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      Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson hails Jurgen Klopp ahead of 1,000th game as Liverpool boss vows to end Kop slump

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      SIR ALEX FERGUSON hailed Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp as he joins the managers’ 1,000-game club.Klopp reaches the landmark against Chelsea on Saturday.
      Jurgen Klopp set to take charge of his 1,000th game in management this weekendCredit: Getty
      The German has been praised by Sir Alex FergusonCredit: Getty
      United legend Fergie who oversaw 2,155 matches, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Jurgen Klopp to the LMA 1,000 club.
      “He is undoubtedly one of the most gifted managers in world football.
      “The many trophies he won confirm his status amongst football’s elite.”
      Meanwhile, Klopp smiled a little, stroked his beard and declared: “Yeah, it’s really grey now.
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      “I’m not sure if that’s because it’s just my age or working for Liverpool.”
      Yet as he goes into his 1,000th game as a manager, the famously feisty German insisted his whiskers are all that have changed about him in the 22 years since he first took charge of Mainz 05 and kept the club in Bundesliga 2.
      Instead he vowed he is still bristling for the challenge, and declared: “I was full of power when I first started — and I still am.”
      The challenge he faces going into today’s crucial clash with Chelsea is the biggest since announcing himself as the Normal One of Anfield just over seven years ago.
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      From being two games short of a history–making Quadruple last season, Klopp’s side now lie ninth and are ten points off a Champions League spot with a game in hand.
      Klopp himself described the 3–0 loss to Brighton as the “low point” of his Kop career.
      Having also lost 3–1 to Brentford in the league game before that Seagulls shock, he could become the first Reds manager since 1953 to ship three goals in three successive top-flight clashes if Graham Potter’s men also make hay against his creaking defence.
      Add on the massive January spending by today’s opponents Chelsea, along with other huge outlays by Liverpool’s rivals and Klopp’s challenge only gets bigger.
      He has only won six of his 19 clashes with the Stamford Bridge club since arriving on Merseyside in 2015, having taken a sabbatical after quitting his second club, Borussia Dortmund.
      If Klopp, 55, is feeling the strain he is working hard to hide it.
      In a deft dig at Chelsea’s trolley dash in the market, he said: “Interesting. I can’t explain it, I have no idea.
      “But if the numbers are true then it’s impressive — Chelsea fix problems differently to us.
      Klopp’s first club was German side MainzCredit: Getty
      “I can’t see the spending of many clubs stopping, that is how it is these days.
      “The job I do now is completely different to the one I did 22 years ago.
      “When I went to Mainz with seven games to go we won six — had we lost one more we would have been in the same as League One here.
      “Yet one thing has not changed — you always have to be nosey, be curious, look around the corner for solutions.
      “And most important of all, be busy. You must always try to develop.
      “Back then when I started out I never thought of these numbers — 1,000 games? A crazy number really.
      “Not all of the days have been good but you keep trying to go in the right direction.
      “I didn’t know all of that 22 years ago but I’ve learned the hard way.
      Klopp has been feeling the strain recentlyCredit: Getty
      “My job is not the most relaxing, it is not a job where you get a lot of holidays, but it’s the best job for me — I’m blessed.”
      He did not feel very blessed after that 3-0 loss at Brighton, although there was this week’s relief of a 1–0 FA Cup third round replay victory against Wolves.
      With four figures up in his managerial career, but with the chances of more silverware dropping dramatically this season, he is hoping a result here can re-motivate a squad that has been looking older and more tired than him.
      Klopp knows the problems he is facing and has already signalled there must be major alterations come summer.
      He stressed: “When you don’t take your chances and the opposition take the first of theirs — that’s a good sign for a bad period.
      “So we have to start defending again at an incredibly high level and by doing that we will make more chances.”
      Klopp, who expects to have striker Darwin Nunez, 23, back after a two–game injury absence, also knows luck has not been with him.
      He said: “Look at Arsenal — they are doing incredibly well and well deserved.
      Klopp is expecting Darwin Nunez to improveCredit: Alamy
      “Yet take five offensive players out because of injury like has happened to us?
      “But after a really low point we showed against Wolves what can happen if we stick together.
      “That’s what we have to build on now.
      “It’s not just about style. We have to defend together.”
      Ever the gegenpressing optimist, he is still looking to get on the front foot.
      He added: “I know this might sound strange.
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      “But this club is in a good position, it is sound, and looking ahead everything will be possible again.”
       LIVERPOOL (likely): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo. More

