Sport

Jurgen Klopp has no excuses about the Premier League schedule as Liverpool face falling TWELVE points behind Manchester City, warns Alan Shearer… and Thierry Henry claims the faltering Reds have suffered from a ‘weird’ atmosphere in recent weeks

By Ben Miller For Mailonline

Published: 00:15 GMT, 29 December 2021 | Updated: 01:25 GMT, 29 December 2021

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be alarmed by his side’s sudden loss of energy and cannot use fixture scheduling as an excuse, Alan Shearer has warned after the Reds’ defeat at Leicester.

Mohamed Salah missed several chances including a penalty and Sadio Mane should have scored as Klopp oversaw a wasteful 1-0 loss to a second-half strike by Ademola Lookman at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.

Klopp described his players’ performance as ‘really bad’ and admitted that he was not primarily concerned about falling further behind City, who can move 12 points above his team by winning the two games they will play before the Reds are next in action.

Jurgen Klopp (second from right) could not stop Liverpool from slipping to defeat at Leicester

Ademola Lookman (left) punished the Reds for their unusual misfiring by scoring the winner

The frustrated manager could not pinpoint why Liverpool had played poorly after a five-day break while some of their rivals have faced a more hectic schedule. 

Shearer told Amazon Prime Video Sport: ‘Man City have been relentless in their performance but [Klopp] is right – that’s not his concern.

‘What would be his concern is the way his team played. He hasn’t really got the excuse of playing two games in two days but his team were flat, they didn’t play well.

‘They got into good positions but their final ball was poor. Yes, they had a penalty miss; yes, they missed a sitter with Mane.

Klopp held his hands up and admitted that he did not know why his team had underperformed

‘But the Liverpool that we have got used to watching plays with energy, plays on the front foot, closes you down with intensity. We didn’t really see enough of that.’

Fellow legendary striker Thierry Henry claimed Liverpool’s form had already dipped during their win at home to Newcastle on December 16, draw at Tottenham three days later and victory on penalties over the Foxes in the Carabao Cup before Christmas. 

Henry said: ‘There were already [bad] signs in the games against Newcastle and the cup against Leicester.

‘Yes, it wasn’t the same starting lineup – but against Tottenham there were signs of them not being at their best.

Mohamed Salah had a penalty stopped after 15 minutes and hit the crossbar from the rebound

‘There was kind of a weird atmosphere and momentum. They just got by. Before those games, they were killing teams.’

Liverpool are level with Chelsea in second and six points behind City after failing to score for the first time in 35 games.

City travel to Brentford on Wednesday and Arsenal on Saturday before Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning, the NFL said. He was 85.

The league said he died unexpectedly and did not detail a cause.

Madden gained fame in a decade-long stint as the coach of the renegade Oakland Raiders, making it to seven AFC title games and winning the Super Bowl following the 1976 season. He compiled a 103-32-7 regular-season record, and his .759 winning percentage is the best among NFL coaches with more than 100 games.

“Few individuals meant as much to the growth and popularity of professional football as Coach Madden, whose impact on the game both on and off the field was immeasurable,” the Raiders said in a statement, hours before team owner Mark Davis lit the Al Davis Torch in honor of Madden, the first person to ever light the torch on Oct. 16, 2011.

“Tonight I light the torch in honor of and tribute to John Madden and Al Davis, who declared that the fire that burns the brightest in the Raiders Organization is the will to win,” said Mark Davis.

It was Madden’s work after retiring from coaching at age 42 that made him truly a household name. He educated a football nation with his use of the telestrator on broadcasts, entertained millions with his interjections of “Boom!” and “Doink!” throughout games, was an omnipresent pitchman selling restaurants, hardware stores and beer and became the face of Madden NFL Football, one of the most successful sports video games of all time.

“Today, we lost a hero. John Madden was synonymous with the sport of football for more than 50 years,” EA Sports, the brand behind the Madden franchise, said in a statement. “His knowledge of the game was second only to his love for it, and his appreciation for everyone that stepped on the gridiron. A humble champion, a willing teacher, and forever a coach. Our hearts and sympathies go out to John’s family, friends, and millions of fans. He will be greatly missed, always remembered, and never forgotten.”

