Mohamed Salah ‘should never play for Liverpool again’ after his exchange with Jurgen Klopp. Plus, Arne Slot views, why Man Utd are hated, Blades sympathy and lots more.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com…

Small data sets  
One aspect of sports reporting that irks is the use of a single example to make a point.

Take Slot’s move to Liverpool. It’s being treated as a poisoned chalice. After all, they say, look at what happened at Utd. Look how all the post Ferguson managers have failed.

Liverpool had a track record of successful managerial transitions in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Paisley outdid his gregarious and out-sized personality predecessor, Shankley. The quieter spoken Paisley morphed a successful side into an even greater team, winning more trophies.

Ah, you say, but he was a member of the famed boot room – of course he would succeed – but Dalglish was never a member of the boot room and yet he too succeeded.

And then we have the modern twist – the naughties Chelsea. Turning over managers, completely changing playing style and yet still winning.

The challenge is that the sample size in elite football is too small to draw any conclusions. Which is a dream for all the sloppy, crappy sports ‘reporters’ at the red tops.

Slot has just as much a chance of succeeding after Klopp as anyone. Likely better. He inherits a decent squad, brilliant training facilities, excellent data scientists, a financially well run club and massive fan base.
Paul McDevit

I am a bit taken back with the way everyone (Media, pundits and fans) has been raving about Arne Slot. Every article I read or journalist I listened to talked about how perfect he is for Liverpool (Does it mean he is not perfect for, lets say Man United). So my question is ‘Is there a permanent manager ever appointed in EPL that the media and journalists felt he is not right for the job (so Lampard second coming at Chelsea won’t count)? Cos I can’t think of any!
Yusuf (Arsenal fan), Abuja

Lack of tactical managers now in the Premier League 
So given Klopp is now leaving, and he wasn’t exactly the best example of a tactical manager, what top class tactical managers are there now in the Premier League? I would say the only ones currently are Pep & Arteta and yes they do have very good players and individuals to implement these tactics, but also they have coached a lot of players in understand these tactics and using them effectively in games. To be fair, I would probably put Unai Emery in this category too given how well he has turned things around at Aston Villa.

Alonso not joining Liverpool is a big blow I think, looks like this Arte Slot guy will need to prove himself, but should be given the chance before everyone judges. Alonso has definitely made the right decision staying at Bayer Leverkusen though, he should stay at least another year and try and win the league again and go on a good run in the UCL too. The Premier League needs more managers like Inzaghi & Simeone, even someone like Luiz Enrique & Pioli too, who have done pretty decently over the years. Basically long story short, the league needs more Italian & Spanish managers, as tactically they are the best ones currently globally.

When you compare the Premier League around 6-7 years ago at the start of the 2016-17 season, you had Pep at City, Wenger at Arsenal, Poch at Tottenham (Definitely should not have gone to Chelsea), Mourinho at United, Klopp at Liverpool and Conte at Chelsea. It is only half as good now, and although the league still being competitive, a lot of missing calibre in regard to quality of managers you have now. It’s become a somewhat overrated league in England now, where the spending is way over the top and a lot of deals for players are not even coming full circle/complete success either.
Rami, Dubai

This Liverpool team
The Liverpool team lived under a cloud of willing suspension of disbelief in many ways;Our manager is the best can do no wrong in strategic planning. Too much reliance on Mo Salah and Great Expectations that he is still one of the best.

Both predictions went wrong. In addition the news of coach leaving created not only a storm outside but also one within the minds of all senior players. Therefore, no chance this year of holding the PL trophy. We can only hope if winter comes to Liverpool can spring be far behind
Mohammad Zafar. Karachi, Pakistan

The closest I can compare being a Liverpool fan now, is it’s like waiting at the airport to fly home after a brilliant holiday. Yeah it’s been amazing and I’ll be taking great memories for life, but I just want to get it over with now.

