Newcastle Utd 2-0 Liverpool: In game and Post Match debate

Well that's a shock to the system.

Missed the game today and I, like most of guess, expected a comfortable win but again we've struggled to beat a side we should beat.

Sooner Flanagan back the better even if just to put a few tackles we have no one and I mean NO ONE who can tackle

I have no idea who to pick as MOTM this time...

Me neither, so think I'm just gonna swerve it!

Sooner Flanagan back the better even if just to put a few tackles we have no one and I mean NO ONE who can tackle

I thought we put some great tackles in, but not always in the right areas/times, and the ref penalized some perfectly good ones.
Contrast that with Coloccini, who went in, studs up and two-footed, and the ref did nothing. Not to mention Anita and Cisse's ankle breakers.

I too am looking forward to Flanno's return although I don't feel the player(s) in his position(s) - ie Moreno and Clyne - need to be replaced.

Disgraceful attitude going into the game thinking it was already won. Maybe the players have been reading the papers and starting to believe the hype, we got exactly what we deserved.

I hope we never see that midfield again, probably the worst 90mins I have ever seen from Lucas, I wonder if he has the legs to play so many games as he is not used to playing 2 games a week. Nothing to say about Milner and Allen that has not been said before.
We certainly missed Can in that midfield to add a bit of bite and in fact put his foot on the ball without losing it.

Benteke is quickly becoming our 4th choice striker, offers nothing up front, there again Firmino was just as bad. Benteke should be a plan B when things are not going well.
At this stage of his career I think Ibe is best suited to coming off the bench.

On a positive note you could see the fluid attacking play in the last few mins with Origi and Sturridge on the pitch.

The Linesman WTF................it was a beautiful finish by Moreno.

I thought we put some great tackles in, but not always in the right areas/times, and the ref penalized some perfectly good ones.
Contrast that with Coloccini, who went in, studs up and two-footed, and the ref did nothing. Not to mention Anita and Cisse's ankle breakers.

I too am looking forward to Flanno's return although I don't feel the player(s) in his position(s) - ie Moreno and Clyne - need to be replaced.

Theres tackles and theres Tackles to many times we lost 60/40 tackles no Mcmahon,Gerrard or Souness tackles someone who puts in a thunderous challenge to waken others up when we are floundering.

For the first time since coming into the job I think the manager got it wrong today. I was disappointed with the line up and the performance did nothing to alleviate that. Our previous away wins were predicated on high energy, high pressing without the ball and good movement and quick incisive passing when we had the ball. Given their form I felt we kinda handed them the opportunity to feel emir way I to the game and that was a mistake.

- We've looked good with Firmino up top in a false nine role, neither Chelsea nor City could handle it. I don't know why we changed up that approach today. It seemed like all the movement, angles and options went out of our play.

- It was Strange to see Lalllana left out of the line up, that for me took the sting out of our pressing game because he has been the leader in that respect, the trigger if you like.

- Starting with Benteke was an issue for me, not only does it blunt our press, it also means less movement and slows us down in terms. Of the passing game. I can fully understand wrapping Studge in cotton wool BUT if the lad is fit for 60 minutes at St Mary's maybe he is fit to do the same again at St James?

All in all a really disappointing performance but we've made a ton of progress so I can't be too down beat and I dare say Klopp is learning all the time about this squad.

My ratings:


Mignolet. Had little to do other than pick the ball out of the onion bag twice. I do think he'd have been better off spreading himself and  standing up for the second rather than committing in, but it's a small criticism and no chance with the first. 5/10.

Clyne: Did little wrong to speak of, but is very much more a defensive full back than an attacking one and when teams sit in, offers not that much really. 5/10.

Skrtel: Went with the wrong leg when scoring the og but in truth was still unlucky to see it fly in. Other than that did OK. 6/10.

Lovren: Absolutely imperious from the first minute to the last, commanding in the air and even found time for some perceptive passing. Clear MOM and best player on either team, he would have got a 10 had he scored with either of his headed chances at the end. As it is, he'll have to settle for an 8/10.