Thanks, Coach pic.twitter.com/wnv8W1pIjJ

— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) December 29, 2021

Madden was the preeminent television sports analyst for most of his three decades calling games, winning an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality, and covering 11 Super Bowls for four networks from 1979 to 2009.

“People always ask, ‘Are you a coach or a broadcaster or a video game guy?”’ he said when was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I’m a coach, always been a coach.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Hall of Fame President Jim Porter in his statement Tuesday night.

“He was first and foremost a coach,” Porter said. “He was a coach on the field, a coach in the broadcast booth and a coach in life.

“The Hall of Fame will forever guard Coach Madden’s legacy. The Hall of Fame flag will be flown at half-staff in his memory.”

Madden started his broadcasting career at CBS after leaving coaching in great part because of his fear of flying. He and Pat Summerall became the network’s top announcing duo. Madden then helped give Fox credibility as a major network when he moved there in 1994, and went on to call prime-time games at ABC and NBC before retiring following Pittsburgh‘s thrilling 27-23 win over Arizona in the 2009 Super Bowl.

“John Madden was an iconic figure, transitioning from a successful coach to one of the most impactful and distinctive broadcasters in history, across all genres. His love of football was only matched by the fans’ admiration for him. He will forever be synonymous with the game,” said James Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and sports content for the Walt Disney Company. Madden worked for ABC Sports from 2002 to 2005 as an analyst for Monday Night Football.

Burly and a little unkempt, Madden earned a place in America’s heart with a likable, unpretentious style that was refreshing in a sports world of spiraling salaries and prima donna stars. He rode from game to game in his own bus because he was claustrophobic and had stopped flying. For a time, Madden gave out a “turducken” — a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey — to the outstanding player in the Thanksgiving game that he called.

“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”

Said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: “I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden, and I know of no one who loved the game more.”

When Madden finally retired from the broadcast booth, leaving NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” colleagues universally praised his passion for the sport, his preparation and his ability to explain an often-complicated game in down-to-earth terms.

Al Michaels, Madden’s broadcast partner for seven years on ABC and NBC, said working with him “was like hitting the lottery.”

“He was so much more than just football — a keen observer of everything around him and a man who could carry on a smart conversation about hundreds and hundreds of topics,” Michaels said. “The term ‘renaissance man’ is tossed around a little too loosely these days, but John was as close as you can come.”

For anyone who heard Madden exclaim “Boom!” while breaking down a play, his love of the game was obvious.

“For me, TV is really an extension of coaching,” said Madden, who also became a best-selling author, wrote in “Hey, Wait a Minute! (I Wrote a Book!).”

“My knowledge of football has come from coaching,” he said. “And on TV, all I’m trying to do is pass on some of that knowledge to viewers.”

Madden was raised in Daly City, California. He played on both the offensive and defensive lines for Cal Poly in 1957-58 and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school.

Madden was chosen to the all-conference team and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, but a knee injury ended his hopes of a professional playing career. Instead, Madden got into coaching, first at Hancock Junior College and then as defensive coordinator at San Diego State.

Al Davis brought him to the Raiders as a linebackers coach in 1967, and Oakland went to the Super Bowl in Madden’s first year in the pros. He replaced John Rauch as head coach after the 1968 season at age 32, beginning a remarkable 10-year run.

With his demonstrative demeanor on the sideline and disheveled look, Madden was the ideal coach for the collection of castoffs and misfits that made up those Raiders teams.

“Sometimes guys were disciplinarians in things that didn’t make any difference,” Madden once said. “I was a disciplinarian in jumping offsides; I hated that. Being in bad position and missing tackles, those things. I wasn’t, ‘Your hair has to be combed.'”

The Raiders responded.

“I always thought his strong suit was his style of coaching,” quarterback Ken Stabler once said. “John just had a great knack for letting us be what we wanted to be, on the field and off the field. … How do you repay him for being that way? You win for him.”

And boy, did they ever. Many years, the only problem was the playoffs.

