'People can survive without matchdays from time to time'
- Published
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has lamented the turnaround time between games enforced by football's television broadcasters, labelling it "a crime".
If Aston Villa - who lost 4-2 to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final - fail to progress, there will be no English representation in all three European finals this season.
The Reds, alongside West Ham, exited in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, while Arsenal and Manchester City were knocked out at the same stage in the Champions League.
"If no English team is in a European final, have we all underperformed?" Klopp asked. "I watch a lot of football and the Premier League is the best in the world, it is not overrated but the players are overworked. Someone needs to help the people.
"Everyone has a reason to say we cannot do it, but we cannot sort it [ourselves] all the time. I had a discussion with TNT colleagues – a television channel I will never watch again – and they said they pay us to play football, but I don't see it that way.
"Football pays them. They broadcast and deliver it - they are doing extremely well and can pay all of you [media]. You have to become a part of football again and not just the squeezer. That is some advice from an old man on the way out."
Klopp is leaving the Merseyside club this summer after nearly nine years in charge and has regularly voiced concerns around early kick-offs and fixture congestion.
As the above chart demonstrates, Liverpool's win ratio for Saturday lunchtime starts is some way below their usual record under Klopp.
"People can survive without match days from time to time. Man City, Arsenal, us all out in the quarter-finals. It's not a reflection of quality but that we couldn't deliver on the day," he added.
"When I speak about it, people think it is because of the last game. No, it's not. It's a general problem. They dare to give Thursday to Sunday, Wednesday to Saturday at12:30pm. It is a crime. I was waiting for Amnesty International to go to them.
"[Just once] I would like to be part of that meeting when someone says 'Liverpool 12:30pm' and the whole room bursts into laughter. I would love to be there."
Liverpool fans, how do you feel about the fixture congestion?
Does Klopp have a point?