Klopp Defends Mourinho on Scheduling Comments

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp is still learning certain important aspects of being Liverpool boss. For one: Manchester United is always wrong about everything, and Jose Mourinho doubly so. Basically, Jürgen, be a bit more like Dr. Cox.

I guess we’ll let his mistake slide this time, as he raised some important points about whoever is in charge of Premier League scheduling (Skynet, presumably), particularly for teams with the extra burden of European competition.

“I heard what Jose Mourinho said and what the pundits think about it,” Klopp said in his pre-match press conference. “Last season we had the same experience. It was really hard. We played Villarreal and then Swansea at 12.”

Mourinho, as he is wont to do, complained to the media about Manchester United’s schedule, which leaves just 62 hours between wrapping up their Europa League match with FC Rostov, and Sunday’s early match away to Middlesbrough. Yes, it’s hard to manage the wealthiest team in the world.

“Don’t make it more difficult than it should be,” Klopp continued, “I really understand. We thought the same last season.

“We thought it was really hard. That was an experience. This year we could not use it but next year hopefully we can use it. That’s how the job is.”

I’m not sure how much difference the Sunday noon kickoff would be compared to the late match (at 4:30 PM) in terms of helping the team recover. However, as has been pointed out by numerous commentators over the years, other leagues tend to do a better job at working around the schedules of teams in European competitions.

Of course, the English FA gives not a single fuck about schedule congestion. Stiff upper lip and that.