Jurgen Klopp didn't walk through the Anfield doors and immediately put everything right. Nobody does. And Andoni Iraola is learning that same truth in real time, with the draw at home to Nottingham Forest at the weekend serving as the latest reminder that this Liverpool side is very much a project still taking shape.

With the transfer window still churning away in the background, Iraola has openly admitted he'll be glad when deadline day arrives and he finally knows the full hand he's been dealt. Until then, it's guesswork dressed up as squad planning. The new head coach is trying to complete a jigsaw, as one observer put it, but he hasn't got all the pieces yet. That's not a crisis. It is, however, something supporters, particularly those who've only known the relative comfort of the Klopp years, may find a little jarring.

For those with longer memories, this kind of difficult transitional period is nothing new. The bad times tend to come before the good ones. The encouraging part is that the players showed genuine fight across both opening fixtures, coming from behind twice on Saturday just as they had done the week before at Newcastle United. That spirit matters. But you cannot keep conceding twice a match and expect results to follow.

Both the Forest match and the opener at Newcastle shared more than just the scoreline. On each occasion, Liverpool were caught by the sucker-punch from a side looking to exploit space on the break. Forest boss Oliver Glasner knew exactly how to set his team up, he caused plenty of similar problems at Crystal Palace last season, and he demonstrated that same tactical nous again on Saturday.

A chunk of the vulnerability is coming from the full-back positions. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are both natural attackers, and that instinct to get forward is precisely why they were signed. But the flip side is that both have been erratic defensively, panicking at moments when composure is needed. Frimpong did improve noticeably going forward in the second half, which is something, but the defensive decision-making from both players needs to sharpen quickly. A team cannot be routinely exposed in transition and hope to keep collecting points.

Only two Premier League matches old and already the standard of officiating is raising serious questions. The penalty Liverpool conceded was, at best, a fifty-fifty call. Neco Williams is an intelligent professional who knows how to go down, and penalties awarded to players who have already had a shot on goal are genuinely rare, a fact well understood by anyone who spent years on the end of similar challenges without ever seeing the referee point to the spot.

What made it worse was the chaos surrounding the substitutions Liverpool were attempting to make just moments before Forest won that spot kick. Iraola was clearly trying to get his changes on, but the fourth official was having difficulties with the electronic board, meaning the whole thing stalled. Anyone watching could see what was happening, and could see the danger of Forest striking before fresh legs got onto the pitch. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. The officials need to do considerably better than that, and it's a theme that feels as though it will run and run this season.

There is enough raw material here for Iraola to build something. The togetherness is there, the endeavour is there, and patience from the stands will be essential. But how this squad looks once the window slams shut will tell us far more about what kind of season lies ahead.