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06 Apr 2026 13:34:27
Can I just ask as I't don't understand where or why?
What makes anybody on here actually think or believe Ollsie would leave BM to join us?
I'm not joking or being an a***. I just feel like I've missed some big news somewhere somehow.
It makes no sense to me.
5
06 Apr 2026 14:14:10
Been asking myself the same thing, Chrisy.
2
06 Apr 2026 14:16:49
To be honest, I've no clue if he would join or not but at the price suggested I wouldn't be biting. He is a good player, don't get me wrong, but just not at that price.
1
06 Apr 2026 14:28:50
I don't want Olise. I think we need to just get back to basics. I would prefer we signed two early 20s wide forwards with pace and potential. The front line is too static and slow, giving no options for Wirtz to make his probating passes. Then I would like to see a rb and dm added.
We have a good team of players, they're just being mismanaged, and the balance of the team is slightly off.
I am excited by the potential of Jacquet and Leoni and I think they could establish themselves as a great long term partnership.
1
06 Apr 2026 14:30:01
Born and raised in England, so I'm sure he has a great desire to win the Premier League. Obviously our drop off this season seriously effected our ability to bring in top top talent. If we get Champions League, Xabi comes in, and we do make considerable moves this summer, taking last year's window into account, I don't see why he wouldn't consider it an attractive project. We won't be number 1 on his list, but we did win the league last season. We splashed out on big names, which shows our intent.
We have some ballers in the team, and with Xabi at the helm, we could be a formidable force.
On a sidenote, I wanted him brought in 2 years ago, could have had him for less than 50 mil, we could have easily signed him last summer too if we had our priorities straight, but, we're too buys waiting for the laptop gurus to gather enough data. We also wait too long to bring in understudies for players on their way out. Salah's literally never had competition or adequate backup for his position.
1
06 Apr 2026 14:33:49
The new manager, if there is one, probably won't lie to him like Slot did to Wirtz. That's all I can think about.
1
06 Apr 2026 15:22:17
Well, it's the Premier League, not the Bayern thrashes everybody by 5 goals league, we're still one of the biggest teams in the world, he'll probably get a huge pay packet and he's coming in to replace one of the greatest players in Premier League history. I'm not saying I want him, but those are all pretty big draws.
1
06 Apr 2026 15:52:31
Why would he not want to play for LFC? A top class club playing in a historically brilliant stadium like Anfield. The Premier League is noted as being the best and most competitive league in the world, although this season it's been v poor quality wise.
The advantages Bayern have is they pay bigger wages, and you're guaranteed trophies as the opposition are a lot weaker than them generally, but really 1 Premiership is worth 10 Bundesligas.
We've had a v poor season, but let's not forget we are a great club.
0
06 Apr 2026 15:59:00
I agree. Yan Diomande feels more doable and also feels like a better fit.
We have an excellent working relationship with the Red Bull clubs. In recent years, we've signed Keita, Konate, Szoboszlai and Minamino. We've also loaned them Bajcetic, Wisdom and Carvalho, as well as sold them Bobby Clark in the last 10 years or so. Not to mention that Klopp is currently their head of football operations.
Diomande is exactly what we need. A young rw who plays a direct style of football and runs at players with pace. He scored goals, he creates goals and he also isn't afraid to put in a challenge. He's even admitted his Dad is a Liverpool fan and wants him to come to us one day. It all just seems like the pieces fit so well, it's inevitable.
Olise is settled in a successful team, their CEO has said they will not sell to a European rival and strengthen them, the rumoured price tag would be 200 million euros, Olise himself is a London boy who I doubt would enjoy living in the North of England, and last but not least he's not particularly fast nor is he a natural winger. He roams in free role where he starts off on the right but goes wherever he wants.
As a result, you're effectively a man down in transition because he's not particularly hard working or aggressive, so it doesn't help at all that he's usually miles out of position when the ball is turned over. I don't see it working having Olise in the same team as Isak in the Premier League because Isak also likes to drift into the channels and also won't put in a tackle.
For years we saw Man United falter because they had 2 (sometimes 3) of Bruno, Pogba, Lingard, Martial, Sancho, Di Maria, Sanchez, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, Anthony and Rashford in the same side. In the Premier League you can't sustainably carry 2-3 luxury players at once. We're finding that out now with Salah, Isak, Ekitike and Gakpo. Firmino and Mane spoiled us because they had the ability of a luxury player, despite playing with an elite team ethic. I don't want to become the new Man United, flooding the team with individual stars on high wages. We need a balance and Olise does not add to that, as exciting as his signing would be given he's one of the Premier talents in world football right now.
