So Far, Sehr Gut

We’re only six matches into Jurgen Klopp’s first full season in charge at Anfield and already there’s a buzz, a murmur, a fever, an expectation around the place.  We’ve been here before, of course.  For those of us who were there at start of Paisley’s reign it’s easy to forget there is a whole generation of Liverpool fans who have only known cup success, albeit as many trophies as Arsenal since 1990.

Klopp arrived at Liverpool on a metaphorical donkey with many keen to hand him their bread and fish in the hope he could work a miracle.  After the initial euphoria of wins at Chelsea and Man City came the pathetic Sunday lunchtime fare served up at Vicarage Road.  That game was a huge slap in the face of reality as we all struggled to resign ourselves to the fact this squad just wasn’t good enough.  We were in tenth place when he joined and only managed to move up two places by the end of the season.  There were two cup finals to look back on, but still no silverware.  After forty-five minutes in Basel, Liverpool were 1-0 up and well in control against Sevilla.  Twenty-five minutes later and the dream was over. 

At the end of the season there was great expectation the new campaign would bring more hope.  Personally I was a little disappointed with the transfer window.  I had doubts about Mane and Wijnaldum and wasn’t convinced we’d moved enough players on.  It has taken just a few games for those fears to be completely allayed.  .

The transformation has been huge.  Already we’re playing some of the most exciting football this side of Beardsley, Barnes and Aldridge. 

The mention of those three is what has prompted me to write this.  I have wonderful memories of the Dalglish’s 86-91 team with the years between 87-89 seeing us play some of the best football I’ve ever seen.  Paisley’s late 70’s side was the most efficient and fully deserved the title “the red machine”.  Effective, efficient and almost impossible to stop.  But that late 80’s side played the more exciting football, in my opinion.  Not better or worse, just different.

Watching some of those matches again you can be forgiven for forgetting what a complete force they were in attack.  Not a wave, more a tsunami.  There were players attacking from everywhere.  Because of the attacking instincts of the midfield Rush and Aldridge played a different role.  Unlike every other striker around then they would drop off and create space for Houghton, Whelan and McMahon to burst into.  Added to that there was Barnes and Beardsley who also attacked from deep.

Watching Liverpool so far this season reminds me of this team.  We attack from all areas.  Henderson, Wijnaldum and Coutinho along with Lallana, Firmino, Sturridge and Mane.  Add to that Clyne and Milner attacking down the flanks and you get the feeling opposition teams must struggle to work out where the next attack is coming from.  Joel Matip also appears to want to bomb forward in a way Alan Hansen used to.  Chelsea discovered how all-consuming this is and how difficult it is to repel. 

They hunt in packs, they press with ferocious authority and they pass the ball with an alacrity which makes you wish the ability to pause live football was not just for those watching tv. 

Henderson’s wonder strike at Stamford Bridge has also added a further facet.  If you defend deep in the hope of smothering the attacks then this will leave space for someone like Henderson or Coutinho to fire one from long range.

To make up for the lack of big signings Jurgen Klopp has improved a number of players to give us the effect of new introductions.  Milner has been moved to left-back to solve the problem of the madness that is Alberto Moreno.  He has been immense this season.  Always a hard worker, Milner can cross a ball as well as anyone and his ability to understand midfield play has enabled him to support that part of the play with more intelligence than most full-backs.  Clyne on the other flank also offers a great attacking threat which is currently more potent than any other full-back in the country.  The difference between him and Kyle Walker is his willingness to take players on.  This was fully evident to all except the England manager in the summer, it seems.  The current national boss would do well to consider both Liverpool full-backs for his qualification campaign too.

Time could well serve to consider Klopp’s conversion of Milner into a left-back as incisive and forward thinking as Paisley’s conversion of Ray Kennedy from attack to midfield.  Kennedy became one of the most revered players of his generation throughout Europe.  Whether Milner will reach those heights remains to be seen but his value to this team already this season is almost impossible to calculate.

Mane has really impressed me.  Always busy, quick feet and constantly scurrying in a manner Suarez used to.  He doesn’t have the skill and nous of the Uruguayan but this team seems more suited to his style than where he moved from.  The same can be said for Wijnaldum.  He seemed lost at Newcastle and lacking the stomach for the fight, but under Klopp he now has a purpose, a role and is flourishing under it.

