BUS ROW SHOWS KLOPP’S QUALITY

IT IS often said that Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager for Liverpool. He certainly was in the aftermath of the attack on the Manchester City team bus last week. Liverpool, the club, moved very swiftly in an attempt to limit the damage of that event, an apology was issued even before the full extent of the violence was known. As subsequent footage from inside the bus confirmed, it was far from a handful of assailants who behaved disgracefully. Yet Klopp went further. We frequently hear he understands the emotional heart of Liverpool, the passion at its core. Sometimes that can blind a manager to reality. Kenny Dalglish, for instance, horribly misjudged the Luis SuarezPatrice evra racism controversy, casting his player as the victim. Klopp, by contrast, made no excuses. He said he felt embarrassed and ashamed, that he would apologise — again — to Pep Guardiola when they met this week. He also said he would no longer allow team coaches to be welcomed, or otherwise, in the streets around Anfield before big games — not even the positive reception afforded the Liverpool bus. ‘You had the chance, didn’t use it, sorry,’ he said. ‘I am really angry about it.’ Klopp did not have to return to the incident. The club had made an official statement and had also been charged over various offences by UeFA. One could say Klopp invited more trouble, yet there was nothing crafted in his words. He was sincere and sincerely upset. In that moment he stood for the best of his club against the worst. AS Mohamed Salah’s numbers increase, the likelier it becomes that Liverpool will be fighting off a bid from Barcelona or Real Madrid this summer. The club are insistent there will be no sale and, this time, must mean it. The loss of Philippe Coutinho has not harmed them as much as expected, if at all, but Liverpool cannot afford to become Barcelona’s feeder, having previously done deals for Javier Mascherano and Luis Suarez. Southampton have sold Liverpool key players since 2014 and now look where they are. Liverpool cannot be relegated from the Premier League, but they can fall from the Champions League elite through steady selling. Coutinho has to be the last departure for La Liga — for a while at least.