Arne Slot aims dig at Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss says ‘I’m a stupid manager if 12.30pm kick offs are more difficult’
ARNE SLOT is leading an unlikely revolution at Liverpool – by embracing early Premier League kick-off times.
Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp regularly railed against his hated “breakfast slot” during his Anfield tenure.
Klopp was a vocal critic of the early kick-offs, which he argued were bad for both players and fans.
He memorably raged in May: “They dare to give us Thursday-Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday 12.30 – it’s a crime!
“I was waiting for Amnesty International to go to them.”
But Slot – who has broken records over his first two months in charge on Merseyside – is currently more accepting of the gruelling schedule.
The Reds boss said: “In general, the league where I’m coming from in Holland, they are more aware and try to help the teams that play in Europe more than it happens over here.
“But to be fair to the English FA, our schedule is so tight that it is so, so difficult.
“I think it is also something that has to do with the people sitting in front of me [the broadcasters], for the television stations – I have the feeling I do an interview every day.
“That is why we play at 12.30 because they can pick which team they want to have, and then nine out of 10 times Liverpool is included.”
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Slot went on to claim it was not the kick-off time that was the issue for him, but tough Premier League away days.
He continued: “I don’t think it has so much to do with the 12.30 kick-offs. For me, it is that every away game is difficult.
“Because we play so many times then at 12.30, people talk about 12.30.
“I think we have to talk about an away game because that is difficult.
“If 12.30 was a difficult time to perform, then I’m a really stupid manager because we train every day at 12 o’clock!
“I don’t see the idea behind it being that difficult performing at that time.”
Klopp has botched his Liverpool exit… and it’s cost him his legacy, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
NOW we know Jurgen Klopp’s final major trophy haul at Liverpool — one Champions League, one Premier League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and (if you must) a World Club Cup.
But where does his reign stand among the greatest of the Premier League era?
In black-and-white terms, Klopp is way behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, the only two men to have won multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League at the same club.
Those two sit alongside Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Sir Matt Busby as the undoubted all-time managerial greats of the English game.
But Klopp ranks in the next tier down — with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho (the Chelsea version), Bill Shankly and Don Revie.
These were all men with the strength of character to transform their clubs in their own image and enjoy success but who did not win as much as they might have done.
Had Klopp managed to keep his intentions under wraps and ended up with another title, perhaps even a treble or quadruple, he’d have edged himself up into that highest echelon with Ferguson, Guardiola, Clough, Paisley and Busby.
But deciding the timing and the manner of your exit is one of the toughest calls for any manager or sportsman.
Klopp got it wrong.
Read Dave Kidd’s take on Klopp’s demise in full here.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd’s articles.
Liverpool’s record over the years suggests they would prefer to avoid the 12.30pm kick-off time at all costs.
Since the start of the Premier League, they have played 50 games in the early time slot.
Of those matches, Liverpool have run out winners on 23 occasions, drawing 16 and losing 11.
It makes the time slot the second-worst overall for the club, only behind 1.30pm starts.
According to the stats, Liverpool’s best time to play is at 2pm.
Of the 24 Premier League games they’ve played in that slot, they’ve won 18 at a win percentage of 75 per cent.
Managers across the league continue to hit out at the Prem’s scheduling, despite Klopp departing over the summer.
Most recently, Man Utd’s Erik ten Hag was fuming ahead of his team’s game against Southampton last month.
Ten Hag told TNT: “First of all, for the fans it is very unfair to deal with this, with 8pm away games on a Saturday night.
“The 12.30pm, it’s not right, but they are always there. I’m so proud of our fans that they are always there.