A point at St James' Park sounds reasonable on paper. In practice, Liverpool's opener told us everything we need to know about why last summer was such a disaster — and why Andoni Iraola has inherited a squad with problems baked in long before he arrived.
The Same Old Holes
Anthony Elanga exposed them for the first goal. Joe Willock did it again for the second. Different players, same story: pace through space, defenders caught flat-footed, goalkeeper picking the ball out of the net. This is the vulnerability that Arne Slot spent most of last season complaining about publicly. It didn't get fixed in the summer. It's still there now.
The root of it isn't hard to find. Liverpool have been without a proper holding midfielder since Fabinho left in 2023. That's three years of a gaping hole in the engine room. Even when Slot coaxed the squad to the title in 2024-25, the conversation at the time was clear — they needed an overhaul, and a dedicated defensive midfielder alongside Ryan Gravenberch was the obvious priority. Instead, last summer's recruitment went elsewhere. Six players signed for a combined £410m, and not one of them addressed that specific, long-identified need.
The knock-on effect sits squarely with Virgil van Dijk. At 35, his lack of pace when turning is increasingly difficult to hide. Without protection in front of him, he drops deeper instinctively — protecting himself against balls played in behind — which creates exactly the kind of space opponents keep exploiting. Iraola pointed out after the Newcastle draw that Gravenberch had pushed forward in the build-up before the first goal. He was careful about it — "I don't want us to take that from his game" — but the implication was clear enough. Structurally, this team isn't set up to protect itself, and individual tactical tweaks aren't going to paper over a squad-level problem.
£410m and Still Broken
Here's the part that should genuinely embarrass those responsible. Of those six big-money arrivals from last summer, the only one who has looked remotely effective is Hugo Ekitike — who is now out for months with a ruptured Achilles. Alexander Isak, signed from Newcastle in a British record deal, completed his first full 90 minutes of the season at his former club and barely troubled anyone. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were unconvincing at full-back. Florian Wirtz showed his usual neat touches and produced very little in the way of actual danger. [Newcastle's transformation under new management](/getohedz/football/eddie-howe-confirms-newcastle-exit-right-time) has created a different animal from the one that sold Isak — and Liverpool looked the worse side for long stretches.
Michael Edwards may have left Fenway Sports Group in July, but the chaos of the window he oversaw is very much still on the pitch. It's rare to see that kind of money spent to such little effect anywhere in European football right now — and plenty of clubs have been throwing cash around this summer.
Iraola has form for needing time to get his ideas across at a club. That's fair, and nobody should be panicking after one game. The wider picture — City underwhelming, Villa getting hammered at Brighton, Spurs dismal at Brentford — tells you the rest of the league is also finding its feet.
But Liverpool's problems aren't about bedding in a new manager. They're structural, they're expensive, and they've been ignored for the best part of three years. A point from Newcastle doesn't fix any of that.