Among the strangest realities in English football - and there are many - is that the most difficult country in which to watch the Premier League is, in fact, England itself. Move virtually anywhere else in the world and you'll have a choice of pretty much any game on live TV, but in England, the 3pm blackout still rules. In case you are unaware, English TV is forbidden from broadcasting live games between 3pm and 5.15pm every Saturday, so as not to impinge on attendances at lower-league grounds.
Arriving from Germany to the cradle of the game, this was particularly staggering to Jurgen Klopp, who realised upon arrival in England that it was strangely difficult to catch a glimpse of the national obsession at its most traditional kick-off time.
This story is relayed in a new book entitled On The Brink, by Simon Hughes, which charts the footballing landscape across the North-West of English football. The book includes an interview with Klopp, and it was during this chat that Hughes learned of how the Liverpool manager was in the dark about the blackout for weeks.
Not long after his appointment at Anfield, Liverpool had a Monday night game. Having trained at Melwood on Saturday morning, Klopp returned home to Formby. A few days before, Sky engineers had installed satellite television. At 3pm, as he lay on the couch, he realised there was no live football and thought it was unusual. Figuring he'd bought the wrong television package, he called BT and had their sports bundle installed as well.
A few weeks later Liverpool were playing at Anfield on a Sunday afternoon and so, when he returned to Formby he waited for the matches to start at 3pm on BT. It was only then - after calling Liverpool's liaison officer and having not discussed it with anyone else before - that he realised no games in England were televised at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. 'I couldn't believe it!' he laughs. 'As I say, when you are in charge of Dortmund, you don't really think about England so much...'
On a similar topic, Klopp will continue to be confounded by the football TV scheduling in England. He and Liverpool may have to reckon with a trip to London for Christmas, with Sky aiming to fix their game with Arsenal at 4pm on Christmas Eve, something that has understandably stoked the ire of supporters.
On The Brink: A Journey Through English Football's North West by Simon Hughes is published by deCoubertin Books and is available now.