Once reality sets in, in a few months all we’ll really remember is the good times, and they were truly great, and appreciate the position we’ve been left in. It’s horrible that right now though, for all involved we just need to get on the f**king plane.
Dan

CR7 vs ETH vs Salah vs Klopp 
In light of the events that occurred during the #WESLIV game last night involving Salah & Klopp, even CR7 never disrespected his manager and the club like that! Salah should never play another game for the club!
Chipa(ManC in UG)

Blades sympathy 
I felt increasingly bad for the Blades throughout the second half of their return fixture at St. James Park. My sons were – understandably – crowing about scoring 13 goals against a team in a single league season, but I just hated to be supporting the side sending them down. Sheffield United really were good early on, fully earning their lead. The ten minutes after Isak’s clinical equalizer were just critical. Wor lads escaped a number of terrible defensive situations as Sheffield United shredded our defense over and over but didn’t find that touch of luck or quality. They did to us what Palace did for much of the first half.

At first viewing, I suspected Gordon had dived or manufactured the contact, but it was a penalty right enough, though there seemed to be no intent to foul. At any rate, the play began my (I hope not condescending) sorrow for the Blades, which only mounted with the scoreline. Fabian Schär’s halftime substitution for Krafth seemed to pretty much solve Newcastle’s defensive issues, but Sheffield didn’t really break until 4-1. It was a brave performance, if futile.

And now I’m thinking how weird it is for a Newcastle fan to be in a position to be magnanimous at all. I’m somehow disappointed to find my club only in 7th after that performance, though I only half-expected Manchester United to drop points. I’m not the first Mailboxer to find myself recalling this site’s opinion that NUFC’s season was a failure with a certain scorn. As a supporter who hadn’t previously seen the top six since Alan Pardew went on one of his occasional runs twenty years ago, I can assure you that a league and cup season including no less than 11 wins by three or more goals doesn’t feel hugely disappointing, even if it also includes 13 league losses. Do I wish we were in third? Of course, but I’m far from angry about this. Not like, say, Manchester United and Liverpool supporters, heh. We are good, if uneven, and we are fun to watch. I am content and hopeful.

While I’m on the subject: I read the recent exchanges over Newcastle fans and the club’s ownership and elected not to get involved while I was emotional about it. I’ll just add now that I didn’t hope for or support the purchase, I don’t lionize the owners (though I have to admit they’ve done a good job of hiring management), and I spend less on the club than I once did — though I’ll admit that will change when I visit SJP next season. My club was purchased by villains, but that doesn’t change my love for it, and I’d like to think it wouldn’t for a longtime supporter of any club. I’m just sad that there’s really no such thing as a good-guy billionaire, let alone one whom I could imagine buying my club from Mike Ashley, a villain in his own right. And nobody can tell me I have to stop loving my club or celebrating its rare successes.

Newcastle United supporters should, in my opinion: celebrate rather than gloat (except with mackems and a few other sworn enemies, natch), be cheerful to opponents rather than nasty, and be aware of who is funding the success and admit the validity of the criticism that brings. They should also be respectful of FFP/P&S rules, because we don’t want people (even us) outright buying the league, however many times it may have happened before. Though as Saudi investment has concentrated in the city itself, one might almost forgive the locals many blind eyes. So that’s my tuppence on that.
Chris C, Toon Army DC (Is there actually a benign owner left in the EPL? Hedge funds definitely don’t qualify, and neither should most holding companies.)

Don’t get too excited about 115… 
Foolishly I thought I’d write in and try to improve people’s understanding of the Premier League case against City. It’s often stated that there are 115 separate charges against Man City, but even ignoring the fact that they’re not actually charges (I’ll let that lie because what’s in a word anyway) this is rather misleading.

From what we know of the 115, 7 are for alleged PSR regulation breaches. However, a quick look at City’s accounts shows that in isolation, unlike Everton and Forest, City are nowhere near a breach (even before “good spending” is factored in):

For comparison Everton made a £287m loss in their accounts for their first breach. Nb. For Everton, Forest, Newcastle, Villa, Leicester fans etc…, I know, the FFP rules are disingenuous at best.

Man City (3 year totals – relating to PSR breach year allegations)
15-16; £7.1m profit
16-17; £30.1m profit
17-18; £30.1m profit

Clearly for those 7 to be established something else must be established first. This is where the 54 alleged breaches for failing to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information come in.

