In his 11th exclusive column for CaughtOffside, super-agent Rob Segal lifts the lid on what’s really going on in British football.
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What next for Thomas Tuchel?
I was shocked, but not surprised. Shocked because when Chelsea’s takeover was going through, Tuchel was the one who was forced to face the media and their barrage of questions. He was put in a really tough spot and I thought he conducted himself and represented the club superbly. I didn’t see Bruce Buck coming out and saying anything. It was all left to Tuchel – he was literally the club’s last man standing.
However, as we all know – football is a results business and unfortunately, nowadays, the clock starts ticking from a club’s first pre-season friendly. There is no denying it though – aside from Chelsea’s poor form so far this season, something has definitely happened behind the scenes between Tuchel and the owner.
Nevertheless, Tuchel is now a thing of the past and it looks like Brighton’s Graham Potter is going to get the job, and if that does happen, Chelsea fans are in for a real treat because he will get them playing some breathtaking football – I am sure of that.
With regards to where Tuchel could go next, I definitely don’t see his next job being in the Premier League. I expect him to return to Europe and in fact, RB Leipzig, who have just sacked Domenico Tedesco, could be a really good fit but of course, if Tuchel were to return to the Bundesliga, the most interesting narrative would be his reunion with Timo Werner.
Jurgen Klopp will turn Liverpool’s poor form around…
Some fans would argue that if Tuchel got the boot off the back of an underwhelming start to the season, as well as an opening group game defeat in the Champions League, how close is Jurgen Klopp to the same fate? – Well, I think the big difference is that everybody can see the pattern Liverpool operates to.
The club’s policy is that they only look to bring in one or two big players at a time and then they work to integrate them. That’s what we’re seeing happening at the moment.
FSG will not deviate away from their policies and Klopp has been integral in forming them. Not only that but Liverpool’s owners will sit there and ask themselves ‘if we part ways with Jurgen, who is actually out there who could do a better job? – No one’, and I would also agree with that. I am a firm believer that if there is any manager in the world who can turn Liverpool’s early form around, it is Klopp.
Trent Alexander-Arnold needs a rest…
Liverpool have major injury problems which haven’t helped either and a player like Trent Alexander-Arnold probably needs a prolonged rest.
However, because of his standing within the club, you can almost feel his arrogance when he is slowly running back to goal. Alexander-Arnold knows that no matter what he does, right or wrong, he is likely to start week in, week out.
It is no secret that Alexander-Arnold is a lot better going forward than he is defensively, so his weaknesses need to be covered and unfortunately for Klopp, at the moment, none of his side’s backline are playing particularly well. The timing of their drop-off in form has been really unfortunate.
Nottingham Forest owners only have themselves to blame…
I feel so sorry for Steve Cooper. He has been absolutely swamped with new players that the owners wanted to sign.
Forest is such a good club, full of history with an amazing fanbase and being back in the Premier League is where they belong, but what are the owners thinking?
You cannot just buy 20 or more players in one window and expect the team to click. It is never going to happen. It doesn’t matter how big the club is or how good the players are, it will take time, but unfortunately, unless Forest get it right in a season, they could be starring right back at the Championship.