Klopp taking the players in front of the Kop at the final whistle, and the reaction since, tells you a lot about Klopp and modern football. Klopp is taking the players to thank the supporters for their support. It’s easy to see from Klopp’s comments over the last few months, that he wants to involve the crowd more. He understands how much the fans can help the team and influence the team. He’s used the ‘stick’ approach with his previous comments about ‘feeling alone’, maybe yesterday was the ‘carrot’ approach. I also think Klopp realises there’s a disconnect between the players and the fans. This isn’t something exclusive to Liverpool, but is something that every Premier League supporter must feel. I’m not sure what things are like in Serie A or La Liga, but in the Budesliga there seems to be a stronger bond between the players and the fans. Maybe Klopp wants to recreate that bond because it’ll help the team in the long run. Maybe he’s just a genuinely nice fella and he feels like it’s the right thing to do to get footballers who are being paid millions per year to thank the fans for their support. Maybe it’s a bit of both. Whatever the long term aim was, no one should be questioning the sentiment of the gesture.
Any Liverpool supporter who is construing the players going in front of the crowd at the end of the game as ‘celebrating a draw’ is a fucking idiot. Now I’d have liked to have come up with something more witty but ‘fucking idiot’ seemed the most appropriate phrase. Anyone who is using this as a stick to beat the manager with can do one. The reaction of rival supporters has been predictable if nothing else. It’s also highlights one of my bugbears of modern football - one up manship. Rivalry, taking the piss and laughing at other fans has always been part of football and something we’ve all probably done. In the past that’s mostly with just local fans (i.e. Everton supporters) or through chants at the game when you actually played that rival team. Maybe it shows my age but beyond Everton fans I didn’t speak to a fan from another club (either in real life or online) till about 2000. Before that point I wouldn’t of had a clue what United, Spurs, Chelsea fans thought of the end of the game yesterday. Nowadays, I get the impression that for some football fans, ours included, football isn’t really about having fun and supporting your own team. It’s more about how can make the wittiest tweet or the best vine to take the piss out of your rivals - all in the name of BANTZ. You only need to look at the reaction to yesterday. A manager taking his players to thank the supporters is being mocked. A manager who is trying to establish a link between fans and players that has been eroded over the last 10-15 years has some of his own supporters questioning why.
I just hope Klopp doesn’t get worn down by all the bullshit that surrounds English football. You can bet your bottom dollar that his next press conference will contain questions about the end of yesterday’s game. I hope he uses all of this in a positive manner. I hope our fans do too. Don’t buy into the bullshit that yesterday was anything but a good thing. We need to get back to the situation where you are either with us or against us. Us versus the rest of the World and fuck anyone who gets in our way. We are at our best as a club when it’s that way.
