Andy Robertson was the last Liverpool player to leave the pitch as he trudged across from the away end at Bournemouth on Saturday evening, head down and intermittently putting his shirt over his eyes.
He was hiding his frustration after another point had been flushed away by shoddy defending, the fifth time this season that Liverpool have lost points by conceding in stoppage time.
Robertson’s expression seconds earlier could not be concealed, though — when he appeared to offer a hand to the away end, who sang about him. A gesture of apology for the 3-2 defeat at the Vitality Stadium? A wave to say ‘see you soon’? Farewell?
Whatever it meant, one thing is for certain: the Scotland full back, signed from Hull for £8million in 2017, sums up this era as much as anyone.
Ian Graham, Liverpool’s former data guru who wrote about Robertson in his best-selling book How to Win the Premier League, said he was one of his favourite recruits because it was a gamble but one the statistics had suggested was worth every penny.
Other teams were put off Robertson due to his unusual running style and his career so far — rejected at Celtic for being too small and then a slow ascent through Scotland and at Hull, whose defensive statistics were poor, further reason to doubt their left back’s talent.
Andy Roberston was the last Liverpool player to leave the pitch after their loss to Bournemouth
Robertson was signed by the Reds from Hull City in 2017 and could now leave to join Tottenham
But even though the top targets at the time were Benjamin Mendy (then at Monaco) and Emerson Palmieri (Roma), Liverpool went against the grain to buy Robertson. They had a clear run at him because other top clubs did not notice his sky-high potential. It is the sort of canny move that helped awaken the giant and put the Reds on the road back to glory.
What would not be a clever move, though, is selling him mid-season. If Robertson really did want to join Tottenham — he was definitely considering a £5m move until a U-turn appeared to be made last night — then the best thing to do was for the club to stop him.
By the hour at Bournemouth, three of Liverpool’s starting back four had returned to the dressing room — either injured, in Joe Gomez’s case, or too fatigued to continue, as was the case with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. Both were in the fitness ‘red zone’ and at risk of pulling up. Ibrahima Konate, who had started every league and European game until this week, remained on leave due to the death of his father, and Conor Bradley and summer signing Giovanni Leoni are both out for the season.
Considering that and the fact Liverpool needed a defender before their January injuries, surely letting Robertson walk away was the wrong move.
The biggest reason is the fact there are so few options at the back amid this injury crisis — but, equally, how missed would Robertson’s leadership be if he was to leave now?
As vice-captain, the Scot, with 364 games for the club under his belt, is a huge voice in the dressing room. It is fair to concede his best days are behind him but he still has something to offer.
Just this week, new left back Kerkez said: ‘Robbo is a legend here. A big player, it is a privilege to be next to such a player. I am taking it in and learning from him.’ Clearly, even though he is not playing as much as he once was, the 31-year-old still has a lot to give.
Kostas Tsimikas, the Greece full back, is on loan at Roma but arose as an option to be recalled given a lack of game time in the Italian capital. With all due respect to Tsimikas, he is not Robertson.
The Scottish left-back, 31, has embodied the success of Liverpool over the last eight years
His nine trophies at Liverpool include one Champions League and two Premier League titles
Liverpool considered this but decided not to proceed with the sale as it did not make sense given their injuries in defence. Robertson, it is understood, acted with the utmost professionalism throughout the potential move.
‘I speak to him every day,’ said Virgil van Dijk. ‘He’s my
vice-captain. Robbo is a very important member of our team and I want him to stay but whatever happens, let’s see.’
No one could blame Robertson for considering leaving. Going to play most weeks in a Tottenham side that, despite all their flaws, are on course for the Champions League last 16, must appeal to a player who wants to be in the sharpest possible condition for Scotland’s first World Cup in a generation.
Kerkez, a £40m signing from Bournemouth last summer, has usurped him at left back and, despite the Hungarian being much-improved in recent weeks, there have been many times when Liverpool fans have called for Robertson to be reinstated into the starting XI.
Robertson was tempted by an offer from Atletico Madrid in the summer but, after the tragic loss of his close friend Diogo Jota, he felt he could not leave Liverpool, his team-mates and a city to whom he has such an affinity.
Six months on, it feels like he has reached the same decision — to stay. Seeing out the remainder of his contract feels like the right decision, certainly for Liverpool.
