talkSPORT host Simon Jordan has explained why he ‘wasn’t surprised’ by Liverpool’s last gasp winner at St James’ Park on Sunday, feeling Newcastle’s lack of winning mentality cost us.
The former Crystal Palace owner believes that top sides like Man City and Liverpool are ‘used to winning’ and therefore know what it takes to win in certain situations.
He then added that Newcastle are still ‘acquiring that mindset’, feeling we have ‘desire, ambition and momentum’ but not yet that inner belief to overcome the top sides.
Over time, the hope is that we can overcome these battles and become a more resilient side, but there are still going to be teething issues as we continue to transition following last season’s superb top-four finish.
Here’s what Jordan had to say when reflecting on Liverpool’s late comeback with 10 men, adding that they were ‘lucky’ to avoid another red card:
“Well they (Newcastle) have played the champions and one of the top sides in the country, albeit Liverpool are going through a rebuild. I thought it said a little bit more about Newcastle than it did about Liverpool, I was listening to the commentators talking about potentially two points dropped, and I thought to myself with 10 minutes to go you’re going to get beat here.
“The way this game is going, it isn’t just going to be a point that Liverpool are going to get here. There’s a distinct possibility that Liverpool are going to score another goal, so I wasn’t surprised watching it.
“But I also think there’s a cultural thing inside football clubs when you are winning, you’ve been used to winning and you know what winning looks like, teams like Manchester City and Liverpool, not so much last year, but in recent times they have been built on a fabric of understanding what it takes to win in certain situations.
“Newcastle are acquiring that mindest, there’s not this deep-set inherent belief that they’re going to be one of the top sides and win things. There’s a desire, and an ambition and a momentum behind them, but it’s not quite there yet. I wasn’t surprised Liverpool overcame it.
“Everyone to their own, I didn’t quite see the histrionics of it being as memorable as beating teams like Barcelona, I think that’s all a bit of hyperbole. They were lucky to not be down to nine, because with due respect whether he was fouled himself, Trent Alexander-Arnold was booked and he should have been booked again.
“There’s no doubt all this pontificating about Virgil van Dijk’s position, that was also a red card as well. They are quite lucky there, but they’ve got good players.”
