"If it wasn’t for football, half of you would be working in McDonald's" – Simon Jordan reacts to Premier League schedule comments from Guardiola and Klopp
Simon Jordan, the former chairperson of Crystal Palace, has slammed Premier League gaffers Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson for complaining about fixture congestion over the festive period.
Over the last week, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, his assistant Pep Lijnders and captain Jordan Henderson have all spoken out against the current holiday schedule.
Premier League teams met with league bosses on Thursday afternoon to address the current festive schedule, just as Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola suggested that if players are unhappy, they should initiate a strike.
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Former Eagles chief Jordan, on the flip side, thinks Guardiola and Klopp are "always creating an excuse" and that they are "bloody lucky" since they would be "working at McDonalds" if it weren't for football.
Here's what he said on TalkSport:
"Enough already! Play the bloody game, get on with being players. You are being given far too much. Most players I know actually want to play these games. You hear people like Graeme Souness and David Moyes come out and saying "game after game, next one after next one" - that's what we want. I don't know what kind of people we are breeding: but (they're) lightweights. I can't bear it anymore. Have some character - just power through. We accept all the upsides, take some of the downsides."
He further added:
"Football is based on a culture of people always making an excuse. Where I do agree with them - and it's their own fault for not voting for it - is give them five substitutes. But if they get five, then they'll want seven. And if they get seven, they'll want ten. Whatever you give people, it's never enough. How about saying you're doing really well? How about pinching yourself to realise how bloody lucky you are?"
"Because if it wasn't for football, half of you would be working in McDonalds. You're earning ten million players a year and all you do is whine about what you haven't got."
🗣 "I'm not looking forward to that, it's really not okay what we are doing there."
Jurgen Klopp is not a fan of the Premier League Christmas schedule that involves teams playing on the 26th and 28th of December https://t.co/z3cPm5CJuN
Due to an increase in Covid-19 outbreaks in squads, most of last weekend's round of fixtures were canceled and Klopp took issue with the current Premier League schedule.
Pep Lijnders, the German's assistant, called the current routine "absurd," while Henderson stated that no one in the Premier League "truly takes player welfare seriously."
Several Premier League fixtures have been postponed because of an increase in COVID-19 positive reports
Manchester United have had both of their previous Premier League fixtures against Brentford and Brighton postponed. They will take the field against Newcastle United on December 28 for the first time since December 11.
Liverpool's game against Leeds United has also been postponed. Jordan also stated how the Premier League is for fans and slammed Jurgen Klopp for trying to dictate how things should run in the Premier League.
Jordan Henderson on player welfare 🗣
"I am worried about player welfare and I don't think anybody does take that seriously enough... at the minute I don't feel the players get the respect they deserve in terms of having somebody being able to speak for them independently." https://t.co/jBl9KPt79G
He went on to state how at certain points in the year, players and clubs are playing for their honest patrons.
Simon Jordan concluded by saying:
"Have you forgotten what puts you where you are? What puts you where you are is the demand for the game because if you didn't have the demand for the game, you and your colleagues wouldn't be getting paid tens of millions of pounds per year."
Premier League's 19th matchweek is slated to begin tomorrow. Chelsea will take on a resurgent Aston Villa. However, the highlight of the weekend has to be Manchester City's game against Leicester City. It remains to be seen if the Foxes have what it takes to end City's dominant run in the Premier League.