Jürgen Klopp will go down as one of the greatest managers in the Premier League, despite his bitter ending, says Robert Marawa

Showmax Premier League ambassador and die-hard Liverpool fan Robert Marawa says while he is disappointed that Klopp didn’t get his fairytale ending at Liverpool, he will go down as one of the greatest managers for Liverpool and in the Premier League.

Marawa also chats about the Mohamed Salah incident and why Klopp’s timing to announce his departure during mid-season proved to be less than ideal.

Just like millions of other Reds around the globe, Robert Marawa has been bitterly disappointed by the way Liverpool’s season has turned out. Having had the opportunity to win a quadruple just a few weeks ago, it is now almost certain that Klopp’s men will end the season with just the Carabao Cup to show for.

Within the space of a few weeks, Liverpool have exited the FA Cup at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester United, got overpowered by mid-table Italian team Atalanta in the Europa League, and in the last two weeks threw away eight points in the Premier League to push them out of contention for the league title.

So, it’s no surprise that Marawa has been left disappointed. “As a Liverpool fan, I am disappointed. I am disappointed by the way the season has panned out. I’m disappointed by the way the league challenge has panned out. I’m disappointed by how Klopp will now have to exit. I’m disappointed with so many things,” says Marawa.

Showmax’s Premier League ambassador believes Klopp’s men have let him down ahead of his final season with Liverpool. “I do believe that the players let Jürgen Klopp down,” says Marawa. “When you look at the collective effort and mistakes that were made, I do believe that they let him down. If they really wanted to give him the perfect send off, they would have done as best as they could to do that.”

“I believe that under a Steven Gerrard, under a Jordan Henderson, those kind of leaders and captains, without pouring any aspersions on anyone like our current captain, it wouldn’t have happened. I know Van Dijk has been a strong leader on many different fronts. I’ve seen him protect players in difficult situations. But I just feel to get over the line, especially this line, I’m not too sure if it was good enough.”

“Van Dijk had a lot of decisions against his team with referees, and they got into plenty of arguments with referees when they were handed poor decisions, but I think defensively there were so many mistakes that were made. As players they should take that responsibility. That 2-2 draw against West Ham ended LFC’s title hopes. It was a four-goal thriller, which is beautiful for the Premier League. It was great for LFC to score two goals, but conceding two goals is where the problem lies. It’s our propensity to concede.”

“So Arsenal won that weekend, Man City won as well within that same week that we drew against West Ham, so literally the title was lost in that space.” Marawa had hoped that Klopp would be given the perfect send-off ahead of his departure from Anfield. However, things haven’t quite gone to plan for the Reds.

“The one thing I’ve learnt about the Premier League is that there is nothing perfect. There is nothing perfect that is set out for Man City; there is nothing perfect set out for Arsenal. You ask Arsenal fans about last season. They had the perfect season, the perfect lead, but then a not-so-perfect ending. There is nothing like a Disney script in the Premier League and Liverpool have learned that.”

Marawa believes a big part of Liverpool’s drop-off was due to Klopp’s mid-season announcement to leave the club. He says the timing was terrible. “I would have loved a perfect send-off for Jürgen Klopp, trust me I would have loved that, but my biggest issue was with the announcement being made during the season.”

“I firmly believe that the announcement kind of took away certain power that a manager has. It took away certain powers from him and enabled a couple of players to do and say as they please. Yes, I know the Mo Salah incident is fresh, but I don’t think Salah a season ago would have done what he did last weekend.”

“He felt that that the power that Klopp had all along was no longer there and he felt he could say or do or gesticulate in any way or manner that he did, which is unfortunate, but he did it. And that is when we can go and look back at Sir Alex Ferguson’s announcement back in 2001 when he was leaving Man United. What effect did that have on the players? The authority somehow disappears, it goes away, and the same thing has happened to Jurgen Klopp.”

Asked whether he felt Liverpool could still win the league, having capitulated the way they have towards the end of the season, Marawa says: “I always believe. In the race that we have, I still believe that they could end victorious. Man City and Arsenal know they can’t be dropping any points and that puts pressure on them. Pep Guardiola was very clear when he said if his team drew a game, they would lose the defence of their title, so this always gives hope to Liverpool. I am all for a league title, and supporting my team right until the end as disappointed as I am.”

Despite their capitulation towards the end of the season, Marawa says Klopp can be proud of what he achieved with Liverpool. “I think that Klopp’s tenure at Liverpool brought so much, and Klopp could have achieved a great deal more, but he has a really talented Man City team ahead of him. He has a world-class coach in Pep Guardiola ahead of him, and with Man City having all the resources and players they have, Klopp knew deep down, that as good as he was at Liverpool, he was never going to win everything.”

“Jürgen Klopp was the perfect coach for Liverpool, the best that the team could ever ask for, and history should never be based on the West Ham result, the Man United result, the Palace result, or what happened against Atalanta. I think his tenure at Liverpool was glorious and we should always remember him for it.”

“The one time I did go to Anfield, I had the opportunity to ask Klopp a question at a press conference. His face immediately lit up when I mentioned Mo Salah, because he knew Salah was the best player in the world at that time. The way it’s ended up with the very same player disappoints me a great deal, but Jürgen Klopp, as Fergie says, had big white teeth, a big smile, a positive attitude, and is one of the greatest managers. He will sit amongst the best that have ever coached the Premier League. Farewell, Coach.”

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