Ryan Mason has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after his criticism of Tottenham’s style last weekend.
Klopp took umbrage with Mason’s post-match comments about Diogo Jota, who caught Oliver Skipp with a head-high tackle during the 4-3 clash but stayed on the pitch to score a stoppage-time winner in the Anfield fixture.
After Mason had made clear his exasperation at Jota being able to avoid a red card, Klopp hit back during an interview with the BBC by suggesting the 31-year-old should “worry about other stuff” before he told Spurs they “can’t just counter-attack” and urged them to “play better football.”
Tottenham’s acting head coach responded before the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday, where only three points for the hosts will keep alive their top-six hopes.
“Yeah, I mean first of all I respect and admire Jurgen Klopp,” Mason said.
“I also respect Liverpool Football Club, but honestly in my current situation now and regardless of what happens in my coaching career, I don’t believe I will ever be in a position where I can sit here and criticise another football club in the way they are doing things.
“Look, I will not create a war of words. That is my opinion on it. I don’t think it will change in 20 years time.
“I don’t think I will ever be in that position or earn the right to criticise another football club for how they want to try and win the game and how they feel is the best chance for them to win the game in that moment in time.”
The image of Skipp being caught in the head and falling to the floor may have brought back bad memories for Mason, who retired at the age of 26 following a fracture of his skull after a clash of heads with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill during a match for Hull in 2017.
Mason admitted Skipp had been fortunate, adding: “He is a very, very lucky boy. He had a couple of gashes in his head, needed near to 10 stitches and we are talking about a couple of inches away from an eye problem.
“I think the overall feeling this week is we are quite grateful Skippy is okay and nothing too serious.
“Obviously a different situation (to me), different moment as well. One was with a head, one was with a boot so the dangers are different.
“At the same time the head is a vulnerable part of the body. We continue to see that. Thankfully Skippy is okay. He is in contention.”
Skipp is one of two Spurs academy graduates set to feature against Palace alongside vice-captain Harry Kane and the club’s Under-18s were able to secure a second trophy of the season on Thursday night at Villa Park.
A 3-1 win over Aston Villa clinched the Under-18 Premier League Cup to add to the Under-17 version won against Nottingham Forest last month.
Mason has seen plenty of the youth team this season and knows the path they will now attempt to take, but he insisted there can be no set timescale on how long it could take some of Stuart Lewis’ current crop to break into the first-team.
“Absolutely I have seen a lot of them. I work for this football club, I work in the first-team and it is part of my job to pay attention and understand where the academy are at and try bridge that gap,” he explained.
“Of course we have hope for many of them but at 16 and 17, it can be a long road and it can be difficult.
“Sometimes people develop earlier than others and sometimes players seize the moment. Hopefully some of them can make the step up in the coming years.
“From a timescale point of view, it is very difficult to put a time on it but historically this football club has always valued that and we continue to do that now.”
Everton to 'assess all options' as 777 Partners takeover falls through
Everton will "assess all options" regarding the club's ownership after a proposed takeover by 777 Partners fell through on Saturday.
Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri agreed to sell his 94 per cent stake in the club to the US-based consortium last September, but the Premier League refused to sign off on the takeover.
The deal was repeatedly delayed as 777 failed to meet the Premier League's required conditions of ownership, though the consortium provided financial support to the club for several months.
Everton lost eight points to two deductions in 2023-24 for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, but still finished 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
Moshiri is now looking for alternative buyers to come forward, with Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor having expressed an interest in investing last month.
The club said in a statement: "The agreement between 777 Partners and Blue Heaven Holdings Limited for the sale and purchase of the majority shareholding in the club expired today.
"The board of directors recognises the considerable level of financial support 777 Partners has provided the club over recent months and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for this.
"The club will continue to operate as usual while it works with Blue Heaven Holdings to assess all options for the club's future ownership.
"The board of directors would like to thank everyone connected to Everton for their patience over recent months and reiterate its commitment to providing further updates when it is appropriate to do so through the club's official communication channels."
