When Jur luck’s out...
KLOPP IN NEED OF HELP
JURGEN KLOPP will never need Liverpool’s famous mantra to be true more than he will in the next six months.
That’s because the German is now deep in a crisis so bad at Anfield that Virgil van Dijk could be forgiven for putting in a transfer request.
Since Van Dijk wrecked his knee at Goodison Park in mid-October he has seen his Premier League champions implode to become a shell of the side that conquered the world in 2019.
Now, that world has caved in and Klopp must hope he isn’t left to walk alone down what promises to be a long road to redemption.
A perfect storm has engulfed the English champions that has seen them go from creating history for all the right reasons to a team making it for all the wrong ones.
Four home defeats on the spin for the first time in almost a century.
A first loss to Everton at Anfield since the Millennium and Klopp’s worst run as a manager since 2014.
Sixth place in the table and facing the genuine prospect of NOT being in the Champions League next season.
Throw in the loss of captain Jordan Henderson for two months with a groin injury and there is little good news around Anfield and questions are being asked of the manager’s methods.
Added to the mix, sadly, are the deaths of Klopp’s mother, who passed away earlier this month, and the father of keeper Alisson to a freak drowning accident in Brazil.
Klopp, whose side travel to Sheffield United tonight in total disarray, can do nothing about those tragic circumstances out of his control.
Neither can he dictate how his luck is going to pan out.
But somehow he must find an exit route from the current tailspin and reboot a team capable of building on its recent success next season.
It will be Klopp’s biggest challenge given the stunning progress of Manchester City, who look set to dominate domestic football for the foreseeable future.
Klopp will need the full backing of his club’s American owners.
Liverpool aren’t the first team to plunge off the cliff having scaled the summit the previous season and they won’t be the last. But while Klopp will leave his own legacy whenever he departs Anfield, it’s a dynasty he wants to create first and to do this his team needs significant investment, because at this level the regeneration never stops.
City have dominated this season because they have the best players and the best manager but even more important than this, they have the best squad to cope with the relentless demands of English football.
When asked this week why City had become so formidable again, Pep Guardiola said it was because he had spent a lot of money.
He was being flippant but he was also telling the truth.
This is something Fenway Sports Group have to acknowledge if Klopp is to be given a realistic chance of fulfilling his dream of winning multiple titles instead of just one – irrespective of how memorable it was.
COLIN KAZIM-RICHARDS was subjected to racial abuse on Instagram after his late equaliser for Derby against Nottingham Forest on Friday.
The forward, 34, who has just signed a one-year extension to his deal at Pride Park, cancelled out James Garner’s first-half effort with just six minutes of normal time remaining in the East Midlands derby.
In the hours after the game he was sent racist abuse from accounts on the social media platform, with one account set up with a racially charged variation of his name.
Derby have reported the abuse to Instagram, Kick It Out and the Derbyshire Police.
And in a statement, the club said: “It was brought to the club’s attention on Saturday morning that Colin Kazim-Richards had received racially abusive messages via his social media platforms.
“The abuse received by Colin resulted in him having to have a conversation with his young children to explain why, in this day and age, racism and discrimination still exists.
“It should be clear, there is no place in sport or society for racism.
“Social media abuse is, sadly, becoming more common and it is all too easy for individuals to hide behind an account. This cannot continue.
“We are united in celebrating our diversity and we stand proudly with Colin, and all our players, to make it categorically clear that this behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
A statement from Nottingham Forest said: “Nottingham Forest Football Club is extremely disappointed to learn of the racist abuse of Derby’s Colin Kazim-Richards on social media platforms after last night’s fixture at Pride Park.
“We as a club wholeheartedly support Derby County Football Club’s stance in reporting the abuse to Derbyshire Police.”
COMFORT ZONE: Chris Wilder says football is important for the bereaved
CHRIS WILDER believes football can help Jurgen Klopp and Alisson come to terms with the family tragedies that have plunged Liverpool into a state of mourning. The Sheffield United boss has nothing but sympathy for his Anfield rival after the death of his mother from coronavirus this month.
