🗣 | "I don't like it and I hope it doesn't happen."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2021
James Milner speaks out against the proposed breakaway European Super League...😳#MNF pic.twitter.com/NkMmNJhiyA
Those interviews with Jurgen Klopp and James Milner were really impressive, and maybe - maybe - we’ll look back on them as an important moment. I’m not confident, but I feel slightly better than I did three hours ago.
Anyway, that’s it for tonight’s blog. Thanks for your company and emails, sorry I didn’t get chance to read them all. Goodnight!
James Milner: 'I don't like it and I don't want it to happen'
“We have to try to be professional and concentrate on the game – that’s all we can do. The first we heard of [the European Super League] was yesterday. Everyone’s got a lot of questions. My personal opinion is that I don’t like it and hopefully it doesn’t happen.”
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Here’s Patrick Bamford
“I felt like we should’ve won. I’m frustrated to be honest but a point against Liverpool is a good point. I’m annoyed with myself that I haven’t scored tonight.
“[Re: the Super League]. I can’t quite comprehend it. It’s amazing the amount of uproar that comes into the game when someone’s pocket is being hurt. It’s a shame it’s not like this with everything that’s going wrong in the game, like racism.
“It’s something we talk about but it’s not a big distraction – once you get on the pitch, you’re not thinking about it. We’re like fans really; we’re in shock. Without fans, football is nothing, so it’s important we stand our ground and show that football is for the fans and try to keep it that way.”
Another plug for Sean Ingle’s superb summary of a surreal day.
Leeds remain in 10th place and are now level on points with Arsenal. Liverpool stay sixth, two points behind West Ham in fourth.
Full time: Leeds 1-1 Liverpool
That was a really good game between two high-energy teams. Liverpool were much better in the first half and led through Sadio Mane’s goal. Leeds were equally good after the break and fully deserved Diego Llorente’s late equaliser.
90+2 min The substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain misses a good chance to win the game, poking straight at Meslier from 10 yards.
90 min There will be four minutes of added time.
GOAL! Leeds 1-1 Liverpool (Llorente 87)
And they get a reward. Harrison’s superb inswinging corner is headed in from six yards by Llorente; it’s his first goal for Leeds. That was a brilliant ball in from Harrison.
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86 min Ayling wins a corner for Leeds, who deserve a reward for their second-half dominance.
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86 min Another Leeds change: Pablo Hernandez replaces Tyler Roberts.
85 min Thiago sprays a pass over the top for Salah, who gets away from Llorente but then drags a tame shot wide of the far post. I think he might have been offside, on reflection, though it was still a poor effort.
83 min “Whatever people think about the merits of the idea,” says Simon McMahon, “who wouldn’t want to get up at 4am to watch the Liverpool - Man United wildcard fixture to see who plays Real Madrid or Barcelona in the Western Conference championship match ahead of Soccer Bowl I versus some Italian club at the Enormo-Dome in February 2022?”
81 min Liverpool bring on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Diogo Jota, who has been threatening but slightly profligate.
80 min Meslier plays a dreadful pass, straight to Salah 25 yards from goal. He moves into the area and has a shot that deflects behind for a corner. Alexander-Arnold’s corner pinballs around the area, with Meslier out of his goal. Eventually Jota loops a header towards goal and Meslier scampers back to punch it over the bar.
79 min Mateusz Klich comes on for Leeds in place of Alioski.
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78 min Liverpool break three on two, with Robertson on the ball. He runs 60 yards and then overhits a simple pass through to Jota. Oh dear.
77 min Another great chance for Leeds. Poveda-Ocampo slides a square pass to find Roberts unmarked in the area. He takes a touch and rams a shot straight at Alisson from eight yards. Alisson’s positioning was good and the ball thumped into his chest. That was really similar to the chance Paul Pogba had at Anfield earlier in the season.
75 min: Bamford hits the bar with a terrific effort. He killed Ayling’s long pass on the run, waited for it to bounce and lobbed it over Alisson from the edge of the area. It just didn’t dip enough and hit the top of the bar before rebounding to safety.
