Neil Atkinson’s post-match review after Fulham 2 Liverpool 2 in the Premier League at Craven Cottage, as The Reds stuttered to start the season…
THAT was two dropped. Two that hurt. Two that kill.
Dropped points are the worst. It isn’t about complacency. It’s about knowing and understanding the bar. The bar is so great now. There is no room for manoeuvre.
But now we need to manoeuvre. Now we need to rebuild. We have snookered ourselves from minute one.
You can make the point that a point is OK after how poor Liverpool were for 55 minutes. It’s valid, but it is also two dropped. It is a snooker.
The best thing, in a sense, is there is no end to Liverpool’s disappointing individual performances. This wasn’t about one or two, it was about a mass showing that was inadequate at best and dreadful at worst.
Who wants to criticise their heroes? Yet Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino are all a million miles away for 55 minutes. They have all been, in different ways, my favourites. Our favourites. But that first 55 showing was painful. Historically painful.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool pull off a high wire act. Everything needs to be perfect for it to work. It’s tough and demanding. Today it was too tough, today too much was demanded. But I am with the system.
Marco Silva’s Fulham picked their pressure points and they worked well. However, that shouldn’t have been enough. Silva and his players are smart, but Liverpool have dealt with smart players before. Liverpool dealt with smart players last weekend. The smartest.
The truth is that today would have been far more explicable had Liverpool not been dealing with one of the best teams in the world last weekend. Had we found Manchester City unbearably tough, then today would make far more sense. But Liverpool, for 55 minutes, couldn’t live with Fulham’s press.
It hurt. Today Liverpool’s midfielders looked old. All three of them. They looked short of joie de vivre. This is so rarely the case but there it was. Liverpool have a host of midfielders but they played their first choice ones today. Liverpool could have bought a midfielder in the summer but today they’d still have played these ones. Liverpool’s best midfielder minute by minute was their oldest, James Milner, who ends up at the heart of everything good.
The truth is that for most games of the season the manager should pick two of the three of those who start this one. But the third needs to shift it differently. Liverpool went up gears through the second half and one such move was after Fabinho went off and Jordan Henderson went six.
Fabinho is remarkable but he isn’t unimpeachable. Henderson is captain but he isn’t essential. These two sharing the position at six (or playing with each other in a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2/4-2-4) isn’t the end of the world and sometimes one will suit more than the other.
Thiago Alcantara goes off injured which is obviously a massive blow, but Liverpool need two of the three; not all three.
All this said, Mo Salah was marvellous. He loves Darwin Nunez. He isn’t alone. I love him too. Luis Diaz is doing his own brilliant thing, but Salah/Nunez already feels very Dalglish/Rush. Salah is the best footballer in the world. He is the one. He will be the business.
This will all get sorted out, I know it will. But today it is two dropped and I am grumpy about it.
We only want one thing. They only want one thing.
There’s 37 hurdles left. And we have hit the first one hard.
Download The Anfield Wrap’s free app for Liverpool FC podcasts, video and writing all in one place…
Fulham 2 Liverpool 2: Post-Match Show | #NewPodcast | #LFC@johngibbonsblog hosts @C_Hannan7, @Fuad058, @PhilBlundell, @PaulSenior1, @Kristian_Walsh & @JohnnyMilburn…
1️⃣ Download our app
2️⃣ Enjoy FREE tokens
3️⃣ Get match reaction📱👉https://t.co/FHRpAATa31👈 pic.twitter.com/YIoRaQrcOU
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) August 6, 2022
Genuinely ruined my day. Had looked forward to getting an early 3 points on the board and then sitting back and watching other teams that aren’t and won’t be anywhere near our level. This hurt badly in that the mentality seemed off. Can’t remember the last time under Klopp we acted like this.
Gini still hasn’t been replaced. Thiago, Ox, Naby are predictably injured. Ditch them & sign Jared Bowen.
Midfield needs two new faces. Should of been done last month. Sell Ox, Thiago. The former is a total waste of £ 35 mill.
Liverpool need a midfielder. Today proved it. All the journos and Klopp to scared to challenge the owners.
Can’t always break even in transfer market and expect success.
Over to the owners now
Not only did they collectively step out onto a high wire ill prepared, they also displayed an arrogant disregard to the obvious dangers.
The high wire demands respect, and crossing it with blindfolds on is not recommended.
Leicester away last season clearly proved that.
I don’t understand why Jurgen signed a new contract if the M.O is that he constantly has to deal with a one in one out approach to balance the books whilst trying to refresh a side?
He doesn’t stand a chance of success working like that. Yeah, yeah but you say we nearly won four trophies last year. Well, we ran out of legs in the last six weeks, everybody could see it. Not enough players to rotate, scraping through games and then losing a very winnable final against the worst Madrid side in living memory.
Jurgen has to pipe up and throw some demands down. We have made an absolute packet over the last few seasons and unless the Echo is telling fibs, FSG seem to be raking in the profits week to week.
Address the week areas and stop being loyal to players who offer very little to this team.
Neil, every time we draw, you are too quick off the mark with TWO POINTS DROPPED, always. The same on the chat shows. I can do the maths. I dont need you to tell me. I expect more from you. From TAW. Its not original or enlighting to bellow TWO POINTS DROPPED. I know, I know.
I have the greatest respect for you, your writing, your speaking. But…
What I want to know is why. How did this happen? After Man City, the preseason, the training. How can it be that all the best players had an off day? On the first day of the season? Attitude, Jurgen? The Mentality Monsters? Intensity? Pep, where was it?
Some analysis would be useful. Some attempt to understand what was going on in the minds of these wonderful, elite footballers. To explain their performance
Where is Paul Cope when you need him?
TWO POINTS DROPPED does not cut it.
Anyone who watched it could see there wasn’t enough effort from the whole team. There wasn’t the required effort because they arrogantly believed it wasn’t necessary to match the opposition’s effort. So they deservedly came unstuck, and were fortunate to get a point.