http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/1794?cc=5901 The brutish reality is that Liverpool dropped two points against Newcastle. The cacophony of noise at full-time alerted all who could hear it. The medley of relieved Geordies and the disbelieving away following, prompted by the tardy toot of the referee's whistle, confirmed it. Even simple mathematics proves it. Liverpool drew 2-2 at St James' Park and took one point instead of three. They did so against a side that had 10 men -- one man less than Liverpool -- for over 45 minutes. Two points most definitely, undeniably, frustratingly dropped. Every team drops points, of course; very rarely does a side navigate an entire season without fashioning a sure-fire victory into an infuriating draw. But this was the first time Liverpool have done so this season. Their 2-2 draw at Swansea was fair on the balance of play, and it was also against a full complement of players. Their defeat to Southampton was one point dropped at best, though in reality it was a fantastic, controlled away performance by the Saints, a 90-minute plan executed perfectly. Before the inquest comes the inquiry. Two points can be a hefty tally at the season's end for such thin margins. It can be the girth of a crossbar, as Luis Suarez discovered when his volley rebounded off it; it can be a centimetre of a goalkeeper's glove, as Tim Krul exhibited when he tipped away the Uruguayan's free-kick during the final act. Champions League places, championships and careers can be decided on such moments, such wicked, unpredictable spins of the ball. They have done before. But the draw with Newcastle was more than tossing away two points. In reality that is true, but in theory it was akin to dropping three, six or nine mentally. It is this sort of result that can separate the title winners from the hapless runners-up. Show me a team who wins 3-2 and I'll show you a team that is equipped to qualify for the Champions League, Vince Lombardi would no doubt say, God rest his soul. There is a lot to be said about momentum and the belief -- or disbelief -- it can instil within. When Liverpool won their first three games of the season 1-0, it did not only reveal the wonder of Daniel Sturridge and the resilience of their back line, but it kept writing the narrative that so many were willing to read. After Stoke, it was a hard-earned three points; after Aston Villa, it represented a good start. The euphoria that greeted the win against Manchester United was partly down to the opposition, granted, but also because it fed the idea that Liverpool could grind out every result on their way to world domination. Even after Swansea and Southampton, the rhetoric remained: this is Liverpool's season to do whatever they please. How that would have been supported with a win against Newcastle, albeit with a man extra. A win would exhibit resilience, patience, intelligence. This draw exhibits an opportunity missed, mutterings and curses, a collection of what if? scenarios. This one game of football dictates little for the moment; hindsight may regard it as two points that floated down the Tyne. It was probably Liverpool's most disjointed performance of the season, one where passes were fired into shins more than anything, one where raking balls found the front row more than Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho's instep. But it didn't highlight anything not already under the blinding spotlight. The 3-4-1-2 formation looks good when it works and appears a catastrophe when it does. That '1' -- currently occupied by Victor Moses -- is currently taking the shape of a five foot six hole with curls on top and stardust on the boots below. In order for the 3-4-1-2 to fully work, the player behind Suarez and Sturridge must be able to act as both midfield and attack in equal measure; Moses, who possesses many attributes but not that one, struggled once more. Glances towards the shoulder of Philippe Coutinho and the industrial-sized tub of superglue continue. Yet more confirmations of what was already known: Suarez and Sturridge are fantastic, even with the former having mild jet-lag after international week. The midfield is a puzzle yet to be solved, and it probably won't until the next transfer window, unless Joe Allen shows his form of August 2012 -- Jordan Henderson failed to make an impression there, though he run and run; the defending from set-pieces can be prone to disaster, if not in frequency then in impact, as Mamadou Sakho showed for Paul Dummett's goal. Not that Liverpool should toss their passports into the River Mersey just yet. Though Liverpool only picked up a point, this was a game that embraced eccentricity and managed to demonstrate both the bad and good of Brendan Rodgers' side. They let so much slip, and yet came from behind twice. The slow start was disappointing, but Liverpool's ability to play themselves into the game was commendable; conceding a goal to a long-range Yohan Cabaye strike could have seen chins scrape along the turf, but instead Sturridge raised his to pick out Suarez, who scampered clear of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. Anticipating another half of torture by the lively Suarez, Yanga-Mbiwa did the merciful thing and allowed himself 45 minutes rest by getting sent off. The subsequent penalty from Steven Gerrard, dispatched with the confidence of a player deserving his 100 Premier League goals, should have proven the catalyst for a comfortable win. Instead, apoplexy reigned as Dummett stole in; then came the onslaught, both physically and mentally fatiguing, before Suarez and Sturridge combined once more. A lesser side would have lost 2-1; a better side, a title-challenging side, might have won 3-2. But this is not meant to be a title-challenging side, not yet anyway; that is the position Liverpool find themselves in and the reality they must deal with. But it says much of Liverpool's season so far that this is the first time a draw can be regarded as an opportunity truly missed. Such is football and the way it swings so viciously. Their opening day win against Stoke could have seen two points dropped if not for the reflexes of Simon Mignolet and against Aston Villa, the craned neck of Gerrard ensured it was three points instead of one. Sunderland was ultimately a similar story. Only when the damage, if any, is tangible can this Newcastle result truly impact upon the season. If Liverpool were to miss out on whatever they target this season by a solitary point, they will acknowledge their inability to fully take advantage of Yanga-Mbiwa's red card. Still cause for optimism and still reason for concern; a chance for redemption, at home to West Bromwich Albion, awaits next week. When all is told, that is not a bad position given Liverpool are third in the league and only two points from the top. If it remains like that come the end of the season, as unlikely as that is, then it will be black and white where it all went wrong.
