Durham: We are lucky to have Jurgen Klopp in this country raising important issues for the game

[TLW]

Adrian Durham has spoken out in favour of Jurgen Klopp’s plea for players to be front of mind when it comes to football fixturing.

 

The topic of fixture congestion and player burnout has been a main talking point over the last few months due to leagues around Europe wanting to make up for lost time due to the late start of the current season.

 

Klopp is never one to bite his tongue when it comes to a issue he feels passionate about and player welfare is always at the forefront of his mind.

 

The German has built a fine squad at Liverpool over the years, but has had plenty of headaches dealing with injuries to a number of key players so far this season.

 

But he is well aware that a number of clubs are doing it just as tough at this present time.

 

Klopp showed his frustration at TV network scheduling in the aftermath of the Leicester game on Sunday night telling Geoff Shreeves of Sky Sports in no uncertain terms:

 

 

“It’s about all the players, England players, players who play next summer in the European Championship.

 

“Sky and BT have to talk because if we keep playing Wednesday and Saturday at 12.30pm, I’m not sure if we will finish the season with 11 players.

 

“All the top six or seven, but I know you don’t care.

 

“It’s really difficult for the players, that’s what is difficult. The rest is just a decision on a desk in an office. That sounds not difficult for me.

 

“People tell us to rotate – who? We have offensive players to rotate, yes, the rest are kids.

 

The Talksport host told his listeners that this period is a pivotal moment for the game.

 

“At a time where we’re actually trying to look after footballers 50 years too late in terms of dementia, in terms of player welfare and player health, I think maybe Jurgen Klopp should be listened to.

 

“I think we are lucky to have Jurgen Klopp in this country so we should perhaps listen to what he is saying.

 

“It’s not about him earning a load of money out of the game. It’s not about him having the hump about something. 

 

“It’s about Jurgen Klopp saying in this particular season, where there was very little pre-season and very little turnaround from last season, where there’s still a whole load of international games being played where there’s a truncated season with lots of matches being played in a short space of time.

 

Durham then turned his attention to the short recovery time that Premier League clubs playing in Europe have to deal with ahead of their weekend fixtures.

 

It has been a bone of contention for many years, but has come to a head in this truncated season.

 

“Is it right we are asking Champions League clubs to play on a Wednesday night and then 12.30pm on a Saturday in this particular season?

 

“I think he’s (Klopp) has got a great point. In this particular season, bearing in mind there’s been a pandemic that’s affected the whole world and some of those players are travelling around the world playing international football, what we have to do is have a look at these players and ask, could something be done about it?

 

Finally, Durham addressed the overall package which at the end of the day is what people pay very good money to see either on TV or at the ground itself.

 

“Klopp’s concerns are twofold; player welfare and the quality of the football on show. Is anyone bothered about that by the way? The quality of the football on show.

 

“Why aren’t we listening for Jurgen Klopp instead of listening to people who say ‘woah they get paid lots of money so they shouldn’t have any say in it whatsoever’.

 

“Let’s care about the players, let’s care about the product as well. Isn’t that important?”

 

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[Guest]

Never heard of the cunt. 

[dockers_strike]

Jurgen is spot on with this. Too many twats just say 'use your squad and rotate your players.' These are the same people who kick off when Jurgen then puts out a team of 'squad' players for the EFL and FA Cups but then, the trumpet they blow is Jurgen's disrespecting the cups and he should play the stars.

 

They talk out their fucking arse. You either accept the use of squad players and the manager's right to play them when he chooses and if you dont, you're a massive hypocrite for telling him to use his squad and kicking off when he does.

 

It's the same with this 5 subs shit. The 'elite' clubs already have 7 or 8 subs who are better than Brighton's or Burnley's or Sheffield United's etc. And guess what, the 'elite' clubs have 11 better players on the pitch as well!

[VladimirIlyich]

Its not so much the domestic stuff,its stupid internationals and especially international friendlies too. Like Ive said previously,the one area where I'd back the big clubs is telling FIFA and UEFA to fuck off but they arent doing anything but moaning. Pull the players out and tell them that as their employees that they not travelling in the current epidemic,that would soon show them.

[cloggypop]

Talksport is for wankers.