THERE’s a famous banner sometimes seen on the Anfield Kop based on the old Soviet flag depicting Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in profile.

The Liverpool fans’ version is accompanied by a red star not dissimilar to the one on the front of this paper and bears the faces of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish, Rafa Benitez and, more recently, Jurgen Klopp.

Just like the Soviet flag, it symbolises the originators of their philosophy and those who successfully turned theory into action.