However, for these to be established it must be established that the information provided was incorrect in the accounts and other documentation. So from what is in the public domain it seems we’re back to the basis of the UEFA case that was overturned at CAS, namely the Etihad, Etisalat and perhaps a couple of other relatively small sponsorship arrangements that UEFA didn’t think worth pursuing (I.e. a few arrangements relating to a small number of sponsors repeated over a large number of years).

So in reality it seems 61 of the “charges” require the panel to come to a different conclusion to the judges at CAS. Yes, CAS found the UEFA case around the Etisalat (but not the much bigger Etihad) deal was time-barred, but the evidence was heard and there was no indication in the CAS judgement that a different conclusion would have been drawn. Furthermore, Etisalat and the other smaller deals, wouldn’t result in a PSR breach being established due to the smaller size of those deals (and City having a margin of over £150m to the PSR threshold for each of the 3 year periods).

There are also 5 more related to breaching UEFA’s FFP rules that most likely fall into the category above. Although it’s not entirely clear if the Premier League is trying to re-contest the CAS judgement, punish City for entering into a settlement agreement in 2014 (which they haven’t for other teams), or exactly what.

So what about the other “charges”? 35 are for none cooperation. These will be specific issues that have come up during the Premier League investigation. As at CAS (no doubt similar issues, but a different investigation so separate issues) City will probably win some of the arguments and lose others (lawyers eh…), but it’s unlikely these will result in anything more than a fine as there isn’t an obvious sporting advantage that could be linked to any established breaches.

The other 14 relate to alleged off the books payments to managers and players (Mancini who left before the Premier League had spending limits – so no sporting advantage even if established) and then the ? of this case. Did Yaya get his cake after all?

So can the Premier League establish what UEFA couldn’t in relation to the Etihad and Etisalat deals? Or how many points should be deducted per slice of cake consumed…If, of course it’s established that Yaya eventually did get his cake and he ate it.
Richard (dreaming of finally getting revenge over Wycombe), Sheffield

School me
Ok, so Wan Bissaka clears with his head and then a second later Onana takes out Amdouni who who would never have scored given that the ball had already been cleared by Wan Bissaka.

How is that any different to the multiple examples we see every game of a shot being taken and then someone being crunched seconds later and it’s play on.
Niallio, Dublin

If VAR only exists to essentially take away goals, bin it
First half in the West Ham v Liverpool game and Pacqueta commits a regulation red card challenge. Largely the same as the Jackson challenge on Tuesday and Killman on Saturday.

It’s totally reasonable that the referee missed all three and yet VAR looks at 3 instances of putting an opponent in serious danger and simply…..doesn’t intervene? Has the threshold for what should or shouldn’t be a red  changed? If it has, why hasn’t anyone been told?

Somebody soon is going to get their leg broken but as long as players don’t do anything egregiously bad as kick the ball away it’s fine?
Simon, London

I’m a 30-something year old Chelsea fan.

This means I’m old enough to have started supporting the club when we were mediocre, through to the Abramovic glory years, and now back to being mediocre.

However, in recent years, I’ve been going to watch my local non league side far more frequently than I get to the bridge. I’ve even found myself watching less chelsea games on TV.

So why is this?

Well, there are lots of contributory factors.

Maybe I’m subconsciously a fair weather fan.

Or perhaps it’s the fact I have 3 young boys, so my now weekends largely consist of ferrying them around to various social engagements, birthday parties, football training etc. which means that I don’t have the time.

Cost is another likely factor. Kids don’t come cheap and neither does top flight football.

Perhaps it’s the complete disconnect between top flight clubs/players versus the sense of genuine community you get in the lower leagues is another contributory factor.

However, this last week has proved once and for all that the main (perhaps sole) reason I’m no longer that fussed about top flight football, is VAR. It’s completely killed the game for me.

The joy of football is/was goals. The moment the ball hits the back of the net, followed by the roar of the crowd and everyone going mental in unison.

VAR has taken that away.

For example, whilst watching the Coventry v Man U game, even though the goal was initially given, I didn’t celebrate, as I suspected the player in the build up was offside. Same tonight when Chelsea ‘scored’ in the last minute.