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73 min This has been a really good game. I thought it might be subdued, in the circumstances, but both teams have played with their their usual intensity.
71 min A change for Liverpool: Mo Salah replaces the goalscorer Sadio Mane.
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69 min Roberts finds Harrison, who slithers away from Milner on the six-yard line and hammers a low shot that is excellently saved with his feet by Alisson.
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68 min Here’s an excellent summary of the day’s events from Sean Ingle.
67 min A change for Leeds: Ian Poveda-Ocampo replaces Helder Costa on the right wing.
67 min An excellent free-kick from Phillips flashes across the face of goal.
66 min Kabak is booked for a block tackle on Ayling.
63 min Here’s more from David Hytner on the T-shirts that wound Liverpool up.
62 min Leeds are having a good spell, probably their best of the match. In fact they’ve had 71 per cent of the possession in the second half.
61 min “Hi Rob,” says Colin. “It is interesting that everyone from the prime minister down is getting upset about a breakaway league, yet they said nothing about 6,500 migrant workers dying while building facilities for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“6,500 deaths so that a few rich blokes could kick a ball around while other rich blokes make even more money from it, and Qatar get to indulge in a bit of sports washing. Just think how many kids will never see their dads again, how many will grow up in poverty because the breadwinner is dead.
“I think we’ve lost our perspective and I doubt we will ever get it back again. Football really is more important than life itself. How tragic is that?”
60 min A Leeds corner is headed on by Bamford and volleyed over from close range by Costa. I think he was offside anyway.
NO PENALTY That’s fair enough - he was actually trying to move his arm out of the way.
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59 min Leeds appeal for a penalty when a cross hits the arm of Alexander-Arnold. VAR are checking. This is close - it definitely hit his arm, but it was tight to his body.
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57 min A wicked low cross from Alioski just evades Bamford in the middle. Robertson turns it behind for a corner. That almost leads to a chance when Roberts’ mishit shot is kept in play by Ayling on the byline. He cushions a volley back into the middle and Liverpool clear.
56 min It feels like a matter of time before Liverpool get a second goal. They have been intimidatingly good tonight.
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54 min Robertson’s corner just evades Jota on the six-yard line.
“I don’t care how old he is, one of the great midfield heroes for Leeds these past few seasons has been Pablo Hernandez,” says Mick Byrne. “Why doesn’t he play more often? He’s needed now...”
He’s 94 years old?
52 min “Surely there are various options to solve this and surely it’s very significant that the UK government will do everything it can to stop this,” says Francis Mead. “We could have the German 51% rule to limit foreign ownership; we could even have a ‘socialist” draft system like the NFL to even up the competitions; and the PL, the FA and the government could lay down regulations that determine that competitions must have open-ended entry and the chance of regulation and promotion. Already players are likely to be banned from the Euros and World Cup - that is not trivial. Things are very far from lost at the moment - it could actually be a good moment for fair reforms.”
It could, but I’d say it’s pretty unlikely.
51 min Milner’s dangerous cross is turned just wide by Mane at the near post. In fact Meslier got to it first and pushed the ball against Mane, with the rebound going past the post.
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49 min Here’s a piece from Andy Hunter on Jurgen Klopp’s comments about the Super League.
47 min Firmino’s shot from a tight angle is pushed away by Meslier, falling to his right. The resulting corner is headed over from six yards by Jota. That was a really good chance, a sitter in fact.
47 min “Ajax won’t be in the Super League,” writes Sven Schlijper-Karssenberg. “Here’s the official statement by Edwin van der Sar...”
46 min Peep peep! Leeds begin the second half.
“Be good to know that, if this travesty happens, the Guardian won’t MBM the games,” says David Clarke. “There’s no supposing it’ll make the crooks quake in their loafers, but it would be sad if we all had to boycott you, Rob.”
Funnily enough I was chatting to Paul Doyle about this today. I hope we won’t cover any of it, but we all know how life works.
“Truth be told, and I know I am the minority, I do not get the fury,” says Oliver Loksa. “Being a Liverpool supporter, do I feel betrayed? No. Why should I? Because my club wants to play additional games and earn additional money? From a supporter’s point of view, I would understand the fury if they had intended to abandon the PL or CL, but they had not. And if somebody managed to enrage UEFA to this extent, they must be doing something right.”
