Liverpool banter 2

07 Nov 2025 10:23:22
Genuine question.
Is there a harder worker than Szoboszlai in the prem? He is an absolute machine.

{Ed001's Note - Wirtz covered more ground than anyone on the pitch against Madrid. He is a grafter as well. Szobo was second in distance covered in the stats they put up after the match here.}

07 Nov 2025 11:05:49
The defensive stats won't show what a massive effect szobo has had on games, but he is a one man dynamo pressing the keeper, the center halves and the midfielders on his own, the awareness that he has of where his team mates are in the press and whether he should jump back or forth is insane, plus he has the pace and engine to eat up the ground pressuring a player even if he is many yards away. Dom was a big reason why Madrid couldn't pass the ball out the back, he smothered the center halves when they got the ball, and when they did manage to pass to a midfielder he smothered that midfielder.

Right now I shudder to think what would happen if he got injured, last year grav, Ali and Salah were by far our most important players, I would say Dom has probably become top of that list now because of the special profile that he has of having technique, physicality, intelligence and tactical awareness. Helps that he has great passing range and is excellent on set pieces, too!

It's interesting that the position he is best in (the 10) isn't his favourite position, he has said that he prefers being a tempo setting deep midfielder spraying passes.

07 Nov 2025 11:08:32
Ye can't understand why wirtz isn't getting the same plaudits for the amount of work he puts it.

07 Nov 2025 11:12:23
Ed001, you are correct I saw the same figures as you the other day. Wirtz covered 11.37km in 90 minutes. Szoboszlai covered 10.61km in 97 minutes. They were 1st and 2nd for distance covered with Tchouameni coming in at 3rd with 10.51km.

Remarkable from both of them to be honest, but Wirtz especially. What I would say about Dom is the intensity of his running is incredible. He doesn't just cover a lot of ground, the speed at which he covers it is astonishing.

07 Nov 2025 12:02:46
"Wirtz covered more ground than anyone on the pitch against Madrid. He is a grafter as well. "


Ed, I didn't even know Wirtz outworked Szobo which is mad on its own. This is why anyone who says Wirtrz is "weak" and is not good defensively either does not watch him play or watches him with preconceived notions about him. Wirtz is as great a baller as he is a grafter. Typical two-player, as they say in the NFL.

Shout out to Szobo as well. One of the best performing midfielders operating in Europe right now offensively and defensively, as well.

07 Nov 2025 12:05:59
2 x number 10's Vs City or the exact same line up and formation as Vs Real?

07 Nov 2025 12:12:16
Wirtz is the same age De Bruyne was when he joined Chelsea, people writing him off are insane. He has all the tools and most importantly he works hard, he's going to be an absolute megastar.

07 Nov 2025 12:57:55
Same lineup for me, we need Grav, Macca and Szobo in the midfield, City's midfield is very slight compared to ours, especially with Rodri a doubt for the game, let's bully Reijnders and Cherki off the park, those two hate the physical side of the game.

Get them out the game and there will be no supply to Haaland. Play Wirtz on the left wing and give him a free role again.

07 Nov 2025 13:15:38
Wirtz will come good.
He is a fantastic player, definitely overpriced but a great midfielder all the same .

07 Nov 2025 13:16:51
This is why I’m so bullish on Wirtz.
He is immaculate technically, his footballing IQ is about the best there is with the mentality to match, and he is one of the hardest workers.
There isn’t a single doubt in my mind that he becomes our main star and, probably, the face of the league in due time.

07 Nov 2025 13:51:20
I’ve watched the game back on the LFCTV channel and Ray Houghton was commentating. He said something about Wirtz which I really do agree with. He’s constantly on the move, coming short, going past the attackers, always looking for space. Sometimes I want to see him just stand still and the space will open up for him.

The problem with always moving is that you are always prompting a react from the defender. If you dart to your left, he will moved to cover you, if you come short he’ll either come with you or pass you on. That’s great for creating space for your team mates but means that you are always being marked.

If you just stand still sometimes then the defenders will get distracted by someone else’s movement and leave you in space. He looks to be so desperate to get involved that he is perpetual motion which I don’t think is always helping him.

