I WILL STAY AWAY
Klopp to boycott FA Cup tie in protest
Jurgen KLOPP has insisted he will not even be in the anfield directors’ box for Liverpool’s Fa Cup fourth-round replay against shrewsbury on tuesday, in what he admits is a point of principle over fixture congestion.
In a passionate defence of his decision to leave under 23s coach neil Critchley to manage a weakened team — just like he did for the Carabao Cup quarter-final last month — the Liverpool manager claimed he was ‘ not a revolutionary guy’ and did not want to be ‘the person who is the shouter for everybody’.
But after claiming that the Fa had failed to speak to the appropriate people at Liverpool about replay scheduling in the Premier League’s winter break, he denied that he owed it to paying supporters to at least be in the stadium.
Klopp said: ‘ What difference would it make? Why should I be there? give me a reason why I should. On the football side it is clear and the other thing is we have to make a stand.’
For some Liverpool fans, Klopp is jeopardising a shot at the treble of league, Fa Cup and european Cup that Liverpool fell one game short of winning in 1977. But he said: ‘We talk about how we could win all the other things and we haven’t even won the league yet. I never understood that.’
Klopp was animated, determined to defend his position at length and only prickly when the question of being in the directors’ box cropped up. In a 25-minute discussion of the issue, ahead of the team’s Premier League match at West Ham tonight, he said the Fa
Cup team comprising under 23s must be coached by Critchley, who was told before sunday’s tie at shrewsbury that he would be in charge of any replay.
‘I don’t just show up for two days’ training and tell them what to do,’ said Klopp. ‘that would be like all the good coaches from the past could still come in, like Fabio Capello could just go to the Italian national team and tell them two days before what to do, and everything would be fine. It is not like this. they need their coach. and they get their coach. Critch.’
Klopp admitted he was unaware who from Liverpool had been invited to discuss the intrusion of fourth-round replays on the winter break. ‘I don’t know who was there from which club,’ he said. ‘But I know the Fa said all the clubs agreed.
‘no sports-responsible people were there. not a club, not a manager, not a sporting director and that’s what we need. that’s what has to change, or next season we’ll have the same situation.’
there is increasing bemusement at the Fa about Klopp’s stance, since it was the governing body which carved out the 13- day winter break in the first place, by moving the Fa Cup fifth round to midweek.
the Fa insist that there was unanimous understanding among the Premier League clubs that fourth-round replays might reduce the winter break by three days.
the governing body insist that high-level club executives, with appropriate authority, discussed the fourth-round replay issue. Despite Klopp’s vow to avoid the same situation next year, there is no appetite at the Fa to abandon fourth-round replays because of the chances of smaller clubs earning a pay-day.
Klopp, who will be without sadio mane tonight and at home to southampton on saturday because of a muscle strain, has avoided substantial criticism from Liverpool’s supporters.
the club’s decision to cut ticket prices for the Cup game to £15 for adults, £5 for young adults and £1 for children has helped. But that will impact on shrewsbury, who get 45 per cent of the gate receipts.
Liverpool will not field an entirely under 23 side. the line-up is likely to include first- team squad members neco Williams and Curtis Jones, who were part of the victorious Club World Cup squad and therefore missing from the Critchley side that lost 5-0 to aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.