NEIL ATKINSON welcomes Mike Nevin, Peter Hooton and James McKenna to the Anfield Wrap after Liverpool are defeated by Manchester United by the only goal.
They get stuck into Liverpool’s issues around goalscoring, their energy levels after a gruelling game against Arsenal and how Jurgen Klopp set his side up.
In Louis Van Gaal’s fourth consecutive victory over Liverpool in the League, Liverpool yet again conceded from the first shot against on target in a game in which they were the better side.
And with problems at the other end of the pitch despite making most of the running, Neil asks if anyone at any point thought Liverpool would get two goals ahead in the game?
What is it that Liverpool are doing wrong in attack after spending over £70m in an effort to liven up the front-line in the Summer?
How can a team look so ruthless one week and yet toothless the next? Was it a case of having a physical and mental hangover from the Arsenal draw in which they yet again didn’t emerge with what they deserved points wise?
Also they talk about the forthcoming Exeter game and Neil gets Steve Armstrong from United We Stand on the phone to discuss his view of United’s well thought through smash and grab.
Love the show and all the work you guys do (subscriber and listen to most shows and that) but I couldn’t listen to the Steve Armstrong part. I’m sure he’s a good lad and all, but the last person I want to hear from is a United supporter on a day like this.
My best friend over here is a long time United fan and he seemed totally perplexed by it all (far cry from the usual smugness), didn’t know if he should feel good about the win or bad about how it all happened.
At least his team won.
Now I don’t think Lallana’s as bad as people make him out to be, but “artistry”?
“Vision”? Not sure if Lallana or Zidane
I think he’s a decent player but the idea that a Liverpool side that aspires to at least finish in the top 4 building a side around Lallana and have everything running through him in the middle is insane
Top show as usual. A few things:
This team is nearly very good. I think things will be fine within 18 months.
We’ve now lost four in a row v Utd. The three previous to Sunday’s loss were games where we were played off the park, Men v Boys. Utd schooled us and it was embarrassing in the extreme. On Sunday everyone could see we were the better team. Even your Utd mate on the show told us they were just waiting for the goal to come after our period of domincance.
And so, we need goals, of course. But let’s not forget our striker woes are down to injuries. Stick a Sturridge (obviously), and Ings, or even an Origi in there on Sunday and we win. But all three are out.
They won’t be injured forever. Sturro seems to be going through an existential crisis, so we may never see the best of him again; but Ings and Origi are hungry, quick, direct strikers who will do well for us so long as their injuries haven’t shaved too much pace-wise. I’m much less worried about the longer term currency of goals as I am about the continued lack of confidence in the six yard area.
On that subject, one of you (can’t remember who) made a great point about Ming being on his knees when the header hits the bar, and it being about body language. That’s 100% what happened imho: I’m a keeper and when you think something might be creeping in under the bar and you haven’t dived for it, you do actually ‘will’ it over the bar, and contort your body as if it will help (like a golfer having hit a shot that’s gone off line arches his body to try and compensate while the ball is in the air).
Poor fella’s in such a poor place right now mentally, fighting hard to overcome his critics, all the scrutiny, and his own internal dialogue which seems to be all-consuming right now. When Rooney shoots he’s almost ‘subsiding’ on the floor – the complete opposite of the strong, confident, dominant keeping of the Mignolet who made that great double save from the penalty v Stoke in his first ever game at Anfield. Watch that again – his body language before the penalty, during the shot-stopping and leaping up to make the second save , all arms and legs, starfish style, leaping at the second shot-taker with aggression. That keeper is unrecognisable from the one we have now.
That said, maybe the 5 year contract is indeed to have him as a strong (ish) second choice keeper for a world-class no.1. We can only hope.
And in the meantime I think it’s time we gave the fella some support. We’ve put the world on his shoulders with all our opprobrium, let’s take some of it off for a while. Seriously.