Gabriel Agbonlahor has resumed his war of words with Jurgen Klopp and told the Liverpool manager to “work on his team playing good football”.
The Kop boss has cut an increasingly frustrated figure in recent media commitments after his side’s wretched start to the new league campaign. Defeat at Arsenal on Sunday leaves the Reds marooned in mid-table, already 14 points behind the early leaders.
And Klopp’s frustrations got the better of him earlier this week after taking offence at criticism from ex-Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann. The former German international, who won the Champions League during his time at Anfield, was the subject of a scathing rant from Klopp, after suggesting Liverpool ‘needed a spark’ amid their recent struggles.
“Who said that? Didi Hamann? Oh great. A fantastic source, well respected everywhere.” Klopp snapped. “That (being a former Liverpool player) does not give you the right to say what you want, especially when you have no idea.
“I actually think Didi Hamann does not deserve that you use his phrase to ask a question. Try to ask without using the word spark.”
But Agbonlahor, who has recent history with Klopp, slammed his response and felt that he’d crossed the line and accused him of “cracking under the pressure.”
“I thought Jurgen Klopp was like a petulant child,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT. “Didi Hamann won the Champions League for Liverpool, had a fantastic career, if he can't talk about Liverpool then who can?
“Is it only Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, Steven Gerrard, is it only certain players who can talk about Liverpool? I think he's losing his spark a bit Jurgen Klopp, he's cracking under the pressure.”
It’s not the first time Agbonlahor and Klopp have exchanged words, with the Liverpool boss taking objection to a point the former Aston Villa striker made earlier this season. Agbonlahor had branded Manchester United “a shambles” following their 4-0 defeat to Brentford, a point Klopp disputed.
“What he said about United, I was close to calling in and telling him, ‘you have forgotten completely that you have been a player.’”
“He lost against us 6-0 in my first year (at Liverpool). I couldn’t remember him as a mentality monster on the pitch. It was unbelievable (what he said). If ex-players are already going like this, you can imagine how everything else is going.”]
However, Agbonlahor has proved he has no issues in continuing to criticise Liverpool and their manager, telling Klopp to focus on matters on the field.
“You can't keep making wrong decisions like he's doing at the moment,” he added. “Snapping at the media? It was a perfectly honest question if they need a spark. Whether it's Henderson getting a goal, Thiago creating an opportunity or Salah getting back to the Salah before his contract.
“That's a harmless thing for Hamann to say, but for him [Klopp] to hit out at Hamann as a nobody… even when he had a go at me talking about a totally different team, I think he's losing it. He needs to work on his team playing good football.”