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      Jurgen Klopp fires subtle dig at Chelsea’s transfer splurge ahead of Liverpool tie and warns Boehly spending can’t go on

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      JURGEN KLOPP has aimed a subtle dig at Chelsea’s spending spree and suggested it can’t go on forever. Liverpool meet the Blues at Anfield tomorrow lunchtime with both teams sitting in mid-table.
      Todd Boehly cannot be accused of not spending money on Chelsea since last year’s takeoverCredit: Getty
      Jurgen Klopp is trying to get Liverpool back on track after a testing start to 2023Credit: Rex
      While Reds fans are set to celebrate Klopp’s 1000th game in management, Chelsea supporters will be keeping one eye on their phone for the announcement of yet another signing.
      The new ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have already bought £152m worth of talent this month following a similarly expensive spree in the summer.
      Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk headlines January’s non-stop recruitment with the Blues beating rivals Arsenal to the £88m signing.
      But Klopp appears less than impressed with the London side’s methods.
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      When told about how much money Chelsea had spent, he said at his pre-match press conference: “Interesting. I can’t explain it, I have no idea. But if the numbers are true then it’s impressive.
      “I can’t see investment stopping in the future, so that means we have to do it as well. 
      “I believe in coaching, developing and team building 100 per cent. But meanwhile the managers out there, they are all good and they believe in that as well. 
      “So, if they start spending then if we don’t spend you will have a problem. I am not sure they can do that for the next 10 years though.”
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      Liverpool have only made one major signing in this window in the form of Dutch star Cody Gakpo for £37m.
      But Klopp said he is not concerned about being outspent.
      He added: “We’re in good hands and we know about responsibility. The moment you build a team doesn’t mean you do it new every year. 
      “It’s not worrying that other teams can spend, it’s a fact so we have to react to that as well.”
      Liverpool are looking for their first Premier League win of the calendar year so far.
      They’ve already been well beaten in trips to Brentford and then Brighton. More

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      Liverpool Treble winner unrecognisable with bald head and heavy stubble now going by name DJ Bavaria

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      A LIVERPOOL treble winner looks completely different after doing a full U-turn on his look.The former defender played for Liverpool for four years, helping the club to lift an FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup treble in 2001.
      The former Liverpool star swapped now has a shaven head with heavy stubbleCredit: Getty
      He moved into coaching after retirement in 2007Credit: Getty
      But since then, he has swapped a clean cut face and head of hair for a stubble beard and shaven head.
      And in retirement he has not stopped pursuing another of his passions.
      The 50-year-old now goes by the DJ name of “DJ Bavaria,” in reference to his homeland of Germany.
      The German starred alongside a host of Anfield legends in his time at the club in the early 2000s.
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      Among them were Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher.
      Standing at 6ft 2″, the defender arrived at Anfield in 2000 after starring for Bayern Munich for almost a full decade prior.
      His time at the Reds was short but sweet, collecting an assortment of seven trophies including the 2001 treble in 73 appearances before leaving in 2004 to return to Germany to finish his career with VfB Stuttgart in 2007.
      But in 2003 the 51-cap German also went on loan to Blackburn Rovers, where he made 28 appearances.
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      Have you managed to figure out who it is?
      Well if not then the answer to your question is: Markus Babbel.
      Babbel managed 60 appearances during the 2000/01 season as Liverpool lifted the treble and came third in the Premier League.
      The defender then came down with the rare Guillain-barre syndrome just one month into the following season, seeing him not play again in the Prem until November 2002 before being sidelined again.
      Eventually, Babbel made a full recovery from the condition, but having fallen out of favour at Liverpool he then moved to Blackburn in the final year of his career in England.
      Following retirement, Babbel moved into coaching.
      He managed Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin, Hoffenheim and FC Luzern before his most recent job at Western Sydney from 2018 until 2020.
      Markus Babbel helped Liverpool win the treble in 2001Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But during his playing days Babbel’s Liverpool career was stunted by rare conditionCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      He eventually left Liverpool in 2004Credit: PA:Press Association More

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      Jude Bellingham’s team ‘tell Real Madrid they are in talks with Liverpool’ over stunning transfer

