Klopp can’t afford to get this wrong.
Liverpool look set for a major summer overhaul after club owners Fenway Sports Group gave manager Jurgen Klopp the green light to splash the cash at the end of the campaign in a bid to turn a squad that is struggling to qualify for Europe and lost the Capital One Cup final into a serious force. Klopp, who has already secured the signing of defender Joel Matip from Schalke and Serbia Under-21 midfielder Marko Grujic, had been adamant that a raft of new faces would not arrive but an overhaul of the playing staff will take place during the summer. Few clubs in the Premier League have brought in as many new faces – or spent as much – as the Reds over the past few seasons. Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers outlaid just under £300million on 33 players from the time … [Read more...]
LVG confident Man Utd will guide modest Rashford
Louis van Gaal has urged the press to leave Marcus Rashford in peace following his dazzling start to life as a Manchester United player. The 18-year-old has burst onto the scene with four goals in his first two senior appearances for the Red Devils, including a double in the 3-2 win over arch rivals Arsenal on Sunday. Understandably, there has been an enormous amount of publicity surrounding local boy Rashford but van Gaal believes it is necessary to allow him the freedom to continue developing his game without the extreme fanfare he has witnessed over the past few days. "First I think that the media have to leave him in peace," van Gaal said. "Give him the time to be 18 years old, and we shall guide him also in that way. He is a very modest guy, so I don't … [Read more...]
Arsenal Santi Carzola could miss the rest of the season with Achilles problem
Santi Cazorla will probably miss the rest of the season after Arsene Wenger revealed the Spaniard has suffered an Achilles problem. The midfielder has been out since November with a knee injury but now has an issue with tendonitis which could yet rule him out for the remainder of the season, Arsenal have struggled with Santi on the sidelines and are six points off the top of the Premier League table after Sunday's defeat at Old Trafford. It was initially planned the 31-year-old would be back at some point in March but ahead of Wednesday night's game with Swansea, Wenger gave a fresh Hint on Cazorla. "Santi is not doing too well," he said. "He has some Achilles problems that hold him back. His knee is doing well but his Achilles has inflamed a little bit and we … [Read more...]
Pellegrini counting on City’s experience in title race
Manchester City can't afford any more slip-ups but Manuel Pellegrini feels experience can get them clinching the Premier League title. Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City are still in the Premier League race despite having little remaining margin for error as City travel to Anfield to play Liverpool on Wednesday, after overcoming the same opponent on penalties at Wembley on Sunday to lift the League Cup. That win came on the back of an emphatic 3-1 Champions League round-of-16 victory at Dynamo Kiev, a result that puts City in pole position to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time. But they head to Anfield, a ground where they have failed to win on their past 12 Premier League attempts, on the back of consecutive league … [Read more...]
Hiddink unhappy with complacent Chelsea
Guus Hiddink felt Chelsea could have wrapped up their victory over Norwich City a lot sooner after a Great start at Carrow Road. Hiddink accused Chelsea of taking their foot off the pedal after watching his team hang on to a 2-1 victory at Norwich city on Tuesday. The defending champions started like a house on fire at Carrow Road with Kenedy scoring the fastest Premier League goal of the season after just 39 seconds. Diego Costa doubled Chelsea's lead in first-half stoppage time from what looked like an offside position when he ran through to score, before Norwich mounted a second-half comeback. Nathan Redmond's goal in the 68th minute gave them hope but Chelsea held on to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games. Hiddink said "We didn't want to go into that … [Read more...]
Jurgen Klopp winning the Premier League unrealistic
Like all those other final defeats, for Liverpool the 2016 League Cup Final will shortly be treated like it did not happen at all. Such is the life of the losing finalist. Whatever the mandate was when he took over in October, reviving demoralized players who you must publicly support while privately asking yourself how much they can swell the transfer kitty in the summer requires more diplomacy. Klopp must somehow make these players believe there is glory in finishing fifth in the Premier League. That won’t take as much effort as winning the Bundesliga with Dortmund, but it’s still an unenviable task. The Europa League may prove to be a lifeline should Liverpool make it to the Basel final, but the doubters Klopp wanted to become believers do not fancy … [Read more...]