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“Closed. Selfish. Elitist.”
That video, released by La Liga this morning, attacking the concept of the Super League and questioning public pronouncements of those involved.
Official hashtag: #EarnItOnThePitch
The promoters of the Super League are now preparing a model similar to the one put forward in 2019, which is still closed or mostly closed, which will destroy the national leagues and which has already been rejected by clubs and leagues in Europe.#EarnItOnThePitch pic.twitter.com/pKenJb1lWP
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) November 4, 2022
Injury-news-wise, Klopp said James Milner will not be available for Sunday’s match at Spurs due to concussion protocols.
News from the PA football wire on that pesky Super League idea:
LaLiga has attacked the backers of the Super League – who include the presidents of its two most prominent member clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona – in a social media video published on Friday. Real and Barca bosses Florentino Perez and Joan Laporta were instrumental in the launch of the Super League last April.
The league quickly collapsed amid outrage among fans of the Premier League teams who had signed up, with the British Government, UEFA and FIFA also coming out in opposition to the plans. One of the key objections to the league from fans was its closed nature, with the premise being that 15 of the continent’s top clubs would be permanent members.
A video published on LaLiga’s Twitter account on Friday morning stated: “The promoters of the Super League are trying to conceal its format, claiming that they still don’t have a fixed model, although it will be inclusive and open. “We know that this is false and that they want to present a semi-closed format similar to that of 2019, which has already been rejected by the clubs and (the) European Leagues (group).”
Louise Taylor
The television in the club house at Coalville Town was tuned into BBC2 and all eyes were on Alan Smith and Dion Dublin as they prepared to make the draw for the first round of the FA Cup.
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“We were No 61 and Charlton were No 11,” says Jake Eggleton, recalling that Monday night last month. “When No 11 came out and we waited to see who’d they play, all I could think was: ‘Let it be 61, it’s got to be 61.’ When it was us, the whole place went mental. It was a wow moment. It felt fantastic, unbelievable, amazing.”
Klopp is interesting on the challenge of facing Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli: “The [pre-match] analysis of Napoli was a pure joy from a football point of view … because everything they do works out in the moment. It’s crazy, the way they score goals, where they score the goals, the highest tempo, all these kinds of things. The challenge was to deny that and we did that, so that’s good. It’s not news to me we can do that … we just have to do it again, and again, and again [for the rest of the season]. That’s how it is.”
Jürgen Klopp is speaking now on Liverpool’s general form before going to Tottenham on Sunday (they have lost their last two PL matches against Forest and Leeds): “If you want to get out of something, you first have to get through it … we go there [to Tottenham], and want to be 100 per cent at our best.
“It’s a difficult place to go, a really good team … a really fighting unit. Antonio’s [Conte] on his toes on the touchline, players going into challenges … it’s a tough one, but that’s what we all want. It’s like a Champions League game in the Premier League.
“We have to fight through this. That’s the case. You cannot play through it. You cannot forget about the defending stuff … in between [Champions League wins over Ajax and Napoli] we lose against Leeds, that couldn’t have felt worse, but then you play a good game against a team in form [Napoli], and it gives you a lift.”
News this morning from the completely normal Fifa World Cup, courtesy of Paul MacInnes:
“England and Wales fans will be paid to travel to Qatar for the World Cup and given free tickets to the opening ceremony, but there is a catch: they will be expected to be ambassadors for the tournament.
“Members of the Fan Leader Network, a group which Qatari authorities say “contributes to tournament planning through fan insight, research, content creation and message amplification”, have been offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of travelling to the tournament, providing they agree to certain terms and conditions.”
Last night’s match reports, if you missed anything:
Preamble
A mere 16 days to go now before Qatar and Ecuador kick off the World Cup – but there are still two rounds of the Premier League to be snuck in before England, Wales and assorted other qualified nations assemble in the Persian Gulf for the most controversial show on earth.
It’s another big weekend of domestic – aren’t they all? Sunday is looking particularly momentous, featuring as it does Chelsea v Arsenal and Tottenham v Liverpool.
We’ll bring you team news, previews, World Cup news, other news, and possibly some reaction to Erik ten Hag deploying Harry Maguire as a striker in the Europa League last night. “It is what it is,” said Ten Hag, and it’s hard to argue with that.
Anyway, enough of my yakking. Here’s 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend:
