Klopp needs to produce the goods
MANY fans across the world, like myself, are frustrated by the enervating, erratic and utterly inconsistent form of our beloved Liverpool FC.
The dip in form is inexplicable. We are lost for words, have eaten our words and are now choking at the expense of Manchester United fans as we suffer an intolerable heartburn.
We had much faith in the German, Jurgen Klopp, after his legerdemain stint at Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp is fast running out of arrows in his quiver as he fortifies the media with snatches of annoyance and blame.
His persiflage is often wet and perhaps galvanised by a sense of narcissism, constricted and drowning in his own wit.
Now he laments that he will be happy with a Champions League berth, but that was not the initial goal!
There is a whiff of expectancy, revanchism and performance demands from Liverpool, whose tradecraft in the gruelling English Premier League has come under intense scrutiny.
Is there a price to pay for over-confidence? Are the players over-rated? Is the coach over-rated? Are the players suffering from burnout because of a clogged programme? These are some of the questions being bandied around as we try to assess the situation at hand, which certainly opens a new window on the psychology of football.
Once hailed as a fixer and a smoother of paths, Klopp now faces a trajectory of uncertainty.
He needs to be reminded that Liverpool is a big club and he is not immune to being given the marching orders when the fans reach their tether. Liverpool have crossed a line, undefined but real, introducing an element of unpredictability in an already combustible environ- ment and someone is going to get burnt.
We have so quickly lost our former intensity, a painful erosion for all to see. Our dreams are on life-support and we are flat-lining, the football machine is beeping all kinds of signals and we are in desperate need of a divine resuscitation. Proselytising directors and management have a limited level of tolerance and will soon call for his head.
The poisoned feast is laid out on the table and if Klopp does not come up with a palatable success, this could be his last supper. Further defeats can only cement his ruin. KEVIN GOVENDER
Shallcross