07 Nov 2025 14:05:07
As long as it’s graft with a purpose and not just headless chicken graft, then fine.

07 Nov 2025 15:34:02
Avitohyes if you think Wirtz is a headless chicken then, that's your opinion. I would simply say that you need to watch im closesly whenever he plays and if you are honest, you'll ses how good he is in and out of possession.

07 Nov 2025 17:04:22
It was an observation for any player oli I didn’t focus on anyone.

It’s one of many spurious stats we have to endure these days. How far someone runs doesn’t reflect their impact on a game. it’s football not a half marathon.

07 Nov 2025 20:29:03
Avitohyes, I disagree. In the old days, you would be absolutely correct. The great Columbian monument Carlos Valderrama never picked a spring in his life on the pitch with all the mayhem that happens in midfield. The ball moved way faster than him cos the guy played at walking pace near all the time. Absolute maestro and one of the best South America has ever produced.

Valderrama wouldn't have a career today cos he would be considered slower than me cos he never ran. In this day and age of running stats, km's covered, no. of sprints per game etc., it IS a marathon hence, these things would not be measured if thay he no "impact" on games. Just my observation.

07 Nov 2025 23:16:08
Agree with Oli here. Being mobile is essential in todays game. The likes of Jan Molby would struggle to get a game.

07 Nov 2025 08:37:30
Something Sir Alex did and Klopp also did that I believe is key for the team.
Integrate new players slowly into the team as too many new players at once creates uncertainty and chaos. It also creates low confidence in the whole team.
I believe for now until Becker is fit and playing, we shouldn't play the new players in defense, we should integrate Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike.

Once they are up to speed we should bring in either Kerkez or Frimpong but one at a time until they are UpTo speed.

07 Nov 2025 10:12:37
So out of the 5 players you mentioned, we should integrate 1 as frimpong is injured and has hardly played so far. 🤔.

07 Nov 2025 10:33:23
You could argue Wirtz and Ekitike have had plenty of playing time to settle, Kerkez will depend on Robbo's fitness, Frimpong is out anyway and might be looked at for Mo's position during AFCON.
Hopefully Isak isn't rushed into playing until fully ready.

07 Nov 2025 10:39:02
I don’t think Klopp did that at all. He did it with Robbo and Fabinho but there is a much longer list of players who went straight into the first team.

Ali, VVD, Salah, Mane, Nunez, Keita, Thiago, Gini, Matip and probably more that I’ve forgotten about were all thrust straight in.

You don’t sign Wirtz and Isak for the money we’ve paid and then not play them.

I agree on Kerkez as we have Robbo so there’s no need to force it and he’s struggled, same goes with Frimpong but we need to find the right balance with Wirtz and Isak on the pitch because they are world class players and are the future of this team just as Ali, VVD, Salah, Mane etc were the future of Klopp’s team.

07 Nov 2025 11:10:41
It's pure logic that i expound already for many weeks.

07 Nov 2025 12:17:42
BTS and logic do not fit in the same sentence.

07 Nov 2025 12:40:56
Bertrand Russell would have been so proud @BTS.

07 Nov 2025 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - LukesWolf has posted a new article entitled, Do Wolverhampton Wanderers Fans Think Fosun Has Lost the Plot?

06 Nov 2025 21:13:37
Congratulations to the GW10 winner of the FOOTBALL RUMOURS FPL league:

Whatawonderfulwirtz

( P. S well done to "Thats Amorim" for finishing joint first. Whatawonderfulwirtz is First this week by virtue of more GROSS points in GW10 )

06 Nov 2025 15:52:22
Heitinga sacked by Ajax lads. Will we get him back?

06 Nov 2025 16:20:09
I hope we do.

06 Nov 2025 16:53:35
We aren't just going to shove GVB out of the door so the question would be where would he fit and would he be happy?

06 Nov 2025 19:07:52
I'm pretty sure Klopp had 2 assistant managers at Liverpool, Ljinders and Krawietz, so it wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility for Slot to do likewise.

I'm pretty sure Heitinga's agent also told him to stay at Liverpool and not jump at the chance to manage Ajax, but Heitinga went against him. Understandable, but hindsight might suggest he should have stayed to continue his development.

Heitinga has also had some seriously embarrassing moments recently, such as bringing on a substitute, Raul Moro, who was not told where he was to play, to the point Raul had an argument with his teammate who was playing in his preferred position, only for the opposition to score at the same time this was happening. Heitinga even admittted he was at fault for that, as he forgot to tell Raul what position he was playing, in the heat of the moment it apparently escaped him and his coaching staff. Which is a first, I reckon.

