeful season continued against Chelsea - but did offer a quickfire solution.
The Merseyside outfit languish in mid-table in the Premier League and are very quickly seeing their hopes of a Champions League place evaporate. Their poor run continued on Tuesday evening with a 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers Chelsea - a game in which they were dominated by a Blues side without a manager.
In attempting to give his reasons for his former side’s malaise this term, Carragher claims that the fact that they are still approaching matches in the same way as a few seasons ago is contributing hugely. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “They still play the same way - the same idea’s there.
“But they can’t do it. So when you look at the Manchester City game, Liverpool played that game like it was the Liverpool of three or four years ago.
“They go man-to-man all over the pitch and they be brave, they play high. But they’re not that Liverpool. It just fascinates me as a manager, what do you do? Do you always stick to your idea and your principles or do you adapt them with how your players are?
“Listen, Jurgen Klopp’s a great manager of course he is but even tonight Liverpool are still trying to play like the Liverpool of three years ago and they’ve got a 0-0 out of it. You’re scratching your head how.
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“And the big thing is how easy it is for the opposition to get chances - that’s the worry for me and then as I said Jurgen Klopp’s not taking a backwards step. At times this season, he has tried to do different things, he’s gone 4-4-2, at times they’ve dropped of slightly but he’s not going to change completely. He does what he does.”
Fortunately, the Reds icon has offered a quick fix to his former employers by claiming that heavy investment into the side this summer could get Liverpool back on track.
He said: “But right now, they don’t have the players to do it and if they keep doing it, they just keep leaving themselves open because they’re playing basically man for man all over the pitch and that’s why you’re seeing Manchester City a few days ago, Chelsea tonight, and we can go right through the season where Liverpool have been so open because they’re still trying to play the same way with the players who can’t do it right now because whether it’s the same players who have been doing it for four or five years and they basically need new players.
“I don’t think there’s anything more to look at it than that. They just need to attack the transfermarket and get back to having that energy within the team to then implement Jurgen Klopp’s idea.”
Liverpool are next back in action on Sunday as they host current Premier League leaders Arsenal. The Reds are now winless in their last four games in all competitions since beating Man Utd 7-0 in March.
