The great poet John Keats wrote of what he termed "negative capability", which he believed was the hallmark of any great thinker. The term is applied to those who are "capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason".
It is impossible to say for definite that Keats did not write these words anticipating the arrival of Robbie Savage on virtually every medium through which we digest football, although if we were as bold as to make an assumption, we would suggest that Keats did not foretell the bewildering televisual prominence of the one they call Savage.
Savage - despite often not being overly bothered with the pursuit of fact or reason - finds that idea of remaining uncertain of things as anathema. Given the fact he is such a punditry maverick, remaining in uncertainty is of no use to a man who must have his off-the-cuff and irreverent opinions on football to a deadline every week for the Daily Mirror.
In an example of a reluctance to live in uncertainty - to sit on the fence in football parlance - Savage wrote in February that he was extremely disappointed in Jurgen Klopp's impact since arriving from Dortmund. He highlighted the fact that Liverpool's points per game average had barely changed under the new manager, which is, admittedly, a reasonably fair barometer by which to judge these things.
To write Klopp off, however, after just a couple of months in charge of a crocked squad he did not assemble seemed very harsh, but then if one is to be heard in the swirling and implacable gyre of football opinion, one has to be opinionated. Ain't nobody got time for uncertainty.
Now, however, Savage has admitted that he was totally wrong, and has offered Klopp a grovelling apology. Writing in the Mirror today, Savage says that:
Klopp’s brave team selection, and Liverpool’s resolute performance, against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday has forced me to reconsider.
That draw in Germany was not just a flash in the pan.
It was the latest in a series of outstanding displays under Klopp, like the swaggering away win at Chelsea in his fifth game last October, the demolition of Manchester City at the Etihad three weeks later and knocking Manchester United out of Europe in March.
All Liverpool have got to do to take their development under Klopp to the next level is to deliver those performances on a more regular basis.
I’m not scared to admit it when I get something wrong, and I was too quick to judge Klopp.
Savage points out in his apology that Liverpool's points per game average is still largely the same as it was when he questioned Klopp previously, but a couple of performances have totally altered his mind. While Liverpool have undoubtedly improved, they still have some way to go under Klopp.
The ability to change one's mind is an admirable feat, and Savage should be commended for admitting so. It does, however, seem like a remarkably swift change of mind for Savage, but then it profits him to do so. It seems it's easier to admit you were wrong than be in any way uncertain.
See Also: Graham Hunter Reveals How Spanish Media View Ireland's Performance In 2002 World Cup