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More half-time reading
Half-time reading
This is a very good email, pretty much all of which I agree with, especially the part about us all being complicit.
“You’re right that Neville and Carragher were superb tonight on Sky, and it was really interesting to hear them both admit that they’d stayed silent on the owners of their own clubs,” says Charlie Robinson. “Neville went so far as to call them scavengers, and I agree with him. Blaming the owners of these clubs is quite right - but it’s only half true. These owners are acting in their own self-interest in the way that all club owners do, Steve Parish included. But they’re seeking to exploit a system that has opened itself up to exploitation, and which rewards that exploitation. I heard someone say earlier today that of the twelve clubs who’ve signed up, some weren’t overly keen to do so, but felt that they couldn’t be left without a seat when the music stops.
“That for me is the problem, and it’s one that’s inherent to the capitalist system that has for a long time, in one way or another, pervaded football, and not just over the last twenty-odd years since the inception of the Premier League. For ‘normal’ businesses, those that don’t stay competitive lose out and can go under. So they scamper after profits, often doing so by squeezing surplus value from workers, cutting corners, and exploiting new markets. This is what’s happening here. It’s not just the owners who are the problem, but the whole logic of the football system, which imposes systemic imperatives that these clubs ignore at their peril. The Champions League, Sky, and the Premier League are but three examples of this, and the ESL is just yet another manifestation of it.
“So yes, the ESL is a terrible idea, and I hate it. But I also hate the venal system that has been in operation for decades and decades now, the one that has left us with projects and clients and customers and stakeholders and official paint sponsors and hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds. We’ve all participated in this, and ended up precisely where we expected and precisely where it was always headed and precisely where we deserve - the hyper-capitalist end-point of our game.”
Half time: Leeds 0-1 Liverpool
Peep peep! A motivated Liverpool are ahead thanks to a goal from Sadio Mane. They’ve been much the better team, really impressive in fact, and could have scored a couple more.
44 min “Hi Rob, I hope you’re keeping well,” says Niall Mullen. “I don’t doubt that even a cursory examination of football’s history would quickly put paid to the ideas of the sport as some Corinthian idyll. Nor do I doubt for a second that any of the other teams, Leeds, Everton, West Ham, whoever would have joined the proposed Super League given half a chance. Also I know that all things change and that those things that seemed eternal and monolithic as a child are mere transient bagatelles that only imprint themselves thus on your impressionable mind. This still absolutely effing stinks though.”
Yeah, in more ways than one it’s the fat end of the wedge. I’m probably wrong but I can’t see how this can be resolved satisfactorily.
42 min Tyler Roberts sidefoots a first-time shot at goal from the edge of the area. It’s nowhere near the corner and Alisson saves easily.
41 min When Liverpool play like this, it becomes very hard to understand their shambles of a season. At the best, and they’ve been pretty close tonight, they are nigh-on unstoppable.
40 min Meslier makes a fine save from Jota, who read Llorente’s dodgy backpass and tried to lob it over the keeper.
39 min Now Firmino is booked for a super foul on Ayling.
38 min Milner slices well wide from 20 yards.
38 min If it stays like this Liverpool will move up to fourth, above West Ham on goal difference, for whatever it’s worth.
37 min Alioski is booked for legging Mane up. Just before that, Dallas floated a cross to Harrison beyond the far post. He could have volleyed at goal but instead tried to cushion the ball back across to Bamford, and Fabinho nipped in front of him to clear.
35 min One other thing about the Super League: look how crap the website is.
34 min Alexander-Arnold tiptoes into the area and reverses a pass to Jota, who spanks high and wide from the edge of the area.
33 min Liverpool deserve that goal. Whatever their motivation, they’ve been really good.
Diogo Jota drove an excellent angled pass to find Alexander-Arnold, who got away from his marker Harrison. Meslier came out to the edge of the area so Alexander-Arnold poked the ball square to give Mane an open goal.
GOAL! Leeds 0-1 Liverpool (Mane 31)
Sadio Mane ends his goal drought.
