So he’s staying then. Maybe. Is he?

Brendan Rodgers, barring a careful caveat about certain people not being bigger than certain clubs, seems pretty set on the idea of Luis Suarez being a Liverpool player next season.

Arsenal’s bid was ‘nowhere near’ Liverpool’s valuation. Which begs the question of how much exactly it would take to prise Suarez away. The figure should he moving up almost as quickly as that national debt clock in New York every day between now and the end of the transfer window. Maybe we could stick our own version on the front of the Kop

There’s a view out there that Liverpool somehow have to sell, and it’s one sane people should be countering at every opportunity. Keeping an unhappy player, we’re told, “never ends well.”

Football discussion, of course, thrives on the oxygen of nonsense. But this is so demonstrably wide of the mark as to need confronting.

The history of the game is littered with footballers denied their heart’s fleeting desire who have stayed put and been successful.

One of them is captain of Liverpool. He fancied leaving, the club did its best to keep hold, things changed and here we are nine years later.

Similarly, should Suarez see the club have boxed him in and a big move’s not on the cards, he’ll most likely renew his vows, get out the Autumn fixture list and start planning his next hat-trick.

Liverpool FC needs really good footballers. This one will do for now.

UPBEAT BIT

Looking on from afar at the club’s tour, it’s hard to retain my perpetual sense of jaded detachment over these things.

Crowds in the streets, mass singalongs and some incredible shirts make Indonesia look a pretty good place to be a Red at the moment.

After another muted season at Anfield and another year of being cynical about the whole enterprise it’s refreshing to see people express the simple joy that’s somewhere inside us all – football’s great, Liverpool are great, roll on, er, Stoke City at home.

ANNE WATT