Former Liverpool star Ryan Babel has fired a clear warning to incoming manager Arne Slot as he prepares to take on the difficult job of replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The Dutch tactician is set to take over as Liverpool manager this summer, as Fabrizio Romano has previously told CaughtOffside, and it’s certainly going to be a big challenge for anyone to come in after the long-serving Reds legend Klopp.
The charismatic German coach won the Premier League title and Champions League during almost nine years at Liverpool, and while Slot has done impressive work at Feyenoord, Babel can see it being difficult for him next season, with the former Netherlands international predicting tough times ahead for the Merseyside giants.
Slot warned about tough times ahead at Liverpool
Babel exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone that he felt it would be a lot of upheaval for Liverpool to deal with this summer, as it’s not only Klopp moving on, but presumably his entire coaching staff as well.
“I think the task of replacing Jurgen Klopp is much tougher than most people actually realise. It’s not just trying to replace a very good manager who did very well over the years. But what people don’t realise is that, over the years, Jurgen Klopp was able to bring in so many people in places behind the scenes, whether that’s in the kitchen, in the backroom staff, in certain director roles… he did everything to make sure the club was running the way he wanted it to be ran,” Babel said.
“It’s not just Jurgen Klopp leaving; I’ve heard more than 30 people will be leaving with him. Naturally, a new coach will come in with his assistant, a fitness coach, maybe a physio. But this next coach now has to either undo or replace a lot of people within the club, to make sure his vision will be executed. And I don’t see that happening within one year; it’s a very difficult task. So, I’d say there are tough times ahead for Liverpool, for sure.”
He added: “There will be pressure from day one, whether it’s justified or not. I feel like Liverpool fans have been so spoilt in the last few years, to the point that if any manager comes in and is performing below that level, there’s going to be a lot of impatient people around the place. That’s just the way football is now, and so it’ll be up to the manager to deal with that pressure and that expectation.”
There will no doubt be some concern among LFC supporters, with Klopp looking like someone who was never going to be easy to replace, and many fans will surely have preferred to see him stay longer.
However, there can be some downsides to that as well, with Manchester United learning the hard way from the shock of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 – the club have still not decided on a clear direction since then despite more than a decade passing.
In a way, Liverpool have perhaps got an opportunity here to ensure they don’t get too used to Klopp and to show they can adapt to life under a different manager.
Kurgan was a great manager but our time is over these people used this time to break ties
Arne will recieve. our full support
As will all the players