I'm not saying he's perfect or anything. He did make mistakes, like any human.
But my word - the man deserves CREDIT for what he did with us.
To be able to win 1 PL, 1 UCL and all those other trophies, is Awesome.
To be able to consistently challenge Man City when they have Pep and their wealth is .... unbelievable.
It's not a simple case of just Man City being super rich. They are, but the key thing is, they're also so much more than that. They prepared years in advance for Pep's arrival.
Here's one of the best coaches in the world over the last decade (or 2) with that kind of backing. How on earth can you challenge them, win 1 PL off them, and run them so close that only sheer luck (1 point) won them the 2 league titles.
LFC isn't a "poor" club by any means, by we are run like a normal club. You have ups and downs, hits and misses.
Man City have:
- immense financial might AND
- willingness to stay by their methods (whether legal/fair), AND
- incredibly well run (scouting included), AND
- Pep
means that they can afford to ignore mistakes in their player investments, unlike most clubs. A 50m full-back doesn't work? Get another one. Get 1 of the 2 most coveted centre-back in the world - spare no effort. Another 30m/50m/100m midfielder? done.
What I'm saying is: it's not just Man City is all about money, it's that they're money plus ALL else that's going for them.
LFC, on the other hand, got it almost 100% perfect in getting Salah + Alisson + Van Dijk + Robertson + Fabinho, and a system of playing, to get to that level. A more realistic and "normal" next few transfers like Keita, Thiago and the injury situation immediately makes us mortal again. Unlike them, we cannot afford any mistakes or ill fortune. We don't have that kind of leeway which only they have (maybe also Real Madrid to a lesser extent). We had to be superhuman to match or beat them (and we were, for the last few years).
I'm not arguing Klopp is better than Pep or the other round, I think they're both top coaches/managers. But Klopp simply does not have the tools and environment that Pep has in Man City. You cannot just look at gross spend or net spend alone. Man City did very good business too (hence they ARE well-run, not like e.g. Man Utd over the last few years), which makes their net spend figures very respectable. But the fact is that, they typically have no restrictions getting to what/who they want, and more to spare. Pep can, and has, immediate chances to remedy whatever mistakes, or changes of mind, almost as/when he wants to. He will be supported fully. Just look at the STRENGTH IN DEPTH he has in almost all positions over last 5 years, the "next 11" team or even "next 22" team that he can call upon.
That's the luxury Klopp (and other managers) don't have. Klopp achieved what he did, with great coaching, strength of will, some luck of course - what I think almost no one else can, from 2017 onwards. How can you not respect and thank him for this? I don't think anyone can argue, without Klopp and his LFC, EPL would be a bore since Pep's 2nd season. No one will even come close. And we won't have seen the multi >95 point seasons that we've seen.
Respect.
