Gary Neville does not do gentle criticism, and Liverpool's two most expensive attackers found that out on his podcast this week after a chastening afternoon at St James' Park.
Newcastle and Liverpool shared a wild 2-2 draw to open the Premier League season on Sunday, with Anthony Elanga's early strike, a Cody Gakpo equaliser and a Joe Willock response all cancelled out by Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time penalty. The result mattered less to Neville, though, than what he saw from Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
"The biggest disappointment for me [Sunday] is those two," Neville said of the pair on his podcast, according to Sky Sports, before turning his fire specifically on Wirtz, Liverpool's £116 million signing from Bayer Leverkusen.
"I don't see the tenacity in Wirtz in particular. I just see a nice player moving around the pitch," Neville said, adding that the German drifts too far from the striker rather than combining with him in the areas that decide games. "The game's going to be won in the final third, in and around the box."
ONE, reporting on the same podcast appearance, quoted Neville putting it more bluntly still: he wants to put "a rocket" under Wirtz to get a reaction out of him, a line that chimes with the "too nice" framing other British outlets picked up from the same broadcast.
Wirtz was substituted in the 63rd minute at St James' Park having struggled to impose himself on a frantic, end-to-end contest — the kind of game, Neville argued, that is precisely where a player of his price tag should be dictating terms.
Isak's afternoon carried extra weight given the venue. It was his first appearance back at St James' Park in Liverpool colours since his acrimonious, deadline-driven £125 million move from Newcastle this summer, and by most accounts he also struggled to make an impact before the final whistle.
Neville was not as scathing about the Swedish striker, according to ONE's report, calling him an outstanding, potentially lethal player and pointing to his track record of tormenting elite defences during his time on Tyneside. Sky Sports quoted a similar sentiment: "I think Isak's an exceptional player and we've seen it."
The underlying message was consistent across the coverage: with Liverpool having committed north of £240 million to bring in Wirtz and Isak this summer, Neville believes the leash the club has given them so far is about to run out. "They need to start delivering the goods," he said, according to ONE.
Liverpool open their title defence with one point from one game and a long list of questions about how quickly their two marquee arrivals can turn talent into end product.
