Terrace Talk Liverpool: Squeals about ref conceal concerns about defensive fragility and midfield weakness

Liverpool's Andrew Robertson (left) scores their second goal

So, we (had to) go again, to quote our gravity-challenged ex-captain; but for how much longer?

What we’re seeing now is how tightly-packed the season is, how there’s no wiggle room if anything upsets the schedule. Greed enables wall-to-wall football. Few of us complain because we love watching it, but the professionals are revolting.

It’s a bit conspiracy-theory run amok, but I wonder how serious some of these Covid ‘illnesses’ really are. Could just be a convenient stick to beat the authorities with.

As their precious timetable becomes congested even beyond a football fanatic’s appetite, they may soon realise change is inevitable.

But we’re talking about the numskulls who gave us Salzburg and Inter in the CL draw on the same day, so my hopes aren’t high.

Liverpool lost Fabinho and Van Dijk, but still coped easily with Newcastle. That’s something else which needs rectifying, the disparity between the top squads and the rest.

Obviously, Newcastle will soon fix that in their own, grisly fashion. That’s no help to anybody else.

Klopp’s put us in a position where idiotic claims gain baseless traction. Our equaliser shouldn’t have stood, it changed the game, blah forever blah.

Yes, because a team that’s netted in 33 consecutive games can’t score fairly against one in 19th place with the worst defence in the league. Grow up.

TV highlights made it look a contest, the stats (and the evidence of our eyes) suggested otherwise, but on it goes. We’re the big bad wolf, whatever the little piggies do to get one over us will be condoned.

Everyone could protest and fight for a fairer sport, but that’s suspiciously like hard work and requires a moral spine football folk no longer need. Interferes with profits, y’see.

We dominated that game, but still left it late in finishing the job. The previous evening, City pulverised Leeds and polished off the Geordies easily. Obviously.

The season has a feel of Liverpool grimly holding onto their coattails, and with Mo and Sadio scooting off to Africa for a month, you’ll see us losing the flimsiest of grips altogether.

Sunday was on a knife-edge all day. Is it on or not? Klopp claimed we’re 100% vaccinated (“almost”, he added archly) but we’ve still lost players.

Tottenham are okay now, so were obviously keen to play, that selfishness which now infests the game.

I can remember everyone wanting our title season voided, from a bogus concern for human life. You don’t hear that anymore, a knocked-down-with-a-feather moment if ever there was one.

Four big players missing put us up against it. I wonder if Klopp even considered postponement. Chelsea asked and were rebuffed. Maybe he felt rearrangements would take place in January and we’d be missing Salah anyway. Not that he did much against Spurs.

If Sunday proved anything, it’s not to tell other fans to grow up, because sure enough, during the next game, you’ll be crying like babies with nappy rash.

Kane should’ve walked and Jota could’ve had a penalty. They’re decisions you get at home, but Robertson’s red (when VAR conveniently woke up) was the icing on an exceedingly bitter cake.

It was a decent point, the outrage inflamed by the dread of City pulling away. With that midfield three, especially Keita in ‘brittle emptyhead’ mode, a point was about right.

If Ox can’t get in that side, best look for somebody else and have done with it. Squeals about the referee concealed concerns about defensive fragility, midfield weakness and an invisible Salah. The goalkeeper’s having the odd nightmare too this season, though he’d kept us in this game a few times.

Winter break ahoy? Not the one Klopp always wants, but a chance to take stock, nonetheless.