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      JUDE BELLINGHAM’S team have told Real Madrid that they are in talks with Liverpool, according to reports.The Borussia Dortmund star is one of the most in-demand players in Europe.
      Jude Bellingham is likely to leave Borussia Dortmund this summerCredit: Getty
      Bellingham, 19, is under contract with the Bundesliga side until 2025.
      But he is likely to leave in the summer.
      The ex-Birmingham City starlet is being chased by the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
      It’s Liverpool and Real Madrid that are at the front of queue, however.
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      The latter are reportedly in talks with Bellingham’s team over a transfer.
      But they have now been warned that conversations are also happening with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds.
      Former player and football insider Jan Aage Fjortoft tweeted: “Re: Jude Bellingham
      “I understand Team Bellingham have told Real Madrid they are talking to Liverpool too.
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      “At the moment “no favourites”. As they at this stage are investigating their options.”
      Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti previously distanced his side from a move for Bellingham.
      He said: “Bellingham has shown at the World Cup that he is a great midfielder, but so have others.
      “Enzo Fernandez has played very well. Gavi and Pedri as well.
      “Bellingham is one of those very good midfielders, but I’ll stick with the ones we have.”
      The Dortmund star hasn’t played in a competitive match since England’s World Cup quarter-final elimination to France.
      Bundesliga action will finally resume this weekend, with Dortmund set to host Augsburg on Sunday. More

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      Kylian Mbappe ‘rejected Liverpool transfer after PSG offered him out for astronomical fee’

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      KYLIAN MBAPPE reportedly rejected a move to Liverpool in the summer after being offered the chance to leave Paris Saint-Germain.The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move away from PSG at the time.
      Kylian Mbappe reportedly rejected the chance to join Liverpool last summerCredit: AFP
      And at one stage last July, Mbappe was offered the chance to leave the French capital.
      However, despite speculation linking him with Real Madrid, any move would have been to Liverpool, according to The Athletic.
      It’s claimed PSG consultant Antero Henrique opened the door for Mbappe to depart.
      But Henrique and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi were demanding a staggering £352MILLION for his signature.
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      Although in the end the numbers turned out to be irrelevant, with Mbappe rejecting the option to join the Reds.
      The report adds Mbappe had his heart set on a move to Real Madrid in the future.
      That all came less than two months after he signed a new contract to stay at PSG until 2024, with an option for a further year.
      And the Frenchman continues to be the subject of rumours regarding his future.
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      Reports last month claimed Real Madrid could pay one BILLION euros to land Mbappe at the end of the season.
      Real Madrid legend Guti also recently insisted La Liga needs Mbappe – and he needs them too.
      Guti declared: “The best have to stay at Real Madrid. 
      “Seeing him play for PSG makes me angry, and not only for Real but also for La Liga. La Liga must always have the best in the world. 
      “Mbappe is a player made for Real, and then if he wants to do what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have done, he has to play for Real Madrid because he won’t make it for PSG. 
      “Madrid must go and get him immediately, now. 
      “There are good players on the market, but none like him. Yes, [Erling] Haaland maybe, but a step below. Mbappe, he is unique. 
      “Only he can give what Messi gave to Barcelona or Ronaldo to Madrid. Nobody else.” More

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      Liverpool planning double midfield transfer for Jude Bellingham and Matheus Nunes as Jurgen Klopp plans squad overhaul

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      LIVERPOOL are planning a double midfield transfer swoop for Jude Bellingham and Matheus Nunes, according to reports.The Reds are in dire need of a facelift in the middle of the park.
      Liverpool are big admirers of BellinghamCredit: Getty
      Nunes is also on the Reds’ radarCredit: Getty
      Jordan Henderson, James Milner and star man Thiago are over 30, while holding midfielder Fabinho is nearing it at 29.
      Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur have rarely featured for the Reds this season due to injury struggles.
      And according to the Daily Mail, Jurgen Klopp is set to freshen up his midfield options with Bellingham and Nunes being targeted.
      Liverpool are huge admirers of Bellingham, 19, who is Borussia Dortmund’s star man, as well as a starter for Gareth Southgate’s England.
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      The player is good friends with Reds captain Henderson and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
      However, Bellingham is attracting interest from most of Europe’s elite clubs.
      Real Madrid and Manchester City are two other teams keeping tabs on the ex-Birmingham ace.
      Bellingham would be rumoured to cost £88million plus future add-ons, which could take the deal towards £125m-£130m.
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      Nunes, meanwhile, only joined Wolves in the summer from Sporting Lisbon.
      And despite Wolves’ Premier League woes, Nunes has been a standout performer.
      Nunes joined Wolves for a club record £42m and the Midlands club are unlikely to take a loss on the 24-year-old.

