We can talk about a tale of two
halves, but in this case it wasn’t. That would be to simplistic. Newcastle gained parity
with barely three or so chances.
There are always deciding factors
that swing matches and in this game there was one, Simon Mignolet. Liverpool two-nil up from
superb strikes from Sturridge and Lallana, Newcastle showing a bit of fight
without looking threatening were suddenly back in the game. As he so often has
been Simon Mignolet was the culprit.
His only remedy for the cross in
middle of his goalmouth is to punch and to the back post to paw the ball away at
full stretch. At full stretch he missed his touch leaving Papiss Demba Cissé to
head in unopposed.
Sitting in the ground there was not
disbelief because we have seen it before, but anger that for a match which we
had under cruise control the momentum was thrown away. Newcastle, managed by
Rafael Benitez (given a warm welcome) and fighting for their very
survival needed very little invitation to step up.
Sitting behind Mignolet in the Kop
one can testify to his lack of command and failure to express himself vocally.
To my way of thinking he is a clown, possibly the least effective goal keeper at
Anfield in the last 30 years. David James had his foibles, but at least he was vocal.
Jerzy Dudek could be clumsy, but at least he would still try to claim the
ball.
Mignolet’s fault position is to stay
on his line instead of being alert for through ball and his kicking is
atrocious. Just one game from Danny Ward made one realise how woeful Mignolet’s
distribution is. His kicking whether out of hand or on the ground is poor
lacking distance and direction. It often ends up with hoots of derision or
groans from the Kop.
Any top class team cannot hope to win
leagues with a liability in goal and make no mistake Mignolet is that and more.
Jurgen Klopp is known for his strong decision making and one has to believe that
his first decision in pre-season, if it hasn’t been made already will be to
jettison the Belgian number two.
It was shame because Liverpool
totally bossed the first-half with Joe Allen continuing his good form and
Alberto Moreno looking very solid defensively.
Daniel Sturridge strike was superb
from distance. Fed by a lovely looping ball by Moreno the inform striker
collected the ball from a chest trap, turned and hit a crisp angled drive into the
corner of the net from 20 yards after barely a minute. Sturridge is not just a
predator, he is a scorer of great goals as I have often said.
I believe that the future forward
line may well comprise of Sturridge and Origi and with the progression of Origi
could well be a lethal cocktail.
Lallana like Liverpool was purring
and looking supreme. We were soon two up. Picking up Moreno’s square pass he
utilised the time and space afforded him before curling a beautifully
struck effort left-footed shot into the top corner of the net. Majestic and just
the remedy with the ground buzzing amid the news of Mamadou Sakho’s failed drug
test.
Little did we know that after our
brilliant destruction of Everton mid-week and such a dominate first-half that
the inconsistencies of this season would again be laid bare. It may seem harsh
to blame Mignolet for Newcastle’s second, but these are saves that David de Gea
and Hugo Lloris pull off as a matter of course – the change of direction to pull of an
almost impossible save.
He knew, we knew and I suggest Jurgen
Klopp knew it. The Kop were vitriolic in their criticism and even more so over
the second goal.
Whether the capitulation is something
leftover from the Brendan Rodgers era is hard to fathom, but one sensed it at
two-one and even after Newcastle drew level and even after regaining dominance
in possession it was apparent that the lifeblood had been sucked out of
Liverpool.
Disappointing to say the least. But I
would suggest that even with a recently signed five year contract there is no
hiding place for Mignolet.
Man of the
Match: Alberto Moreno – Solid in defence and showed the maturity in
performance that we have been craving. He has now overtaken Coutinho in
assists which is some going for a full-back which reflects the progress he has
made in recent weeks. Like Liverpool needs to find a consistent level of
performance.
The soft underbelly reared its ugly
head again in our fallibility under pressure to throw away leads.
Whether it hints at mental degradation or an inability to cope with pressure
from a winning position it’s something Klopp needs to work on over the
pre-season.
Simon Mignolet - I have said all
along that a five-year contract would not be the measuring stick which decides
his future as he is obviously not a top-class keeper. These days £50 million
is the going rate for a top keeper and we cannot afford yet another
retrograde step in the transfer market because his mistakes must have a demoralising effect.
Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty when Sturridge was upended in the area, but the very average Andre Marriner saw differently.
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