Gary Neville explains why Liverpool may avoid repeating Man United mistake after Klopp leaves
Gary Neville has explained why he feels Liverpool may be able to avoid the prolonged downturn experienced by two rival Premier League clubs after the departure of a long-serving and hugely successful manager.
Jurgen Klopp now has just four matches remaining in charge of the Reds, with his glorious reign in danger of ending with a whimper after a miserable April for his team.
Arne Slot is currently the frontrunner to replace him, having reportedly spoken to LFC already (Fabrizio Romano), and the ex-Manchester United defender has been discussing what lies ahead for the Anfield club after the German’s departure.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: “We don’t know how that’s going to go. The reality of it is that we’ve seen the post-Arsene Wenger era at Arsenal has been difficult. The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United has been difficult. Klopp is massive in Liverpool so they’ve got to try to get that right.”
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However, the 48-year-old thinks that the Reds are better equipped to cope with Klopp leaving than United and Arsenal were after the respective exits of Ferguson and Wenger, saying: “What Manchester United and Arsenal had when they replaced those two managers was a quite traditional, old-school approach, where the managers ran the club.
“They didn’t really have a sporting department beneath them. They were the heads of the sporting department. They were the heads of recruitment, sporting director, manager and coach – all in one.
“Liverpool have a better setup, with more depth and more structure. There’s still going to be an element of risk replacing Klopp with anybody but it has to happen. Klopp is leaving.”
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The two precedents cited by Neville serve as case studies for Liverpool as to what can happen after a legendary manager leaves, with neither David Moyes at Old Trafford nor Unai Emery at the Emirates Stadium even coming close to replicating the impact of their immediate predecessors.
That’s the challenge which awaits Slot if he’s ultimately given the Anfield job, although he’ll be fully aware of how tall an order it’ll be to follow on immediately from an iconic figure in Klopp.
At least if he comes to Merseyside, he’ll benefit from having some shrewd operators with whom to work, as Neville has referenced.
CEO of Football Michael Edwards is widely regarded as one of the sharpest boardroom executives in world football, while new sporting director Richard Hughes arrives from Bournemouth with a glowing reputation.
Liverpool are facing into a period of uncertainly after Klopp, that’s for sure, but at least there’s a strong backroom structure in place for Slot if, as expected, he’s the next man in the Anfield dugout.
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