The REAL shock result of the Klopp bombshell: In his brilliant column debut, TIM HOWARD reveals the locker room drama when a coach quits – and the only choice the title-chasing Liverpool players must now make

It was already a tense time on Merseyside: Liverpool is locked in a title run and Everton, my former club, faces a second possible 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules. Jurgen Klopp’s stunning departure has only added fuel to the fire.

Not much shocks me anymore but Jurgen leaving is a huge, huge loss for Liverpool. He gets the club. And the fans bought into him. They understood he was one of them.

Anytime a legendary manager leaves, the immediate question is: What next? What are they going to do? Liverpool has had such sustained success. And the reality is, most teams don’t get it right. So for Liverpool supporters, there will be a big worry that a drop-off is coming. Because Jurgen Klopp has become the club.

And no matter who you support, Klopp’s teams are good for the Premier League. He’s been brilliant for the Merseyside derby and for their battles with Manchester United. You can hate a club, you can root against them. But Jurgen has charisma and character – and he has class.

One thing is for sure: the timing of this announcement will come under scrutiny. Liverpool is firmly entrenched in the title race. So does this galvanize the players? Or does it throw them off kilter? They might wonder: why is this getting announced now? This doesn’t feel right, he’s not going to be here. It’s a fascinating emotional drama.

Klopp understands the club and fans bought into him – they understood he was one of them

Players are creatures of habit – that’s actually how you get the best out of them: give them a structure and confines to work within and they flourish.

Now, it’s a new start and no one knows what the end looks like. So there will be anxiety in the locker room. I’ve seen that first-hand at Everton.

DailyMail.com’s sports columnist Tim Howard

The difficulty is that Jurgen has a style and ideas and they are not going to be knocked out of the players quickly.

I played under David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson and, with any long-serving manager, you get into routines. 

When do you eat breakfast? Do you have to eat it all together? How do you travel? Do you stay in hotels? Do you travel in tracksuit or suit and tie?

Any new coach is going to bring in players who fit his style – and demand the others learn his ideas. The ones who adapt and learn very quickly will keep their place, the others will get sold – it’s as cut and dry as that.

We had really good players who thrived in David’s setup over 11 years at Everton.

But then Roberto Martinez arrived in 2013 and brought a completely different style of play.

That’s when the pressure comes on players – and some couldn’t cope. Not because they weren’t good players. But because they didn’t buy into the new style. Or they were so adamant that their way was the right way.

It’s a power struggle: if you’re a long-standing player at a football club and a new manager comes in, you think: it’s your club, he has to prove himself. But he doesn’t. He’s the manager.

Since taking charge, Klopp has led Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory

How will this announcement affect the mindset of his players such as star forward Mo Salah? 

For almost a decade, Liverpool has been built on the foundations of how Jurgen Klopp operates.

It would be irresponsible to rip that up. It’s a bad business decision to bring in a manager who does. That can create a bigger problem and a bigger mess.

So is Xabi Alonso the right man to take over? Well, he knows Liverpool inside out, he’s had success as a manager early on at Bayer Leverkusen. And that’s telling. The question for any manager is: how do you get your points across to the players and how quickly can they implement them? He’s shown that he can do that.

Whoever the new coach is has to get their ideals and theories across to the players – but understand they need to mesh with who they already are. Otherwise the players will have a difficult time taking it on board.

But for now, Liverpool have to worry about this season and this title race. Jurgen’s squad is so good and so drilled – how he and the players interact, they’re one – so I can’t foresee anything other than these guys saying: let’s make this about the gaffer. Let’s make this about winning another title.

Lionel Messi, Copa America and the Premier League: Tim Howard is the fantastic new columnist for DailyMail.com and will be analyzing all the major soccer talking points in 2024.