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admin: Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is rightly frustrated by his employers' reluctance to invest in players over 30 - if you're good enough, you're old enough

Before selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, the biggest mistake Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had ever made in the transfer market was allowing Claude Makelele to join Chelsea.

In the summer of 2003, the French defensive midfielder was seeking a pay rise that still would have only seen him earn half as much as his compatriot, Zinedine Zidane.

In an embarrassing show of ignorance, Perez utterly dismissed the merits of a player who was integral to how Real were playing at the time and deemed Chelsea's offer of £16.8 million for a 30-year-old far too good to turn down.

"He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres," the Santiago Bernabeu supremo smugly reasoned. "Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten."

The stupidity of the sale has never been forgotten, though, at least not in Madrid.

Bizarrely, it seems they have shorter memories at Chelsea, with whom Makelele won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup during six successful seasons at Stamford Bridge.

How else to explain the Blues' ageist and self-defeating policy of nothing more than one-year deals for players aged 30 or over?

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has already publicly admitted he would scrap the restrictive stance if he could, given it has caused consternation with several members of his squad seeking contract extensions, including Willian, David Luiz and Cesc Fabregas, who has just departed for Monaco, leaving the Blues without a back-up for playmaker Jorginho.

More importantly, the west London club's reluctance to invest in players the wrong side of 30 is also frustrating the manager's attempts to add some badly-needed firepower to his team, in the shape of Gonzalo Higuain.

The Argentine turned 31 last month and, as well as being put off by the complexities of negotiating a deal with two clubs – Juventus own Higuain but he joined AC Milan last summer on loan for €18M (£16m/$20m) with a view to a permanent transfer for €36m (£32m/$40m) – his age is clearly an issue for Chelsea.

Their caution is understandable, of course. Higuain's very best years may well be behind him. Furthermore, in England, he is primarily known as a mentally fragile player who misses big chances in big games (a.k.a. the reason why Messi has never won a major international tournament).

Such a reductive appraisal does Higuain a great disservice. We are talking about one of the most prolific strikers of the past decade.

www.goal.com/en/news/higuain-too-old-at-31-why-ageist-chelsea-wont-do-any-better-than-/zz6jovns3g7y1miybglefw9d9

admin:
The summer signing has yet to score or create a goal for the Reds, but Jurgen Klopp has faith in his ability to reach his potential at Anfield

In a city steeped in music, Liverpool assistant coach Peter Krawietz knew the right metaphor to use when describing his role in Jurgen Klopp's backroom.

“We are like a music band, with our own instrument,” Krawietz told the Telegraph in 2016. “Jurgen is the band leader, and others are behind him playing the bass guitar or drum. I’m not sure which instrument is mine!”

Since arriving at Anfield, Klopp has had plenty of similes thrown at his side by the media, who (prior to Philippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona) crowned their attackers the 'Fab Four' after Liverpool's most famous export, The Beatles. The German has also ushered in a new era of hits for the club, with the Mohamed Salah-tribute chant 'Allez Allez Allez' now as common on the terraces as long-time favourite 'You'll Never Walk Alone.'

The most important thing for band leader Klopp is that his players are all singing from the same hymn sheet. The methodical manager ensures this by making sure every player knows their role at the club - something Krawietz spent months doing with Fabinho, showing him videos and using analytics to make sure he understood exactly what was needed from him.

Fabinho, like Roberto Firmino before him, took time to adjust to playing in the Premier League, playing for Liverpool, playing for Klopp. The former Borussia Dortmund boss is aware that summer signing Naby Keita will also take time to adjust to his new surroundings following a £53 million ($70m) move from RB Leipzig.

"That is sometimes how it is," Klopp told reporters. "I spoke to him. Everything is fine. I am completely happy with him. Could he be a bit more confident in the games? Yes. Is he exactly the player in his best time at Leipzig? No, but he is still adapting - that is how it is."

Keita's development at Anfield has also been hindered by injury, with muscular problems seeing him sidelined for four games immediately after being handed a start against Manchester City.

"It was kind of a little setback but he is a fantastic player and I am really happy to have him here. I am really looking forward to our common future," Klopp responded after Keita spent three games on the bench during the Christmas period.

"You see every day, wow, there is so much to come and so much influence he can have on each game. That's all good. There was no reason - just because other boys were in good shape as well. It was a bit about positioning and system - that is how football decisions are. There is really no doubt about the boy, he is an outstanding player."

Fans have yet to see the midfielder who was a revelation in the Bundesliga, where he was named in the team of the season after a debut campaign at age 21. Liverpool decided to pay his release clause before his second season with Leipzig, allowing him to develop for another year in Germany before moving to the Premier League.

His second season was not quite as impressive as his first, but Keita was still a difference-maker for Leipzig domestically and in Europe, where he helped the team to the Europa League quarter-finals and was named in the squad of the season.

He was handed the No. 8 jersey when he arrived at Liverpool, but has not been operating in the role once occupied by club legend Steven Gerrard. Instead, Klopp has played him on the left of midfield as he adapts to the Premier League and to the way the Reds play.

Liverpool's approach is much different to Leipzig's. In Germany, he played through the middle in Ralph Hasenhuttl's 4-2-2-2 and could use his speed, strength and technical ability to create chances and drive forward in their fast, direct, counter-attacking style. Liverpool, on the other hand, dominate possession, so Keita has to be more patient when he is on the ball and does not have the same freedom to chase without the ball for fear of being caught out of position.

As a result, he is making a lot more backwards or sideways passes than he did at Leipzig. There, getting the ball forward quickly was the primary aim, but Liverpool are more patient and keep possession until they can find an opening. This means Keita's main abilities are not yet being utilised fully.

However, it is a means to an end. Keita may not be Liverpool's number eight on the pitch yet, but he is learning the way the team play and how to adapt to certain situations. Klopp integrated Mario Gotze in a similar fashion at Borussia Dortmund, giving him experience on the side of midfield before moving to a freer role through the middle.

Once Keita fully understands the tactical approach and has the discipline to follow Klopp's instructions closely, he will have the opportunity to show what he can do more centrally. He has shown already that he has the ability to keep play ticking over in midfield, win the ball back and help Liverpool retain possession. However, he currently is playing within himself as he adjusts to what Klopp expects from him.

www.goal.com/en/news/how-liverpool-can-get-the-best-out-of-struggling-53m-signing/n2275qr4qruf1cncfv1xdrew5

Genjina:The spokesperson of the Buhari Campaign Organization, Festus Keyamo, has indicated that the APC presidential candidate, President Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, will be participating in a live televised 2-hour presidential townhall programme on Wednesday, January 16th.

According to Keyamo, other presidential candidates will participate in the townhall programme. Read the statement below.

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and the Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, who are also the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming Presidential elections will, on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, at 8:00pm (Nigerian time) participate in a live televised two-hour presidential town-hall programme. The venue shall be the Ladi Kwali Conference Center, Ballroom of Sheraton Hotel Abuja. Attendance is strictly by invitation. All guests are expected to be seated by 7:00pm.

The presidential series, which is titled “The Candidates”, is designed by the organisers to have both the Presidential and their Vice-Presidential Candidates of selected political parties on stage at the same time and at different dates to take questions from the moderator, Kadaria Ahmed and from the general public through various platforms.

The programme would be broadcast live on NTA, which shall in turn provide the live feeds to other partner stations like TVC, Wazobia TV, Oak TV and on all Radio Nigeria stations. It will also be streamed on-line at dtv.media to enable Nigerians in diaspora to participate.

Nigerians are encouraged to kindly tune in to participate.

Thank you.