The thing is, it's not just the Reds of Anfield - it's the same across many "top" clubs these days.
I very rarely go to Anfield these days. Firstly because it's a plane ride away, secondly family life, time and cost often doesn't permit. And sadly I believe much of the soul from the ground has gone. The last time I went was around 1998 (to watch Aston Villa I think it was) a season or two after the Kop got rebuilt and I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely unbelievable how a change from standing to sitting could make such a difference. The atmosphere had all but disappeared. Within the space of a couple of years. Herein lies the problem.
Many people won't thank me for saying this, but the lack of perseverance in the people attending nowadays I believe, is a direct result of the spiraling cost of going to see a game. I met my son's mother on a night out after going to watch a match at Anfield around 1992. It cost me £8 or there about a for the ticket. It most definitely wasn't more than a tenner. OK, this was a lower "grade" game as it was called but I believe the highest then was around £12. The last game I went to cost me around £40. That's a 300% + increase. For me, the genuine, grass roots supporter has largely been priced out of the game. A controversial statement but I don't see anything to sway my opinion. Klopp's observation is no surprise.
Look at this footage below. This was the Kop in its heyday. Before my time but it was something to behold. Of course there were occasions when it was quiet. During a game things can get like that. An old friend of mine said you could hear people farting on the Kop such was the absence of noise sometimes so that's nothing new. However, what is new is the fact that many of the people in the clip below likely couldn't afford to go at today's prices.
I'm not going to go into the merits (or not) of the Taylor Report that came about as a result of the Hillsborough Disaster, but I do feel there remains a place for standing spectators at football grounds, albeit to a lesser degree because the safety benefits are also without question. However, you can't have your cake and eat it and higher, arguably prohibitive costs have been one of the results. Something has to give. Unfortunately it's some of the atmosphere.
Now, we have a situation where one could argue that the fan that made football what it is can likely no longer afford to go. Sad but true. Another fact worth noting is that for all of the success Liverpool has achieved over the years, many current supporters have not witnessed the heady days of the past. What they fail to realize is that the crowd was as much a part of the success as the team.
The archetypal, quintessential "12th man". He's sorely missed at the moment and when he returns, along with his belief in the team, then Jürgen Klopp and his Liverpool side really will never walk alone.
Follow Ben on Twitter @MrBengreen
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