      He also has a big reputation with City boss Pep Guardiola, who once described him as one of the best midfielders in the world, even while he was playing his trade in Portugal.
      Klopp got a closer look at Nunes on Tuesday night, when his Liverpool team beat Wolves 1-0 in an FA Cup third round replay. More

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      Wolves 0 Liverpool 1: Harvey Elliott screamer sees Jurgen Klopp’s men through to FA Cup 4th round with first win of 2023

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      PERHAPS Jurgen Klopp might be a little less loyal after this. The Liverpool boss had been accused of sticking too rigidly to a once-mighty group of players who have stumbled into mid-table this season. 
      Liverpool are through to the FA Cup fourth roundCredit: Getty
      Harvey Elliott celebrates scoring for LiverpoolCredit: Reuters
      Here, he made eight changes and discovered there is life beyond his first-choice side – not least teenager Harvey Elliott, whose early banger settled this third-round replay in favour of the FA Cup holders.
      Klopp’s men will now make a swift return to Brighton – the scene of Saturday’s 3-0 pasting – for a tricky fourth-round tie.
      While Match of the Day’s live coverage of this tie was sabotaged by rogue erotic noises during the pre-match punditry, there was little too sexy about the football at a brass-monkeys Molineux.
      Still, it was a first victory of 2023, at the fourth attempt, for Liverpool – and how Klopp needed it after taking such a gamble with his team selection.
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      While the Reds weathered some serious Wolves pressure in the second half, Elliott’s long-range effort – which caught keeper Jose Sa off his line – was enough to see them through.
      Klopp is famous for his contempt of Cup replays. He didn’t even turn up the last time Liverpool were involved in one, against Shrewsbury three years ago, when he said his reserve manager and the stiffs to that Anfield rematch. 
      This time, he made wholesale changes from the strong side which had been lucky to earn a home draw against Wolves in the original match, when a couple of bizarre VAR calls kept the holders in the competition. 
      Saturday’s 3-0 hammering at Brighton, described by Klopp as the worst performance he had ever presided over, might have encouraged a few changes but this was nothing like a first-choice line-up. 
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      Wolves had more possession and more passes against Liverpool
      Harvey Elliott was a constant threat for Liverpool
      Wolves had been resurgent under Julen Lopetegui, clambering out of the relegation places since the World Cup break – but the Spaniard also made seven changes and Wolves lacked cohesion for the first hour before they finally got their game together all too late.  
      The pre-match fireworks were welcome for once – generating some much-needed heat on a bitter night. 
      While Gary Lineker & Co sounded like they were getting fruity in the studio, the chief concern at Molineux, on the outskirts of Antarctica, was the avoidance of a Prince Harry-style frozen penis. 
      And the gremlins soon struck again when, inside a minute of kick-off, Adama Traore raced down the right flank and, just as he was about to deliver a cross, the floodlights cut out for a second or two, throwing the stadium into drakness and the match into confusion. 
      Soon Traore did send over a visible centre and Raul Jimenez headed wide at the near post.
      But Klopp’s men seized the advantage on 13 minutes, Kostas Tsimikas feeding Thiago Alcantara who swept a pass to Elliott, still inside his own half.
      The teenager advanced and, spotting Jose Sa off his line, thumped one left-footed from 25 yards beating the Wolves keeper all ends up. 
      Tsimkas soon shot over from an angle and Cody Gakpo narrowly cleared the bar, as Klopp’s sweeping changes were beginning to look like a worthwhile gamble. 
      Harvey Elliott putting Liverpool in the leadCredit: Getty
      Wolves were disjointed, struggling to play it out from the back, and Sa was suffering a shocker, missing punches and decidedly dodgy with his feet. 
      Fabio Carvalho found the net but was clearly offside from a Naby Keita pass.
      Traore managed to get round the back of the Reds defence but after cutting inside he miscued his shot. 
      There was little surprise when Lopetegui made a double substitution at half-time, sending on Matheus Nunes and Nelson Semedo for youngsters Joe Hodge and Dexter Lembikisa. 
      When Wolves did string a decent move together, Rayan Alt-Nouri and Jimenez combining to tee up Traore, the brawny winger spooned his shot into the icy heavens. 
      Liverpool were subdued but largely in control, Spanish kid Stefan Bajcetic anchoring the midfield without shinpads but with plenty of class. 
      Still, Klopp sent for Mo Salah, along with Curtis Jones and Nat Phillips – Cody Gakpo, Carvalho and Milner making way. 
      Ruben Neves had pinging peachy passes from the deep all night, yet Wolves were continually wasting his efforts. 
      Matheus Cunha played a one-two with Jimenez and won a dangerous free-kick from a leaden-footed Phillips – Nunes stepped up and curled it narrowly over the bar. 
      Wolves were well on top now but when Traore found a decent centre, Jimenez header over from close range under pressure from Joe Gomez.
      Cunha lashed a volley wide and headed weakly at keeper Caoimhin Keller late on, with Liverpool struggling to get out of their own half.
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      But after the miserable season Klopp’s men have been suffering, small mercies must be met with gratitude. 
      The defence of this Cup might yet offer some cheer to a miserable old campaign. 
      Jurgen Klopp celebrates his first win of 2023Credit: Rex More

