Jamie Carragher explains why Liverpool won't drop off post-Jurgen Klopp like Manchester United did after Sir Alex Ferguson
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has stated the reason why he believes the Reds won't experience a drop-off as big as Manchester United did after Sir Alex Ferguson retired. The Reds will kick-start a new era next season, with Arne Slot being named as the successor to Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp had a pretty successful nine-year spell with the Reds during which they won eight trophies while contending for major honors every season. Arne Slot will have massive shoes to fill but Jamie Carragher has backed the club to cope with Klopp's exit rather well.
The former Liverpool defender insisted that while Klopp will be missed, the Merseyside giants have the right structure present at the club. He claimed that Manchester United fell off their perch following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement because the Scotsman was in charge of everything at the club which won't be the case at Liverpool.
Carragher was quoted as saying by The Mirror:
"Manchester United went from first to seventh when Alex Ferguson left. Liverpool just finished third so I don't think we are going to drop to 10th. I expect us to be competitive, as long as we have a good summer transfer window. We have people behind the scenes.
"I don't think they had that structure at Man United when Ferguson left. It was the same with Wenger. They were old-fashioned football managers who ran everything and those days have gone."
Carragher has backed his former club to continue to push for silverware under Arne Slot. He added:
"The reason those days are gone is because when a figure like that – or any manager in fact – moves on, you almost have to start again. I don't think any manager wants that. I think the fact Arne Slot will be a head coach rather than a manager is pretty telling.
"I don't see Liverpool having as big a drop-off as Man United and Arsenal. There might be a drop-off, because Jurgen Klopp is a great football manager, but I still expect Liverpool to compete for all honours including the Champions League."
Arne Slot previously managed in his native Netherlands at Cambuur, AZ and Feyenoord. He won one Eredivisie and one KNVB Cup with the latter.
Jurgen Klopp names 3 players Liverpool would have signed if they had unlimited resources
Jurgen Klopp has named Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland as the three players he would have signed at Liverpool if he had unlimited resources. The German has stepped down from his position at Anfield following a glorious nine-year stint and is now set for a sabbatical.
Klopp won eight trophies during his time at Anfield while also narrowly missing out on several silverware. During his time at the club, Liverpool spent a lot less compared to their rivals and still contended for every trophy.
Klopp has admitted that he would have signed Mbappe, Bellingham, and Haaland if he had the license to spend as he wished. During a "Thank You Jurgen" tribute night, Klopp said at the M&S Bank Arena (via The Sun):
"Can you imagine LFC as the club with unlimited money?. Imagine Kylian Mbappe came here. Imagine Bellingham came here, Haaland. It is not us. It just does not fit. We won what we won, and we did it the Liverpool way. We had hard conversations and other clubs didn’t do that in the same time."
Klopp had a net spending of just £345 million in nine years which is quite extraordinary given how inflated the market has become.