06 Nov 2025 19:51:18
Shipley, I don't see why not if he's been part of the problem and there's an upgrade available. Managers get sacked with their backroom staff so why not just one assistant?

06 Nov 2025 22:39:15
Get him back. He’s a Champion and knows how to win the league helping coach this Team.

06 Nov 2025 23:00:26
Wasnt Heitinga partly responsible for the poor form post-PSG last season? The form that most people say we have carried into this season until two matches ago?
Maybe we should see if we have turned a corner in performances before changing coaches so quickly.

06 Nov 2025 23:28:43
How are we ever going to know if Heitinge was responsible for our poor form post-PSG.

07 Nov 2025 09:39:12
If Slot wants him back then, that's fine. Klopp did take Lijnders back after he got dismissed from the managerial job he took when he left the staff.

07 Nov 2025 12:42:22
He wanted to leave. He left. End of story.

06 Nov 2025 14:22:35
It's amazing how bradley went from not good enough in poor overall team performances to "wow he's going to be some player".
Batman never doubted the young man. Confidence is key for any player to play well and also playing in a way that gets the best out of players.


Sobosli is rumoured to become the next captain after virg but conors a dark horse for the captaincy in the future. Didn't want to say it when he was getting slated but the young man has something about him.

06 Nov 2025 15:21:12
His main challenge is avoiding injuries. If he can stay fit, he’s got the potential to be a top player. But at his age, he needs continuous development otherwise, he’ll fade into being just another average player. It’s still early days though.

06 Nov 2025 16:22:01
Let’s see if he can have another good game at the Etihad on Sunday and string a run of good games together.
That’s when I can consider him to be improving and learning.

06 Nov 2025 17:08:51
Bradley had maybe his best game for Liverpool midweek and here's hoping it does his confidence the world of good and he kicks on. But it's ok to criticize the manager the team and the players when they are not performing just as we praise them when they are playing well.

06 Nov 2025 17:14:38
I love the kid think he’s brilliant obviously he needs to be consistent and have tactics that suit him.

06 Nov 2025 18:32:00
Connor now has to realise he plays like Connor Bradley and not try to be the next TAA or an inverted right back (whatever that modern tripe is), just play like a simple normal right back.

Play forward when you can (no sideways passes putting ye centre backs and midfielders under pressure, play forward down the line, and more importantly stop the crosses, and support the man in front of him Dominic and MO.

At least 50% of the goals we have conceded have been crossed from our right back position, begging the question were is the right back, because he thinks he's the new TAA and not the next Connor Bradley.

06 Nov 2025 19:04:45
Well he’s going to have his hands full with doku on the weekend so that will be another good test for him.

06 Nov 2025 19:18:19
That was the best right back performance we’ve seen in a long time, probably no coincidence Mo and Konate played well as well. There’s no doubting his talent, he just needs the right tactics and team around him to thrive.

06 Nov 2025 22:13:11
If Bradley is inverting it’s because he’s being asked to do so, he isn’t just winging it.

07 Nov 2025 01:45:34
Slot plays with both fullbacks inverted and inside the winger. It's not Bradley just trying to Trent. He also doesn't float into CM like Trent did, because you could with Trent's skillset.

07 Nov 2025 02:10:04
I wonder if Kerkez would have also excelled had he played in that match when the defense, midfield and attackers all lifted their game, helped each other and put a proper effort in?
As it stands he still seems to be getting a whipping even though 9 or 10 players (barring Szob who's been immense all season) improved drastically from being whipped only a couple of games ago.

07 Nov 2025 09:44:17
I think Bradley like Macca, weren't playing well cos they simply weren't fit to start the season. Neither had a preseason due to their injuries and Slot for some reason, was trying to play them into form at the start of the season, for the poor performances we were seeing. That was never ideal.

Bradley was off the pace hence, he kept getting yellow cards cos he seemed to be a split second late in his interventions. That happens when you are forcing things cos again he wasn't fully fit yet. Same for Macca.

Now cos he and Macca are getting fitter and stronger, they are now playing well cos they are getting their legs underneath them so their ability is starting to show. IMO, this ain't complicated.