It’s easy to forget that the Premier League was in danger of losing its fourth Champions League spot when Jurgen Klopp first joined Liverpool in 2015.
Poor performances from English sides in Europe had left them third in the UEFA association coefficients in September 2015, just four points ahead of Italy at a time when only the three top-ranking associations received four qualifying spots .
Fortunately for Premier League clubs, since then they have fared rather better in Europe to boost England’s European coefficient. And Klopp has played a major role in this, leading Liverpool to a Europa League final in 2016, Champions League final in 2018, winning the European Cup in 2019, and reaching at least the semi-finals this year following last year’s quarter-final loss to Real Madrid.
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Of course, it’s not just the Reds’ own achievements which have boosted English football in Europe, with Chelsea winning the Champions League last season and both Man City and Tottenham reaching the final in recent seasons. Meanwhile, both the Londoners and Manchester United have won the Europa League, with the Red Devils and Arsenal also losing in the final.
Given such extended runs in Europe, England currently sits top of the association coefficients and are in no threat of losing any Champions League places anytime soon. Besides, to strengthen their hand further UEFA extended the number of associations granted four qualification places to four from the 2018/19 season onwards, ensuring the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga are all well-represented in the continent’s elite competition.
But some nations have had to fight for an extra spot, with Scotland, aided by both Celtic and Rangers repeatedly reaching the Europa League knockout stages in recent years, only reclaiming a second qualifying place for the Champions League this season for the first time since 2012/13.
With Rangers currently preparing for a Europa League semi-final clash with RB Leipzig, the Scottish Premier Football League recently granted the ‘Gers request for their visit to Motherwell this weekend to be moved forward to Saturday to allow extra preparation for their clash with the Bundesliga outfit. They had been due to be at Fir Park on Sunday, but the game will now kick off at 12pm the previous day after SPFL discussions with Motherwell, Sky Sports and the police.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team play their first leg in Germany on April 28, then visit Celtic in the league on May 1, before hosting Leipzig on May 5, with such a run of fixtures prompting the Dutchman to urge the SPFL to help to aid Rangers' bid for European success.
"You have seen in other countries where a lot of games are moved, different dates or even kick-off times were changed," he said last Sunday. "I think we are having talks now.
"We just want to do the best for Scotland; we are still involved in Europe and getting a lot of (coefficient) points. Of course, we can make the request, but the SPFL has to agree and make sure the fixtures are moved."
Just 48 hours later and their request had been heard with clash with Motherwell brought forward a day.
It is of course in the SPFL’s interests for their sides to do well in Europe, to ensure their association coefficient remains as strong as possible, and said it was "very pleased" to accommodate Rangers' request and wished the club "the very best of luck in their European campaign".
So why don’t the Premier League have the same consideration for its own members?
Both Liverpool and Man City are in this year’s Champions League semi-finals, with Klopp going public earlier this month about his displeasure at the Reds having to travel to Newcastle for a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday 30 April, in between their first leg with Villarreal on Wednesday 27 April and the return leg in Spain on Tuesday 3 May.
Yet despite an official request to delay the kick-off time to aid with Liverpool's Champions League preparations, the Premier League have reportedly rejected the Reds' plea.
“If you want to cause us problems you send us to 12.30 at Newcastle,” the German bemoaned last weekend ahead of his side’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Man City.
“I don’t understand it. I can understand that people want to see a football match between Liverpool and Newcastle but I don’t see why any team should have an advantage or a disadvantage.
“The league and the broadcaster really have to try at least to help. We will see. I haven’t heard anything yet. Nobody from BT contacted me yet. But I’d say common sense would tell you that it's probably the right thing to do to move the game slightly backwards.
“We had it last week before we played City (in the Premier League). We had an away game and arrived the next day. Travelling is intense. Will it give an advantage? I have no idea. For both teams I think their games were intense.”
Following Klopp’s comments, Newcastle counterpart Eddie Howe admitted he sympathised with Liverpool’s situation as they chase an unprecedented quadruple.
“It’s a very difficult situation. They’ve been very successful this year and ended up playing a lot of games, so I understand it from their viewpoint,” he said . "I’d probably have the same opinion if I was them. For us, we’ve been in their position many times over the years when you look at it and think ‘how’s this game been moved to this time or day’.
"We have very little say in the fixtures and when they come and how they sit. You just have to react and deal with it. I have every sympathy with Liverpool but they’re winning lots of games and in lots of competitions so naturally, it’s going to be that way."
Howe was then asked if it would be unfair for Newcastle to be forced to change their fixture schedule to suit Liverpool, to which he responded: “That’s not for me to say. We get told when to play and we turn up and do our best.
“It’s not up to us to decide when games are played. We ended up playing four away games in very quick succession recently which was far from ideal for us but we had to bite the bullet and get on with it. We don’t decide the fixtures but I do have every sympathy with them."
Howe's side will play when they're told, and so too will Liverpool following this Premier League rejection. In total contrast to the SPFL's own approach, Klopp and his side will just have to ‘get on with it’.
It remains to be seen whether it will cost them domestically or in Europe as they chase down a second league and European title under the German. But the Premier League’s stringent following of the current fixture-list without any consideration or flexibility will no doubt prompt exasperation at Anfield.
The Premier League might be the best league in the world, but it is far behind when it comes to looking after its members and actually aiding their efforts to succeed. Sure, their inactivity won’t cost them anything, with English clubs continuing to challenge in Europe regardless, but it really wasn't that long ago when their coefficient status was at stake.
Liverpool are one of the very reasons why that isn't the case and they would do well to remember that, yet it seems it is simply easier for them to just do nothing. Perhaps if it was still at risk, then they would actually take a leaf out of the SPFL's book.
Clubs shouldn’t have to compete with one hand behind their back and no help from their own association. With friends like this, who needs enemies. No wonder Klopp keeps completely dismissing any suggestion that his side can win the quadruple.
Should Liverpool and Rangers win the Champions League and Europa League respectively this year, they will meet in next season’s European Super Cup in Helsinki. And while the Scottish outfit will be able to thank the SPFL for their cooperation in aiding their efforts as they look to reach a final, if Klopp’s own men are to succeed, it will be in spite of the Premier League pencil pushers.
