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Say it ain’t so, Jürgen. Say it ain’t so. Last January, Liverpool’s then manager Jürgen Klopp shocked football by releasing a video in which he announced he’d be headed for the Anfield exit door come season’s end. By way of explanation, Klopp revealed he was “running out of energy”, so in at least one way the surprise news that he will be taking on a new role as head of global soccer at Red Bull should come as no surprise. Sadly, in so many other ways the revelation that this affable, apparently grounded if occasionally grumpy German has turned out to be another corporate sell-out seems crushingly disappointing. “I know how much the Red Bull idea is criticised by traditionalists and I’m one of them too,” he chirped two years ago, back in the days when, as a former manager of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, he always seemed to convey the impression that he was a man of the people who intrinsically “got” football fandom and culture, and what they are all about.

Thank you very much for your beautiful tribute to Johan Neeskens (yesterday’s Football Daily). I’m reading it with a little tear in my eye … As a young boy I wished my first name was Johan, and that was not because of Cruyff!” – Gerben van Sark.

I am shocked to hear that Ryan Mason is in discussions for the Anderlecht job. Doesn’t he know that a better temporary manager gig could be right around the corner from his residence in Tottenham?” – Dedric Helgert.

For some reason my home-made irony-meter always starts twitching whenever I go near Football Daily – I tend to ignore both – but I couldn’t help but notice the furious steam emanations and loud klaxon alerts being triggered as I read on Big Website that Manchester United’s ‘executive summit’ headed by Jim Ratcliffe was being held in London, and that this was apparently a regular diary appointment for the aforementioned suits. Is this the same Jim Ratcliffe who, within a few weeks of his arrival, sent an email to non-playing club staff offering a generous one week to decide if they wanted to resign, or permanently stop working from home and work from the office? On this basis, shouldn’t it be Big Sir Jim and his hapless, epically underperforming executives who should be facing the chop for breach of their own terms and conditions?” – Steve Malone.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.