Jurgen Klopp Could Send Half-Time Message for FA Cup Replay, Says Neil Critchley

Jurgen Klopp may send Liverpool's young side a half-time message again when they play their FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday, according to under-23 coach Neil Critchley.

Critchley will be on the touchline at Anfield for the match because Klopp and the first-team squad are on their winter break from Premier League action. 

Liverpool had a similar situation back in December when the first team were in Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup, and Critchley led a side with an average age of 19-and-a-half to a 5-0 loss against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.

During that match, Klopp sent a message for the squad at half-time, when they were 4-0 down.

Per Goal, the German manager will watch Tuesday's fixture at Anfield on a laptop, and Critchley said it will again be possible for Klopp to get in contact should he want to:

"Jurgen sent through a message at half-time [against Villa], which I have to say was brilliant at that moment. Even though we were going off the pitch thinking: 'We've played all right there, but we're getting beat 4-0,' it creates that element of doubt in your mind about whether you are doing the right thing and if you need to do something different.

"So when you get a message from the manager saying: 'Don't change anything, carry on doing what you're doing, you've been brilliant,' it clears all that doubt in your mind, and you can give that message to the players.

"The message killed every doubt and settled them right down. It helped everyone at that moment. I didn't have my phone on me, but the message came through one of the staff. That option is available [Tuesday], but that's up to the manager."

Klopp confirmed immediately after Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by the Shrews last month that he and his senior players would not be involved in the replay:

The 52-year-old has been vocal in the past about his issues with fixture congestion, and he said his decision not to field his senior players is "to honour the original idea of the break," per Paul Wilson of the Guardian.

The Premier League has never had any kind of winter break before. This season, though, Matchday 26 is to be played across the next two weekends so that each team gets a weekend off.

Per Wilson, Klopp said the club got "a letter from the authorities asking us not to organise anything during the week of the break" in a bid to prevent any warm-weather training camps or lucrative international friendlies being organised when the players are supposed to be resting.

As such, Klopp has arguably made the right decision for his players, and the issue surrounds the lack of coordination between the Premier League and the FA.

That has not, though, prevented Klopp from receiving criticism for his decision:

For many, Klopp is disrespecting the FA Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were accused of similar in 1999-2000 when they withdrew from the competition to appear at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.

The Red Devils were FA Cup holders that season having won the treble the campaign before.

Klopp's decision to withdraw his first-team players from Tuesday's fixture could prevent Liverpool becoming the first English side to emulate the Red Devils' remarkable achievement.