Liverpool fans get all sweary at lack of respect for Jurgen Klopp (or Clop)

How dare anybody not be falling prone at the feet or Jurgen Klopp? Liverpool fans say that this means more.

Send your views on any subject – not just Jurgen Klopp – to theeditor@football365.com

Disappointed by Johnny on Jurgen
Surprised by Johnny Nic’s article on the Klopp hysteria – I always thought Johnny “got it” about football. But feeling the need to denigrate Klopp’s (over)achievements at Liverpool in an era of financial doping as his competition doesn’t seem even remotely fair, let alone completely misreading the level of love and passion he brought to a club that is based on it. I guess Johnny is as subject to the modern attachment to success-at-any-price as almost everybody else, then. Or maybe his lads Boro are just another dead-ass club, too?

Heard he was sick – hope he’s ok.
Scott, LFC, Toronto

…I understand John Nicholson has had some health troubles lately, so I want to start by wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

However.

I have to share my issues with his latest high-horse hit piece on the Jurgen Klopp love in.

I’m not even a Liverpool fan, but it boiled my blood to read JN’s disingenuous ridiculing of fans and fellow journos for pouring out their love for Klopp.

“Why do you care? Get over it! He just picks players to kick a bag of air around a field! Stop being a sap!” JN comes across like a bully in a children’s school, ridiculing other classmates for having frivolous things like ‘feelings’.

The sad thing is, I know I’ve been caught by a well placed JN trap here – outrage bait. “Why do people care so much? Why do we talk so much about football people?” He says, with a grin, as a person who is literally paid to talk about football people.

Where was this “He’s only a football person” logic when JN was writing flaming hit pieces on Jordan Henderson being a horrible human being in the summer? I’m no fan of Henderson’s Saudi move (or anyone’s) but if that negative went beyond football, can Klopp’s positive influence not be treated the same?

The argument of how little Klopp *actually* matters is nonsense, and it’s disingenuous because JN knows it. A Liverpool legend (Shankly maybe?) once said “Football’s not a game of life and death… it’s much more than that”. I’m well aware that’s said tongue-in-cheek, but it speaks to the reality that football means so much to so many. How many Liverpool fans, going through the highs and lows of life have had their week made just a tiny, crucial bit better, seeing Klopp lead them to win on a Saturday? What’s that burst of happiness worth? Around a city? Across the world.

Whether JN likes it or note, many people gravitate their whole lives around football or their club. It’s the centre of their week, and if it makes them happy – power to them. For those people, they’re very well entitled to be sad to see Klopp say farewell.

Even as a Spurs fan, I look forward to Klopp’s long and illustrious farewell. He deserves it. And the fans do too.
Andy, THFC, Eire

…Oh please, does everything nice have to evoke a backlash these days. Jon Nicholson’s article makes many good points about unhelpful hysteria but to decide that Clop was not great but merely good is just wrong- its just bloody cheeky actually. Does he think that Leicester’s league win wasn’t great? And yes… I am comparing Liverpool to Leicester- I bloody well am equating their solitary magnificent league win with a champions league win, league title, two other European Cup finals, the domestic cups, and fighting against nation state owned teams on both fronts at a team who had up to his arrival won very little over a much longer period of time. So sorry if we seemed a bit sentimental but as for Clop not being great… F**K OFF!
Michael, Ireland

(Usually we would correct obvious spelling errors but this amused us rather too much – Ed)

…Dear Mr Johnny Nic,

P*** off.

We are Liverpool, this means More.
Bill (I’m in love with him and I feel fine… for now) LFC, Nairobi

It took us a while to spot the sarcasm…
I am loathe to do this, but I need to lodge a formal complaint with you regarding the fitness of John Nicholson to continue as a contributor to your great site.

I appreciate he plays the role of provocateur, the voice of the fan, the everyman, the common sense and conventional wisdom but his last piece… unredeemable rubbish. To have so little knowledge of football should mean he is instantly dismissed from his duties.

He starts with an insane line claiming the deification of Klopp makes no sense and goes on to explain he holds his position because it’s too much. Is John mad? Doesn’t he know who he is writing about? This is Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager. Liverpool. If he had said it was insane because Klopp actually eclipses all Gods in human history, then I might have agreed.

Klopp doesn’t just walk on water he turns it into wine before hovering benignly over it. As he floats above his red wine pond, he spreads ripples of joy with his arms spread wide, embracing everyone in the glow of his teeth that glimmer with other-worldly whiteness.

