There is to be no fairytale ending, however the sequel is already shaping up.
Liverpool’s thrashing of Spurs ought to have restored calm – and a little bit perspective – to Jurgen Klopp’s lengthy goodbye.
It was a much-needed reminder that there’s an excellent, if unfinished, squad for his successor to work with.
And the extra we see and listen to of Arne Slot, the Chosen One, the extra containers he ticks.
Like Klopp, he’s a fascinating persona, likes to assault, believes in youth and has a formidable file of feat.
He’s additionally getting rave critiques from nearly everybody in Dutch soccer.
The course of has accomplished its job – proof of the sound construction in place behind the scenes at Anfield.
Why, even the legendary recruitment czar, Michael Edwards, has returned.
Structure and course of don’t get followers off their seats, however when you doubt their significance, simply go searching.
At Manchester United and take a look at to not chuckle. At Chelsea – ditto. Bayern Munich even. Barcelona is one other basket case off the sphere. PSG? Well…
All, besides maybe a lastly reawakened Chelsea, will probably be in search of a brand new supervisor in the summertime and a few haven’t even began the search.
At Manchester United, there’s neither a construction nor a course of – gadgets the Glazers missed however which Jim Ratcliffe is desperately making an attempt to place in place.
Liverpool seem to have a head begin on their rivals who will quickly be chasing the identical two or three names.
The season will not be ending as Reds followers had hoped a number of weeks in the past, however this is only one silver lining within the current darkish clouds.
Looking again, a Quadruple as a farewell to a beloved supervisor was a pleasant thought – however wildly fanciful.
It wanted gamers to remain match for a begin, however regardless that the youngsters did effectively once they stepped in for the seniors, a problem for 4 trophies was unsustainable.
Klopp, himself, was already burned out and so have been a number of the gamers.
But there was comfort even right here: Liverpool unearthed some real skills throughout that spell with one or two gems amongst them.
Conor Bradley was in all probability the standout, deputising for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, whereas Jayden Danns has a little bit of Robbie Fowler about him and appears an actual discover at simply 18.
Then there’s the forgotten younger star of the earlier season, Stefan Bajcetic, a Spanish defensive midfielder who’s now match once more and nonetheless solely 19.
They will convey a welcome decreasing of the squad age to offset a number of untouchables who’re over 30.
Downbeat although Klopp’s exit will probably be, these are a number of of the explanations to consider the German when he says he’s forsaking “one of the best job on this planet.”
Neutrals might scoff however any supervisor who will get it proper has a fanatical following, an impressive stadium, a world well-known identify and a beautiful historical past behind him.
Klopp had all that however within the weeks after his January announcement, the speak was all about how powerful it could be to succeed him.
Comparisons have been made with Alex Ferguson at Manchester United who appear even additional away from their former dominance than ever.
Now it seems that Erik ten Hag is a lifeless man strolling and even an unlikely FA Cup last win over City wouldn’t be sufficient to avoid wasting him.
It didn’t save his compatriot Louis van Gaal and United have been higher then as they have been underneath his successor Jose Mourinho who gained two trophies.
There have been some Liverpool followers who feared {that a} comparable stoop would possibly comply with Klopp if he went out in a blaze of glory.
The dire type of final month, that included dropping to United and being thrashed 3-0 at dwelling by Atalanta, put paid to that.
As a consequence, the stress on Slot can have eased a notch or two on the expectation see-saw.
The higher a supervisor’s legacy, the tougher it’s for his successor – wherever, not simply Liverpool or Manchester.
TV documentary makers rushed in after Klopp stated he was leaving, hoping to seize the last word emotional farewell with gamers dubbing it ‘The Last Dance’.
Instead, they witnessed some embarrassing stumbles together with one of many excruciating lows of his nine-year reign – a depressing defeat to neighbours, Everton.
Klopp may have accomplished with out that, however even this terrible evening threw up some positives for the handover.
As effectively as one other dose of actuality, it confirmed Slot the place the weaknesses are in a facet nonetheless in transition.
Fans are slowly starting to understand that Liverpool over-achieved this yr.
Most Kopites would have taken a trophy and Champions League qualification when the marketing campaign started.
Purple patches after which the resignation raised expectations to unattainable ranges so third place now appears about proper.
It’s additionally a great platform from which to launch an assault on the title subsequent season.
And the month of April certainly satisfied the hierarchy – and presumably the watching Slot – {that a} dependable goalscorer is an absolute should.
The phantasm that Darwin Nunez would possibly ultimately morph into the £64m striker they thought they have been getting was uncovered by miss after embarrassing miss.
There will even should be an enormous resolution about Mo Salah which can rely as a lot on whether or not Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad are ready to supply £100m – as they did final yr – for a participant who turns 32 subsequent month.
Even the in any other case wonderful Luis Diaz doesn’t rating usually sufficient whereas a younger partner-cum-successor for Virgil van Dijk must be within the pondering.
There’s lots in Slot’s in-tray then however his process is now not insurmountable.
However unintentional, Klopp’s underwhelming finale could also be seen as one in every of his greatest contributions.
The views expressed are these of the author and don’t essentially mirror these of eNM.
