07
need to keep being our energy source.
On that subject, once again our
supporters are not able to be at Anfield
today but I want to talk about them
because not only have they played a vital
role in us winning the Premier League,
many of them have also responded
magnificently to the crisis that the world
is in.
Last week I had a Zoom call with some
of the Liverpool and Everton fans who
worked together to produce personal
protective equipment when there was a
national shortage.
What they have done is unbelievable.
To want to respond in that way is more
than good enough in itself, but to have the
ingenuity, determination and leadership
to make it happen on a mass scale is so
incredible that I could not possibly find the
words to do it justice.
I felt privileged to speak to them. They
are heroes. By finding ingenious ways to
support our community locally they have
undoubtedly helped save lives and keep people safe. This,
to me, is the spirit of Liverpool. It is why I have come to
love the city and its people.
I also want to pay tribute to the supporters who
volunteered to deliver food to some of the most
vulnerable members of our community. I am told that this
was organised by the Spirit Of Shankly and there is no
doubt that by acting in this way they lived up to the spirit
of one of the greatest men of all.
But it is knowing that so many of you have done so
much at a time of great suffering that made last Friday’s
events at the Pier Head so disappointing. I am a football
manager, not a judge, and I have the same ability to make
the mistakes of a human being as everyone else, so what
I am saying should be taken in this spirit. But I also have
to be clear: what we saw was not good for Liverpool the
city or Liverpool the club.
The same people who were vulnerable when supporters
were manufacturing PPE and delivering food are still
vulnerable now. We cannot allow all of this brilliant work
to go to waste because some have decided that they
either cannot wait for a celebration or that COVID-19 is no
longer a threat. If we do this, people – our people – will be
put at risk.
We need you to stay at home as much as possible, not
because we want to stop your enjoyment, but because we
care for everyone who lives in this city and other places
beyond.
It is a strange thing for me to say because it goes
against everything that I usually would say, but right now
we do not want to see you at stadiums and we don’t want
to see you gathering to celebrate. I say this out of a sense
of care and for no other reason.
When the time comes you will be back at Anfield and
we will also be able to celebrate together. I cannot wait for
these moments, but the time is not now. We must respect
the virus like we would respect any opponent. Anything
else puts all of us at risk.
If we can all follow the example of our supporters who
have put others first, we will not go wrong and we owe it
to ourselves to do that.I CANNOT WAIT FOR THESE MOMENTS WHEN WE WILL
CELEBRATE TOGETHER – BUT THE TIME IS NOT NOW
M
A
N
AG
ERYou’ll Never Walk Alone
Jürgen