THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
WRANGLING EPL
Manchester^ United^ are^
struggling^ to^ get^ back^ to^
their past^ gloryTHE GOOD
The Premier League introduced its own
version of a winter break in February,
splitting a round of fixtures across two
weekends to give each club two weeks
free of football during one of the coldest
months of the year. After years of wrangling
over how to make a winter break work in
a football culture that plays more matches
in winter, not fewer, or whether to have
one at all, it was a welcome addition to the
schedule.
It was sullied, a little, by the scheduling of
FA Cup replays at the start of the winter
break – such as the one that saw Liverpool
playing at home to Shrewsbury Town. The
Reds should have had two clear weeks
between playing Southampton on February
1 and Norwich on February 15, but were
instead called into action after failing to
beat the Shrews at the first time of asking.
As expected, Jurgen Klopp gave his players
the night off and the youngest Liverpool
XI in history dispatched the League One
club. Less expected – and somewhat
controversial – was Klopp himself skipping
the game and leaving Under-23s manager
Neil Critchley in charge, for the second time
this season. The first was when Liverpool
were expected to play in two different
competitions in two different continents
within 48 hours, and Klopp simply couldn’t
be in two places at once. This time, he
wanted his winter break.
Credit though should go to James Milner,
the 34-year-old midfielder who forgave his
break to watch the youngsters in action.
When his younger teammates were off
sunning themselves, Milner was sat at a
bitterly cold Anfield, there to offer support
and advice to the next generation. If anyone
could have done with a week in the heat, it’s
the battle-scarred Milner. Instead, he was an
encouraging presence to a talented young
side.THE BAD
Going into a relegation-threatened club as
the newly-appointed manager in the middle
of the season requires no little self-belief.
That it’s a club you’ve saved from the drop
once before, only to be sacked for not
being glamorous enough only complicates
matters further. So David Moyes could
have been forgiven for feeling a little cocky
when he was presented as the successor to
Manuel Pellegrini – the man who replaced
him at the London Stadium back in 2018.
Moyes has come to occupy a strange place
in the English football zeitgeist. His success
at Everton is essentially forgotten, and a
long list of disappointments is rememberedDID^ YOU^ KNOW?
James Milner^ has^ the^ highest^ votes^ for^
best^ leader^ amongst^ Liverpool^ playersCredit though should
go to James Milner, the
34-year-old midfielder
who forgave his break
to watch the youngsters
in action.