Liverpool fans are still in collective mourning following the departure of Jurgen Klopp as manager.
Although the day of Klopp’s exit had been coming months in advance, it still feels slightly surreal. After almost nine years, there’s a fresh start on the horizon.
With Arne Slot now confirmed as the man following Jurgen, there is excitement over what the future holds at Anfield.
Klopp was keen to stress as much during his farewell on Sunday. As Ian Wright said, the Liverpool manager was buoyant during his send-off. It was not a day of sadness but of celebration.
That ability to turn upset it joy, doubters to believers, is part of what has made Klopp one of the best managers of the Premier League era. And with his seat at the AXA Training Centre still warm, talk has now turned to just where Jurgen ranks in the pantheon of great managers.
Roy Keane pits Jurgen Klopp against Jose Mourinho
Although Klopp won just one Premier League title with Liverpool, his influence on the league cannot be measured in trophies alone.
For example, if you change just two results of his 491 matches with the Reds, Klopp would have overseen three title wins. That is mind-boggling. Just ask Pep Guardiola how good the outgoing Liverpool boss is, he’ll tell you all day long.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp’s nine most memorable quotes as Liverpool manager
Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that others – like Guardiola – have won much more. So, when discussing the best Premier League manager of all-time on the Stick To Football podcast, it was no surprise to hear Roy Keane shunt Klopp down into fourth place.
“I’ll go with Pep,” when asked to pick the best Premier League boss ever.
“I’m very surprised at that,” Ian Wright responded. “I’m just thinking of the times with you and Fergie at Man United, when it was going to so great, when you lot were so dominant – there must have been times.”
“It was amazing, yeah,” Keane admitted. “Absolutely amazing. Put him [Sir Alex] number two. Mourinho, Klopp, Wenger. They’re five amazing managers I have huge respect for.”
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp’s best nine matches in charge of Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp vs Jose Mourinho
When you take into account trophies won, you can understand why Keane would rank Klopp below the three managers that he has. In reality, Wenger also won three titles, to Klopp’s one.
But the fact is that the former Reds boss absolutely belongs in the company of those four greats.
Mourinho is an interesting comparison because in some ways he’s the absolute opposite of Klopp.
READ MORE: Why Graeme Souness wanted Jose Mourinho to succeed Jurgen Klopp
While Jurgen tends to stay at clubs for a long time, calling time on his terms, Mourinho comes in, has an impact and then tends to be acrimoniously sacked when things turn sour.
It depends what floats your boat, really. But we’d always say that Klopp’s approach is the preferred one for us. However, with three Premier League titles during a similar time to Klopp England, Mourinho would no doubt argue otherwise.