And now Kop keeper Alisson has been left devastated after his father drowned while swimming in a lake at the family’s holiday home in Brazil. Wilder said: “You can look at it and say football doesn’t matter but football does matter. We all have those situations but we always come back to the one thing that is consistent in our lives – and it’s that game of football.”
Wilder’s strugglers tonight entertain a Liverpool team that has suffered four successive Premier League defeats.
He had a public spat with Klopp earlier in the season over the German’s insistence that top-flight clubs should be allowed to use five substitutes but Wilder added: “I’ve got so much admiration for Jurgen.
“He’s a top-class manager and if I was precious about everything people said about me I wouldn’t be doing this job.
“I’ve tried to keep smiling. I will always try to talk in an honest and transparent way.
“We enjoy the good times and try to get through the bad times in the same manner.”
STEVEN GERRARD is being lined up to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss with increasing doubts over the German’s long-term Anfield future.
There is a growing belief that Klopp will say yes to the chance of succeeding Joachim Low as Germany manager.
Klopp, 53, is the outstanding candidate and the German Football Association will make their approach once Low’s own future has been sealed.
Low, 61, has been in the post since 2006, leading the nation to 2014 World Cup glory but he endured a nightmare 2018 World Cup and Nations League.
Despite calls for his sacking he has remained in charge with his contract covering this summer’s European Championship finals as well as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It is widely accepted that Low would not be able to survive an underwhelming Euro campaign, which would prompt an earlier than expected approach for fellow German Klopp.
And, according to a well-placed Liverpool source, it would be one he would find difficult to resist even though he is still enjoying his time on Merseyside.
It is why Liverpool’s principal owner John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner have been keeping a close eye on Gerrard’s impressive work at Rangers.
And with the Liverpool legend about to land the Scottish title, it has helped convince them that Gerrard and his No.2 – another former Anfield star Gary McAllister – have the credentials to succeed Klopp.
Gerrard, 40, also shone as a coach in the Liverpool academy after retiring as a player and the Kop hierarchy are confident that he would resist approaches to manage any other Premier League club.
THOMAS TUCHEL knows he is in for a really tough challenge to maintain his unbeaten start as Chelsea boss today as he faces a Bruno Fernandes-inspired Manchester United.
The Blues manager is a huge fan of the former Sporting Lisbon star and tried to sign him during his first year at Paris Saint-Germain.
He said: “My first sporting director in Paris was Antero Henrique, who is Portuguese.
“He knew Bruno very, very well. He fought hard to bring him to our team because he was a big personality for Sporting.
“An effective goalscorer and an effective guy to make the other players around him more dangerous.
“The impact he has had since he arrived at Manchester United is indescribable. Unbelievable.
“Coming from Portugal, from a competitive team and big club without a doubt, but not from the strongest league, stepping in here, one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, the strongest league in Europe and to have this kind of impact…
“I have nothing but the biggest respect for this guy. He’s outstanding, one of the best in the world.
“He has a huge, huge impact – to have this as a single person in football you must be absolutely top level, because it’s almost impossible.
“He has such a big influence on their game, it’s a big key to defend against him, to be close to him.
“He’s a key player of Man United in a way that is outstanding. We tried to sign him during my first year in Paris. We watched more and more games about him, we followed him and tried to be in touch with him to make it happen.
“I was never personally in touch. PSG tried but he went another way.
“It’s bad for us, huh, that we have to play against him.”
Fernandes has done as much as any United player to keep Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his job since arriving at Old Trafford
13 months ago for
£47million.
And Tuchel, who was sacked by PSG despite enjoying more success than Solskjaer has had at United, has big admiration for the way the Red Devils have backed their boss in good times and bad.
The German, who had two wins and two defeats against Solskjaer during his time in the French capital, said: “We could always feel that even in situations where results were missing, we could always feel from outside that this is the guy, they have found the guy they trust. Of course, you wish for it, but in the end you have also to be honest, you have to earn it.
“I assume that this is not a gift for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he has this trust. “I assume he works hard for it and creates on a daily basis an atmosphere everyone is happy with at Manchester United. This is what we all want but this is also not a gift for anybody else so we are all working hard to get the trust.”
Tuchel’s start to life at Chelsea – they are unbeaten in eight games since his arrival, with only two draws – is helping him earn a similar level of trust at Stamford Bridge.
