What Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp can learn from Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger to rebuild Liverpool squad

The words ‘rebuild’ and ‘transition’ are enough to send shivers down the spine of any football supporter, but Liverpool’s season is on course to be one history views as a write-off.

When Jurgen Klopp extended his deal to 2026 it was a sign of commitment to something that very few managers get the opportunity to attempt. 

He gave himself a minimum of four years to shift from the current generation to the next, a job that would require phasing out ageing players who have given him everything and winning again with ‘another’ Liverpool.

The average lifespan of a Premier League manager is two years and four days, reducing further still as you work your way down the English football pyramid.

Klopp now sits as the Premier League‘s longest-serving current boss – currently, the fifth longest-serving of all time – and his new deal means that his tenure is likely to be more than five times the average.

Supervising a transition like this is something that most managers are not long enough to try to do less successfully.

At a certain distance, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal Wener spent more years with their respective clubs compared to any other manager in the history of the Premier League. They were also two of the most furnished.

Football works in cycles and methodological changes, and this is why Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez’s willing will have somehow fallen into the hierarchy.

But if Klopp must bring this side of Liverpool upwards, there are elements of the life of Ferguson and Wenger’s life that must be replicated. How Ferguson rebuilt United. 

Klopp almost certainly won’t fit into Ferguson’s 26-and-a-half-year stint at the helm and it’s unlikely he wants to.

However, Ferguson’s ability to achieve unrivaled success over several generations is something Liverpool would be only too happy to replicate.

He has won 13 national titles in an unstoppable 21-year streak. The hands of time catch up with every player and that level of dominance cannot be achieved with the same team.

Fighting complacency is perhaps the greatest challenge when the standards are so high, something Ferguson has mastered like no other. Man United scored a famous treble in 1998/99 with one of the greatest sides in the club’s history, littered with quality at every level.

The ruthlessness required to dissect a team that delivered everything is exactly what Klopp has been criticized in some circles for not showing more of.

The boss has denied allegations of being ‘too loyal’ to his players after a humiliating 3-0 away defeat at Brighton in January.

Just three years after Ferguson’s United completed the treble, a significant number of key players had been passed on.

Teddy Sheringham, Dennis Irwin, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole have all moved to different English clubs, while Jaap Stam and Peter Schmeichel have gone overseas. Three seasons ago the Reds were on course to claim an elusive 19th league title by one of the widest margins in history. Sadio Mane and Gini Wijnaldum have been the only significant departures since then.

Ferguson was able to let big numbers slip by to prevent self-gratifying behavior in the team, with the departure of Paul Ince in 1995 being perhaps the most famous example.

Why Wenger sold players in their prime

For a long time, Arsenal were the only team capable of coming close to Man United at the height of their dominance.

The Gunners finished in the top two for eight impressive consecutive seasons between 1997/98 and 2004/05 before Chelsea finally took their place at the top. While not all high-profile exits were by choice, Wenger was also happy to let his best players go if he felt it was in the overall interest of the team.

Patrick Vieira was sold to Juventus at the age of 29, just 12 months after Arsenal became the only team to complete an ‘invincible’ Premier League season.

The sale of Robin van Persie effectively gave Man United their most recent league title in 2012-13, but the Dutchman’s production dwindled soon after and he was subsequently sold to Fenerbahce in 2015.

Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars and Alexander Hleb have all been allowed to leave at the age of 30, meaning their powers have diminished elsewhere and could be sold for their full value.

While Arsenal would have preferred to keep him at the time, there could also be an argument as to whether Thierry Henry left the club at the right time. The Frenchman enjoyed a crushing three-year tenure at Camp Nou before eventually being re-signed by the Gunners on a short loan spell in 2012.

As is the case for Liverpool today

The manager still has work to do before his contract expires in 2026. He may even choose to stay beyond that.

The brutality of some Ferguson and Wenger sales has thrown the spotlight on a number of recent Liverpool contract extensions.

Jordan Henderson’s four-year extension at the start of last season gave the skipper conditions and certainties worthy of his contribution to the club. But with a midfield already packed with players in their twilight years, will the club regret being dependent on Henderson until he is 35?

The Reds face a daunting task this summer to complete the squad, particularly in midfield, and making those resources available to a number of older players could present an unwelcome obstacle.

For perhaps the first time in his career, Klopp is tasked with rebuilding a team while continuing to succeed.

It’s not necessarily an impossible act to juggle, but it is something that requires support and resources.

This process must start now and all summer signings must fit into this mold. It’s an almighty job, but there isn’t another person on the planet I’d rather have front and center.

Also.. 

Manchester United are Crumbling and falling apart as Liverpool can smell blood in top four hunt

Manchester United slipped to a dismal defeat to relegation strugglers West Ham after a horrific mistake by David de Gea boosted Liverpool’s confidence to catch up with them.

They collapse.

In a position of strength and in the almost certain top 4, Manchester United is collapsing. Liverpool, smelling of Champions League blood and football, thunder down the tracks now knowing they matter.

Regardless of what happens in the remaining weeks of this season, Said Benrahma’s winner and subsequent surrender encapsulates the brutal nature of the summer expulsion that Erik ten Hag has faced.

It’s not just David De Gea’s bad reactions to the decisive goal in the 27th minute. Or the fact that West Ham should have also been awarded a stonewall penalty for Victor Lindelof’s handball in first-half stoppage time.

It was everything. Bruno Fernandes points and moans once again instead of influencing the game.

United’s midfield overrun, the Reds’ under-besieged backline in such a stranglehold from West Ham’s relentless attacks that you could almost see them trying to say their safe word.

Never mind the Carabao Cup win and FA Cup final hanging over the cracks. Both confirm that Ten Hag has done wonders to restore confidence, win silverware and put United in a position where they could finish with a brace.

Instead, focus on the numbers. United have now won just one of their last eight trips to London – against Fulham in November. Away against top 10 sides, they have collected just 4 out of 27 points. They have scored just 49 goals, three less than Brentford.

Without the class of Rafael Varane and the industry of Lisandro Martinez, they couldn’t win an egg and spoon race.

For his winner, Benrahma was allowed to grab the ball on the half way line, run at Luke Shaw and Lindelof and let fly from so far back he was in nearby Docklands. De Gea was slow to react and has now made four errors leading to a goals in all competitions this season – the joint-most of any Premier League player, along with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris.

United did have early chances. But Fernandes, Antony and Christian Eriksen all sent efforts diagonally wide when they should have scored in the first 15 minutes.

Also as to why Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan Bissaka were allowed to continue after sustaining head injuries which stopped play for several minutes so that they could be treated. Are we serious about concussion substitutes or not?

United’s first shot on target came 11 minutes after half time from Wout Weghorst, substituted soon afterwards for Martial. It says it all. West Ham will easily be safe. United should get down on their knees and be thankful that their next three games are at home.