da bwin： Liverpool were unable to get the job done against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup despite being 2-0 with 30 minutes left.
da dobrowin： The Reds had looked in control of the game, but a Jason Cummings double meant that Salop got their hands on a draw, and perhaps more importantly, a replay at Anfield.
That should have been a moment and experience to remember for the League One outfit, but it has been slightly soured by Jurgen Klopp’s comments after the match. The 52-year-old confirmed that, due to the two-week winter break agreed upon by the clubs and the FA last April, neither himself nor the senior players will take part in the match on February 4th, meaning that Neil Critchley will take charge and the club’s youth players will take the field – just like they did against Aston Villa in the League Cup quarter-final.
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Klopp has already made his feelings clear on fixture congestion, and you can understand where he is coming from to an extent. The Premier League is obviously his and the team’s focus, and the planning by the English game’s governing bodies could have been better.
However, there are more reasons to indicate this is a bad call from the boss. Firstly, the only reason the Reds are in this situation is because they were unable to put the game to bed. Had they not taken their foot of the gas and allowed their opponents back into the game, they would have avoided another match and any complications. The winter break would be preferable, of course, but it is unlikely that the Premier League would take such an aversion to them playing a competitive match that they are required to, rather than have chosen to themselves.
Also, the question of playing time for some of the fringe players does rear its head. Whilst the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane could do with a rest – they have already played 32 and 31 matches respectively – others such as Divock Origi and Fabinho are crying out for game time. The former has featured in 30 matches this term, but has only played 1,016 minutes – less than half of Mane’s total, for example – whilst this was the latter’s first start since November. There are plenty of other players who are in similar situations, and will probably be slightly disappointed that they will not be able to get on to the pitch in the replay.
Incredibly, Klopp could do with taking a leaf out of Jose Mourinho’s book. The Portuguese manager’s Tottenham side could only manage a 1-1 draw at Southampton, meaning they too will have to play again. He was clearly unhappy at having to play another game – both he and Klopp have the right to be – but he added: “I think both me and him [Ralph Hasenhuttl] prefer to play again than to be out”. Tottenham have only played four less matches than the Reds in all competitions this term.
Acting in this manner – admitting that it is a nuisance but accepting that that is the way the fixtures lie – would have been a far better course of action. Instead, it seems as though Klopp has thrown his toys out of the pram. With a 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, one extra game is unlikely to make too much of a difference in the long-term. He doesn’t get much wrong, but the Liverpool boss may have done just that in this situation.
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