Or whatever phrase, idiom or metaphor you prefer. There's been a lot of talk about the "heavy metal" football that Klopp prefers, and the relentless intensity of Liverpool at our best is certainly not for the faint-hearted.
But like all the best music, you sometimes need a change of pace. The "quick, quick, slow" or "quiet/ quiet/ LOUD" tempo change that makes the most devastating tunes.
And while the sturm und drang of Liverpool yesterday was intoxicating, it isn't sustainable. We need to find a way, to be brave enough, to do ......nothing. To have periods of the game in which we agree that nothing will happen. At all.
Because despite the metres run and immense workrate, great teams know when that sometimes "nothing" works. A period of calm serenity, in which nothing is offered and nothing taken. The game against Leicester was a great example. When we weren't clanging away and bashing down Leicester in attack, we were equally discordant and loud in defence, making worryingly odd decisions and creating noise and tension when really, none were required.
Of course, as a football fan, I much MUCH prefer the loud, angry, direct and ferocious style that we deliver at our best. But 90 minutes of it isn't going to work every week. Especially if it looks like it isn't going to work FROM THE FIRST MINUTE. All too often under Klopp we have a wonderful result, and the same players run out in the next game and look utterly anaemic. Drained and feeble. Weak. Awful.
I'm not sure if that is a sign of the difficulty of maintaining that intensity week after week, but it's happened so often as to be a concern. But the ability to change the pace and tempo is also about in-game management.
How many watching fans and pundits on Saturday were thinking that Liverpool would need three, or even four? How often have we EVER looked comfortable shutting a game down at 1-0 under Klopp? Never?
And how often do the Champions "manage" games? Eke out the 1-0 wins and scuff an undeserved victory? Squeeze the life out of a fixture? Every single one of them had this ability. And we will never, EVER, win the title until we learn it too. You cannot win a title winning 4-3 and 4-1 every week. Because you can't do that every week. Because sometimes you get a Burnley and lose 2-0. Or a Newcastle. Or a Palace. Or a Watford.
Like Saturday? We were battering them. Incessant. But what happens? We get the Lucas comedy show. Mignolet kicking and flapping away. The raucous invitation for Vardy to score another. Huth's header off the bar. It was a discordant mess for 10 minutes.
And that's what we need. Oil on the troubled waters. The ability to shut down the noise and reduce the revs. This is usually conducted by a certain player. Maybe the captain. As a unit, it is often the defence and keeper. A more zen approach rather than Mignolet's frenetic comedy show.
Matip looks like he's a calming influence, and Milner's experience in there is good too. But one of the reasons I was so keen to see us buy a top quality holding midfielder was that it's a great position from which to dictate tempo. To turn the volume right down and take a few minutes to consolidate and do ...nothing. To be brave enough to inject a bit of serenity into proceedings. A controlled injection of cold blood for a minute or two.
If we can find that player, we will be in much better shape. Maybe he is at the club already. Or we need to buy him. It's a vital part of a team that can be consistently challenging. Because sometimes you need to be able to appreciate and use the silence.
But like all the best music, you sometimes need a change of pace. The "quick, quick, slow" or "quiet/ quiet/ LOUD" tempo change that makes the most devastating tunes.
And while the sturm und drang of Liverpool yesterday was intoxicating, it isn't sustainable. We need to find a way, to be brave enough, to do ......nothing. To have periods of the game in which we agree that nothing will happen. At all.
Because despite the metres run and immense workrate, great teams know when that sometimes "nothing" works. A period of calm serenity, in which nothing is offered and nothing taken. The game against Leicester was a great example. When we weren't clanging away and bashing down Leicester in attack, we were equally discordant and loud in defence, making worryingly odd decisions and creating noise and tension when really, none were required.
Of course, as a football fan, I much MUCH prefer the loud, angry, direct and ferocious style that we deliver at our best. But 90 minutes of it isn't going to work every week. Especially if it looks like it isn't going to work FROM THE FIRST MINUTE. All too often under Klopp we have a wonderful result, and the same players run out in the next game and look utterly anaemic. Drained and feeble. Weak. Awful.
I'm not sure if that is a sign of the difficulty of maintaining that intensity week after week, but it's happened so often as to be a concern. But the ability to change the pace and tempo is also about in-game management.
How many watching fans and pundits on Saturday were thinking that Liverpool would need three, or even four? How often have we EVER looked comfortable shutting a game down at 1-0 under Klopp? Never?
And how often do the Champions "manage" games? Eke out the 1-0 wins and scuff an undeserved victory? Squeeze the life out of a fixture? Every single one of them had this ability. And we will never, EVER, win the title until we learn it too. You cannot win a title winning 4-3 and 4-1 every week. Because you can't do that every week. Because sometimes you get a Burnley and lose 2-0. Or a Newcastle. Or a Palace. Or a Watford.
Like Saturday? We were battering them. Incessant. But what happens? We get the Lucas comedy show. Mignolet kicking and flapping away. The raucous invitation for Vardy to score another. Huth's header off the bar. It was a discordant mess for 10 minutes.
And that's what we need. Oil on the troubled waters. The ability to shut down the noise and reduce the revs. This is usually conducted by a certain player. Maybe the captain. As a unit, it is often the defence and keeper. A more zen approach rather than Mignolet's frenetic comedy show.
Matip looks like he's a calming influence, and Milner's experience in there is good too. But one of the reasons I was so keen to see us buy a top quality holding midfielder was that it's a great position from which to dictate tempo. To turn the volume right down and take a few minutes to consolidate and do ...nothing. To be brave enough to inject a bit of serenity into proceedings. A controlled injection of cold blood for a minute or two.
If we can find that player, we will be in much better shape. Maybe he is at the club already. Or we need to buy him. It's a vital part of a team that can be consistently challenging. Because sometimes you need to be able to appreciate and use the silence.
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