Jurgen Klopp won’t back down from FA Cup replay stance

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will not back down from his stance regarding Liverpool’s FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury Town next week at Anfield.

With the Reds drawing 2-2 at the New Meadow on Sunday night, Liverpool were forced into a replay against Shrewsbury Town.

Klopp will not play any of his senior players in the replay, as he is looking to honour the inaugural Premier League winter break.

Neil Critchley, who is Liverpool’s under-23 manager, will take charge of the young side that face Shrewsbury Town in the replay next week, as Klopp has also opted for a break.

Klopp defended his stance yesterday in his pre-West Ham United press conference.

Klopp said, as quoted by Goal: “I have to make decisions based on the situation we are in, some people made other decisions before the season. Whoever it was – and okay, the FA tried to do something with moving games to midweek to decrease intensity – but it came out and whoever was involved, if someone from our club was involved and forgot to say no, I don’t know exactly how it was discussed.

“The situation ends up, we are given two weeks [off]. In the first moment I thought, okay, two weeks, but it was not clear which week you get, and then we started going a bit into it and then we saw if we get the second week we probably get a Champions League game in that week.

“We cannot make then a week off and say there are two days to prepare for Atletico Madrid in this case, so the other week was the first week, for the Champions League teams it’s the better week as there’s no Champions League games.

“And then it came up that there could be a potential [FA Cup] replay. Because we plan in the long term, I cannot plan like this [at short notice], especially in a really decisive period of the season coming up, so I decided we will have a mid-season break, based on a letter [from the FA] that we got in April 2019 when we were asked to respect a mid-season break.

READ: Jamie Carragher questions Jurgen Klopp’s FA Cup replay decision

SHREWSBURY, ENGLAND – JANUARY 26: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool warms up with Jason Cummings of Shrewsbury Town during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Shrewsbury Town and Liverpool at New Meadow on January 26, 2020 in Shrewsbury, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

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“I know how it sounds now and I don’t want to be in the middle of all discussions, I’m not a revolution guy or trying to show the whole world how strong I can be or whatever, it’s not the reason. If people think that I’m lazy because I’m not here [for the match], I cannot change that.

“People can name me whatever, I’m not too interested in that because the only responsibility I have is for my players, and for all the [Premier League] players as well.

“If we react now in the way we always react, like: ‘We have to sort it somehow, we’ll be here and find a way to do it,’ then nothing will change. I think all people in football agree that something has to change, and people have to speak.

“I don’t know who was there [at the FA meeting to discuss the mid-season break], I know the FA said all the clubs agreed, but no sports-responsible people were there. There was not a manager or a sporting director there, that’s what we need, that must change as well, otherwise next year we have exactly the same.

“I made a decision and now it looks like people want something different from me, so I cannot do what all the people want. Could I be here for the game? Of course I could, but that’s again a complete misunderstanding of managing and coaching.

“The mid-season break is now something that has to be settled for the next years and all the different parties need to find a solution, so it will not be like this year again, where it’s possible that you have one [a break], but you may not.

“We do it to make a clear standpoint, and again, if people call me lazy or disrespectful to cup competitions, it’s all not true.

“Every year we are trying to find our way through the season and it’s absolutely okay, it’s our job, but if then part of these long-term plans is a mid-season break, then it has to be a mid-season break and you cannot get it [taken] away a week before you have it. That’s not possible.”

Klopp does make some very valid points in his argument. No one appears to really have an issue with the German resting his best players, but the issue appears to be the fact he won’t be in attendance for the game.

Many people do forget that it is a long season for the manager as well as the players. A break might do Klopp some good, as the Reds are in for a big few months to conclude the season.

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Source: anfieldhq.com