Pre VAR, you knew as soon as the ref blew and pointed to the halfway line, it was a goal. Queue the madness. Whereas. now, my first reaction isn’t to celebrate but rather to wait anxiously for the replay to see if someone’s toe nail was maybe offside, if there was a foul in the buildup, or if the ball brushed someone’s fingernail.

You don’t have to worry about that in the lower leagues. Yes. It might mean that refs occasionally get something wrong. But ya know what, I can live with a few questionable decisions going for/against fleet in a season, if it means I can celebrate a goal and live in the moment, without worrying that someone sat in a van 200 miles away will rule it out for some minor infraction after watching 6 minutes of replays.

It is because of VAR that top flight football is now no longer the same draw for me that it once was, and I strongly suspect I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Top flight football is dead. Long live the lower leagues.
James (CFC are my big team that (used to) win things, but I guess I’m an Ebbsfleet fan now) Gravesend

Why Man Utd are hated…
Dave, the only reason that seems to add up to me for why Man Utd are the most hated team is: they’re the biggest club in England by a long shot, and that’s a convenient – but unsaid – reason for what we now see.

Have they broken the rules and been charged for 114 rule breaches? Do their fans scream “this means more” as if they’re the only club out there? Does their coach and fans demand an injustice should lead to “further action” and game replays? Have they spent £1 billion in the last two seasons? Does their social media attack referees and the PL with conspiracy theories? Did they throw away the title vs major rivals? Are they owned by slave owning petro-states?

The answer to all of the above is no. Man United are now the fall guys for each of the other 19 PL teams. Almost nothing those teams do do – good or bad – will outshine what Man United do or don’t do for the most part.

In a world run by finance and narratives, Man Utd are the ultimate attention hogs, headline sellers and easiest team to create a narrative around. I’m not saying – or seeing – that they demand or want this. It’s the media and opposition fans who push this, but the very same who are enraged by it.

Your coach is in a screaming match during the game? Na. Let’s talk about the guy calling his team entertaining. You’re the treble winners? Na. Let’s talk about the team decimated by injuries. You’re a team that was knocked out of the CL early but had many injuries leading to a poor follow up season? You can be United, but only criticized in you have a Man in it.

I can guarantee you all there won’t be the Sancho or Ronaldo coverage about Klopp and Salah. Why? Nobody outside of Liverpool truly cares. Much like Man City winning a treble or spending millions that look like wasted signings. Much like Chelsea spending 150% more than United in the same period.

I find this is a result from our modern tribalism, social media algorithms favoring negativity and toxicity, but also as a channel for football fans to direct their rage. People seem to rather be right than irrelevant, and that’s why we keep seeing Man Utd so precedent in the media. I’ve begun to hate the words “disgraceful” and “embarrassing” as they’re thrown around so often, by so many, who don’t seem to own a thesaurus.

It adds up too. If you’re in the media, and/or a fan of Chelsea, LFC on a bad day, Newcastle, Spurs, Villa under pressure, Arsenal, City in a title race, Everton in relegation survival, it’s in your interest to have another team take most of the attention. If you’re a media company, you write what sells, not what’s just or interesting.

How does this change? Well, Man United need a proven, successful, good looking, funny and charming master tactician who is stern but also fair. He needs to win almost always, and convincingly. All of his signings need to work out and the club structure needs to all be perfect as well. They need to sell more than they buy, and be even better at blooding in youth players. What they buy needs to be happy, charming and professional, and good in every game.

At that point, they’ll be something nobody’s ever been, and still hated for it.

Conclusion: people need something to hate. People need to be right about something. People need to make sales to survive. People need something to follow consistently. For all of that: the people have Manchester United.

Hated, adored, but never ignored.
Calvino (They we’re shit today though)

Blue Utd
I think City beating Brighton was the tipping point. Endless victories and trophies for 6 years, we are all bored to death with City and their hoovering up of wealth, points, trophies and ‘meh’ trebles.

Can’t they form a super league with PSG, Real, and that mega Saudi club and let the rest of us enjoy some competition and drama?

Guardiola, KDB and Haaland typify the kind of joyless domination City specialise in. They have achieved their goal of usurping Man Utd, City are now more successful, richer and more disliked. All hail Blue Utd..
Rich AFC