06 Apr 2026 11:14:50
Sent to early, then Villa n Brentford. Only one im positive over is Brentford n thats because its at home n last game of the season.
0
06 Apr 2026 11:38:23
I think we win all our 4 remaining home games, but can see us losing all 3 away. That would give us 61 pts, which is pathetic. However, it could still be enough to get us 5th. We're obviously winning the CL, so not a bad season, all in all.
I think I ate too much chocolate.
2
{Ed025's Note - stranger things have happened Rome..
1
06 Apr 2026 11:47:04
Rome, you know it's not real chocolate nowadays, all them additives, n palm oil might be affecting your thinking mate.
5
06 Apr 2026 12:03:45
That and Guinness, Strom.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:33:19
I'll be honest, Rome, I see 3 draws and 4 defeats. I've never seen a Liverpool team with so little fight.
4
06 Apr 2026 12:38:15
If no one can say where our next win is coming from under this manager, then buckle up. Cos it's only gonna get worse, as if I can get any worse than this.
{Ed025's Note - you too Rome mate..yes im good thanks..
1
06 Apr 2026 11:50:56
Ed025, on a lighter note, I went to see Mick Miller at the comedy store yesterday, funny man but didn't know he played in goal for Port Vale
0
{Ed025's Note - yeah great old school comedian Strom unlike the ones today like that Michael McIntire who is as funny as gout, they call them alternative comedians because they are the alternative to being funny mate, Port Vale could have done with him on Saturday..
4
06 Apr 2026 13:04:03
Ed025.I agree, todays comedians if you can call them that are useless, rely in shocking you to get a laugh.n Rome the Guinness is sound, the dodgy chocolate though
0
06 Apr 2026 13:13:45
I thought he played for Everton? Oh no that was Du Davis! Every time the defended a cornerback then it was like a beeneo for his false teath🤣 do you remember him Edd Welsh number 1
0
{Ed025's Note - Dai Davies Chrissy?..i remember him well mate..
0
06 Apr 2026 13:50:48
Dai Davies was our stand-in PE teacher at secondary school for a while.
Second only in my rankings to Kevin Ratcliffe presenting me with my Player of the Year award.
Mems.
0
{Ed025's Note - I take it you are Welsh then SB?.. :)
0
06 Apr 2026 13:34:38
Michael McIntyre made me laugh once Ed. It was when he got mugged for his £20k Rolex. Laughed? I nearly shat (as Derek & Clive once mused).
As for the remainder of the season. We're a soft touch with a manager who has checked out to the point he's almost only ever in the country if there's a match on. We're not winning many of those remaining matches. Not the way we're playing, not with the soft as rubbish midfield we have.
1
{Ed025's Note - love it VV..
0
06 Apr 2026 14:04:13
Why Rome? It's not like we've been particularly strong at home to win the next 3.
Anfield is no longer a fortress thanks to Slot.
2
06 Apr 2026 15:06:45
Dad's side is Ed0/5.
Brought up just inside the Welsh border- mums family from Liverpool
I was brought up in a time when the only team I wanted to win anything, if it wasn't to be Liverpool, it had to be Everton.
0
{Ed025's Note - im still like that now SB..only the other way around mate..
0
06 Apr 2026 15:19:21
I'm going to super negative and say I don't think we pick up another win this season. Hope I'm wrong, but with VVD coming out and saying they gave up. Any team that we play now will smell blood and play on that weak mindset. Do we even get 55 points. I'm not sure.
0
06 Apr 2026 15:49:47
I'm still the same Ed025
I dint get the whole "you've got to hate every other team" lark.
Not Liverpool then Everton can win it- and even though I'm now just outside Bristol it's always a check to see how Tranmere, Chester and Wrexham have got on.
0
{Ed025's Note - it used to be a lot better years ago SB, there was no trouble between the supporters on Merseyside mate but now it can be quite toxic at times, i just dont get it myself and think its more a symptom of the society we live in these days..
06 Apr 2026 11:13:30
Just been looking at the upcoming fixtures for the rest of the season, can only see us getting 9 pts maximum and I'm being generous, Fulham always a hard game, then the blue noses, Palace who have outplayed us all season, manc n Chelsea.
2
06 Apr 2026 14:05:13
Hard to disagree, Strom. We're completely pathetic at the moment.
1
06 Apr 2026 15:32:40
A while back I said we would need about 64 points if we wanted 4th and guaranteed Champions League. 5th is now pretty much guaranteed qualification and a much more achievable goal for us. Unfortunately, we're going into these final few games just hoping Villa and Chelsea will be worse. Although our run in is far from easy, with pretty much every team being bogey, fortunately there are a few fixtures that stack things in our favour over Chelsea.