Another improvement Klopp has brought is to bring competition for the goalkeeping position.  He bought Loris Karius from his old club, Mainz, but he unfortunately picked up an injury during pre-season.  We were then back to Mignolet for the start of the season.  He can be categorised as ‘decent’ rather than ‘outstanding’.  More a shot-stopper than a modern day keeper and although we’ve had shot stoppers before such as Clemence, Grobbelaar and Reina, Mignolet just doesn’t command his area in the way those three did.  We have also missed Reina’s ability to put us on the attack as soon as he picked up the ball.  But Mignolet now knows he has to fight for his place and that can only be healthy for the team.  The same for Emre Can who increasingly looks as if he could be as important to the team as a Gerrard, a Molby or a Souness.  But injury has seen him have to fight for his way back in and with standards already being set incoming players soon know what level of play is expected of them.

Jordan Henderson is another player who is really flourishing under Klopp.  Now club captain his role in the middle of the park seems to really suit him.  His passing is improving and he isn’t afraid to have a shot, as Chelsea found out, and he also seems to be benefiting from the players around him.  Watching him this season I can’t help but still feel a tinge of regret that Steven Gerrard wasn’t a few years younger.  He’d love playing in this team and he’d definitely love playing under this manager.  But there you are.

It is early days but the performance against Hull City this weekend certainly soothed some people’s fears we can often perform well against the big clubs but come unstuck against sides we really should be putting away with ease.  There’s an enjoyment in the football the players are exhibiting and they seem to have completely have bought into it, in a way mirrored at Man City.

I thought Klopp’s reaction to the Hull game was very poignant.  He could be seen on eighty minutes clearly reminding the players there were ten minutes still to go and he was visibly frustrated the performance had dropped.  He confirmed his frustration after the match and I was taken by the intensity and attention to detail from our boss.

If Man City continue in their current form, along with one or two other clubs, then goal difference could well be a factor come May.  Far better to go into the final game of the season knowing a win could secure the title rather than find three points is not enough as we’d need to win by seven or eight goals to stand a chance.

I realise Liverpool fans won’t want Ferguson’s name mentioned in an article such as this, but it was something he was intently aware of during United’s title years, as he would often lambast the players during the season to keep going and try and get that extra goal.  In 2012 they lost out on goal difference to City by eight goals.  Surely they could’ve found an extra eight goals from their thirty-eight matches?

You get the impression Klopp will never let his players rest on their laurels.  That is one of the major factors which makes him a perfect fit for this club.  It has all the hallmarks of the belief system so strongly instilled in the club by Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Moran, Evans and Dalglish.

For now, things feel good. In a way similar to the heady days of 2013-14 we now look forward to every match in the belief of being entertained in a way we all feel football should do.  Clearly nothing has been achieved yet and we are barely into the new season but what is sport if you cannot dream?

Is it Time?

Is there a time for keeping a distance
A time to turn your eyes away
Is there a time for keeping your head down
For getting on with your day

If you’ve read any of my material before hopefully you will know I’m not one for knee-jerking.  I despair at clubs/supporters who want a change of manager after just a few matches into a new season.  Owners and Chairman have tried to justify this treatment by arguing if they leave things as they are then the club could a long way from their target, whereas making a change early enough means they can still have a decent season.

Being more of your ‘old-school’ Liverpool fan I have always been proud of the patience the club generally has had with managers.  Roy Hodgson was the exception.  He shouldn’t have been chosen in the first place, he was a victim of a power struggle between two owners who were hanging onto something they’d lied through their teeth to gain.  It was clear from the style of play and the players he signed that it just wasn’t going to work and as soon as the two cowboys were sent packing by FSG, they wasted no time in bringing in a replacement.

The club had become a joke and was on the back pages for all the wrong reasons.  Kenny Dalglish was the perfect answer.  He brought the fans back onside and re-introduced a good feeling around the place.  Of course his presence presented many other problems as the club still wasn’t achieving in the League as we all wouldn’t wanted, but two cup finals softened the blow a tad.  But with fans so desperate for success playing at home became a hindrance rather than an advantage.  If the team didn’t score early enough the fans would get nervous and this would translate back to the players.  This lead to another problem when an icon is chosen to lead the club back to the promised land, in that it becomes almost sacrilege or blasphemy to criticise him.  Dalglish went for a short-cut in the transfer market with a policy of buying British in a belief it often takes a foreign player longer to settle in.  He made one big exception, Luis Suarez, who was an exceptional player.