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      Arsenal and Man Utd’s seasons have been thrilling tales of the unexpected thanks to Liverpool collapse and Man City slip

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      IT’S the end of the world as we know it — and it’s extraordinarily good fun.At the halfway stage of the Premier League season, the state of the nation is a state of unprecedented flux.
      Arsenal are flying high at the top of the Premier League tableCredit: AFP
      Manchester United are resurgent under Erik Ten HagCredit: Reuters
      Three of England’s four Champions League places look very likely to change hands.
      Three fully-established top-flight clubs occupy the relegation places — West Ham, Southampton and Everton, an ever-present since 1954.
      Fulham, Brighton and Brentford all sit proudly in the top eight, above Liverpool and Chelsea.
      Arsenal and Manchester United could face off on Sunday as the top two in the league, with Newcastle tucked in behind them as if it’s 1997 all over again.
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      This wasn’t supposed to happen. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were meant to be continuing their duopoly — two truly great teams dominating the English game as they’d done for the previous five years.
      And while the resurgence of Arsenal under Mikel Arteta and United under Erik ten Hag have been thrilling tales of the unexpected, neither would be sitting so loftily without the collapse of one empire and the alarming cracks beginning to show in another.
      Suddenly, both Liverpool and City have lost a lot of what made them so great.
      Liverpool are no longer dynamic, manic pressing, never-knowingly-beaten “mentality monsters”.
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      And City aren’t quite the pass-you-to-death, liquid-football, Barcelona-built model we are used to.
      For Klopp, it feels terminal. For Guardiola, it is too early to say.
      But both managers have lost their sense of permanence, both teams their aura of near-invincibility.
      Liverpool have clocked up 92 points or more in three of the past four seasons — the only exception being the freakish behind-closed doors 2020-21 campaign when all of their senior central defenders suffered long-term injuries. This season they are on target for less than 60.
      Klopp’s side have been humped at Brentford and Brighton in their last two league games, with the German finally running out of daft excuses and admitting Saturday’s visit to the Amex was the worst performance he had ever presided over.
      Before the World Cup, Klopp spoke reasonably — but tellingly — about the impossibility of competing financially with clubs funded by nation states, City and Newcastle.
      It sounded like the time when Bayern Munich nabbed one too many of his Borussia Dortmund players and he finally realised that, after two Bundesliga titles, he was fighting a losing battle in German football and quit his former club.
      Cracks are starting to appear for Pep Guardiola at Manchester CityCredit: Getty
      Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have collapsed this season, most recently at BrightonCredit: AP
      Yet it is not just City and Newcastle that Klopp’s men are failing to compete with — the Reds are 19 points adrift of an Arsenal side with a significantly lower wage bill.
      Liverpool, built on athleticism, stamina and mental fortitude, have suddenly grown old and tired, as has Klopp himself.
      And now you genuinely would not be surprised if he left Anfield this summer, an eventuality which seemed unthinkable when his side came close to completing the Quadruple eight months ago.
      City, second in the table and the highest scorers in the top flight, are in nowhere near as bad a state — but the signing of Erling Haaland has weirdly destabilised them.
      On the surface it seems ludicrous that a team which won back-to-back titles without a regular, authentic centre-forward should decline after signing the most prolific striker of the Premier League era.
      But City’s best recent performance, and certainly their most typically Pep-ish display, was the 4-0 FA Cup hammering of Chelsea, which Haaland sat out.