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27 min Liverpool are still dominant, even though Leeds had the best chance. Robertson’s corner from the left is headed wide by Wijnaldum, ahead of the near post.
The YouGov finding that 79% of football fans oppose the European Super League is more or less as you'd expect. What struck me was the *51%* who believe the six English clubs involved should now be kicked out of the Premier League.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) April 19, 2021
🚨 | Jurgen Klopp speaks about the European Super League...
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2021
The #LFC manager explains his thoughts on the breakaway proposals and reveals him and his players were not consulted on the decision.
Watch #MNF live on Sky Sports Premier League now! pic.twitter.com/DLSXeT1Lze
25 min Dallas is booked for something or other.
25 min “Disagree with Robi Polger on the NFL,” says James Maslen.” In the last 17 years, 13 different teams have won the Superbowl and the only team that one it more than once was the New England Patriots. Hardly predictable. Last year, the team up the road, the Tampa Bay Buc’s came out of nowhere to win it. Perhaps Robi should start watching again.”
24 min Bamford misses a good chance to give Leeds the lead. Fabinho played a poor pass straight to Phillips, who slid it through to Bamford. His touch was heavy and that allowed Alisson to block the shot, which ricocheted off Fabinho and just wide of the empty net.
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23 min “I think blaming Americans for the ESL is a bit cheap,” says Peter Pearson. “American fans I know (and being one myself) love the tradition and history of the game. The ESL is a disgusting soulless cash grab. If the new league moves anywhere, it’s obviously to overseas tax havens, just like the owners’ money. PS: The NFL has loads of issues but at least there’s a draft system to try to keep the league competitive.”
21 min A dangerous low cross from Harrison is sliced wide of his own goal by Kabak, under pressure from Bamford. In the end he did pretty well, as that could easily have been an own goal. The corner is headed away by Firmino.
20 min “Hi Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Anyone looking for a new club to support is welcome to join me and a few others in following 1984 European Cup semi-finalists Dundee United FC. And as a special introductory offer, we’ve even got a Scottish Cup quarter final against Aberdeen this weekend on free to air telly. Disappointment guaranteed. You’re welcome.”
I think I might just start football again, watching every Match of the Day from January 1980 onwards.
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19 min Jota cuts inside Ayling in the area and hits a shot that is crucially blocked by Llorente. Liverpool have started extremely well.
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18 min Firmino shoots straight at Meslier from 25 yards.
17 min Costa plays a square pass to Bamford in the D. He starts to turn towards goal and is then well challenged by Thiago.
14 min Jota turns Struijk beautifully in the area, and is about to shoot when Alioski makes a vital sliding tackle.
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13 min Bamford drags Harrison’s free-kick wide of goal from 12 yards. It wouldn’t have counted anyway; he was offside.
12 min Here’s more on today’s other big story - Jose Mourinho being invited to do one from Spurs.
11 min Leeds haven’t really got going yet. Liverpool, by contrast, look purposeful and confident.
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10 min “I agree with Mary Waltz (18:59) about the perils of the franchise-ation of football,” says Robi Polgar. “In the US, before a season starts, everyone knows who’s going to be in the playoffs in the four domestic leagues (gridiron football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey); there are seldom any surprises. Games are reduced to ritual, something you experience as rote. I stopped watching American professional sports years ago. I imagine, were I in the UK, I’d gravitate toward my local non-league club and ignore the franchises (though you know they’ll be marketing the hell out whatever pablum they serve).”
8 min “I’m all for this Super League business, if only to drive home a few banal truths about what the economic system we live under actually does,” says Phil Podolsky. “Also, can’t wait for clubs to be called things like The Leicester Ligers, The Portsmouth Pangolins, The Barcelona Badgers... C’mon people, let’s breathe in the winds of change.”
7 min Liverpool have started excellently. Fabinho, playing centre-back, runs half the length of the pitch before clipping a short cross to Firmino. The ball is slightly behind him and Leeds eventually scramble the ball away.
5 min Thiago beats Phillips with a wiggle of the hips and cracks a swirling drive from 25 yards. It’s straight down the middle and Meslier leaps to tip it over, an acrobatic but essentially straightforward save.
