Jurgen Klopp playing it cool, but problems proliferating

There's a lovely old photo of Bob Paisley and Matt Busby, taken sometime in the early 1980s, the pair sitting together at the groaning board. Dinner plates have been licked clean, glasses have been charged with wine. Both gentlemen are leaning back, belts presumably loosened a notch or two, contented smiles playing across their faces. Two legends caught chewing the fat; a convivial atmosphere indeed.

Younger readers can be forgiven for wondering what the hell was going on, seeing how modern relations between the managers of Liverpool and Manchester United haven't always been so pleasant. Consider Alex Ferguson bickering with Kenny Dalglish, or Alex Ferguson bickering with Rafa Benitez. But maybe a return to the gentle ways of the old days is on the cards. Time will tell how the story ends, of course, but all the early evidence suggests Jurgen Klopp appears to have no interest in locking horns with his opposite number at Old Trafford, whoever he may be.

The lead-up to last weekend's game between the two north-west giants was notable for how far Klopp went out of his way to head off any possible tension at the pass. There was praise for Ferguson, praise for Louis van Gaal, praise for the club itself. Roy Hodgson tried this gambit too, of course, but went way overboard with the forelock tugging and the unctuous obsequiousness. Klopp by contrast got the balance right: respectful noises in the grown-up style, without going so overboard as to annoy the punters on Merseyside who are actually paying his wages.

(And for anyone thinking the was a bit excessive, consider that Klopp's a heavy metal fan, and the Beatles' one foray into the idiom, Helter Skelter, was penned by Paul McCartney.)

It's just as well that Klopp isn't wasting his time losing his head over irrelevant and unnecessary feuds, for cold, calm, rational analysis is what's required around Anfield way right now. Liverpool were beaten at home on Sunday by the worst Manchester United side since the late 1980s. The common consensus seems to be that Liverpool were the better of two poor teams, though a couple of days on, with the dust settled, that seems more and more like the new dictionary definition of hair-splitting.

Any domination Liverpool enjoyed was of the sterile variety. The team's defence has been getting pelters for a while now, but their comedic lapses have served only to obscure how impotent the attack has been of late. On Sunday, with the back line on the whole behaving themselves, the failings up front were brought into stark relief.

Only Emre Can was afforded the opportunity to stare at the white of the keeper's eyes, and one close-range chance is never going to be enough against a world-class performer like David de Gea. The rest was a textbook exercise in flattering to deceive. A second effort from Can, this time from long range, warmed De Gea’s fingertips. Roberto Firmino was sharp and skilful in patches, and looked desperate for someone of equal quality to spark off. But the pair were the only men in red to show the mix of craft, drive and nous required from a top-four attack.

Jordan Henderson and James Milner never hid, but Liverpool's officer classes only succeeded in proving that Steven Gerrard's all-action captain's act wasn't quite as easy as he made it look. Adam Lallana was once again a thundering non-event. Christian Benteke's only noteworthy intervention in a brief cameo was to get in the way of a half-chance for Milner as Liverpool attempted to salvage a draw. The lack of genuine, top-drawer quality on display was notable.

None of this is the fault of the new manager, no matter how the bores try to spin it. Klopp, parachuted in midway through a season, hasn't had time or opportunity to impress all his ideas and methods on the squad. But the squad has had time and opportunity to impress their new boss. On the whole, a couple of outlying results apart, they've been found wanting.

The squad simply isn't up to it - Brendan Rodgers showed admirable chutzpah popping up on Sky's Goals on Sunday to bemoan being shackled by the infamous Anfield transfer committee, given his £60m star picks were Lallana and Benteke - and it's increasingly clear that Klopp will need to instigate a vigorous clear-out in the summer. These will be interesting times.

Of course, if Klopp ends up going back to the Bundesliga to sign Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen, good luck in maintaining the all-new detente with United.