Moreno: Not as good as recently and one or two brainless moments thrown in. I know I say it every week, but I think we're missing a trick by not getting him to actually look to get in goal when we have the ball in the inside right channel. 6/10. 

Allen: Offered very little and against teams who sit in, will rarely do so. Newcastle more than happy to see him back on the half way line ticking posession over, and I felt he failed to take his opportunity to impress. 5/10.

Lucas: Absolutely awful, terrible all the way through and if he were a racehorse they'd be dope testing him. He's been excellent ever since Jürgen arrived, but Jesus today he was as bad as the baddest of the bad old days. Hopefully just a blip. 3/10.

Milner: I notice he came in for some predictable slagging on here, but did exactly what he normally does and did OK. It can'tr have been easy in there with Allen and Lucas, but Milner led the press, picked out Moreno for the disallowed goal and tackled back with gusto. 6/10.

Firmino: After some brilliance in flashes recently, was absolutely invisible today. It's too easy to say he looked like he simply didn't fancy it so I won't, but he needs to offer 100% more than he did here. 4/10.

Ibe: Continued on his upward curve, just couldn't seem to get the final ball right. He's only a boy though and you get that, I thought he did really well and was our second best player. 7/10.

Benteke: Stunk the gaff out. Should have scored with the first half chance and too often was flat footed. We should get him to play centre half in training and he'll quickly realise that at the moment he is standing in spots and running in channels which are perfect for whoever is marking him. He should avoid the line of sight and perfect the art of standing still. 4/10.


Subs:


Sturridge: Still rusty but des the opposite of Benteke in the way he moves. Always out of line of sight, always happy to stand still, always on the half turn, always on the cusp of being offside. A mile from being fit but still classy when he came on. 6/10.

Lallana: Offered more than Firmino but then so did I, sitting on my couch in Wimbledon scratching my @rse. One or two moments though, enough to convice that we'd have been better off had he started. 6/10.

Origi: He too looked brighter when he came on, may yet not quite be as bad as I originally thought. 5/10.




Jürgen Klopp: Too many changes IMHO. It reminded me of someone else all this 6 changes nonsense, no wonder we lacked fluency. Good interview at the end, but underestimated Newcastles ability to show spirit IMHO. 5/10.

Disgraceful attitude going into the game thinking it was already won. Maybe the players have been reading the papers and starting to believe the hype, we got exactly what we deserved.

I hope we never see that midfield again, probably the worst 90mins I have ever seen from Lucas, I wonder if he has the legs to play so many games as he is not used to playing 2 games a week. Nothing to say about Milner and Allen that has not been said before.
We certainly missed Can in that midfield to add a bit of bite and in fact put his foot on the ball without losing it.

Benteke is quickly becoming our 4th choice striker, offers nothing up front, there again Firmino was just as bad. Benteke should be a plan B when things are not going well.
At this stage of his career I think Ibe is best suited to coming off the bench.

On a positive note you could see the fluid attacking play in the last few mins with Origi and Sturridge on the pitch.

The Linesman WTF................it was a beautiful finish by Moreno.

Have to say, I agree with that 100% - especially the first part

Seems to me that as soon as the media start mentioning us as title contenders, we mess up.

Milner should never ever be seen in a Red shirt he is truly awful he offered nothing in defence or attack. He has absolutely Zero football brain.

3 crucial changes. Coutinho and Can should always be in our starting XI. I'm not blaming Klopp of course, I knew Can was suspended.

As for Ibe, I know he has a lot of potential, I like him as a player, but I feel like he would be much better if he stopped overdoing the dribbling. He doesn't have to do more than what he's capable of.
The guy has a lot to learn, he's still young and clearly not mature enough at the moment.

We've been marred by injuries this season and you only have to look at what happened to Sanchez when Arsenal pushed him too far. If there's a chance that playing Coutinho today means we lose him for 2 months then no way does he play. We all would have thought there was more than enough fire power in our squad without risking him.