FSG decided at the end of the first full season they wanted a change.  I didn’t personally like the way they went about it, but they were decisive and so they were at least worthy of being trusted in some way.  They were such a difference from the previous clowns that in some way you just ignore one or two things you don’t like in the hope the ‘greater good’ is, well, better.

Brendan Rodgers wouldn’t have been my choice to take over from Kenny Dalglish but he was a promising coach, young and British and in some way there was something about a coach like him getting a job at the top six club when the fashion was to look abroad.  He came in with a reputation for attractive passing football and it wasn’t that long before you could see the changes he was making on the training ground were having an effect on matchday.  Many of us were prepared to give him time, where others wanted him gone after an opening day defeat at West Brom.  Steven Gerrard’s assertion he was a good manager went much of the way towards the time he was given by the fans.

The second half of his first season was much better as things appeared to be falling into place.  Two 5-0 wins and two 4-0 wins contributed to a feel-good factor culminating in a 6-0 demolition at Newcastle.  This last match was significant as it was the first match without Suarez after his incident with Ivanovic.  The play that day was a pleasure to watch as Sturridge looked as if he relished his role and responsibility.

The second season is one which will live long in the memory as suddenly we were on the verge of a League title.  The team was playing some of the most exciting football seen here and people like me were having to think back to the magnificent teams of 1987-1989 or the 1978-1980 to remember whether we’d ever seen better.  The 5-1 destruction of Arsenal when we were 4-0 up in the opening twenty minutes, 4-0 wins over Everton and Tottenham and a 3-0 win at Old Trafford combined to the growing belief it was our time.  When we beat Manchester City 3-2 on the 25^th anniversary of Hillsborough it just seemed as if nothing could stop us.  In the end something did and we had to settle for second place.  But we believed we’d found a method, a way of playing and a manager who could take us places.

Then Suarez left.

I always hoped he would give us one year of Champions League football, but as it was he’d already promised Steven Gerrard that a year earlier, and so when Barcelona came in he just couldn’t resist.  Sturridge was injured too and so we were robbed of the opportunity of seeing that team, which had held so many people spellbound months earlier, perform on the European stage.

Two wins and three defeats from the first six League games produced an agitated feeling around the place.  Six defeats from the first twelve matches, along with the limp attempt at qualifying from a Champions League group it seemed impossible not to, just provided further ammunition for those who always doubted Rodgers.

The sixth defeat in the league provided a turning point as it demonstrated how far the team had gone from the free-flowing pacey attacking side we had witnessed six months before.  Against Crystal Palace our attacking build-up was so laborious Crystal Palace found it far too easy to sit back, soak up the pressure and then hit us on the break.  What followed was one defeat in the next seventeen League matches and a run of thirteen unbeaten.  This took us to within two points of Manchester United in fourth and things were looking much more promising.

The story is that Rodgers had spent a whole day and night in his office desperately trying to work out what had gone wrong and how he was going to turn it round.  This is where he hit upon the tactic of using wing-backs and playing three at the back.  It worked.  Teams couldn’t adjust to our style of play and gradually the confidence returned.  Until, that is, we met Manchester United. 

United weren’t playing with much confidence themselves but that day van Gaal had a tactic to combat ours and exposed our wing-backs.  In the end we might have scrambled a draw but it would’ve been more than we deserved.  We then got thumped at Arsenal and our confidence looked shot.  Personally, I could stomach those defeats as even United themselves have had seasons where they’ve finished in the top four with a poor record against other top four sides.  What I couldn’t accept was what followed.

A goalless draw at West Brom and the defeat at Hull City was unacceptable.  Six points from those games would have us two points behind United with four games to go and fourth place would still have been on the cards.  From there the season just fell away in such a pathetic way with us finishing sixth and suffering the most embarrassing League defeat since the days of Souness.

Saturday’s defeat to Manchester United means we have lost seven of our last fourteen matches.  So this is where I believe changing things now is not necessarily a result of the first five games of this season.  Changes were made over the summer but all they seem to have done is make it harder for Rodgers to be flexible.  Intent on a 4-3-3 system he has backed himself into a corner to have to play Milner in central midfield and use players like Firmino in a sort of wide position.  Rodgers has always failed to resist the idea of playing players in unfamiliar positions.  Even in his early days he was accused by loanee, Sahin, as using him in a different role to one he promised.  Johnson and Flanagan swapped flanks to differing levels of success and of course last season there were times when Sterling was utilised in a wing-back role.