And asked if now is the right time to judge him, he laughed and said: “Now is a very good time, an excellent moment for a fiveyear contract and then to lay back. “The point is to not get affected too much in these moments when you have good results, to keep your feet on the ground. “This is the big challenge because we know very well we get judged on results.” Meanwhile, Tuchel is unsure where best to use Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz yet but is positive the £71m signing will have a big role to play at Stamford Bridge.
It has been a tough start to life in London for the midfielder, 21, since a summer switch, with a bout of coronavirus followed by numerous small injuries which have limited his game time.
Since he swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League, Havertz has scored only five goals in all competitions and three of them came in his third game against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup back in September.
But manager Tuchel is confident his fellow German will hit the heights he reached at Bayer Leverkusen in the English capital and will be part of the squad to face Manchester United today.
“Since I arrived, the only thing that kept him from making a big impact is his injury,” the Blues boss said.
“I see a committed guy, I see a guy who made a brave decision to move abroad at a young age and to go out of his comfort zone and accept a huge challenge in a big team, in the biggest league.
“I see a totally clear guy who is totally aware of that, full of talent, unlimited talent and I see a player who will have a big impact in Chelsea, I’m absolutely convinced.
“We will find his role and now we need to give him the time it takes. But he is ready, we are very happy he is back in the squad.”
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has revealed he’s the worst loser at Manchester United – even ahead of Bruno Fernandes.
The Norwegian boss is seen as amiable and easy going but when United lose he has a darker side that even surpasses Fernandes’ dislike for defeat.
Since his £47million move from Sporting Lisbon, United’s talismanic star has quickly established a reputation in the Old Trafford dressing room as a player who takes losing very badly.
Fernandes demands total commitment from his teammates and when it doesn’t go to plan the Portuguese midfield star kicks off.
Last August against Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals, the playmaker ripped into Victor Lindelof when the Swedish defender’s mistake cost United a place in the final.
But Solskjaer claims he hates losing MORE than Fernandes.
“You know if you are at Man United and you enjoy losing, you are at the wrong place,” said the Red Devils boss.
“I don’t show my frustration maybe so much as Bruno but I think maybe I am the worst loser.
“You have probably not seen it but some of the players have.”
United face a Chelsea side rejuvenated since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel.
And while Solskjaer hates losing, he’s a winner when it comes to being backed by the United hierarchy.
Chelsea are ruthless when their managers go through a sticky patch or don’t deliver – just ask Stamford Bridge legend Frank Lampard who was sacked after just 18 months in the job and following a relatively successful campaign the year before in difficult circumstances.
United operate on a different model and – although Solskjaer has endured difficult moments since taking over from Jose Mourinho – the Glazer family who own the club have kept their nerve and stuck by the former Old Trafford striker.
And he believes he has the backing to push on even though United’s title bid has faltered in recent weeks. “I don’t think it is my job to comment on any other team,” Solskjaer said.
“For me, the main thing is we sat down and had a very open, honest discussion when I came in and I laid down my plans.
“The club, of course, make the decisions and they agreed with me on some of the changes we had to make.
“Of course, I am not going to say it will never happen that we change course because the job is about results and you need to see improvements. But hopefully we have proved to the club and to the fans, us as staff, what we want from the team and want from our players.”
United have been linked with a double summer swoop for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, 22, and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, 20, with the United chief insisting he needs quality not quantity.
“We look at the squad every window and see what is out there, see what we feel we need,” Solskjaer added.
“There might be injuries in the squad, there might be different reasons for a change.
“And our transfer plans, of course we have long-term plans and I feel my squad now is more and more full of younger players that can improve.
“I have a strong squad, a deep squad. I can’t say if it’s going to be X amount of signings in the summer.
“We still look at players and it has to be the right one. It is not the amount of transfers.”
The United boss hopes to have Edinson Cavani in contention for a place on the bench today after he was injured against West Brom.
“Honestly, I hope but I don’t know,” Solskjaer added. “I have got to say before yesterday he has still not trained with the team and he is one of those who wants to train really hard before he plays.
“Hopefully he will say to me, ‘I am ready’ but I don’t know.”