Jurgen Klopp will not be the Liverpool manager forever. Considering the fact he is their finest in three decades, it is not a conversation many Anfield match-goers will want to have. But it is the truth. Even if this season’s inconsistent form is improved upon, common sense still suggests we are closer to the end of Klopp’s tenure than the beginning.
Premier League managers just don’t go on as long as they used to. Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson’s decades-long leadership used to be the exception that proves the rule. Now Thomas Franks’ four years at Brentford is the third-longest tenure in the division. Klopp’s own seven-plus year reign is the current lengthiest in the Premier League. Logic dictates it won’t last forever.
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So how do you go about replacing a man who has defined the modern Liverpool? A remarkable coach who has, with resources far more modest than rivals Manchester City and Chelsea, won every trophy available to him at one point or another? Well the Merseyside giants could do worse than looking at Ajax, who they play in the Champions League on Wednesday.
By looking at Ajax, this does not mean Liverpool should stick a contract under the nose of their head coach, Alfred Schreuder. Rather, the Liverpool hierarchy could learn a lot from the way the Dutch giants conduct their business. On the pitch and in the dugout their is an overarching identity that is adhered to at every turn.
Ajax have built their model upon existing success. A promising crop of players combined with an ingrained tactical style has long been the way in Amsterdam. The modern lineage is impressive. Since Peter Bosz led a youthful Godenzonen team featuring Matthijs De Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Frenkie de Jong to the 2017 Europa League final, Ajax have been on a particular path. Frequently stripped of their best players, each subsequent manager has been tasked with getting an ever-changing group playing a modern iteration of the fabled ‘Total Football’.
It’s a philosophy that stumbled slightly under former Jong Ajax boss Marcel Keizer. But after his failure in the role, Erik ten Hag was plucked from a promising spell at FC Utrecht. He codified the Ajax style, combining high-pressing, intricate possession play and attacking gear-changes into a side that embodied the best of what the red and white stands for. Ten Hag’s tenure brought three Eredivisie titles, and the attention of Manchester United.
But Ajax have continued in the same vein. Alfred Schreuder is another coach from the same theological school. Many observers noted with amusement that he even shares a “bald head and beard” aesthetic with the current Man United boss. But the roots go deeper than that. Both men preach proactive, possession-based football.
As noted earlier, Ajax have built their model on repeating what has been successful for them. Luckily for Liverpool, they are either in the midst of, or are just beginning to exit, a period of immense success. The hard bit is done. Liverpool do not have to question which approach works for them. It is the fluid, attacking football that Klopp has engineered. Obviously you are not going to find a clone for the German, nor exact equivalents for his aging superstars Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson. But what the Merseyside club do have is a blueprint with which to work.
Liverpool’s next move should be finding a coach who can stylistically mesh with what the club has been doing so well. Klopp’s most recent predecessors are a symptom of the club’s previous mistakes. Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers are examples of mixed up thinking and misguided course-correction. A veteran stepping up a level too far, a nostalgia appointment and a young, hungry manager with it all to prove. When it comes to replacing Klopp, Liverpool must not stray that far from the path again.
Liverpool fans will hope the day the Klopp leaves is still a little way off. That perhaps this season’s struggles are a hangover from a season last year that ended with a mix of domestic cup success and disappointment in the Premier League and Champions League. But whether it is soon or not, Liverpool could do worse than considering the Ajax model when they come to replace Klopp.
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