In his eleventh exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jon Smith, one of football’s earliest agents and a man who was an integral figure in the formation of the Premier League, discusses the future of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, the current format of VAR, the owned by Newcastle United and more…
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The World Cup break could save Jurgen Klopp…
I am a big fan of Jurgen Klopp.
I think he has done a remarkable job at Liverpool. I love his football: that high pressure, the high energy. I think he’s great from a fan perspective, but it’s interesting how similar he is to Jose Mourinho. They both build these great teams and then it dissipates after a few seasons and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe they have a system that works, but when the other clubs figure it out, they struggle to adapt.
However, I find it incredible that we are even talking about Klopp’s position because of the success he has had. If he were a Liverpool fan, he would be delighted, but they are not happy. They are protesting, admittedly not against Klopp, they are angry at the owners, but I wonder how long it will be until the “FSG out” calls become “Klopp out” calls.
I think when it comes to the possibility of him losing his job, I think the only thing that will save him, even if they lose to Spurs next weekend, will be the World Cup bye. Those few weeks will give him a little bit of time to try to turn it around, but in the meantime I urge the fans to root for him and root for him because he really is a good guy and I can’t think of anyone that he can. come in and do a better job.
VAR: I’m sorry for the fans in the stadium…
First of all, I think VAR is a good step and can be a success, but I’m not sure why we can’t have a situation like we have in cricket, where there’s a kind of replay of what the players are seeing. referees.
Sure, viewers at home have that luxury, but for fans in the stadium, they’re just stuck in limbo for three or four minutes, sometimes longer, and that’s not fair.
Leagues really need to try to fill that void. In a way I also feel sorry for the referee of the match, because whatever happens, he will never be able to keep up with the athletes who are in very good shape, so although they need support, VAR in its current format is doing its worked. more difficult.
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Let’s not be hypocritical when it comes to ownership of Newcastle United…
I feel there is a bit of hypocrisy when it comes to ownership of Newcastle United.
When the Wolves came up from the Championship, everyone was cheering for them, but they were under Chinese ownership and let’s be fair: China is a persecuting nation and doesn’t like other demographics much, and yet no one said a word.
It is true that the Saudis do not have the ideal society. In fact, there’s a lot wrong with that, in my opinion, but if you’re going to start banning certain people and worrying about the emotional validity of the investment, then you’re going to have to review most of the money in the sport.
The EFL is poised for some big changes…
What I have been saying about the financial concerns of the EFL has now been made official. President Rick Parry has recently spoken publicly about the problems facing the pyramid.
The EFL is asking the Premier League to increase the amount of its revenue that is shared. They want it to go from 15 percent to around 25 percent and I don’t really see that happening. The UK government has already said it can’t help, so the future of the EFL is highly uncertain, to say the least.
Obviously there will be ongoing discussions, but I think what will happen is that the Government will stay out of it and the Premier League will keep saying “why should we give them a quarter of our revenue?”
So if those things happen it is inevitable that the structure of the EFL will change and I wouldn’t be surprised if most clubs in League One and Two are forced to work part time and if that happens before you know it. we will have a ‘Super League’ in the form of the Premier League by default. It will be very interesting to see how football changes in the coming years.