There is little doubt we are missing Daniel Sturridge and the club’s insistence of not buying a decent striker last season has continued to plague us.  Christian Benteke looked a good signing but with a flaw Tim Sherwood identified at Villa.  Benteke had struggled to seem interested under Paul Lambert yet when Sherwood took over suddenly he was scoring goals.  The difference?  Sherwood identified Benteke needed support from the wings and now with Sterling disappearing to Manchester City we seem devoid of width.  So many Premier League sides play a compact system that any team with attacking wide players are bound to find some success.  Why Milner has not been used in this role is a mystery, but perhaps Jordan Henderson’s absence through injury has forced Rodgers to use Milner’s experience in the centre.

After a tentative start we were torn apart by West Ham at Anfield.  Fortunately the international break gave time to prepare for the trip to Old Trafford, which is why the manner of the performance is what is most galling.  There was no passion, no spirit and no obvious idea of what was expected from a team playing against the fiercest of rivals.  It was said long ago that buying in too many ‘foreign’ players would dilute the passion of a big clash as those players would little understand the history and rivalry as the fans do.  But many of these players have played for clubs who have ‘big clashes’ each year and must surely have realised, unless they’d been playing in the moon, that Liverpool v Manchester United is one of the biggest games in English football, no matter where the teams are in the table.  Watching the performance at Old Trafford you could be forgiven for thinking these players believed they were up against FC United of Manchester.

Rodgers has been methodical about dealing with past hurdles before and generally his instinct has worked but we’re back in a ‘rebuilding’ situation as we were a few months ago and how long must we put up with this?

It was barely seventeen months ago we were one of the most exciting teams around and even neutrals were saying to me how much they were enjoying our football.  Yet here we are now, almost dreading the next game, concentrating more on where we’re weak rather than where we can hurt the opposition.  Perhaps that’s because the performances this season give little evidence of where we can hurt anyone, Coutinho aside.  The return of Sturridge and Henderson to the side could well see a turn in fortunes and again it could be argued with so many teams beating each other this season, that a club can afford a few poor games yet still finish in a position to compete for a top four place.  Rodgers’ teams have generally performed better after Christmas than before and so another good run in the New Year could wipe out these current emotions, but, and it is a big but, what if he cannot reproduce that?

Of course another of my criticisms of supporters calling for a change of manager is their lack of the ability to suggest a suitable replacement.  You could argue I’m in the same position as it would appear the only credible alternative is Jurgen Klopp.  It has recently been rumoured he is holding out to replace Guardiola at Bayern and so Liverpool’s search may continue.

Any replacement will have to deal with the same group of players but at least they won’t feel they need to be loyal to some they’ve purchased, or determined to prove another player can make it.  Where a replacement could make a difference is in defence.  Lovren and Skrtel seem to be given more leeway than previous players who transgressed, so much so one begins to believe they are immovable.

One aspect which seems to have emerged this season is teams’ desire and ability to play a counter-attacking game.  Evidence of this can be seen in how many away wins there have been so far.  The irony is we used to be one of the most exciting, fastest attacking sides around and yet we’re back to a ponderous build up with only Gomez and Clyne keen to push on.

There is a school of thought that maintains FSG will manage Liverpool in a similar way they have with Boston Red Socks and so Rodgers may well be comfortable in his job for a while yet.  But we simply cannot afford to sit out another Champions League season and fall further and further behind our rivals on a financial footing.

It gives me no pleasure to say this but I think it is now time for a change at Anfield.

Go Now

It fuels the fire of every football supporter who believes players have lost touch with the modern day fan.  There have been plenty of “I want to leave” cries by footballers before and few, if any, ever end with the hosting club’s supporters understanding the player’s point of view.

The transfer system in football is a complex and unique one, and for us fans there are unwritten rules which can dictate whether we agree with a player leaving or not.  If your club is doing well and a good, decent, loyal player is sold then we can reconcile ourselves with a belief “the club must know best”.  It can be tough if your club has sold a player for the money, and judgement is held over until we see how well the money is then re-invested.  But it is generally accepted for the employer, the club, to decide when they have had enough of the employee, the player.