Paqueta to remain in Brazil's Copa America squad despite FA charges
The Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed Lucas Paqueta will remain in Brazil’s Copa America squad despite being charged over alleged breaches of betting rules by the English Football Association (FA).
Last August, it was reported the FA had opened an investigation into suspicious betting activity surrounding Paqueta, who said he was cooperating with the FA’s probe in March.
The West Ham midfielder is accused of intentionally seeking to receive a card in four different Premier League fixtures, three in the 2022-23 season and one on the opening matchday of 2023-24, with the charges brought against him last Thursday.
Paqueta, who has until June 3 to respond to the charges, addressed the situation on social media saying, "I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name."
Now, the CBF has confirmed that Paqueta will be staying in the national squad for the upcoming tournament following discussions between the two football associations.
"Given the facts reported by the English Federation, the CBF, supported by the joint opinion from the Legal and Governance and Compliance Directorates and the Integrity Unit, has decided to maintain the player's call-up," the CBF said in a statement signed by president Ednaldo Rodrigues.
"Based on the information provided by the FA, it is categorically concluded that the player, Lucas Paqueta, despite the behaviour for which he was accused authorising preventive removal [from the squad] ... has not been penalised to date by the prosecuting body authorised to sanction him.
"It is right to say that the player is free to perform his professional job until the present moment, the source of his livelihood and that of his family, in a full and unrestricted manner, whether for his club or his country's national team."
Selecao are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will kick off their campaign against Costa Rica in Group D on June 24.
Yorke hails 'remarkable job' by Emery at Villa
Former Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke believes Unai Emery has done a "remarkable job" and hopes they can maintain the new level they have reached.
Emery joined Villa in November 2022 when the club was in a relegation fight, and led them to a seventh-place finish, securing qualification to the Europa Conference League.
In his first full season in charge, the Spaniard oversaw another impressive campaign as the Villans finished fourth in the Premier League, ensuring Champions League football for the first time since 1982-83.
Villa also reached the semi-final of the Europa Conference League after seeing off Ajax and Lille in the knockout stages, but were knocked out by eventual champions, Olympiacos.
On Monday, Villa confirmed that Emery had signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2029.
Yorke, who spent nine years at Villa between 1989 and 1998, says the club have finally found the right balance.
"They've got good backers, good owners, invest heavily in their team and that shows what they want, but they've got also you need a correct manager and I think Unai Emery has come into that category," Yorke told Stats Perform.
"Villa is a tremendous football club. Emery has done a remarkable job to get Villa in the Champions League, a bit like Newcastle last season in many respects.
"Now the expectation is can he now really show what kind of manager he is? Now the [board] and the chairman will back him, bringing new players, bringing players to enhance that team, and they are going to try and maintain that [status as a top club].
"If he does that next year and qualifies for the Champions League again, plus probably win a cup, I think he then shows what really a true fantastic manager he is for Villa.
"To achieve their goal this season, I think the chairman, the fans, everybody will be thrilled that Villa is in the Champions League next year."
Despite their strong season, Yorke admits that Villa will need to think about adding to their squad to cope with the demands of playing in the Champions League.
"You have got to say to the owners, listen I need another three, four, five players to come in because now you're playing with the big boys, you're going from Champions League to the Premier League to the Champions League with the big boys," he added.
"You need a squad to be going into these games. The players will find it totally different because they're not used to that.
"They have got get used to that very quickly, but you've got an experienced manager in that type of way of playing [in Europe as well as domestically]. It will be new for Villa.
"It will be interesting to see how they handle that type of story going forward, how they handle the Champions League.
"It takes a really unique manager to then get a team advancing out of that group, then into the latter stage from the round of 16.
"[If Emery does that], now you're showing your true colours, but I think they've got to add maybe three or four new players to the squad that will help them to make sure that they can maintain [a challenge] on both fronts."
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