At Anfield, Liverpool returned to their joyful, uninhibited style of play in Juergen Klopp’s penultimate game, crushing a disheartened Tottenham led by Ange Postecoglou, and enjoying the freedom from title contention. Tottenham marked a dismal milestone of four sequential league losses for the first time in two decades, a catastrophic sequence which has vaporised their aspirations for the champions league and possibly debunked Postecoglou’s reputation. Initially lauded for his casual, laid-back attitude, Postecoglou is now under scrutiny as being simply an ordinary guy, who inexplicably is at the helm of an acclaimed Premier League team and seems lost in terms of guiding them out of the slump.
Postecoglou’s persona hasn’t changed from the time last fall, when he amassed three successive manager of the month titles, which highlights the enigma that is football management. A manager’s career hinges on a factor as elusive as belief, that can weather any storm when robust but is incredibly tough to rekindle when depleted.
Post-match, Postecoglou was queried on whether Tottenham should follow Liverpool’s lead of managerial stability; they haven’t dismissed a manager since 2015. His response left things open, saying, “Uncertainty looms whether I am the one for the job, mate.” This remark, while humourous, hit a nerve, and underlined that Postecoglou, for good or ill, is indeed an ordinary guy.
The fact that Klopp took charge of Liverpool in 2015 and lifted a trophy in 2019, is often touted as an instance of Liverpool’s forward-thinking endurance. However, the truth is there was never a need for Liverpool to be patient with Klopp, as the belief in him was consistently solid, and more than just hope – a firm conviction that he was the ideal choice.
The reason behind the unwavering belief in Klopp is somewhat puzzling to define. Postecoglou, a Liverpool devotee in his boyhood, reminisced about a time in 2016, when he and his son visited Anfield during the initial phase of Klopp’s tenure.
More than the game itself, it was the atmosphere that stayed with him. He noticed the strong aura around Jurgen in the arena. The entire club, including its fans, had bought into Jurgen, despite not yet reaching their desired destination. He admitted those vibes attracted him to managers with similar energy, able to visualize things that others couldn’t at the time. These were the thoughts of Postecoglou from the spectator’s point of view.
Expressing his thoughts on Sky, Daniel Sturridge, a member of Klopp’s team for over three seasons, stated that what struck him about the coach wasn’t necessarily his words, but how he conveyed them. He mentioned how Klopp’s voice on the training field had weight. The way he communicated made everyone listen and it was a real challenge to have the players believe in everything you say, according to him.
This was similar to what Frank Herbert covered in Dune pertaining the Bene Gesserit order who could control others through their voice’s specific tones. Herbert mentioned that many readers were sceptical about the idea of the Voice. Once, he discussed with a group of university students who questioned the logic of controlling people with one’s voice. To them, it appeared impossible. He was surprised that anyone would question such an evident reality.
As an illustration, Herbert proposed how telling someone “we must get together for lunch sometime” could have two potential meanings. In one scenario, the person will contact you within a week to arrange lunch; he knows he’s expected to make this plan. However, in an alternate context, he would understand it as “farewell, I’m not interested in talking any more.” The same phrase now carries a different layer of meaning – that is the metamessage.
We intuitively comprehend that the true intention or “metamessage” is the actual message. This is the reason self-help books focussed on leadership often miss the mark as they only capture the obvious message, but not the unseen undertones. These books don’t significantly offer skills acquired from personal attributes or charisma, which their personas depend on. Despite close monitoring and reading numerous management books authored by Alex Ferguson, none of his former players could duplicate his successful approach.
Jurgen Klopp dubbed his creation as ‘Liverpool 2.0’, promising it would survive his departure. However, as the key catalyst of this second iteration of Liverpool, its vitality is inherently linked to his presence. Successful football clubs are often influenced by a single powerful entity: Real Madrid is steered by president Florentino Pérez, Barcelona was shaped by the iconic Lionel Messi’s prowess, and Sir Alex Ferguson was the orchestrating force behind Manchester United. Both Barcelona and Manchester United can vouch for the immense challenge presented when replacing a figure the club has been built around.
Post-Klopp’s era at Liverpool, the most consequential figure was Michael Edwards. Edwards, who stepped away from his role as sporting director in 2022 due to Klopp’s overshadowing influence, felt unnecessary. He later re-joined Fenway Sports Group in the novel, executive role of football CEO, a less-public figure who doesn’t take the spotlight or partake in media interactions.
With Klopp’s departure at hand, Edwards was confronted with the key responsibility of identifying Klopp’s replacement. His choice appears to be Arne Slot, the Feyenoord coach whose team’s football style reflects Klopp’s Liverpool on several quantifiable aspects: rapid pace, prolific chance creation, numerous final third recovers, etc. In this manner, Slot seems a good match. However, regardless of these technical aspects, the real test will be when Slot communicates, will the team pay attention? If Edwards has managed to forecast this, then he’s truly cracked the code.