Yer 'aving Me On Aren't Yer? - Scouser Tommies

Reaction to the news that Jurgen Klopp is leaving. On the momentous day that Jurgen Klopp announced this would be his last season as Liverpool boss, a stunned Jim Boardman and Jay Reid tried to make sense of it all while it was all still a bit raw. It’ll probably feel raw for a while yet. The news came out of nowhere, Liverpool fans were now counting the days until the departure of a man who had brought so much happiness and pride back to the club. The news drew parallels with the day Bill Shankly’s retirement was announced in 1974, and that famous piece from Granada Reports with Tony Wilson getting instant reaction from Reds around town, one lad thinking it was all a bluff: “Yer having me on aren’t yer?” Fast forward almost 50 years and those reactions are the same, for a different generation of Red. The last time we faced anything like this was when King Kenny called time on the job back in 1991, the strain of the aftermath of Hillsborough playing a part in the exhaustion that made him so desperate for a break from the game. In 1974 we got Bob Paisley in for Bill Shankly and the success continued and increased. When Kenny left, the years that followed were mostly miserable as far as success on the field was concerned, aside from brief moments of bliss, like in 2001 and 2005. Klopp’s announcement felt like a real body blow, like losing a much-loved family member, and now fans are left wondering what the future holds. As far as Klopp is concerned the focus has to switch back to the near future, the visit of Norwich in the cup before Chelsea in the league, and although that’s going to be easier said than done for the fans, we are Liverpool and we know how to give good people a good send off, so here’s to enjoying every last minute of the Jurgen Klopp era. Here's hoping it ends with him on an open-top bus parading four trophies around the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices