If Jurgen Klopp expected a ‘business as usual’ performance from his Liverpool side at Anfield on Sunday, that’s exactly what happened – even if the German manager surprised the fans he left behind. By announcing the earthquake that occurred on Friday. Fans were shocked and in disbelief at the news that klopp would be leaving the club at the end of the season, but luckily it didn’t affect the players.
I can’t help but wonder if the news surrounding Klopp’s transfer, which beat Norwich City 5-2, was all a nightmare. From my vantage point in the Main Stand, relatively close to Liverpool’s technical area, today’s game showed nothing but respect for the Kop man himself at times. Klopp’s cleverly reworked ode to the Beatles’ 1964 hit ‘I Feel Fine’ did well in the early stages of the game, but the overall focus was immediately on the players’ performances. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the performance of the two young players in Liverpool’s starting XI. The Liverpool manager was a great example of how he was able to continue to compete with Manchester City, but they had to do it without a big squad.
Fans will be used to and take for granted the sight of Klopp patrolling the technical area, but seeing him do so was both a relief and an annoyance. It was starting to become real that he wasn’t going to do this again. Klopp’s shock departure has been described as a death in the family. Such is the extent of his determination and how addicted Liverpool fans have become to his charismatic ways and footballing genius. You might think this is a bit of an exaggeration, but you can draw some parallels with the stages of grief.
The announcement left many supporters in disbelief in what could be seen as a period of denial. But I think I probably went into the rage phase. Klopp has assembled an incredible second team at Anfield and will be hugely successful if he can maintain that until the end of the season. But what happens next? The manager and his key staff will all leave and new people will have to come in with a new team that will not work remotely as in the current regime. The likes of Alexis McAllister, Dominik Soboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch arrived at Liverpool this summer to work under Klopp but will now spend another season with him and it is unreasonable for some of them to feel the same way. Excellent player. His decision changed slightly.
