Terrace Talk: Liverpool: That’s one small step; the giant leaps can wait

Well, that was most pleasant. I’m not sure outsiders understand our reaction to Klopp, or else wilfully misunderstand it.

This isn’t worship; it’s the cooing reaction to a baby taking its first step or gurgling something that sounds like a word: “oooo, izzen ooo clever? Es oo iz” etc.

Idiots can predict glory if they like or fire up the Heavenly Shankly Photoshop Machine but those who know, know. The win against Bournemouth was that first step, a brittle team with as many sicknotes as us yet still coming to Anfield and giving our keeper too much to do.

I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Bogdan but admittedly I’ve a blind spot developing for Mignolet.

Apparently I’m the only one who thought he could’ve done better for Chelsea’s goal, but we learn to live with our own prejudices in time.

Liverpool were okay but a little toothless before Coutinho suddenly remembered who he was after weeks of playing like Eden Hazard.

The goal displayed everything you already knew about Mourinho’s Chelsea. Happy to waste 30 seconds of injury time taking a free kick, but when the referee adds it on?

Conspiracy!

Ten more years of crying about ghost injury time. Happy to watch Costa chop Skrtel to the ground and kick him in the chest for good measure, yet when Lucas commits a much lesser offence who’s leading the orchestrated blue mob baying for his blood? Yep, Costa.

Conspiracy!

Let’s all laugh loudas ‘Dirty Diego’ does his dastardly deeds, but when there’s subsequent punishment?

Conspiracy!

Skrtel’s withering “what are you doing, soft lad?” look after the kick in the ribs is how the game ought to be played but Chelsea are a club apart under Mourinho.

Costa is his pitch manifestation: brilliant, petulant, snide and two-faced. The perpetual bully who constantly whines about being picked on. Staggering in its deceit, an almost-admirable chutzpah, irritating when it comes off and hilarious when it fails, all backed up by fans who sing “it’s never your fault” at us without a shred of self-awareness.

What of Liverpool? There’s a lot still to do but we’ve seen the first proper step. Yes, everybody’s beating Chelsea now, don’t get carried away. We get that, honestly we do.

Yet it’s remarkable how a team’s fortunes change if just a few players reach their potential. Coutinho turned that game. Does he do it enough to be linked to Barcelona? Probably not but then I didn’t think Sterling would move to City for as much as he did, so nowadays who knows? What’s important is that we get as much out of him as possible before he abandons ship.

There were some grumbles. Klopp’s got a job on to get some of these players to even think. The likes of Can and Moreno play like they’ve got candy floss between their ears but they’ve got good engines and seem too dumb to be discouraged. For the places Liverpool want to reach in the short-term, that may be enough.

Milner’s just a drag on everything at the moment. He seemed to spend the first-half getting in the excellent Clyne’s way, but at least Klopp saw it too. Firmino’s raw but there’s something there. Lucas is fast becoming the red-card Houdini (remember Everton?) and that can’t last forever.

Up front, it’d be good to have one player who could last 90 minutes. Yes, yes, Origi. He doesn’t count.

As for Klopp, he’s striking the right balance of positivity and realism, cutting one journalist dead after preposterous talk of title races. On the touchline there’s a maniacal desire, a refreshing change from the arms-folded “I’m in command” coaching-manual posture of his predecessor.

Liverpool fans want to get crazy again. The noise levels at Anfield are still woeful but they can fix that. Klopp will soon insist upon it. That first big step on Saturday was pretty damn good. More, please.