Gary Neville demands improvements from two Liverpool stars | OneFootball

Wirtz Under Spotlight as Gary Neville Questions Liverpool Balance After Newcastle Draw

Discussion on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Newcastle quickly turned towards one major theme, Florian Wirtz and whether Liverpool’s attacking structure is giving enough in the final third.

Gary Neville was clear that Liverpool had enough of the game to avoid defeat, but he also made plain that bigger concerns remain. As he put it, “you can’t say that Liverpool didn’t deserve a point out of the game because generally they had quite a few chances, but you know, Newcastle could have been out of sight with the counterattacks that they had.”

The wider verdict from Neville was that Liverpool’s performance, especially in key defensive and attacking areas, still leaves major questions. “I think they’ll be happy with the point,” he said. “But I think deep down when you’re measuring yourself for the standards that Liverpool have in the last 5 10 years of winning titles, I think that they’ll travel home tonight back to Liverpool and back to Muryside and they’ll be thinking we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Wirtz criticism becomes central theme

Among the strongest remarks from Neville were those aimed at Wirtz. He did not hold back when assessing the Liverpool forward’s display and his role in the side’s attacking shape.

“The big thing for Liverpool is they’ve got this quarter of a billion pound front two,” Neville said. “They’re going to have to start playing sooner or else to be fair, they’re going to get quite a lot of criticism and I think they’re going to have to start delivering.”

His focus then narrowed directly onto Wirtz. “I don’t see the tenacity inverts in particular,” he said. “I just see a a nice player moving around the pitch, not really ever looking like he’s busting a gut to do anything.”

Neville also challenged the German’s positioning and understanding with the striker ahead of him. “I want to put a rocket up him,” he said. “because there’s ability there there’s talent there the understanding of his position sometimes I think he moves around too much sometimes I don’t think he’s close enough to his striker sometimes I don’t think he understands where the game’s going to be won and lost.”

That point was repeated in even more detail as Neville assessed what he wants from a number 10. “I’ve said this for 12 months now with Vert and I’m not wrong on him. He generally drifts too much.” He added, “He’s got to think about being a second striker rather than a sort of third midfield player. He’s got to think about his output and what he needs to do.”

The most pointed section of the analysis came when Neville said, “Vertz, he needs to sort himself out. Enough’s enough now.” He continued, “we can’t keep watching this stuff and he’s been subbed after an hour and they need a goal, but they’re 2-1 down. So, no, that’s not right.”

For Neville, the numbers required are non-negotiable: “You’ve got to deliver. You’ve got to deliver numbers. 35 goals between them. That’s it. Probably 15 assists between them. That’s it. Anything else and anything below that isn’t right.”

Liverpool balance remains a concern

Wirtz was not the only issue raised. Neville repeatedly returned to Liverpool’s overall balance, especially behind the ball.

“I think it’s a real problem to try and get the balance right for Liverpool,” he said, before spelling out where he sees the weakness. “So I don’t think the back part of the pitch is right. It’s not. It’s going to concede goals and it has conceded goals. So I wouldn’t trust that that much.”

He also spoke about the setup around the full-backs and midfield. “If you’re going to play, and I love the idea of having Kirk and Fing Pong and them flying forward, but you better have two amazing center backs and you better have two very good holding midfield players that are going to stop counterattacks and that are going to be able to get across and defend.”

That concern fed into his reading of the game at St James’ Park, where Newcastle repeatedly threatened in transition. Neville said before kick-off he was “expecting Liverpool to win this game comfortably”, but by full time his attention had turned to what the draw revealed about Liverpool’s vulnerabilities.

Newcastle draw offered warning signs

While Liverpool left with a point, Neville’s assessment suggested the afternoon should act as a warning more than a reassurance. He praised aspects of Newcastle’s display, especially the midfield discipline and the threat of the front players, while stressing Liverpool could have been punished more heavily.

On the contest itself, he said, “it was good to watch end to end” and described Liverpool as a side who “be really disappointed I think.” He also highlighted the matchup in midfield, noting Newcastle’s young players were facing “Shersai against Graven against Vertz in there and you’re thinking they’re going to get pulled apart,” only for Newcastle’s shape and work to hold firm.

For Liverpool, Neville did find some positives. He said of one defender, “the boy Jac looked like he’s got something by the way,” adding, “I thought his passing and his confidence” stood out and “I liked him.” He also said, “I think Gakapo actually did all right.”

But those positives sat underneath a much tougher final judgement on the headline attackers. “Biggest disappointment for me today is those two,” Neville said.

Pressure builds around Liverpool front line

There was also a sharp line from Neville on expectations tied to transfer fees and reputations. “Let’s be clear, you can’t not deliver for that money when you’ve been when you’re sort of getting paid that level of money and you’re being um you’ve you’ve had that fee on you. You’ve got that quality and that talent. You’ve got to deliver.”

That framing brought the conversation back to Wirtz again, who was the clear focal point of the post-match scrutiny. Neville made it plain that patience is running thin in his view. “Let’s start to sort of what will be hone in on them because they have had a bit of a free ride,” he said.

And in perhaps his sharpest closing line on Liverpool’s creative attacker, he added: “this has got start some real focus now I think in terms of how he’s playing and I think that wasn’t a good start for him today.”

For all the noise around a dramatic 2-2 draw, the strongest takeaway from the Sky Sports discussion was the level of scrutiny now surrounding Wirtz, and the belief that Liverpool’s balance, output and attacking relationships need to improve quickly.

Source: Gary Neville Podcast