Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool First Team Will Not Feature in Shrewsbury Replay

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said neither he nor his first-team squad will take part in the team's FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury Town.
The Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by the League One side on Sunday in a thrilling fourth-round tie, setting up a replay at Anfield.
However, when speaking to the press after the match, the Liverpool boss said the replay will fall at a time the senior players are scheduled for a winter break, and as a result, it will be a young Reds side running out at Anfield:
"We got a letter in April from the Premier League that we should respect the winter break for the players. It's not allowed to organise international friendlies or competitive games. And we respect that.
"I told the boys weeks ago they will have a winter break. You cannot promise everybody time off and then at the end take that away, I cannot work like this. So that is our solution. We will not be there, it will be the kids that play that game. I know that's not very popular but that's the way I see it."
Here is more of what the Liverpool manager had to say:
Per the Daily Mail's Kishan Vaghela, it means the team's under-23s manager Neil Critchley will take charge of the match against Shrewsbury, which is scheduled to take place on either February 5 or 6.
Klopp will be frustrated that his team require a replay anyway, as they were in a position of comfort in Sunday's game at Montgomery Waters Meadow.
A Curtis Jones strike and an own goal from Donald Love put the Reds two goals up before Jason Cummings came off the bench to trigger a Shrewsbury comeback:
The match will not be the first one this season in which Liverpool have fielded a youthful side, with the team's involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup in December causing fixture congestion.
It meant Critchley took charge of a young XI in the League Cup quarter-final with Aston Villa, which the Reds lost 5-0. However, given the extra prestige of the FA Cup, Klopp's recent decision is likely to trigger a stronger reaction.
Leanne Prescott believes that a draw on Sunday was the worst-case scenario for Liverpool with that in mind:
Football writer Simon Evans believes the call is indicative of the difficult position the FA Cup is in:
FA Cup in full crisis. Make no mistake - managers who field weakened teams in the Cup (its no longer just PL teams doing so) are showing they don't really care about winning it. Klopp not even bothering to sit on the bench a new low - however much he is right about congestion.
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) January 27, 2020
There's no doubt the competition isn't Liverpool's priority at the moment, as they are on course for Premier League glory and in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
The staggered winter break has been introduced for Premier League teams for the first time this season, and it's clear there are some issues with the scheduling. However, football purists will be concerned about what kind of precedent Klopp's decision will set in a competition that has so much rich history.