Mane praised for realising he had to leave Liverpool before Klopp’s Dortmund-style capitulation

Sadio Mane was questioned for leaving Liverpool but it turns out he might have foreseen a Borussia Dortmund-style Jurgen Klopp capitulation.

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I gotta have blind faith
Dear Ed.,

Firstly, well done to Utd. I have to congratulate them, because although I’m sick to my back teeth, I’ve genuinely felt sorry for Utd fans at having to put up with the utter rot that was beyond parody. I just wish the turning point was next week. Or maybe halfway through this season.

There are a lot of mistakes made by Klopp that are easy to see with hindsight, like playing an aging midfield in front of a high line, but the biggest mistake I think he’s made is trust.

One of Klopp’s great strengths is motivation, which is just as well because he makes such physical demands of his players for the style he wants. When he came in, everyone busted a gut – more than just being ‘professional’ – because they had something to prove.  But since January (and maybe before), these Liverpool players look exhausted and yet he still trusts them to go above and beyond.

Credit to Mane for recognising this (and possibly his own) gentle stagnation, and relighting that fire with a move to Munich. Salah might yet get his mojo back, but when Firmino plays the way he’s playing the opposition defence are not moved around enough to give Salah space to be effective.

But most importantly, the midfield. Klopp has persisted without a creative midfielder because ‘No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation’. This is all very well, but if the press is sluggish, and you don’t win any second balls, what do you do then? How can you be creative? Rely on a right back to ping the ball over the top? What happens when that right back is targeted and penned in? And of course, with no press, how do you protect that high line?

We all have blindspots, but this blind trust seems to be a huge weakness. Without a player who can do what Firmino used to do and lead the press, without midfielders who can put in the yards with intelligence and aggression like Wijnaldum or a younger Henderson, then this Liverpool side are going to be picked apart again and again.

Fans and managers will point to injuries, but it’s often said that the hallmark of a truly great manager (Ferguson) was the rebuild: knowing who to sell, knowing who to put faith in. Perhaps that’s easier when you keep a professional distance from your…