Champions League

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are set for fixture chaos next season – and could be forced to play two games on the SAME DAY.Top-flight sides face the potential of THREE midweek clashes between European competitions and the Carabao Cup.Prem clubs are set for fixture chaos after the 2024/25 season schedule was revealedCredit: GettyThe revamped Champions League will see sides play EIGHT games in one bumper group stage, rather than the current six.According to The Mirror, the two additional match rounds will fall in the final two midweeks of January.And the extra games have caused havoc with the domestic calendar – already seeing FA Cup replays axed.The first big clash next season comes on September 17 and 18.READ MORE IN football The third round of the Carabao Cup – when clubs competing in Europe enter the competition – now clashes with the Champions League match day one.To compensate, Carabao Cup games will now be split across two consecutive midweeks.However, that September 24/25 date also causes a clash, with the first round of the Europa League scheduled. It means the effected sides might have to alternate their Carabao Cup games between the two midweeks.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSThat would allow Champions League teams to play on September 24 and 25 and those in Europa League to go the week before. The EFL, which runs the Carabao Cup, has refused to make further allowances for the expanded European schedule.Huge changes being made to English football schedule next seasonThe competition’s quarter-final is scheduled for the midweek of December 18 – which clashes with the Europa Conference League.There appears to be no obvious solution and, should a Premier League side be obliged to compete at both stages, they could have to field two teams at once.However, European dates appear to have been worked around the traditional two-legged League Cup semi-finals, with the EFL refusing to alter the format.Both the EFL and Uefa say they will not be held responsible for the fixture clashes. The FA have agreed a new six-year deal with the Premier League to scrap FA Cup replays. That decision included £33million extra cash for grassroots football and a longer summer break.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut the EFL insisted they were not properly consulted and their clubs were left in uproar over the decision. Chief executive Trevor Birch slammed the “disappointing and frustrating” change while also demanding they receive compensation for the loss in revenue.Our beautiful game is broken, says Dave KidBy Dave Kidd
WHEN Manchester United got lucky in their FA Cup semi-final, Antony’s first instinct was to goad heartbroken opponents Coventry. To rub their noses in the dirt.
Antony seems to be a vile individual but this isn’t really about Antony. Because Antony is merely a symptom of the hideous sickness within England’s top flight.
There is so much wrong.
After our elite clubs persuaded the FA to completely scrap Cup replays — which gave us Ronnie Radford and Ricky Villa and Ryan Giggs — without due recompense or reasoning with the rest of English football.
The previous day, after his Manchester City side had defeated Chelsea in the other FA Cup semi-final, Pep Guardiola whinged about the fixture scheduling of TV companies who effectively pay much of his £20m salary.
Up at Wolves, Guardiola’s friend and rival Mikel Arteta was playing the same sad song about fixture congestion, despite his Arsenal side having played two fewer games this season than Coventry — who don’t have £50m squad players to rotate with.
Chelsea, oh Chelsea. The one-time plaything of a Russian oligarch now owned by financially incontinent venture capitalists who have piddled £1billion on a squad of players who fight like weasels in a sack about who should bask in the personal glory of scoring the penalty that puts them 5-0 up against Everton.