4 min The intensity of the game is decent, with no sign that the players are subconsciously wondering WHAT’S THE BUGGERING POINT.
3 min Firmino runs onto a long, straight pass behind the Leeds defence. Meslier comes a long way off his line but the angle is tight and Firmino mistimes his attempted lob over Meslier.
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1 min Peep peep! Liverpool begin the first half, kicking from right to left.
“I can see Carragher’s point, but the reason that these clubs are breaking away is that they feel there is a market there that is currently being untapped,” says Mick Reynolds. “Far from a lot of people being put off by this league, what’s being forgotten about is the fact that fans in the US, Middle East, and other markets are probably seeing this as a great opportunity, and a chance to possibly have some games or even a franchise in their local area. The Slimy Six and their European Allies are banking on that, hence why “European” has largely been excluded from their branding, the long-term aim would be to expand the league to the likes of America and the Middle East.”
I think he was talking from the perspective of people who grew up with football in the 1970s and 1980s. But I agree with you – I think this breakaway will be a success, at least by their criteria.
Right, time for the football. Marcelo Bielsa and Jurgen Klopp embrace warmly, two football geniuses whose opinion on the future of the game matters not a jot.
Gary Neville suggests they might cancel the EFL Cup final
“Who cares? They don’t care about English football.Something like that has to be on the table, because they have to know they can’t bully their way through everyone in this country. They are bullying the 14 clubs, the EFL, the FA...”
Here’s Ian Wright on Arsenal’s involvement
“I literally can’t believe it when I saw Arsenal’s name come up on the screen as one of the teams. This is the same Arsenal that only a couple of weeks ago was commended for the tribute to David Rocastle. God, the man would be turning in his grave knowing what is going on now. Is this how far we have fallen? That we are getting into competitions because we are not good enough to get into them, so at the detriment of the English game we are getting the seat to the table we have no right to be at.”
It’s nearly time for the football. I think I’d rather watch another three hours of Carragher and Neville.
“Evening Rob,” says Gary Byrne. “I think the question that really needs answering is: will the European Super League use VAR?”
That made me chuckle. Then I remembered this from Sean Ingle’s exclusive.
The Super League ownership and governance structure is designed to allow us to rapidly adopt and incorporate new ideas into the competition. Whether it’s changes in live match distribution formats, technology-enhanced rule implementation or player development, we can no longer rely on external bodies to drive progress in these areas.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have been quite majestic on Sky Sports, ferociously eloquent for the best part of an hour. Here’s more from Carragher.
I think people are already starting to turn away from football. VAR’s a big part of that. And this will turn away a generation of supporters who grew up loving football. It’ll just become boring, because there’s nothing there. Football can take you to a place that nothing else can. This league will never take you to that place, ever again.
“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “Is there any point Liverpool putting any effort into tonight’s game now? They don’t want to qualify for next year’s Champions League and won’t participate if they do. So why even bother trying to win? The only real gain for them left this year is getting in the top four, which only brings CL qualification and a little extra money. Why not just use it as a training match to give experience to some of their youth players for all the difference it’ll make for their ambitions left for the season.”
I suppose it’s too soon for a gesture like that. I really feel for the Liverpool players. Klopp’s interview confirmed that he and they knew bugger all about it until yesterday. That is scandalous. I can’t see how this has a clean ending, never mind a happy one. This is it, this is armageddon.
More from Jurgen Klopp
“We will try to focus on the game. I heard that there are warm-up shirts [made by Leeds, with ‘EARN IT’ on one side and ‘FOOTBALL IS FOR THE FANS’ on the other]. We will not wear them, we cannot. But if somebody thinks they have to remind us that you have to earn the right to play in the Champions League, that’s a joke, a real joke, and it makes me angry. They have put them in our dressing-room. If it was Leeds’ idea, thank you very much. Nobody has to remind us, maybe they should remind themselves.”
I think he’s got the wrong end of the stick about the T-shirts, but he was a lot more critical than any other manager so far. Fair play to him.
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A plane carrying a banner with #SayNoToEuropeanSuperLeague has been flown over Elland Road.
