FAVOURITE moment from Saturday? For many of the 3,000 lucky enough to be there, it would have been this one. Martin Skrtel, having just slid on his knees towards the away fans, holds his arms aloft in front of the delirious crowd joined by team-mates so keen to join the fun that a few of them ended up on top of some unlucky camera men.
Or maybe it was this one? Having sent the entire team over to thank the travelling support at the end of the game, and shaking hands with all of them, Jürgen Klopp had his own moment with the fans. Fist clenched and wide smiles while the lower tier of Liverpool fans had a mosh pit to Life is Life by Opus.
These got the biggest roars of the day, even bigger than the goals themselves. We love these connections with the players and manager, when we all feel as one. Best moment of last season? This one. By a country mile.
These footballers. We want to adore them. We pretend we don’t sometimes, moaning about wages and prima donnas. It is undoubtedly the case that the disconnect between fans and players has grown as one has gone much wealthier than the other.
We’ve become less likely to see them in a club on a Saturday night, or a pub on a Sunday afternoon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still love them on the football pitch. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Martin Skrtel in Pogue Mahones in Liverpool, and Roberto Firmino should think strongly about going to The Kazimier before it closes (end of the year, Bobby…yeah I know, our Council, la).
However the real connection with footballers happens on the pitch, and this was always the case. Whether they were propping up the bar of your local or not.
Jürgen Klopp understands this. Which is why he could be key to ensuring the love-in between fans and players increases in intensity. This is partly because he loves footballers, too.
I’ve never known a manager that thinks footballers are brilliant as much as Klopp does. He hugs them to within an inch of their lives. And Simon Mignolet is in the media today saying he loves it. When Jordon Ibe scored the winner against Kazan, he acted like his dad.
We had heard all this from the German’s Dortmund days of course. The special bond he feels with players is rare for the modern manager.
Famously, Shinji Kagawa and Klopp cried in each others arms for 20 minutes on the day Kagawa left Borussia Dortmund. And only 15 minutes of that was because he had to go and live in Manchester.
It’s from a manager who sees his players more than functioning, or otherwise, parts of a squad. It’s infectious.
He also does things to footballers that make you like them more. Namely, he gets them to run a lot. Loads of us football fans are basic, really.
We like lovely bits of skill, sure, but nothing gets the crowd going more than a crunching tackle, or a fella in red chasing a fella in another colour halfway across the pitch.
You hear it a lot. “He puts in 100 per cent.” There are different ways to put in 100 per cent, but running around a lot is the most obvious one for fans to get onto. It can get the crowd on your side from day one. Just ask Danny Ings.
Now there are many reasons why Jurgen Klopp gets his players pressing so hard. The main one being the opposition hates it. But I’m sure he knows the effect it has on the crowd, too.
So Klopp will do his part. By setting the example with his own love for the players, and getting them doing lots of things we love to see on the pitch.
But it is on us, too. To not spend 90 minutes worrying about how much a lad on the pitch is earning, and focusing on certain things he can’t do. To not worry about how a certain player might leave if he gets a better offer, because one of his mates did. To just love them when they are in a red shirt.
Luckily, for us, loads of them are very lovable. Let’s start with Lucas Leiva. He’s been here forever, his lad is in the academy, he tackles more than anyone else in the world and he does this on the pitch all the time.
That first pump. Aside from that you’ve got two other Brazilians who look like they’re going to cut through everyone. Then you’ve got Mamadou Sakho, who within a week last season tried to tackle someone with his head and then turned up to paint someone’s house.
Mamadou Sakho of @LFC gets involved with our Kev's @anhourforothers & helps to restore a house. @mamadousakho3 pic.twitter.com/BdrYP5pakf #ace
— Chris Morland (@iChrisMorland) February 12, 2015
You’ve got Daniel Sturridge who scored twice against Everton and then spent the next day driving round Liverpool in a Ferrari. Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana just being lovely, lovely fellas. You’ve got Alberto Moreno bouncing round Sefton Park like this.
Alberto Moreno is WAY cooler at walking his dog than you http://t.co/x28hFsudC4 pic.twitter.com/qZXCt1zE20
— Trending UK News (@UKolizer) September 29, 2015
There’s plenty to love. We’ve just got to follow Jürgen’s lead and get stuck in. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Pack in the negativity. Stop calling goalkeepers knobheads on podcasts…(ahem). Get stuck into the Tricky Reds. Get more out of each other.
We might even end up all staying until the final whistle, stranger things have happened.
[rpfc_recent_posts_from_category meta=”true”]
Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda-Photo
On the basis what we’ve seen so far, Klopp is a class act with players. He’s on the pitch during the warm ups, albeit taking a back seat to his coaches, and seems to spend as much time looking at the opposition as he does with his own players.
