TalkSPORT pundits Simon Jordan and Martin Keown have disagreed on Jurgen Klopp's criticism of Gabby Agbonlahor after the Liverpool boss hit back at his comments on Manchester United.
During United's 4-0 defeat to Brentford last weekend, former Villa forward Agbonlahor laid into the 20-time league champions. He described them as 'amateur' and even went as far to say manager Erik ten Hag should 'pack up', despite being in charge for just two games so far.
In his pre-United press conference on Friday, Klopp spoke about the comments and said he 'nearly phoned in' to talkSPORT to hit back at the pundits' savage review. The Reds boss also questioned Agbonlahor's 'mentality' when Villa lost 6-0 to Liverpool during Klopp 's first season with the club, a game the now-pundit featured in.
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Jordan, Keown and host Jim White discussed Klopp's comments during their show on Friday and former Crystal Palace owner Jordan said the German was wrong to suggest former players shouldn't speak out or criticise current players and teams.
"Well where I think he’s going is first of all, Liverpool are playing Manchester United next so he doesn’t want anymore vitriol poured on Manchester United so he gets a reaction from them," Jordan said on talkSPORT. "Secondly, I think he’s moving into the territory of suggesting that is inappropriate for players to speak about players, former or present, in a way which is not keeping with professional respect. Politicians mustn’t speak about one another with any sort of disparaging observations, doctors and epidemiologists mustn’t criticise each other by Jurgen Klopp’s logic.
"It is preposterous to suggest anything that comes out of Gabby Agbonlahor’s mouth is worth listening to but the suggestion that somehow or another because he played in a team that got beat 6-0 by Liverpool once upon a time that Gabby as a player - that has far more insight - than people that haven’t played the game cannot speak to what he’s seen because it’s sacrosanct in the BS world of football mythology about who should speak and who shouldn’t speak.
"How people should speak and how people shouldn’t speak about one another because once upon a time you were a player. It is silly. It is silly because the people who can give us insight as to what we think is the mental minnows that are playing for Man United are people who’ve done a job. We want honesty.
"Gabby Agbonlahor will sit here and people in the football world will sit here, the Alan Shearer’s of the world have finally grown a pair because he doesn’t want to be a manager anymore, quite happy to be a pundit so he’ll talk honestly because vested interest always takes people away from speaking truth and Gabby Agbonlahor - and I don’t particularly admire what comes out of his mouth - has spoken a version of what he’s seen. Why does Jurgen Klopp have the right to advocate censor? He can have an opinion on it but what he’s doing is using his influence as a very powerful manager to put pressure on people in the media and advocate people like you (Keown) sat here only doing your job in the way the current football world say you should do it."
Keown, who played for Villa, Everton, Leicester City and Arsenal during his playing days, understood where Klopp was coming from with his comments. The pundit also added he found it 'refreshing' the Liverpool boss decided to call out Agbonlahor for his view on United.
"I think he’s saying he’s getting fed up with former players and maybe those who are at the necessary level to be able to question what it is Man United are doing each week," Keown responded. "Now, that’s a matter of opinion. I admire Jurgen Klopp and everything he brings to the game, he’s a passionate man, an emotional man.
"I think as former players we need to make that adjustment, we need to find the right words because we may have all be on the receiving end of that result before, we've all had a good hiding and went out there with the best intentions. I don’t get any pleasure out of Manchester United’s current situation, their current plight. I saw the most inept...performance from a Manchester United team that I have seen in living memory last weekend.
"I wasn’t listening to the commentary, I think there are ways you can frame things and say things. I actually didn’t hear the commentary but I found it refreshing that Jurgen Klopp wanted to make a comment on it. I’m more than happy to comment on any comments that he is making.
"He has made a personal attack on a former player who he thinks is saying something that’s over the top, that’s all that’s happened here. My advice to former players would be the microphone is like the ball that you once had at your feet, now it’s a microphone, make something happen when you were a player, make something happen with the microphone. But keep it passionate and emotional and things you believe in but don’t go on a tangent and try and sensationalise, maybe that’s what Klopp’s trying to say."
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