Madden went 12-1-1 in his first season, losing the AFL title game 17-7 to Kansas City. That pattern repeated itself during his tenure; the Raiders won the division title in seven of his first eight seasons but went 1-6 in conference title games during that span.

Still, Madden’s Raiders played in some of the sport’s most memorable games of the 1970s, games that helped change rules in the NFL. There was the “Holy Roller” in 1978, when Stabler purposely fumbled forward before being sacked on the final play. The ball rolled and was batted to the end zone before Dave Casper recovered it for the winning touchdown against San Diego.

The most famous of those games went against the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs at Pittsburgh. With the Raiders leading 7-6 and 22 seconds left, the Steelers had a fourth-and-10 from their 40. Terry Bradshaw’s desperation pass deflected off either Oakland’s Jack Tatum or Pittsburgh’s Frenchy Fuqua to Franco Harris, who caught it at his shoe tops and ran in for a TD.

In those days, a pass that bounced off an offensive player directly to a teammate was illegal, and the debate continues to this day over which player it hit. The catch, of course, was dubbed the “Immaculate Reception.”

Oakland finally broke through with a loaded team in 1976 that had Stabler at quarterback; Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch at receiver; tight end Dave Casper; Hall of Fame offensive linemen Gene Upshaw and Art Shell; and a defense that included Willie Brown, Ted Hendricks, Tatum, John Matuszak, Otis Sistrunk and George Atkinson.

The Raiders went 13-1, losing only a blowout at New England in Week 4. They paid the Patriots back with a 24-21 win in their first playoff game and got over the AFC title game hump with a 24-7 win over the hated Steelers, who were hampered by injuries.

Oakland won it all with a 32-14 Super Bowl romp against Minnesota.

“Players loved playing for him,” Shell said. “He made it fun for us in camp and fun for us in the regular season. All he asked is that we be on time and play like hell when it was time to play.”

Madden battled an ulcer the following season, when the Raiders once again lost in the AFC title game. He retired from coaching at age 42 after a 9-7 season in 1978.

Madden was a longtime resident of Pleasanton, California, a Bay Area suburb. A 90-minute documentary on his coaching and broadcasting career, “All Madden,” debuted on Fox on Christmas Day. The film featured extensive interviews that Madden sat for this year. His wife, Virginia, and sons Joseph and Michael were also interviewed for the documentary. John and Virginia Madden’s 62nd wedding anniversary was two days before his death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jurgen Klopp says he expects a big improvement when Liverpool are hosted by Chelsea on Sunday.

And the Reds boss refused to point the finger at Mohamed Salah, who missed a penalty in the 1-0 defeat at Leicester on Tuesday night.

The Reds failed to shine at the King Power and were beaten by Ademola Lookman’s second-half strike after Salah had missed from 12 yards in the first period following a foul from Wilfried Ndidi.

Klopp says he and his squad will talk things through at their AXA Centre training base this week as they get set to go head-to-head with Chelsea, who moved level on points with Reds after a 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Get all the latest Liverpool breaking news, team news, transfer rumours, injury updates plus analysis of what’s next for the Reds.

You’ll also get the latest transfer talk and analysis straight to your inbox every day with our FREE email newsletter.

Sign up here – it only takes a few seconds!

“Tonight, we weren’t at our best and that is why we lost,” Klopp said.

“We had quite a few chances to score tonight but it wouldn’t have made the game better actually.

“I could sit here now and it was 2-1 to us, which is obviously plausible, but I wouldn’t have liked the game anyway.

“I can say things like winning the dirty games and they are all true, but tonight I didn’t like a lot in our game to be honest.

“That’s not cool. We have to do better.

“So we have a few days now to think it through, talk it through, improve and go again.”

READ MORE: Mbappe makes big Salah claim amid Liverpool transfer links

MOTM: Vote for your star Liverpool player in our quick poll here

On the Salah penalty miss, Klopp added: “”There’s not a little bit of blame for him or whatever.

“Yes, James Maddison for sure was talking to him [to put him off], but everybody tries that.

“Mo usually scores from these situations and tonight he didn’t.

“It was a little like the whole game, Mo is part of the team and usually he is better in this situation like the team was better in the football game.”

