Cup replays a we must not r
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is generally thought of as a ceaseless smiler and the jauntiest German ever to patrol a technical area (and imagine the competition for that title).
But there is reputation and then there is reality.
Mark Twain, in an article for Chat! magazine, said: “Give a man a reputation as an early riser and he can sleep ‘til noon.”
Klopp is actually as much of a face twister as Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger ever were (although Mourinho still stands alone in the arena of tantrum throwing).
Old Clippety’s indignation at the prospect of lowering himself to attend his side’s FA Cup replay against League One riff-raff Shrewsbury Town was not an edifying spectacle.
Consequently he abandoned his duties and simply didn’t bother attending; insisting that it was a matter of principle and not because the telly was good last Tuesday.
Had he played a stronger team in the original fixture at New Meadow, then it might not have been an issue. He played the reserves in both games.
All managers should be free to select the team that best represents the interests of their club.
But there is a subtext here. What the very top clubs want is to scrap cup replays. They wouldn’t mind jettisoning the League Cup too.
Don’t be surprised if it happens too. They tend to get their own way.
It isn’t new. In the 19992000 season, the entire FA Cup was moved forward a month to accommodate teams in the Champions League. Manchester United weren’t even in the FA Cup that season. They withdrew to take part in the World Club Championship – a competition that no one has ever really cared about.
This meant that the whole of the FA Cup, third round tradition and all, were inconvenienced for the benefit of one club, Chelsea, who were England’s only other remaining team in the Champions League.
However, in 2014, had Sunderland not lost to Hull City in the FA Cup sixth round they would have been forced t g R
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