If the sight of Liverpool's sporting director Julian Ward walking through Anfield's post-match mixed zone last week was a surprise, a first public outing for John W Henry since August on Wednesday was a shock.
The Reds' principal owner was in London this week to watch his side continue their recent good run as they fought back from a goal down to beat David Moyes's West Ham United 2-1 and keep the pressure on those above them as the shake-up for the European places enters the final few weeks.
Sitting alongside the club's CEO, Billy Hogan, Mr Henry might have been suitably impressed by the contribution of the last addition he signed off on in Cody Gakpo, as the January arrival from PSV Eindhoven smashed home to equalise on the night.
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The American might also have gushed at the sublime passing range of the home-grown Trent Alexander-Arnold, who once more excelled in the central midfield role he has been asked to deploy when in possession. But whatever the Fenway Sport Group chief's takeaways were from the London Stadium, the real developments were 24 hours earlier in the team's hotel where he met for a catch-up with Jurgen Klopp.
Asked about the meeting with his boss on Tuesday night, Klopp said after the game: “We had talks already. We spoke last night in the hotel, we have already had a talk. I knew that he was coming.”
Prodded to shed any further insight into the discussions in his press conference on Friday, he was even more coy, saying: "The night before the game, we had talks. JK and JWH met. It was good, yes. Any insights? I am not sure there is a drug that is already invented for me to do that!"
It was no surprise that Klopp opted not to reveal all about the private talks behind the scenes but the fact they took place to begin with can only be viewed as a positive for Liverpool supporters.
The sudden appearance of an owner can sometimes sound the death knell for managers who don't have their teams where they should be in the table but the manager's position is, quite rightly, safe as houses on Merseyside.
What the conversations might have more realistically centred around is those in power at FSG supplying Liverpool with everything they need to ensure that a critical point of the Klopp era is ultimately viewed as a successful one later this year.
Is it too much to imagine the Reds manager going, cap in hand, to the owner this week armed with a robust plan of action and a budget request for his transfer kitty?
It was something he hinted at during his Friday dealing with the media, saying: "We want to go back to big finals, to big occasions, all these kinds of things. For that we have to work hard, a lot and we will do that and we need the right players and that is what we will have as well."
Liverpool fast approaching a vitally important juncture as far as the final years of Klopp's stay goes. The Reds boss is now a year and a day into a new contract he signed at the height of the wave everyone connected to the club was riding on last term.
He noted at the time that there would be a need to rebuild but subsequent events have dragged those plans forward more aggressively than anyone would have guessed 12 months ago.
Rather than hear an appraisal of a campaign that hasn't gone anywhere near according to plan from Henry, however, the prospect of Klopp instead detailing explicitly what is needed to go again feels like a more realistic version of events, even if they might have touched on several topics of conversation in that hotel conference room alongside Hogan.
On Saturday, a handful of journalists will be given a tour of the Anfield Road building site to see how progress on the £80m expansion project is coming along in time for next season. From August onwards, one of the most iconic stadiums in world football will play host to its biggest crowds of the Premier League era, which will come just months after the club announced record revenues of £594million. Off the pitch, all is very much in hand it seems.
On it, there is work to do. The football operations department will need a sporting director to lead it from June onwards as Ward gets set to leave after over a decade of service. Klopp insisted earlier this week that it is a hugely important position within the structure of the club and wouldn't countenance a chain of command at Liverpool without one.
Meanwhile, a significant restructuring of the midfield will be needed as they get set to lose Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Arthur Melo and possibly James Milner at a time when quality additions were already needed.
The discussions between will no doubt remain private but there will have been no shortage of talking points as the Liverpool brains trust plot a return to glory from next season.
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