Klopptrap
I have always liked Jurgen Klopp.
He gives the impression of being a first class manager without taking himself seriously.
He has revived Liverpool and is a pathfinder of German managers and coaches at the highest Premier level such as Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United.
Yet I found myself taking great exception to his critique of Burnley for resisting the extension of 3 to 5 substitutes. It smacks of the contempt of smaller clubs that was such a feature of the ill-fated European Superleague.
Great pressure was brought to ensure that Liverpool players like Mane and Salah are free to play in the key Premier game v Chelsea this Sunday and not called up to their countires in the forthcoming African Nations Cup.
Small clubs like Leicester City, Brighton and Brentford have brought much to the Premier party.
My team Brentford regularly had to sell their best forwards (Maupay, Benhrama, Watkins) but still not only achieved promotion but also hold their own in the top flight.
They also moved stadium and have been rightly praised for their attacking football.
Brighton fans not so long ago had to travel to Gillingham to watch a home game and now they have a fine stadium showcasing Premier football.
When I first started to watch football Burnley were a power in the land. They had a skilful captain in Jimmy Adamson, an old fashioned skilful inside forward in Jimmy McIlroy and an even more old-fashioned tough centre forward in Andy Loichead.
In the sixties, despite producing Ralph Coates Martin Dobson and Dave Thomas, they were in decline but rejuvenated with a young team featuring Leighton James and Steve Kindon, a side much admired by Alastair Campbell.
They had to wait even longer for their third coming under Sean Dyche. They may not survive this season but merit their place.
Besides what is a top club?
Liverpool themselves went some 20 yeas before winning a Premier league title – Manchester United only won two FA Cups between the end of the Matt Busby era and 1990. Spurs have won little since the early 60s.
Chelsea and Manchester City were in the second – and in City’s case the third tier within the last 45 years.
English coaches are generally found in the lower reaches of the Premiership like the excellent Graham Potter at Brighton, Sean Dyche , Dean Smith now at Norwich , Eddie Howe and have to make do and mend in what is manifestly an uneven playing field on which Jurgen Klopp seeks to introduce more bumps.
