Liverpool Must Not Settle for Draws If They Are to Challenge for Title This Term

Post-match “fans react to” articles are part and parcel of the matchday content published by many online media outlets these days, offering a quick roundup of supporters’ reactions via social media.

In reality, the snapshot of opinion can be presented however the media outlet desire, selecting a handful of tweets to meet whatever narrative they wish. Quite often you get national newspapers proclaiming “Liverpool fans this” or “Liverpool fans that”, when, in reality, it’s fewer than a dozen people on Twitter, who may or may not even be Liverpool fans.

Here are three headlines for these style of articles following Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Southampton on Saturday, one from a supporters’ website—This Is Anfield—one from a local newspaper—the Liverpool Echo—and one from a national tabloid—the Daily Star.

“Too many missed chances,” “adequate point” – Liverpool fans react to frustrating draw at Southampton Liverpool fans react to Southampton stalemate – ‘Newsflash: you can’t win every game!’ Livid Liverpool fans show frustration after draw at Southampton

You can probably guess which one is which, and certainly which one is from the national tabloid attempting to spin and sensationalise fewer than 10 fan reactions on social media—the digital capital of hyperbole.

Alas, with such headlines and so many fans consumed by social media, there can be quite an overreaction to any game when your team doesn’t win.

Prior to the Reds’ trip to the south coast, This Is Anfield’s Henry Jackson had pre-empted the dropped points and called for calm. “Should Liverpool fail to pick up a victory on Saturday what must be avoided is a needless overreaction from the Liverpool fanbase,” he wrote.

It was a game, as Jackson noted, that had all the potential for dropped points—taking place after the international break, missing Adam Lallana through injury, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all travelling vast distances on international duty and at a stadium where Liverpool collapsed from 2-0 up at half-time to lose 3-2 just six months ago.

Liverpool had enough chances to win the game, with Mane, Coutinho and Firmino all missing one-on-one opportunities.

Fans would be right to be frustrated at such a lack of ruthlessness and perhaps too would be left pondering quite why Daniel Sturridge—who hadn’t left the country during the international break—wasn’t given an opportunity, let alone left on the bench until the 78th minute.

But that’s football.

However, there is some logic in not accepting draws—none evidenced more than Liverpool’s 2008/09 season.

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