We are just past the half-way mark of this 3-week-long international break, with Premier League action due to return next weekend. It is a welcome return, to be sure, given that this is the longest break I’ve experienced as FIFA rolls out this new international calendar. Which means, then, that we can begin to finally turn our attention to the things that matter: Liverpool Football Club in matches that count.
That being said, this break has certainly been eventful. First, we have the opportunity to
at least reflect on the fact that the Reds away on duty have had a relatively positive experience (with some caveats to come). Namely, Florian Wirtz, on his first start for Germany under Jurgen Klopp, put on a man of the match performance, which included an assist and a goal whose beauty in terms of the technique required to set it up can only be captured on video. If there was a Red who needed a good performance away more than Wirtz, I can’t name them. The young midfielder had come in for renewed – and in my honest opinion, harsh – criticism as he came out of the blocks a bit slower in terms of production for Liverpool this season. Here’s hoping he has another strong performance in his final Nations League match.
A longer break meant that there was always the chances that more injuries might happen and, well, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both left their respective national team camps early due to injuries sustained during their stints on duty. With each of the Dutch, English, French, Hungarian, and Spanish sides all due to play over the next few days. The last matches being held on Tuesday leads me to hoping that proper preparations for Sunday – where the Reds will face Manchester City – will begin on Wednesday.
That match-up provides us with the perfect segway to discuss the other big news item: Manchester City being found guilty of financial doping on an historic scale. Last week, we mentioned that the bulk of stories were based on reports that, though written by journalists with strong reputations, had not yet been confirmed by the Premier League. That all changed this past week.
Premier League officials detailed, in a lengthy statement with a cadre of links for folks to review further documentation, that its investigative process found Manchester City to be “guilty of all charges related to serious breaches” of the League’s financial rules. A stunning confirmation, then, that the reporting noting City were guilty of 114 out of the 115 charges was in fact accurate.
It’s given us a lot of fodder on what would normally be a rather fallow period of discussion in the world of club football. So, in many ways, it was a bit of a godsend to have these pieces of news fall in our laps. We could chew the fat about something tangible, with real meaning. And not necessarily be limited to parsing just the hypotheticals of what might come on the other side of the break.
But, in truth, I also feel we’ve kind of discussed all angles of the financial doping scandal. In short, last week’s column more or less stands with the added bit that, much like my colleague Zachary Marx so eloquently spelled out in his column, the scale of City’s malfeasance has me feeling like the punishment has to be pretty heavy-handed. It’s got to be beyond demotion to the Championship – I feel like League One is the bare minimum in terms of demotion – and it has to include sanctions in terms of transfer bans. I’m not versed enough in the player power that exists in these leagues and what this would mean in terms of the likes of Erling Haaland, for example, being able to get out of their contractual obligations, but some ban on their transfers that approaches the length of time they spent actively gaming the system doesn’t really feel too harsh to my mind.
It was, in the end, being able to actually look at the full breadth and scope of it that helped to really move me into that position. I care little for the stripping of titles – though, I’ll have an absolute field day for the rest of my life when discussing Klopp vs Pep Guardiola – but there is utility in making a show of what it means to break the rules on this scale so as to discourage others from even broaching it. In a way, setting an example now would potentially preserve the future of the league.
All of that, though, is beyond my scope of influence. And while the happenings on the pitch are also beyond anything I can honestly influence, it does feel a world closer to me – and is of much graver import – than what a flawed league might or might not do in relation to another team.
Because, in truth, I don’t think I’ve felt this hopeful and encouraged about this iteration of Liverpool in some time. It was, perhaps, back to this time last season when I last felt more or less assured of the team and its progress. I’d forgotten that Arne Slot had managed to navigate the team to the top of the table before the international break in that cursed season, which I suppose means there’s always twists to come.
That being said, though Isak and Gakpo are injured, they are players that managed to continue their stellar form into the break. Wirtz has managed to get a bit of his groove back. And the rest of the players have put in strong performances and are, to this point, on track to return to Liverpool healthy.
A few more days and we can close the book on this break and get on with the campaign. Here’s hoping for a smooth end to our long break.
