Liverpool slumped to a draw against West Ham United at London Stadium, meaning that they are now effectively out of the title race.
Many thought that Jurgen Klopp’s last season would have a fairytale ending, with a quadruple win. Instead, Liverpool have been knocked out of the FA Cup, Europa League and fell out of the title race all in the space of a few weeks.
Klopp, however, will still leave Liverpool with a Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield, Club World Cup and a UEFA Super Cup.
The only trophy the German has managed to win more than once in his nine-year stint at the club is the League Cup.
While eight trophies are nothing to be sneered at, it does make you wonder whether Klopp’s name can be mentioned when we talk about the best managers to have done it in the Premier League era.
While he has been able to push Guardiola’s Manchester City in multiple title races, and guide Liverpool to another three European finals, more often than not he has come up short.
Ultimately success is measured by how many trophies you win and the record’s you set and there are several in Premier League history who wipe the floor with Klopp when it comes to both of the above.
Starting with Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager the Premier League has ever seen; he has 13 Premier League titles to his name, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups, a treble winning season – the list goes on.
While Manchester City were able to match United’s treble last season, Ferguson’s record of 13 Premier League titles is going to take some beating.
Moving on to Pep Guardiola, a man who looks set to overtake Ferguson and become the first manager in Premier League history to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
The Spaniard’s Manchester City team play some of the best football the league has ever seen and look in pole position to win a sixth title under Guardiola this season.
In 2017/18, the Centurion’s set the record for the most points in a Premier League season, with 100.
Arsene Wenger didn’t finish his career at Arsenal as dominant as he started, but was a pioneer for the English game and won three Premier League titles.
Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
The most famous of these being the last one in 2003/04 with the Invincible’s, who are the only team in Premier League history to go all season without losing a game.
Jose Mourinho’s 2004/05 Chelsea side nearly went unbeaten the year after Arsenal, losing one game. However, they did set the record for the least amount of goals conceded in a single campaign, with 15.
Mourinho has won three Premier League titles with Chelsea across two different spells, winning a treble in Italy with Inter Milan in between. The ‘Special One’ went on to win a League Cup and Europa League with Manchester United during his time there.
The manager’s listed above have all set records that may not be broken for decades, but is important to talk about another.
Klopp’s Liverpool set a record of their own in 2019, as the team to finish with the highest amount of points ever for a team that finished second, with 97.
While they did win the Champions League that season, this record epitomises the majority of the 56-year-old’s reign at Liverpool.
The Reds manger’s off-field antics have also irritated fans. The constant complaining of early kick-offs and a lack of respect towards interviewer’s has seen neutral fans sway from liking him to viewing him as a bad loser.
Klopp is undoubtedly up there as one of Liverpool’s greatest ever managers.
Despite this and the fact that his achievements deserve merit, the reality is that he was far better at coming second than he was at finishing first and therefore isn’t on the Mount Rushmore of Premier League Managers.
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