      Guardiola may have been sulky and sarcastic in the wake of Saturday’s Manchester derby defeat at Old Trafford when he claimed “I don’t care” whether City win the title because they had “won it a lot”.
      When the mighty fall, as Liverpool and City have done, the chaos can be glorious.Dave Kidd
      City’s focus, even more so than usual, is on winning the Champions League —  especially with England’s other three representatives, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, all in disarray.
      But Guardiola’s team are often struggling to play to Haaland’s strengths and, after last week’s deserved League Cup defeat at rock-bottom Southampton, Ilkay Gundogan made the stark admission that City’s players were lacking “hunger and desire”.
      All in all, the problems of City and Liverpool add to the gaiety of the nation.
      For too long, the Premier League — while offering thrilling one-off matches — had too predictable a table.
      Now, with English football’s financial might allowing smaller Premier League clubs to compete financially with major European powers in the transfer market, there is far greater potential for unpredictability.
      No fixture can be taken for granted. Brentford have beaten both Manchester clubs and Liverpool, while Brighton have defeated United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
      Run your club as well as the Bees or the Seagulls, and you can thrive.
      Spend your riches badly, like Everton or Chelsea, and you will struggle.
      When Leicester won the title in 2016, it may have been the unlikeliest story in ­football history but it was only possible because most of the Big Six were in transition or turmoil.
      For when the mighty fall, as Liverpool and City have done, the chaos can be glorious.
      This is a season to cherish because we haven’t got the slightest clue what will happen next.
      Everton fans’ banners weren’t going to trouble the Poet LaureateCredit: PA
      C-RHYME WATCH
      THE violent intimidation tactics of Everton supporters forced board members to stay away from Saturday’s loss to Southampton.
      But even worse were the appalling nursery-level rhymes on the protestors’ banners at Goodison Park.
      As Rik Mayall’s Lord Flashheart, surely a closet Evertonian, said in Blackadder Goes Forth: “I’m sick of this damned war — the mud, the noise, the endless poetry…”
      BIG GUNNS AGAIN
      THERE’S fury among Arsenal fans after their side was charged with “failing to control players” twice in the space of a week — after confronting referees mob-handed in matches against Newcastle and Oxford.
      But we know they love it really — because you can only hold a proper persecution complex if you know you’re big enough and relevant enough to be persecuted.
      And Arsenal are big and relevant again.

      LUKE AND LEARN
      EARLIER in the season, we all speculated on whether a centre-half in the entire Premier League could keep Erling Haaland quiet.
      Erik ten Hag decided the answer was to play Luke Shaw in central defence, in front of three experienced international specialists in that position.
      Unlike the other bald bloke in a roll-neck sweater managing in Manchester, when Ten Hag “over-thinks” things, it actually seems to work.
      CAR-TOON VILLAINS
      THERE was some surprise Eddie Howe selected Joelinton to play for Newcastle against Fulham days after being arrested and charged with drink-driving.
      As if a manager happy to take Saudi blood money could worry too much over morality.
      A huge banner of Howe unfurled at St James’ Park on Sunday read, “We’re not here to be popular, we’re here to compete”.
      After years as a comedy club, the Geordies are fully embracing villainy.
      BLUE MURDER
      WE are fast approaching the moment when the average length of a contract handed to a new Chelsea signing will overtake the average amount of time served in prison for committing murder.
      DON’T GIVE SMITH A SNIFF
      AUSSIE run machine Steve Smith has been offered some batting practice in English conditions by playing county cricket with Sussex before this summer’s Ashes.
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      If you have a healthy perspective on life, you might consider this mere stupidity.
      If, like me, you consider beating the Australians at cricket to be one of the most important things in life, it is high treason. More