But John as always saves his worst for last. He says the ‘man’ himself wouldn’t want to be treated so ‘hysterically’. What. An. Idiot. How can he suggest that Klopp is just a man? And how can he say that this Klopp-man who lives only in his imagination wouldn’t crave adoration as he lives every second of his life through the eye of a liver bird?

It’s almost like John doesn’t realise that when it comes to Liverpool, it means more. Probably it even means the most, there certainly isn’t any compelling evidence to the contrary. Whether he likes it or not the entire football universe was born from the Liverpool big bang and to this day gravitates and bends around the views and whims of the Reds.

John out.
Dr Oyvind, Earth

Klopp rescued basket case Liverpool
In the interest of the Klopp debate, as to whether or not he has been a success at Liverpool, there is only one measure you need to take at this point; will he leave the club in a better position than it was when he joined? The answer is unequivocally, yes.

Liverpool were a basket case in terms of the giant clubs of the world without major success in recent decades, unable to attract the Premier League’s best players never mind the world’s best players. He is leaving them in a position where they are in the conversation which to me is a success. Not to mention the redevelopment of Anfield. I know this last point is down to investment from the owners, however without Klopp and the success he has achieved this investment in the stadium would not happen.

I only hope that Ten Hag will leave my basket case of a club in a better position, but let’s face it, even if he left today he will have achieved just that given the wreck that it has become.
Andrew (MUFC, Belfast)

Liverpool net spend obsession is…
Why are fans, specifically Liverpool ones, so intent on dredging up net spend?

A basket case of a club bought Coutinho for £142m which is great bunce if you can get it…and it facilitated the club breaking the transfer record for a goalkeeper and defender.

But that isn’t really the important part. Klopp bought well. That is the important part, and that is where he exceeds. Aside from Robertson though, all his signings cost a pretty penny, and the records of Spurs, United, Chelsea (to an extent) and Arsenal despite spending so much more, is instructive only in explaining that ‘value’ no longer, if ever, exists. Off the top of my head Ndombele, Pepe, Antony and take your pick of expensive Chelsea flops, show that spending lots doesn’t ensure anything, spending wisely does.

FSG deserve a ton of credit for putting in place a crack team behind Klopp, too.

But it’s already boring and we have to endure months more of this crap.
Dan Mallerman

P.S Liverpool still spend £135m a year on wages – easily dwarfing Spurs wages….quite important to factor in.

The Resignation Narrative
Firstly, when looking for true reasons for Klopp’s departure (I mean why on earth wouldn’t we just believe the actual words he says?!) I think everyone is overlooking the real catalyst. It happened just a couple of weeks ago and many saw the fear clearly in his eyes when it happened. Dropping that wedding ring on the Anfield turf put the fear of God into him and he’s simply decided he can’t take a risk on that happening again. I mean, what if there is no camera man nearby next time to show him where it is?!

Anyway, the more sensible point I wanted to make is that I face this week’s Liverpool fixture with a sense of dread and trepidation. More so than usual with the juggernaut that is Manchester City’s run-in form just kicking into life to spoil every Liverpool fan’s fun. I realised this morning that every single result from now until the end of the season will be seen through the “Is Klopp’s resignation having an impact?” prism.

If we win against Chelsea, the headlines will be full of journalists waxing lyrical about the masterstroke of Klopp resigning at exactly the right time to galvanise the team for an intense run in. If we lose or draw it will of course all be the fault of Klopp resigning and if he’d only kept his stupid mouth shut for a few more months, maybe he’d have won some more silverware. Knee Jerkery will abound and pundits from Sky to Talk Sports will endlessly debate it.

Worse than this, we will flip flop between those two states with every win, lose or draw that we see from now until May. Every. Single. Game. It’s going to be draining.
Adam (just made up the word “Jerkery” up, copyrighting it here) LFC

Japan mourns
Don’t know if the mailbox ever posts photos but I haven’t been able to properly write about my whirlwind of thoughts on Jurgen Klopp (never mind collect thoughts for myself even) while trekking thru Japan battling quite bitter elements and quite dodgy wifi hotspotting. Finally we’ve come across a clearing and a small shrine today; this was what I could think to hastily scribble in transit, document then post from a cafe. So thankful to the gaffer.

Momentously sad of course, yet I accept it and remain ever grateful for ~8.5 incredible yrs with this man at the controls. A statue of him built in our hearts no doubt.
Eric, Los Angeles CA (via Japan, ynwa)