This week, Jurgen Klopp has spoken out regarding the ridiculous schedule that his players are set to face over the next couple of months.
With no date set for the Carabao Cup tie with Aston Villa, largely thanks to a lack of forward planning on the EFL’s part given the Reds have known for weeks that they would be in Qatar for the Club World Cup at the end of December, the situation is currently a farce.
No simple resolution has presented itself, with one idea even put forward to play the Carabao Cup tie on the same day as the main Reds squad are in Qatar.
Pep Ljinders would be in charge of a shadow team put out in that competition, with the Reds forced to play twice on the same day, in different time zones and parts of the world.
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Rather than look at the situation for what it is – a frankly ludicrous one – some Aston Villa supporters have perceived Klopp’s comments as arrogance; that he wants favourable treatment for a big club.
‘A joke’, ‘No way’ and ‘Who does he think he is?’ were some of the takes on Twitter from some Villa fans, but that ignores the wider point Klopp is making: we need to talk about the workload players are being expected to take on.
Other clubs should be getting behind what Klopp is saying, as Pep Guardiola did on Friday in his press conference, not jumping on his words and taking him down.
The Christmas schedule is crazy enough without adding more complications, and it remains to be seen when both sides will agree for the Carabao Cup tie to take place.
In many ways, it might send a big statement for Klopp to follow through on his suggestion the Reds could pull out of the competition completely, though that would be unfair on the young players who deserve their chance.
The point this time applies to Liverpool, but in future, it will apply to every club in the top flight and beyond.