Given the circumstances, we definitely dropped 2 points and it's what we deserved for failing to take control of the game, and for making defensive mistakes.
Take a look at the Newcastle's match thread pre-game. They all expected a heavy loss, but we failed to take any control of the game in the first half and they grew in to it, we don't look good away from home at all. It could of been a lot worse, I just hope when we look back at the end of the season them 2 points aren't the difference.
I don't see it as 2 points dropped. How quickly we forget? Here we are toward the end of October 3rd in the table (on goal difference only) with only 1 defeat and already there are people who want to look at the negative aspects of the season. We should be doing better or playing better and in some respects I agree. Yes we should have could have got 3 points against Newcastle but to say that the team will be damaged mentally and that momentum is lost is a nonsense. Come next weekend we will either be back on track and still doing well or by the mentallity of the article a draw or loss against WBA and our season is over. There's still a long way to go and we will draw and lose games along the way but there are signs of a good team at Liverpool and we should be looking at the good points other than the negative, if before the season started we were offered this position would we have taken it? We'd have snapped it up so what has changed? In answer to that expectation and the fact that we are Liverpool and should always aim high. We should also have faith and back the team, Rodgers is doing a good job so far and the team will improve as the season goes on, this is a fun ride so far so lets just see what happens.
I think it also highlights the fact our squad is quite thin in some areas - injuries to certain players and we lose balance i.e. Johnson at RWB, Coutinho as no. 10.
Bit unlucky that Allen and Coutinho have been out at the same time cos Moses is no number 10 but think Allen could be good cover. Moses may not like it but for me he needs to be an impact sub if Rodgers is to continue playing this formation because it doesn't suit him.
In this current formation, I feat that there really isn't a place for Moses. He needs to be out on the wing where he can do damage - he does go missing in games but he can produce a strong powerful run, beat players and get into the box. It's a match winning quality. I would like for us to go back to 4-3-3.
Another point on the game - we came from behind twice. We showed great character to fight back and no doubt we would have lost from similar positions last season. There will be off days but as long as we can still fight and show spirit, then it bodes well for the future.
Not so sure that, at the end of the season, this result will be looked at as 2 points dropped. Despite disliking both Ashley and Pardue, the Geordies have a squad there that remind me of too many Liverpool sides over the last 20 years - very good on it's day but not consistent. Saturday was one of their good days. Therefore my evaluation of what happened takes a different shape. No, I'm not making excuses. I do believe that we were good enough to have won the game. Even in the first half, when Newcastle were arguably the better side, our final balls were only fractions away from being perfect - the problem was that they were continually only fractions off! Add to that the International Break appeared to have taken a couple of yards of pace out of the team. However, for me, the major problem was the lack of creativity in the No 10 slot. We cannot blame Moses it's not his speciality. Gerrard was our only true creative player and all he could truly see was the back of players in front of him as they ran away to (and into) the clutches of the United defence. In my memory we were never able to 'double up' on the flanks. It was therefore easy (relatively) for the United defence to remain compact. If anybody was responsible for the defeat then take your eyes off the pitch and look at the bench and especially at Rodgers. By the hour mark we should have had Alberto on the pitch and Sterling to run the flanks. Both of these substitutions came too late. By the time Alberto had got into the game we were on the last desperate knockings which did not sit well with a cool-headed approach. As for Sterling, I just could not understand what instructions he had been given? He filled a space but not a space that was effectively contributing to the attack! But we gave away 2 goals. The first one you can argue should have been prevented by our DM's putting pressure on Cabaye. The second was a variant of the same problem that our defence has suffered with for years. Now that has been discussed on these pages over and over again but we still appear no nearer to solving it. Overall, I'm not happy that we didn't get 3 points. However, I can understand how that happened and I believe that we can rectify the problems. So overall it's not the end of the world and we look forward to avenging last season's result against The Baggies
Agreed. Completely different story if Suarez' shot hits the roof of the net instead of the bar. On to the next game, Chelsea V City next Sunday so we MUST be getting 3 points against WBA On a side note - Nothing frustrates me more than needing a goal when the opposition are trying to take a point - 30 second goal kicks etc drives me insane!!!
Dave - I agree. Despite this being one of our worst performances, we still scored 2 goals, created chances (not clear cut TBF) and restricted Newcastle to mainly long range shots. This was a bad day in the office. But I suppose the encouraging thing is that our bad day in the office was a draw. Last season, it would have been a loss.
BR: "You need players that are hungry to succeed, players that are at an age where they're not just happy to be a Liverpool player, they want to win as well" Clearly talking about Downing
Lol - he's absolutely right. So glad that we've got rid of the sh*t and brought in hungry players with top level experience - Sakho, Toure, Cissokho.
2 points dropped considering the circumstances. But I'm happy with our position. Still yet to see a great performance too.
Certainly for 90 minutes. Opening 3 games we were playing brilliant football....But only for 45 minutes.
this We are doing well especially given we have not put in 1 good 90 minute performance in any of the 8 games. With the fixtures we have played so far and where we stand, we'd have bitten a hand off for that before the season started. next game please
I think it is 2 dropped but it isn't the end of the world. We are still in a good position and will hopefully bounce back quickly.
reality check time. we were owned for 40mins. aside form set piece issues newcastle were mugging us off. one moment of suarez and a panic striken defender... game changes. 1-1 and we come out second half.. listless. Newcastle again own us with 2 banks of 4. we then throw one in from a set piece not newcastle who were awful. simply put why have 3 cbs at all... none could head anything on target. 905 of our effortsw ere blazed well over the bar. very poor showing in reality guys... very poor... if this formation continues much longer we are in big trouble.