When Zach Wilson stares across the MetLife Stadium field at the opposite sideline this Sunday, it won’t be Trevor Lawrence he’ll be looking at as his game-day counterpart.

Lawrence, drafted by Jacksonville one spot before the Jets selected Wilson at No. 2 overall last April, is a contemporary.

This Sunday at MetLife, the Jets rookie quarterback won’t be staring at a contemporary on the other sideline. He’ll be staring at the GOAT.

Tom Brady.

The bar raises dramatically for Wilson and the Jets, who are coming off of their feel-good, get-well win over the woeful Jaguars and Lawrence this past Sunday.

Brady and Buccaneers, who are 11-4, NFC South division champions and seeking to repeat as Super Bowl champions, play the Jets, who are 4-11 and seeking more signs of development from their rookie quarterback.

To say this is a step up in competition for Wilson and the Jets going from Lawrence and the Jags to Brady and the Bucs is as obvious as pointing out that Tampa Bay receiver Antonio Brown has had a few off-the-field incidents during his otherwise stellar NFL career.

There hasn’t been a lot to keep the interest of the Jets fan this season — other than watching Wilson’s development. That took an unfortunate pause for the four games Wilson missed with a knee injury, but he’s been back for five games and has looked like a better quarterback, throwing only two interceptions in those games (none in the last three) since returning from his injury.

The problem, though, is that Wilson hasn’t been producing enough touchdowns, throwing for three of them and rushing for four others in the past five games.

Baby steps, though.

Wilson was the better quarterback this past Sunday when matched up with Lawrence, who threw for more yards than Wilson did, but Wilson ran for 91 yards, including his electric 52-yard scoring jaunt, and made key throws when he needed them.

Wilson will not win Sunday’s game against Brady and the Bucs throwing for the 102 yards he had against the Jaguars. He and the Jets will need more.

Consider this: Brady enters the game having thrown 37 TD passes and for 4,580 yards this season and averages a league-high 305.2 passing yards per game.

Then this: The Buccaneers average 29.5 points per game this season, second most in the NFL.

And this: Wilson doesn’t have a single 300-yard passing game, averages 183 passing yards per game and has thrown seven TD passes in 11 games.

Seven TD passes is a pedestrian two-game total for Brady.

Wilson and the Jets are playing with house money anyway in what always has been a developmental season, so Sunday against Brady should, at its very least, be a great measuring-stick learning experience for Wilson, who’s studied Brady on tape.

Wilson revealed this month that he watched film of Brady before the Jets played the Eagles on Dec. 5 in an effort to pick up tips on how Brady worked against the Eagles defense when he played them earlier in the season.

“I thought it was really cool to see kind of how he went through his whole process, how he navigated the pocket, different things like that,” Wilson said at the time.

On Sunday, Wilson gets to see that process up close as Brady tries to dissect a Jets defense that has yielded 29.9 points per game this season, the most in the NFL.

That puts an added onus on Wilson to produce on the other side of the ball, because he knows Brady is going to get his. Wilson will likely need to produce four TDs — any way he can — for the Jets to simply remain competitive with the Super Bowl champs.

That’s a lot to ask of a 22-year-old kid who’s produced just 11 TDs in his 11 starts, up against Brady, who’s thrown 618 TD passes and for 83,784 yards in his remarkable career.

It, too, is a lot to ask playing against an aggressive Tampa Bay defense that’s ranked No. 9 in the NFL in points allowed (20.8 per game) and is led by former Jets head coach Todd Bowles, who’d surely like to send a holiday message to his former employer.

If you don’t think Bowles will be blitzing the bejesus out of Wilson, then you probably think Antonio Brown is a living saint.

The good news for the Jets is that Wilson has shown incremental improvements, particularly when it comes to his decision-making and quicker releases on his throws.

“He’s coming along, he’s getting more comfortable, he’s calmer back there,’’ Jets coach Robert Saleh said Monday. “He’s in a great headspace and it’s going to be fun to watch him grow, continue to grow.’’

A big part of that growth will take place this Sunday as he watches the GOAT operate from the opposite sideline at MetLife.