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) April 19, 2021
Listen to The Monday Night Club via @BBCSounds:
🎧 https://t.co/5Du5Yi3KXr#MNC #europeansuperleague #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/DOU7qvvdIO
“My wife, a teacher, used the word ‘stakeholders’ in an email recently about groups who had attended a conference and I let rip on how it’s a word I detest - business-speak twaddle,” says Phil West. “The owners of the clubs now call themselves ‘stakeholders’, I wonder when ‘fans’ will become ‘secondary stakeholders’. I am just too old.”
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More from Jurgen Klopp
“I have no issues with the Champions League. I like the competitive aspect of football. I like the fact that West Ham can play in the Champions League next year – I don’t want them to, because we want to qualify, but I like that they have the chance.
“What can I say? It’s really not easy. What I want to say is that Liverpool Football Club is much more than some decisions. The most important parts of football are the supporters and the team. We have to make sure nothing gets inbetween that. I’ve heard there are banners at Anfield and stuff like this - I don’t understand that because the players didn’t do anything wrong. We have to all stick together. When other people from other clubs use our anthem against us I don’t like that as well. We can show that nobody has to walk alone in this moment.
“There are things we have to sort, obviously, but it’s nothing to do with the relationship between the supporters and the team. Again, the boys didn’t do anything wrong apart from not winning some football games and I want to make sure that everybody knows that.
“I understand the frustration, I get that, but I’m in a different position. I don’t have all the information. I don’t know exactly why the six clubs did it... It’s always more games, more games. If you say it’s about money for the clubs. What do you think it’s about for Uefa and Fifa? Money, nothing else. Things will change and some things have to change, but usually you have to prepare these things.”
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Here’s Jurgen Klopp
“My feelings about a Super League haven’t changed. I heard about it for the first time yesterday. We’ve got some information, not a lot to be honest. It’s a tough one. People are not happy, I can understand that, but I cannot say a lot more because we were not involved in any processes: not the players, not me. We will have to wait and see how it develops.”
One last line from Gary Neville
“This is an attack by six wealthy families on the integrity of our national sport, and it must be stopped.”
More from Gary Neville: “The Glazers need to be booted out of this country”
“I feel slightly complicit. I’ve stayed pretty quiet in terms of the Glazer family over the years. I stayed pretty quiet because I thought when the club became a plc, you knew it could be bought. I believe in free market, generally in life, and I’ve always thought: what’s the answers to the Glazers? Who takes them out: Russia, China, state money?
“I’ve stayed quiet on the basis that it’s still Manchester United, I can still watch the lads play, I can still be happy and sad. If they take dividends out, I can live with it slightly. But what I can’t live with is them attacking every football fan in this country. They have stepped over the mark. They are scavengers. They need booting out of this football club and they need booting out of this country.”
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And here’s Gary Neville
“I was half hoping they would rethink it because of the backlash. When I woke up and saw the statement, and it had Joel Glazer’s name on it, I thought, ‘Oh. This is a problem. Big problem.’ He doesn’t put his name on anything that man. He’s intelligent, he knows what he wants. He’s parked his weasels and he’s come out. Once he puts his name on it… he’s gonna try and force this through. They went through hell at Manchester United in the early years. They withstood it. They don’t care. They don’t care.
“I’m enthused by the reaction. But if they get this through – and these owners have pushed difficult things through in the past, they’re steel-like – it’ll change football in this country forever. Forever. We have to now mobilise, organise. It’s definitely not to get emotional and feel sick. Everybody’s gotta come behind this. Forget allegiances. They’re trying to take football away from us.”
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The thoughts of Jamie Carragher
“I think supporters up and down the country can stop this, and I think at the forefront of this will be Liverpool, because I’ve seen it before. Football fans: get together, all of us, and stop this. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
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Team news
Leeds (4-1-4-1) Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Costa, Dallas, Roberts, Harrison; Bamford.
Substitutes: Casilla, Koch, Berardi, Davis, Hernandez, Klich, Shackleton, Poveda-Ocampo, Gelhardt.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kabak, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Milner; Jota, Firmino, Mane.