This is not like the industries we all work in.  If you fancy moving companies then you just apply to another company and don’t make anything public until you’ve been accepted.  It’s rare for your employer to negotiate with your new one for you to move, and they certainly wouldn’t receive a fee for their trouble either..  But in football we have, what seems, an arcane system of moving people around like cattle. 

The imaginary line is crossed when a player engineers a move.  Of course few of us ever know the truth of why a player is sold.  Perhaps he’s injury-prone, maybe he just didn’t get on with the management or the team, or just couldn’t fit into the style of play they wanted?  Clubs don’t generally like a player to be in control during this process as they would rather keep the supporters onside during the whole episode.

Another odd aspect of supporter behaviour is how they don’t like players deciding to leave their club.  Why is it that we’re only too pleased for players to join our club, then hate them leaving, when we’re quick to forget they’ve already left another club for ours in the first place?  But that’s the way it is.

Raheem Sterling has been gradually building up to a moment of engineering a move away from Liverpool.  This process can be likened to a game of cards, or chess, and Sterling has now made his intentions clear by playing some of his best cards.  Of course Liverpool hold the ace as Sterling is under contract and if they don’t want to accept an offer then they don’t have to.  Clubs can become so reliant on transfers that they can be reluctant to keep a player who doesn’t want to be there, for fear of damaging morale and ultimately affecting the fortunes of the team.  Then of course there is the Bosman ruling which allows a player to leave at the end of his contract.

‘Bosman’ has changed the dynamics of the player/club relationship and seen the emergence of a power shift towards agents.  Agents are the conduit for the player to engineer a move.  Players can hide behind them when contract negotiations are going on, and they can even be the butt of a club’s ire if they can’t get the player to agree to their terms.

Sterling’s agent is in the process of leaving a larger firm to set up on his own.  It would appear to the outsider he is very keen to promote his own cause presumably in a bid to attract more clients.  It’s an interesting tactic but one which is surely only to provide him with clients who want an agent who thinks only of himself and them, rather than understand the nuances of keeping a player’s employer involved to produce an outcome all parties can be pleased with.

Aidy Ward has worked with respected names in the agency business such as Impact Sports Management and Rob Segal.  His clients include Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Saido Berahino.  Few will be surprised that Berahino seems to be as keen as discussing a new contract with his club, West Brom, as Sterling does with Liverpool.

Ward recently came to prominence after the Evening Standard reported a tirade, attributed to Ward, rubbishing the club, Jamie Carragher and everyone else, it seemed, stating Sterling wouldn’t sign a contract for any money.

Some may argue Ward is only doing his job and as employed by the player he could argue he has the player’s best interests to consider and is only concerned about the player’s career rather than what a club wants.  But what Ward has created is a rift between the player and his employer and unless we end up with a situation where players are employed by agents alone, then this is not going to end well.  You rarely hear of experienced and competent agents as they exist in the background to advise their clients and deal with contract negotiations on their behalf.  Ward appears to be looking for his fifteen minutes of fame and could ultimately ruin the prospects of Sterling, Berahino et al.

Clubs, despite what individuals like Ward may prefer, do still hold the balance of power and so they should, they are the employer after all.  Imagine how any prospective club will be anticipating contract discussions with Ward if he touts Sterling around.  If they do sign him, will they ever know whether he’s happy or not?  Or will it depend on whether Ward decides Sterling needs to move clubs again?

Liverpool bought Sterling from Queen’s Park Rangers academy by Rafa Benitez in February 2010.  He was a regular in the Liverpool youth side eventually being handed his First Team debut by Kenny Dalglish against Wigan in March 2012.  Liverpool have done very well to keep him away from the media regarding club issues.  When Sterling has been in the press it’s been for non-football incidents.  But this whole episode has possibly driven a wedge between the two sides which may never be breached.

When I think back on coverage around the club on Sterling I cannot recall much from him regarding how proud he is to be a Liverpool player, who is favourite player of the past was and how he’s determined to do whatever is required to bring success to the club.  Not every player does this, I’ll admit, but for clubs such as Liverpool, we fans demand players understand the history, understand the stature, are respectful of what we believe it is like to wear the club’s colours.