Read Dave Kidd’s full column as he takes aim at Nottingham Forest, Fulham’s ticket prices, the 39th game, VAR and much more… More

ARNE SLOT was a good enough player to have a type of pass named after him.But it is as a manager that the Feyenoord head coach is really making his mark.Arne Slot has thrived at Feyenoord after landing his big chanceCredit: EPAAs he player, Slot had a pass named after himCredit: GettyLike another bald Dutchman, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, Slot earned his stripes bossing smaller sides before being given a chance at one of the Netherlands’ big three.But the question Liverpool are pondering is whether Slot would make a better fist of running one of the biggest clubs in the world than Ten Hag so far has at Old Trafford.Slot, 45, was certainly easier on the eye as a player than centre back Ten Hag.“The Arne Slot Ball” was something he perfected as a silky No 10 – a back-to-goal, first-time, 180-degree spin and flick behind the defensive line for a winger to run on to deep in the opposition half.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLBram van Polen was Slot’s team-mate when he ended his playing career with a three-year spell back at first pro club PEC Zwolle.Van Polen, now Zwolle captain, saw Slot the coach emerging in their spell together and said: “You sometimes still see things in the game at Feyenoord.“The Arne Slot ball still exists with us at PEC and Kokcu [Feyenoord’s Turkish playmaker] also wants to play those type of passes.“We also did a lot of pressing and played exactly the same as Feyenoord now.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER“It doesn’t surprise me that he plays like that.”It is also no surprise that Slot is high on Liverpool’s shortlist to succeed Jurgen Klopp, just as Ten Hag was an attractive candidate for United.Where are they now: The unusual careers of former footballersIn fact, but for the pandemic, Slot might have put himself in a position to be considered by United as well or at least raised questions about Ten Hag’s credentials.After cutting his teeth at Cambuur, Slot moved to AZ Alkmaar in 2017 as assistant before becoming head coach for the 2019/20 season.In March 2020, AZ won 2-0 at Ajax to put themselves level on points with Ten Hag’s defending champions with nine games to go.But when Covid-19 took hold, the Dutch season was abandoned, denying Slot the chance to win his first title. In contrast, the Premier League campaign resumed later in the year and Klopp was able to guide Liverpool to their first championship for three decadesSlot had another bump in the road when AZ found out in December 2020 that he had been talking to Feyenoord about replacing outgoing boss Dick Advocaat.He was sacked and spent six months playing golf before taking up the post in Rotterdam.Who are these famous footballers?
Slot showed he could mix it with the best even before his first season began.After a bad-tempered friendly against Atletico Madrid, he and Diego Simeone got physical.Slot later explained: “At that moment, at the end of the match, I turned to Simeone to tell him how passionate he was even in a friendly match.”Then, he misinterpreted the smile I had at that moment and pushed me.”Feyenoord reached the Europa Conference League final in Slot’s debut campaign, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.Although Ten Hag led Ajax to a third title in a row, it was Slot who won the Netherlands’ Manager of the Year award.Slot has plenty of what Liverpool look for in a managerCredit: RexDutch tacticians have struggled in the Premier LeagueCredit: RexTen Hag left for Old Trafford that summer of 2022 but key Feyenoord players Luis Sinisterra and Marcos Senesi also moved to the Premier League, to Leeds and Bournemouth, and other sales left the Rotterdam club looking short of quality and depth.Yet Slot took Feyenoord to their first Dutch title for six years, playing an exciting brand of football with a team mostly aged 24 or under.His simple approach saw his players to press for the full 90 minutes in order to defend from the front before looking to control possession.Slot believes that Jose Mourinho-style defensive football is more tiring and also less stimulating for players – and his results speak for themselves.Like Klopp, he is said to be an expert man-manager who communicates clearly to his players what he expects from them.Slot turned down the chance to join Tottenham last year and signed a new deal with Feyenoord.Feyenoord did not get out of their Champions League group, despite beating both Celtic and Lazio, and lost their title to a PSV side having an incredible season.But Slot led the club to Dutch Cup triumph recently and his star remains in the ascendent.It’s fair to say coaches from the Netherlands have had mixed fortunes in England.No Dutchman has won a Premier League title and former Eredivisie champions like Louis van Gaal, Frank de Boer and now Ten Hag have all found life tough, for various reasons.READ MORE SUN STORIESSlot ticks a lot of boxes for Liverpool. His teams have consistently played attractive football and competed with rivals with even bigger budgets. He improves players and gives youngsters a chance. He is funny, likeable and charismatic.But to match Klopp’s achievements, Slot will have to do better than any of his compatriots, including Ten Hag. More