Substitutes: Adrian, Tsimikas, Davies, R Williams, N Williams, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri, Salah.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
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🙌 Football is for the fans. pic.twitter.com/9oQj2PM6l4
— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 19, 2021
The time in the UK is 6.59pm. We’re one minute away from Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville going off on a monumental one, live on Sky Sports.
“I stopped a lifetime of supporting the NFL ten years ago,” says Mary Waltz. “Fan protest did nothing. This Super League is simply the imposition of the NFL franchise model onto the Premier League. All their talk about improving the pyramid is complete hogwash. As soon as they have this set up they will eventually leave the PL completely. The whole purpose of this league is to avoid the uncertainty of relegation and replace it with a franchise NFL system. I know the NFL. They don’t care about criticism, they know it will fade. They respect two things. Government and legal actions and regulation.
“I fled to the Premier league as a substitute for the NFL.The NFL ruined American football for me. It is trying to do the same to the PL. Don’t let them do it. Call your MP, no matter how you vote, and tell them they have to stop this. Grassroot protest is lovely, I encourage it, but these brutes don’t care about your hurt feelings. The UK government, along with France and Germany, are the only groups who can stop this.”
One thing that does surprise me is that there was so little outrage about Uefa’s Champions League proposals, which involved a partial closing of the shop. Or am I missing something? This is another level of greed and entitlement, I appreciate that.
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Thanks for all your emails. I’ll try to read them all but it might be tricky. In the spirit of the times, if you lob me 50 quid I can guarantee publication.
“At least,” says Ian Copestake, “you won’t be debating VAR.”
If they have the nerve to inflict that on us tonight, I’ll do time. I’ll burn Stockley Park to the ground.
We’ve got a couple more new pieces - one from David Baddiel (insert your own Fantasy Football League joke here) and one on the reaction around Europe
“Klopp quitting is exactly the scenario I’ve been imagining,” says Matt Dony. “He’s previously dismissed the idea of a breakaway league, so it’s not the world’s biggest stretch. That kind of principled stance would absolutely wipe out any memories of the struggles of this season. I’m terrified of losing him from Liverpool, (and rationally I am fully aware that it’s a tremendously unlikely outcome; nothing more than a sad fan romanticising a horrible situation), but should events unfold like that, I don’t know what could possibly top it.
“In the big picture, it already feels like it’s gone too far. I don’t know how to fix the rifts that have already developed. Maybe there already isn’t a way to fix them. But I’m sad. I’m sad it’s finally come to this. I’m sad that the millions (and millions) of voices of fans aren’t being listened to. I’m sad that football makes itself so hard to love.”
I can’t see how this gets resolved. It’s shocking but not surprising; let’s be honest, football has been going down the swanny for decades. It’s been happening in plain sight. There is one very small upside, though: we will never again have to watch Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest preaching from atop the moral high ground.
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This is sensational work from Sean Ingle
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“Good luck for this one Rob, as your email is going to be absolutely chock-a-block,” says Michael Cosgrove. “As for me, a Liverpool fan, all I can say is that if they go through with this I’ll be looking for a new club to support. Two candidates; Newcastle United (soft spot club) and Lincoln City (childhood memories). Or maybe I can support them both? That apart, I’m so looking forward to the interview!”
If Klopp were to quit, live on Sky, half an hour before the match, he would become immortal.
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The peasants’ revolt
If you’ve been at a digital retreat in the Kerguelen Islands this weekend, you’ll have missed the shocking revelation that [redacted] is the big villain in Line of Duty. There was also something about a European Super League, and a Big Six doing unspeakable things to a golden goose. You can read all about that below. Oh, and Jose Mourinho has been sacked.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Jurgen Klopp being interviewed at Elland Road. Let’s be honest, that’s why we’re all here. We’re going to stick around for the post-interview entertainment, too, an association football match between Leeds and Liverpool. It’s an important game for Liverpool, who need to finish one of the top four divisions if they are to qualify for next season’s European Super League. Can they do it?
Kick off 8pm for the football, 7pm for the TV coverage, in which Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville demonstrate their full vocal range.
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