He’s straight onto the pitch at the final whistle, too, and his interractions with players are fabulous, especially with those he seems to have taken under his wing, such as Lucas and Ibe.
What struck me on Saturday at the Etihad was that he went around shaking the hands of the City players before he celebrated with the likes of Toure and Lovren.
You can see why his players will run through a brick wall for him – he seems more pleased than they are when players – especially those who were not performing for Rodgers – put in good performances. His reputation is going to attract players who would not otherwise look our way.
Spot on, John. All they need is love!
How about that for a Kop song? Something like
“All we need is Klopp, la, la, lala, la
All we need is Klopp, Klopp
Klopp is all we need”
Acting like his dad? Did he give him a mouthful of abuse and clip him round the ear! No.
Good for you, John. Well said. I’ve been saying a lot lately that the best manager is the one who believes in his players and who is able to help them believe in themselves.
The best manager is also the one who is willing to throw it right back in the fans’ faces and come out publicly in support of a player like Dejan Lovren, who’s been viciously savaged and had his confidence completely destroyed by the fans of his own club for making a few nervous mistakes. But not in Jürgen’s eyes — “There’s nothing wrong with Dejan Lovren” he says defiantly.
Or like Simon Mignolet who despite many fantastic shop-stopping saves is still, according to his own club’s fans, the worst kind of keeper as soon as he isn’t 100% perfect every minute of every game. Not in Jürgen’s eyes, which look lovingly across at Simon during a press briefing.
Oh, and let’s even go beyond that to Jürgen telling the British media “Brendan Rodgers is a great manager!” — the man who our own fans turned into the anti-Christ, despite the fact that he took us within a hair’s breadth of a league title and contributed to giving us memories for a lifetime only 2 seasons ago, until Stevie made the fatal mistake of his career and slipped.
Love wins; hate loses. Always. Thanks, John.
Ellie you have more more faces than Big Ben. You rubbished Klopps achievements in Germany. You said Liverpool did not need him, that his methods would not translate well to the PL amnd we should just get behind Rodgers
Drake, you don’t know me or anything about me or how I form my opinions. I had justifiable reasons for thinking what I did earlier. I’m just as entitled as you are to re-evaluate my opinions as I become aware of new information. I’m honest about adapting my opinion to changing conditions when circumstances warrant it. I have a discerning brain and I use it freely. What I don’t do is rain hatred and vicious criticism down on players or managers who wear the shirt / crest that represents my own club. I think it’s a detestable practice that exists within our fan base and it undermines our chances of success.
You have me confused with someone else. I never said anything about Jürgen Klopp’s methods not translating well to Liverpool. The thing that worried me was that he had chosen to quit his 2 previous clubs. I’m not fond of quitters. But I’ve since said openly in TAW comment threads that I was wrong about Jürgen’s motives, and he quickly won me over during his early press briefings. Keep up mate, and if you want to criticise me at least get it right.
That first paragraph was the biggest load of shite I’ve read on here, Ellie.
Then, Pierre, in that case I consider myself extremely fortunate not to know you or to care in the least what you think. Carry on hating.
Ellie, you said exactly the same to Michael Pearson & I. Everyone cant be wrong.
You say dont hate but all you do is denigrate our fans, give us a break you’ve made your point.
You have totally destroyed John’s call to alms ‘Love like you’ve never been hurt. Pack in the negativity. Stop calling goalkeepers knobheads on podcasts…(ahem). Get stuck into the Tricky Reds. Get more out of each other.’ as now 3 of us have been reeled in to object to your inflamatory comments.
PS. Brendan has become very wealthy for being very average at his job while Simon is paid very well for being average. You have indicated a good knowledge of football but you definitely have a blind spot here.
JK, quitter?… After 7 years at each of those 2 clubs, and after achieving maximum possible he could have achieved, he is definitely entitled to make a cordial decision to leave. He gave enough time for the club to search for his replacement and prepare..
Speaking of Liverpool fans how would you feel if Katie Hopkins in the Daily Mail insinuated that they were machete wielding rapists? I kid you not.
just wasted 46 seconds of my life watching Lallana and Klopp hug still picture with a cheesy background music…:)…
I laughed so hard for 46 seconds at still picture love-in with cheesy music, I started blowing snot bubbles.
To be fair, this got me going:
“Famously, Shinji Kagawa and Klopp cried in each others arms for 20 minutes on the day Kagawa left Borussia Dortmund. And only 15 minutes of that was because he had to go and live in Manchester.”
Great article, John.
PS- And I always look out for your old man’s comment, too.