On the 19th of May 2024, Jürgen Klopp took charge of Liverpool for what we have to assume was the last time. Much as he loves the club, and the fans love him, the psychological toll the job took on him was clear to see and he appears to be too intelligent to be tempted into a return in the future.
Liverpool won the match in question, beating Wolves 2-0 at Anfield to give their manager the winning send-off he deserved. He has been brilliant for the Reds and there is no doubt it will take some time to get used to seeing another person in the dugout. But change is inevitable, and now the dust has settled, it seems like a good time to look back on Klopp’s career at Liverpool.
So much has been written about his personality, charisma and rapport with the fans, so in this article we will not look at how he “got” the club and the supporters. Instead, we will analyse some of the key numbers behind his time at Anfield and assess how his reign should be judged.
Longevity
There are many places to start here but we will choose to look at how many games the German was at the helm. In the modern era a season in charge starts to look like a decent spell and as if either club has shown great patience, or the manager must have done a very solid job. Klopp was in charge of Liverpool from the 8th of October, 2015 until the 31st of May, 2024 (technically speaking, although as noted he really finished on the 19th of May).
He spent just short of nine years on Merseyside and was in charge for a mammoth 491 games. That puts him fourth on the all-time list of Liverpool managers which is topped by Bill Shankly, with 783, whilst Bob Paisley is third on 535. Tom Watson, who managed the club between 1896 and 1915 is second, bossing the Reds for 742 matches.
It’s Wins That Count

At a club like Liverpool, where success is demanded, longevity is unlikely to be possible unless it is accompanied by success, though things were a little different in that regard back in the days of Watson. However, due to the fact the aforementioned three managers were in charge for so many more games than Klopp, when it comes to total wins, the German remains in fourth place.
What is interesting, though, is that there is far less between the top four concerning the number of matches they won. The order is the same but the number of games reads 407 for Shankly, 329 for Watson, 308 for Paisley, and 299 for Klopp.
When we look at the winning percentage, rather than the absolute number of games, we see a very different picture. Klopp is second on that list, by the smallest of margins. Kenny Dalglish won 60.91% of the Liverpool games he was in charge of during his first stint at the club, whilst Klopp’s figure is 60.90%. It really couldn’t be any closer and, of course, it has to be remembered that whilst the King inherited a winning team at the top of world football… Klopp did not – to put it mildly.
Silverware
Stats can be twisted almost any way the author wants and whilst we might choose to look at win percentage, most fans, and all connected with any top club, are sure to care about trophies more than anything else. How does Jürgen Nobert Klopp compare in that regard? Let’s take a look at the major honours he helped the Reds to claim.
- Premier League – 1 in 2019/20
- Champions League – 1 in 2018/19 (twice runner-up)
- FA Cup – 1 in 2021/22
- League Cup – 2 in 2021/22 and 2023/24
- UEFA Super Cup – 1 in 2019
- FIFA Club World Cup – 1 in 2019
- Community Shield – 1 in 2022
Klopp delivered the Holy Grail to Anfield, finally ending the club’s long, long wait for a Premier League title. Excluding the three competitions at the bottom of the list, which are effectively “super cups”, Klopp won five major pieces of silverware at Anfield.
Compared to the hauls of Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger and José Mourinho, plus other Liverpool legends Paisley and Dalglish, that may not appear like the most impressive collection. However, it has to be remembered that the Reds have faced an almost unstoppable Man City juggernaut for almost the entire stewardship of Klopp. Even up against that, plus challenges from all the other huge sides in the PL and Real Madrid in Europe, the fact that the German managed to win almost every trophy possible at least once is some achievement.
Points Do Not Always Mean Prizes

Talking about the nature of the opposition Klopp faced during his time in English football brings us nicely on to the points totals he achieved as Liverpool boss. Fans will often bring up various “ifs” and “buts”, talking about what might have been in a different era, or what would have been won if just an extra goal here or there had been scored. Of course, we all know that you have to beat the opposition in front of you at the time and as already said, all that really matters is silverware.
But whilst that is true, we have to acknowledge what an incredible winning machine Klopp created. There are variables to consider, and some may argue that in days gone by the league had more strength in depth, whereas money has allowed the elite clubs to dominate in the last 10 years or so. Even so, some of the numbers and points totals Klopp’s Liverpool have put up are truly staggering.
As a reference point, we should note that Arsenal’s much-vaunted Invincibles of 2003/004 garnered 90 points, whilst Man United’s treble-winners of 1998/99 got just 79. In fact, the most points accumulated by any of Ferguson’s United teams (in a 38-game season) was 91, in 1999/2000. So, to Klopp’s Liverpool:
- 97 points in 2018/19
- 99 points in 2019/20
- 92 points in 2021/22
As we can see, those bemoaning Liverpool’s relative lack of silverware, and we mean relative to what it might have been, may well have a point. Even so, there is no doubting that Klopp is a Liverpool legend – with the numbers to prove it!