My Birmingham Mail column Apr 25th 2018- Part One
Over the years I have heard more than my fair share of rubbish from various managers and I suspect one or two reading this will be saying “yes! And you’ve spoken more than your fair share as well”. Seriously though I was absolutely amazed at the post match mutterings of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp because his team were unable to beat West Brom..
According to him it was everybody else’s fault apart from his! The groundsman was at fault for not watering the pitch at half time? The referee was at fault, Even Albion were at fault for not letting them win when Darren Moore’s team didn’t need the points as they were all but relegated? A waste of points he said!
It really disappointed me to hear his comments mostly because he is one of my favourite managers ,I love his passion and sense of humour and was really hoping he would be the man to steer Liverpool to the title.
However, In my opinion, a person’s class best manifests itself when they have to handle disappointment; on this occasion Jurgen showed little class whatsoever with not no praise for the opposition whereas Darren Moore oozed class with his comments.
The pitch was to dry? That really is laughable and embarrassing because the first thing that struck me was that the pitch certainly wasn’t too dry in December when the Baggies drew nil-nil at Anfield? Nor in January when Albion won 3-2 there in the FA Cup? By the way that was the only time they have lost at home this season.
The referee Stuart Atwell should have awarded them a penalty and should have sent off Baggies defender Hegazi for allegedly punching a Liverpool player.
It’s an overdose of sour grapes from a man whose team could not find the answers to win in an eleven v eleven game but needed the referee and groundsman on his side as well.
He also said that the best teams should always win? Are you sure Jurgen? Because if you are right then Manchester City would never lose a game.
He even has a snipe at Albion’s way of playing by saying that if the Premier League was about “set pieces” Albion would not be relegated.
There is no right or wrong way of playing this fantastic game most managers or coaches just play the way they need to play to get a positive result. Every game poses different questions for a manager. He will come up against different styles, formations, pitches, etc. and it’s then down to his coaching ability to prepare his team to answer those questions.
He would have had detailed report after detailed report from his staff about the way the Baggies play. He obviously wasn’t as prepared as he should have been so perhaps start looking in the mirror before blaming everyone else for your team’s failure to win.
For me it sums up what is wrong with the game and the attitude of the so called bigger clubs who believe every other team should play the way that will allow the bigger clubs to win. The reality is if you try to out pass and out play these teams you will more than likely get beat so you need a plan that doesn’t allow them to settle comfortably into their rhythmic was of playing. That usually means 90 minutes of hard work from every single player to frustrate and stop the so called better players from expressing themselves. Set pieces and counter attacks being your best bet for a goal.
I hear that Jurgen was looking forward to playing against Roma in the Champions league last night because they play it on the ground and don’t just rely on set pieces-yet another classless pop at West Brom.