Wolves 3-0 Liverpool – The Final Written Word
Written by Collin Hockenbury
Welcome to Liverpool, where rock bottom is only a match day away.
Here are the big talking points following our most recent embarrassment, a 3-0 hammering at Molineux.
Too many injuries. Not enough signings. But our issues run deeper than that.
Liverpool have gone from quadruple contenders to European pretenders in the space of eight months. Or so it seems. It’s clearer than ever that the problems plaguing the team aren’t down to the activities of this season alone—but rather a series of poor decisions and fallouts over the last few seasons.
Since Klopp took charge, Liverpool have been nothing if not consistent. No matter how many times we’ve finished second, we’ve always been able to go again and finish first. We’ve been electric, hardworking and passionate on the pitch. And—crucially—one of the most well-run clubs in Europe off the pitch.
In 2020, that began to change. The season was derailed by injuries after we chose not to sign a single centre-back—though we managed to save the top four with an incredible late win streak. The next year, Sporting Director Michael Edwards stepped down. Then Julian Ward, his well-reputed successor, suddenly announced his plans to leave. Club Doctor Jim Moxon went, too. And now FSG President Mike Gordon has taken a back seat with the entity poised to sell. For too long, we’ve been able to wave away concerns about what’s taken place behind the scenes because of the brilliant football we’ve witnessed with our own two eyes. We currently sit 10th in the league and we’re out of both domestic cups. It’s not brilliant any more.
Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibou Konate and others are out with lengthy injuries. Sadio Mane, a linchpin of our attack for so long, is gone—let go for a laughably small fee. Our running and pressing stats are down. And we haven’t strengthened in the transfer window because, apparently, we don’t have the means. That doesn’t happen out of anywhere. It’s not bad luck. It’s poor planning across all departments: finance, fitness, recruitment and renewals.
All we can do now is hope for some damage limitation this season, and then a structural rebuild to lead us into next season. If we bring in the right people off the pitch, we can start to right the wrongs on the rise. But that’s a massive if.
Watch The Final Word show on Redmen Plus…
Klopp isn’t blameless.
Of course, the coaching needs to be questioned as well.
It would be suicide to “sack Klopp in the morning,” as the Wolves fans sang when they bagged their third goal. He’s our prize asset and he’s led us to more good times than we ever believed possible following decades of heartbreak. But he’s not without fault for this result or the run of form that preceded it.
He didn’t get the selection or setup wrong, as he has several times this season. At Wolves, he got the pre-game team talk wrong.
Our first half was defined by sluggishness, softness and mental lapses. We conceded yet again in the opening five minutes, then conceded yet another set piece. Wolves sauntered around and pinged easy passes to open players while we jogged from side to side. Their fans roared and sang and laughed at us. As it unfolded, James Pearce tweeted, “Thought the 3-0 at Brighton was the nadir but this has been so much worse from Liverpool so far.”
It sounds contradictory, but the only thing more inexcusable than this period was our strong response to it. Minutes 45 through 75 were all Liverpool. Our attacking play was sharp and incisive. Our pressing was relentless. Our high defensive line vacuumed up every loose ball so we could build again. We just lacked the finish to make it 2-1. Then came the counter-attack that led to the third. Game over.
The disparity between the first and second-half performances was sickening because the players proved they can dictate play when they’re switched on. No one has the luxury of relaxing in the Premier League, as Everton just proved against Arsenal. And if you can’t be at your best, you have to be solid and focused enough to avoid conceding. The fans deserve better than that first-half mentality. Our duty is to support the team no matter what, but theirs is to fight and play with purpose no matter what. It’s on Klopp to drill that point home.
Still, it comes back to the players.
We can look at the off-the-field issues when it comes to the lack of signings and the injury pileup. But with performances this shocking, the players can only look at themselves.
Of the 22 players on the pitch, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez were the two worst. Matip’s own goal came from a ball that he never should have let bounce in our box, and he should have been punished for a cheap giveaway that led to a one-on-one with Alisson. Gomez’s highlights were a helpful flick at the near post for Dawson’s volley, then the decision to dribble into two Wolves players and surrender possession for Traore’s counter. They looked unassured and unbothered. Even with Van Dijk as a partner, that’s a recipe for trouble. Without him, it’s a guarantee of a lopsided loss.
Mo Salah’s finishing is a major cause for concern. The typical linkup play in midfield is missing, as is the synergy up front, but he’s spurning easy chances that are costing us. As our best attacker, he has to create and score goals. We’ve got no chance of saving this season otherwise because the guys behind him are struggling even more.
And the poor finishing is becoming contagious. Naby Keita seems unable to shoot unless he takes on a 20-yard full volley. His two scuffed shots at the beginning of the second half were a major turning point. If he can’t make decent contact, he does us no good as the player who arrives late at the top of the box. Darwin Nunez has quickly become a fan favourite, but he has to put away chances like his one-on-one with Sa. Given his xG, his goal return isn’t cutting it.
Robbo, Bajcetic and Gakpo didn’t play incredibly well, but they can sleep soundly tonight knowing they put in a shift. The rest of the field players must improve every facet of their performances. With the Merseyside Derby next, theirs isn’t the only pride at stake.