Of course we don’t want the Harry Kewell example, when trying to convince us all how proud he was to wear the iconic number seven shirt he then struggled to name any of the previous incumbents!  But if you want the fans to worship you then to declare your undying love for the club is a great way to achieve this.  The absence of such a statement rarely matters, though, until contract negotiations hit the buffers and unless you have the supporters on your side you will suffer accusations of ‘not caring’, ‘only interested in money’ or other such fruitier labels.

Sterling, who is reportedly on a £30,000 per week, has two years left on his current contract.  Things started to get messy at the beginning of the year when Brendan Rodgers made it publicly known he believed Sterling shouldn’t sign for more than £100,000 per week as this was more than enough for a player of his age and he would have plenty of opportunity in his career to earn the sort of sums which have been bandied about.  There were suggestions ‘he’ had turned down an offer of this value and this gave him the idea give an interview trying to dispel the rumours about his motivation for his career.  Liverpool were unaware of his plans for the interview and it’s clear they didn’t take kindly to it.  It was a clumsy attempt to explain to supporters that Sterling wasn’t interested in the money, he was only interested in playing at the highest level.

Opinions were divided as to whether he managed to get this across, but what it did do was shine the spotlight on his subsequent performances.  Fans were rightly justified in expecting him to take this determination onto the pitch and almost drag his team through to a top four finish in the Premier League.  To almost all observers his form seemed to dip alarmingly.  Other than a goal against Newcastle, he was unbelievably poor in front of goal with numerous examples of him ballooning a ball over the bar when put through on goal with a gaping net seemingly at his mercy.  It would be very difficult to accuse Sterling of ‘busting a gut’ to try and help Liverpool qualify for the Champions League.  Much as I don’t agree with the churlishness of the “call yourself worth £150,000?” accusations every time a pass is misplaced or a touch is poor, as if every player who is paid that amount is faultless, you have to say Sterling has given more than enough ammunition to this means of attack from supporters.

Contrast this with Luis Suarez.  The summer of 2013 was full of rumours and counter-rumours of his desire to play anywhere other than Anfield.  There was the suggestion he wanted to go to Arsenal, when it was clear to all concerned there’s no way Liverpool would sell him to a top four rival.  Once the uncertainty came to an end the subsequent season was a memorable one for both Suarez and the club.  No one could accuse Suarez of not trying at any point during that season as Liverpool came as close to winning their first League title since 1990 as they’ve ever done.  This is where supporters are right to compare the difference.

Considering Sterling's performances this season, when the absence of Suarez and Sturridge propelled him to 'star status', in my opinion he has regressed as a player.  Last season I was really impressed with his development in being able to kick a ball over distance.  There were countless examples of him playing a through-ball to Suarez or Sturridge to run onto and he was even seen shooting from distance on numerous occasions.  This season we have seen little of this and I am left with the view Liverpool is not weakened by his absence.

So my advice to you Raheem is go.  Go, if you don’t think Liverpool can satisfy your exacting standards and requirements.  You may never find a club who truly loves you, you may never find a club you truly love.  You may end up like a Michael Owen, only truly loved when wearing the colours of your country rather than any of the domestic shirts you wore.  I cannot really stomach the idea of Sterling lining up for Liverpool at the start of the new season, but if you somehow manage to come through it all I, along with many others, will expect you to concentrate on what you’re paid to do and do your utmost to help us get back into Champions League football.

But where would you go?  Manchester City? Chelsea? Arsenal? Real Madrid?  None of those clubs are likely to guarantee you regular first team starts, although they are likely to meet your agent’s salary targets.  Real Madrid would be an interesting one, especially if Benitez gets the job.  But are you prepared to for the public scrutiny in a way Gareth Bale has had to come to terms with?

And what if you are still with Liverpool in August?  What will your agent make of this and will this drive a wedge between you and him rather than between you and the club. 

One aspect which does cause me concern if Sterling is still at Anfield in three months’ time is how a post-Gerrard dressing room deals with him.  Gerrard down the years has done so much for young players at Anfield and has often been the glue between players and club, but he’s not there now and we could be in for a period of latent mutiny.  If this does transpire then the seeds of this uncertainty can be seen to have been planted throughout the Sterling saga.

Maybe the best thing for all concerned is to say ‘thanks for coming and have a nice life, now let’s move on’.