As for Ibe, I would agree with you when we're at our free flowing best but today there was no option for him. Benteke was static, Firmino was taken out of the game completely and our midfield were 2nd best at every ball. A back pass would have been a safe option but I have to credit his bravery to try and make it happen.

Klopp would have learned more than anyone else today

Poor performance, disappointing result, and even though the Moreno goal may well have turned the game - we have had the rub of the green in some other games.

Having said all that I must say I appreciate the fact the manager said it how it was and didn't fill the air with any post match bullshit.

PS. Approached the MOTM vote with trepidation.  Hovered over my chosen person - clicked - and found I was with the consensus. Weird!

Klopp would have learned more than anyone else today

Definitely, in all his brilliance we tend to forget he is new to this league too, I doubt he has ever played so many matches in such a short time frame before.

this is the bump in the road that some of us have said to expect and in some ways this isn't  the result that matters its the next league game.
I find it absolutely mind blowing that anyone could give Milner MOTM.

Newcastle wanted it more than we did, they worked really hard, they compacted the pitch and put pressure on the ball for about 80 minutes.

Joe Allen, Lucas and Milner midfield was absolutely shocking and Benteke was statue esque throughout the game with very little movement and barely won any of his duels, Ibe had a good game, Firminho was under par.

Day to forget really.

Few pics from when the lads were warming up.

Jurgens post match interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moUbkyEw35o

Very refreshing to hear an honest reflection, no excuses.

Now we can all find our heads again;

"It's better to lose a bad game than a good one..."

Jaysus that was miserable. Special mention to Milner, Benteke and to a lesser degree Joe Allen... Cheers lads.

Milner Lucas and Allen are no MF.... Klopps first fack up.

Jurgens post match interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moUbkyEw35o

Very refreshing to hear an honest reflection, no excuses.

Now we can all find our heads again;

"It's better to lose a bad game than a good one..."

I agree the interview was good, but I hope Jürgen is getting good advice not just about tactics but also about the character of clubs we are playing against. There is no doubt in my mind for instance that had we scored in the first twenty minutes today Newcastles fans would have turned on them and they'd have caved in. If it was the case that we thought Sturridge only had a half in him, or Lallana I would have started with them.

You could see them growing into the game as time went on and as the crowd livened up, and we should have been going all out to put them to the sword in the first quarter hour. Of course once they did get up for, the writing was on the wall a long time before the og. Not a game IMHO to make six changes from a team which had just won 6-1, and I think the boss had an off day today. 

I'm amazed that in many posters critique they are falling over themselves to have a pop at Milner. I agree with the poster who was surprised anyone had him as our MOM, but he was certainly better than all of Lucas (obviously, he was our worst player by a mile), Allen, Firmino and Benteke.

Jaysus that was miserable. Special mention to Milner, Benteke and to a lesser degree Joe Allen... Cheers lads.

Milner Lucas and Allen are no MF.... Klopps first fack up.

that midfield three is not a good trio for midfield. Lucas is a sitting DM Allen and Milner are just not good enough to start games.

Having Lucas, Milner and Allen perhaps is what that has caused our immobility. 3 are very slow moving players. Hopefully Klopp realises that.

We've been marred by injuries this season and you only have to look at what happened to Sanchez when Arsenal pushed him too far. If there's a chance that playing Coutinho today means we lose him for 2 months then no way does he play. We all would have thought there was more than enough fire power in our squad without risking him.

As for Ibe, I would agree with you when we're at our free flowing best but today there was no option for him. Benteke was static, Firmino was taken out of the game completely and our midfield were 2nd best at every ball. A back pass would have been a safe option but I have to credit his bravery to try and make it happen.

I don't know mate. I've heard people say that Sturridge is kind of selfish, and personally Ibe reminds me of him... he's got great skills, but don't you think we would create more scoring chances if he passed the ball to his teammates?  I think we would... and I think Klopp will try to change his style of play.

That being said, I do hope we'll keep him for a very long time, I'm sure he'll improve, I have no problem at all with him.