Champions League qualification key to Klopp's Anfield future

When Gareth Ainsworth was appointed manager of Wycombe Wanderers in September 2012 Mark Hughes was manager of QPR.

Ainsworth’s epic stint at Wycombe ended this week, when he became the 14th Rangers manager since Hughes left the Loftus Road dugout.

In a sport that changes faster than ever before, Ainsworth’s spell at Wycombe became increasingly fascinating with each passing season that the flamboyant gaffer remained in charge.

In replacing Neil Critchley, Ainsworth became the 18th managerial change at a Championship club this season alone, and his decision to move a few miles from Wycombe to Shepherd’s Bush means there are now just five managers in the top four divisions of English football who have been at the helm for more than five years.

How long Ainsworth lasts at Loftus Road remains to be seen. Having been a popular winger for the Hoops for seven seasons, he will have a longer honeymoon than many of his recent predecessors, but when it comes to sentiment versus results there is only ever one winner.

The future of the man who is now the third longest-serving manager is even more intriguing after Liverpool’s stunning defeat against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Jurgen Klopp has been astonishingly successful in his seven years at Anfield, but the club have slumped significantly this term, culminating in a beating at the hands of Real that was little short of humiliating.

They languish in eighth position in the table, 19 points behind Arsenal, and are averaging 1.59 points per game compared to 2.42 last term. 

Liverpool are out of both domestic cups and are a stingy looking 100-1 to overcome a 5-2 deficit in the Bernabeu on March 15. The only faint ray of hope offered by current bookmaker prices is that they are rated 6-4 to regain their poise and finish in the top four to earn another crack at the Champions League next season.

They are seven points off fourth-placed Spurs with two games in hand, so mathematically they are by no means cut adrift. But you only need to watch Klopp’s team to see they have lost much of the potency that made them such exciting Premier League champions three seasons ago.

It seemed odd at the time that Sadio Mane was being allowed out of Anfield with so few expressions of concern that he might be sorely missed, and I believe his departure is the single biggest factor in Liverpool’s regression.

Injuries have not helped - when Liverpool last had a drastic loss of form in the winter of 2020-21 it coincided with Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury and he has only just returned from another absence.

And the midfield dynamism has slowed down conspicuously, with the engine room looking in desperate need of fresh legs. Stefan Bajcetic has been impressive in breaking into the side but he is more craft than graft.

Klopp has been a superb manager and a welcome presence in English football. He is prone to moan, but when resisting the urge to pin the blame for setbacks on officials and fixture congestion he is a thoughtful, interesting speaker and comes across as a good person.

Perhaps he can go again, do what Sir Alex Ferguson did and build another successful side. To have any chance of doing that he will need to qualify for the Champions League in order to entice the likes of Jude Bellingham to the club this summer.

But even if he is able to lift his team into the top four in May it is easy to see him decide at that point that his time on Merseyside is up. 

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