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When Anfield is roaring, it’s like no other place on earth. When it’s not... well, the “is this a library?” songs hit a little too close to home.
The volume and enthusiasm from home fans this season has been closer to its best, no doubt nudged on by a squad that’s only lost one game this season and could go top of the table with a win against Watford tomorrow.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has noticed this and took time out of his pre-match preparations to note the energy from the fans so far in 2016-17.
“With the crowd it is the same as the team - we always have to perform. At home to West Brom it was brilliant. The biggest difference was that even when we conceded a goal the people were not saying ‘oh my God’. Of course the thinking has changed. Since we played Dortmund people know they should not leave the stadium before the final whistle.”
Klopp continued by saying that while he enjoys a raucous crowd that stays the whole 90 minutes, his preferences are beside the point.
“It’s not about what I want, it’s more about what makes sense. The people and the players have created a different atmosphere. You can always sit back and say: 'That’s wrong, that’s wrong, that’s wrong.' When you are a guest in the stadium, you can buy the ticket, watch the game and do what you want, but to really help you have to perform, even as a crowd. It can make a big difference in a positive way. The performances this season from the crowd and the team have been better. “
He concluded by bringing it back to expectations for tomorrow’s clash with Watford— from the players and the fans.
“If you ask me I’d like the best atmosphere ever against Watford. Why? Because we’re there and there’s nothing better to do, let’s try it. It would be fantastic and help a lot. We play a kind of emotional football and that’s how football should be. It’s only one-and-a-half hours a week and it’s easier to enjoy. Even when we don’t score, we shoot in the right direction I would say. We always go in this direction, even when we don’t defend perfectly, we do it with a lot of passion and all that stuff. There are a lot more important things than football in this world, but in this one-and-a-half hours there’s not so let’s do our best in those 90 minutes.”