Jurgen Klopp admits fan walkout was a 'sign' as Liverpool must find ticket-price solution
JURGEN KLOPP has admitted the mass exodus of supporters from Anfield was a "sign" Liverpool must heed as he called for the club to find a solution to the unrest prompted by their controversial hike in ticket prices.
Posted Tuesday, February 09, 2016 by Dailystar.co.uk
The Liverpool manager displayed a sense of empathy as he said the protests were "easy to understand" and added the fall-out was now "my problem too".
Klopp was back at the helm yesterday having had surgery to remove his appendix on Saturday when about 10,000 supporters walked out in the 77th minute of the game with Sunderland to denounce a new range of tariffs which will see the dearest ticket cost £77 next season.
Liverpool's senior management and owners Fenway Sports Group spent the day holed up in urgent talks after confirming they were reviewing the pricing structure having totally misjudged the mood among their fan-base.
The sight of Anfield divided is as far removed from Klopp's vision for the club as could be imagined, his first months on Merseyside have been about building a bond with supporters, and he called for "compromise" in moving forward.
"There is always a reason for a situation like there was on Saturday," said Klopp. "It was not a situation where one game you have 40,000, the next 39,000, the next 38,000, 37, 36 and so on.
"But it was a sign on Saturday and I think it was easy to understand. That is the good thing with signs. Now we have to talk about it.
"This club is a really big club that has faced a few difficult situations in the history of Liverpool FC. These other problems were bigger than the problem we have in this moment but supporters never, ever lost their love of the club and that will not happen now.
"I am not worried. We have our job to do on the pitch which is to help people enjoy the game, we will try and I know the owners are really interested in having a good relationship with our supporters.
"We understood the sign - I think - and now we look for a solution. We should talk about this, with as much people as possible and hopefully in the end find a solution that everyone can be satisfied with.
"It is really rare that you find a solution where everybody says, 'Yes!' You have to make compromises. That's how it is."
For the time being Liverpool remain a club under siege with further protests being planned by supporters' groups. A planned question and answer session with chief executive Ian Ayre was postponed, while an Early Day Motion was presented in Parliament by Southport MP John Pugh, a Liverpool supporter, which said the ticketing policy showed "little regard" for the club's supporters.
In addition, Liverpool and Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who walked out of Anfield in solidarity with supporters, plans to write to FSG about the fiasco.
"I am now duty-bound to contact the club on behalf of those constituents, many of whom attend matches at either Liverpool or Everton, who have contacted me to express their concern at the increase in ticket prices," he said.
"It's not just about the £77 tickets, that is just one element of this. The overriding issue is the need for the club to realign its relationship with supporters so that it becomes more equitable and I hope that they enter into meaningful dialogue with them at the earliest possible opportunity."
It is against this backdrop that Klopp's side travel to face West Ham in their FA Cup fourth-round replay tonight aware that a victory is needed to pep morale.
He dismissed that the walkout contributed to Sunderland overturning a two-goal deficit in the closing stages and said: "No. That is absolutely not allowed. I saw the reasons on the pitch and they had nothing to do with it.
"The situation for the fans at this moment is not too easy. The situation in the table is not too easy and you have to think about other things that are not only about football.
"Our job is to make it easier for them to think about the positive side of football. We all love this game for different reasons.
"It is a great game to watch, a great game to play, all these things but I don't think it is a strange time - I think this is the situation throughout the whole world."
Liverpool must decide whether to start Daniel Sturridge, who was an unused substitute at the weekend, for the first time since December 2 and have seen Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi also return to training after injury.
Yet the events off the pitch mean Klopp's to-do list has suddenly become a little longer. "Now I know it's my problem too," he added.
"We don't want people to leave the stadium until the game finishes. That is all I can say. When I heard about it I was disappointed."
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