As someone who did not watch the game, I am amazed at the laurels Gakpo is getting. Was Arne Slot’s son, that almost everyone insisted should be PRI 1 to get rid off after last season ASAP, really play that well ?
If so, that is good I suppose. But again, as someone who was unable to watch the game, I do find it intriguing.
He was our most effective attacker and scored a great goal. He’s never been a bad player, but was scapegoated last season.
@GratefulRed I am with you. There was positives, there was a couple of 10 minute periods where you could see something, which unfortunately just didn’t fully click.
In the end it was the first game of the season, with a new manager, playing away against an passioned crowd. A draw was a fair result hopefully our post game discussion is a lot more positive next Saturday afternoon 
It’s late and I don’t have the energy to engage. Please don’t take this as me being dismissive, I hear your points and am not saying you are wrong. Can we reflect next game? Hopefully you are right and I am wrong.
He was definitely our best attacker today. He has a method that works for him and that comes with its pro’s and con’s.
He is definitely a frustrating player for large parts of last season and I think this was amplified by our slow play and Salah being guilty of doing exactly the same thing.
I am really undecided as to whether we are better off buying Barcola and selling Gapko…
First game, some decent stuff, some issues to work on. About as expected!
The Geordie’s were angry about Isak and they showed it. On our end we chipped away and got the draw. It was far from an opening day gimmie, as Arsenal enjoyed. We need a couple of signings and we need to get to grips with what Iraola wants.
The midfield is not balanced. The wings need more. And I think Wirtz is a smashing player, but if he is not getting the ball early and quickly, without a base behind him, we are losing a lot of what he can bring. Work to do.
Said much the same, work in progress, some positives. Dominated possession and did create a lot but quality was lacking in those chances.
As you said that goal was terrible.
No problem, but my take he has improved in the last 2 games but we all know, one swallow doesn’t make a summer!
This is problem of buying Wirtz and trying to fundamentally change the system to fit him, rather than buying a player that actually fits the previously working system (Rice, Anderson, Gibbs White, or even Wharton…).
I always believe that a 3-man midfield is always more solid. Unless you have a No.10 player as good as Coutinho at his best.
Neither PSG, Barca nor Spain plays with a full-blown No.10. All of them have a Wharton-like midfielder, though.
The more I look at the replays for the 2 conceded goals, the angrier I get at the midfield pivot.
The first came off Gravenberch making a blind side way pass across the box when he has a clear shot on target, Szobo was too far up the pitch at the same side of Gravenberch to do anything defensive. It allowed their RB to make an easy pass to Osula who then went on to assist Elanga.
The second was downright bad. Gravenberch makes yet another blind flick at the edge of the box and gets intercepted. Szobo was woefully out of position and then got rolled by Wissa. The newcastle player then advances so far with Szobo and Wirtz, Virgil and Jacquet all failing to put a tackle in or make a tactical foul, coupled with Wirtz and Szobo given up running with Gravenberch struggling to catch up and put in the tackle. An easy pass to the NUFC LW and boom a goal.
They were small players but they all dominated games and terrified defenders.
They were no pushovers or softies. Silva was small but he some mongrel in him.
Yes, agree. This match was another example of a match that, like Slot would always point out last season, the stats like xG and possession and field-tilt etc would all say we dominated, but the biggest chances fell instead to the other team due to a few bone-headed plays.
1000% on that first goal, Gravenberch has to shoot, and if he does, even if it’s saved by the keeper, that counter doesn’t follow. On the 2nd goal, you had I think 4 defenders all just retreating and none putting in a real challenge. Iraola’s comments after the game were spot on (from what I’ve read, haven’t watched his actual interview).
The next week needs to be spent on getting that double pivot to work better, and I hope that AI has the cojones to start either Mac or Nyoni in the next match (think, on balance, it has to be in place of Gravenberch), or else to sit Wirtz and push Szoboslai up into the #10 position. Also think that Munoz has to start at RW ahead of Rio for now.
yes.
id also like to add im very excited to see Jacquet develop, i thought he was fantastic IN POSSESION, but seriously shown up out of possesion, first goal im putting on Virgil, as Jacquet was close enough for him to commit, or at least show the lad the other way… second one its on Jacquet for me…basically showed the lad the inside chanel, then let the other lad race past him.
bit suprised hes getting the plaudits in here, i think his game when we had the ball masked some issues…
that said, plenty of time for him to fix thse small issues hes probably never faced before in that kind of cauldron.
this is not to releive anyone further forward of responsibility, thats all good and well, but as a defence you are meant to deal with situations regardless of whats happened higher up the park, deal with overloads, thats the job.
a street sweeper cant complain about sweeping the street.
For Gravenberch pussying out of the shot, even if we don’t score, we get a corner or forces the keeper to make a save.
As for the second goal conceded, nobody bothered to make a tactical foul at all. Not even the midfield 3…
At least we know who our penalty taker is.
Watched extended highlights and its easier to judge without the match emotion.
We have major issues with our starting eleven.
The full backs are poor. Kerkez is the better of the two but these two are nowhere the standard required for LFC.
We have no DM and all our midfielders want to bomb forward. We need a destroyer who isnt fussed about seeing the ball.
Rio - I personally don’t get the hype but get him off the RW - he was invisible. Look at what a proper RW did when he came on. Sick of square pegs and round holes. Appreciate it may have been forced as Munez isn’t fully fit and we haven’t brought in another RW yet.
Wirtz. If the club could turn back the clock they 100% wouldn’t sign this lad. Yesterday was the perfect game to take by the neck and get us back in it - he disappeared yet again and was rightly taken off. You are 2-1 down and your £100m “playmaker” is taken off. Says it all. The lads talented but he is a £100m problem. He doesn’t fit us or the league. Fully expect him gone in Jan or next summer unless a huge improvement but this has been going on since he got here. Can only think of Burnley and maybe Newcastle at home where he put in a complete performance.
Isak - like Wirtz the club wouldn’t buy him if they could turn back the clock. He is a no 9 who is never in box and never looks like scoring. Couple of decent crosses yesterday and no idea where he was but it wasn’t the 6 yard box. Another £125m mistake.
Id like us to sell Isak and bring in Evanilson of Bournemouth with that lad from Brighton on the right and Barcola on the left. That suits us much better and more like Mane, Salah and Bobby.
We’re never gonna replicate Salah, Mane and Bobby. Those days are gone. Great memories though
Honestly, the more I think of it, the more I got pissed off by Dom last night. Yes he scored a great penalty despite the pressure, props to him but the whole night he was probably should be blamed for the goals as much as alot of us were blaming Grav. To me, Grav last night had a much better time trying to make runs and penetrating the defence while Dom was ineffective. And yet when Grav was making those runs, none of Wirtz and more importantly Dom had the tactical nous to fall back to cover but instead we saw what happened for their 2nd goal, they did not fall back and let a player like Wissa run past them as if like he was the Flash and then what was more appalling was that Dom practically stop running and started jogging when he felt he could not catch up. If it was Hendo or Gini, they would have run until they could not even if they knew they could not catch up. For a player whom was touted to be our next possible captain, he was appalling and ridiculous. Lazy and lacked the mentality to be a top player. Its unfortunate because last season in what was a bad season under Slot, he was one of the better ones, now to me, it might become more apparent that the blame should not just be on Slot, Players like Dom, Wirtz might be the reason the team was never good enough in the first place.
He scored a good goal.
Wasn´t very good or effective other than that though in my opinion. But better than Isak and Rio comfortably.
Why would Izak be in the box when the ball never gets played in early enough. The only time it was Kirkez put in absolutely shocking cross when Izak was essentially unmarked on 6 yard line.