They still have to play City & Utd, who are up next, then they have us and Tottenham as their final 2 games, so we really need to take advantage of that. On paper, Villa have the easiest run in, but their final 2 games have us and City, so that could be absolutely massive if we can keep or improve on the current 5 point difference. It's not gonna be easy but it's doable.
06 Apr 2026 10:59:21
I don't know about the rest of you, but I always find that the twelfth emergency meeting is the one that truly makes the difference. I have no doubt that we will see a change in fortune and compete on remaining fronts. Then again, the twelfth emergency meeting happened in January, so what do I know.
7
06 Apr 2026 11:29:17
Probably arranging the group dance when they head off on hols, Ala Gerrard, etc., after the Stoke hammering.
2
06 Apr 2026 11:45:28
Can't wait until the next midweek break to see the leaked video of Slot leading the Kolo Toure in Dubai.
2
06 Apr 2026 11:45:48
The squad meeting still doesn't understand why they haven't sacked him.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:43:08
Scouse, that party celebration after that disgraceful Stoke battering still sticks in my throat till this day. The cheek of these players.
Saying that, I don't know if what Ekitike did, exchanging shirts with Cherki (esp, since they just met up on Int'l break), is just as disgraceful. Or even worse.
1
06 Apr 2026 12:53:49
Oli, I don't know why fans are sweeping for Ekitike. Klopp wouldn't have tolerated it. It's an illustration of how the culture has rotted.
2
06 Apr 2026 13:25:00
To be fair, Oli, I don't think Ekitike will understand how wrong it was! A word in the ear from VVD, and move on. New country, age, culture all play into it.
Sob has more to answer to imo, who the f*** is he to tell us how to support our team? He doesn't see what supports go through to get to these games, begging for tickets, turning over their hard earned cash.
Especially given the effort displayed. Disgraceful.
2
06 Apr 2026 14:22:18
Chrisy, Babbity, I understand what you guys are saying and cos I didn't watch the game (I was away finding happiness somewhere else with the family), I still do not know what Szobo did, tbh, but I heard it was bang out of order.
As for Ekitike, when I read what he did (didn't need to see it), you know what my first question was? I asked, "Now what would make Ekitike think he could do that/get away with that without any consequences or repercussions?"
Could it be that there is no leadership anywhere near nor around this team? I think so.
Cos that is the only reason I see for Eki or Szobo doing the crap that they did, simple as.
Cos we all know that under any other LFC manager, even under BR, let alone Klopp, that would never occur to any LFC player to do that in that game under the same circumstances.
Have been thinking about Utopia where one trick pony Gakpo leaves at the end of the season and needs replacing. Obvious names like Barcola come to mind, but seems unlikely.
Was looking internally at PL and keen to hear thoughts around Kevin Schade?
Seems raw and pacey, would be good to have him rotate with Rio?
Keen to hear thoughts.
0
06 Apr 2026 10:34:45
Kev is not at Yan's level. I like Mitoma, but he seems made of crisps.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:42:04
Kevin Schade is terrible imo, seriously overrated, I would rather keep the Crappy Gakpo tbh.
2
06 Apr 2026 10:51:45
Anthony Gordon.
1
06 Apr 2026 10:52:17
Schade is as much of a one trick pony as Gakpo. Not sure how that's an improvement. As for Mitoma, he's 28, that should be enough.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:52:29
Barcola must be good because everyone raves about him, but the 3 or 4 times iv seen him play, he hasn't done anything where id say he's a top player.
1
06 Apr 2026 10:59:15
If not Schade, Barcola or Mitoma, then who?
0
06 Apr 2026 11:10:11
Malick Fofana.
1
06 Apr 2026 11:46:16
There are only a handful of good wingers in the Premier League on this season's form. Semenyo, Mbeumo, Bowen, Ndiaye and Saka are probably your lot. Bowen is probably the only one there who is a realistic option, though he turns 30 this year; I'd still take him at Liverpool on a 3-year contract if West Ham got relegated. Everton won't sell Ndiaye to us, and the other 3 are all at teams likely to finish in the top 3 this season who will have no reason to sell to us, nor would the players be willing to take a step down to what will probably be a lower tier of European football.
I think there are a few who could be good in the near future and will be attainable to us.
Minteh, Outtara, M.Mane, Kudus and Gordon all come to mind. I am keen for us to add raw pace to the side, so I'd be very interested in us signing one or two of them. Minteh and Mane, I think, have the highest ceiling of the young wingers in the Prem, but I fully expect us to go after Gordon as he's probably the closest to being ready to play for us week in, week out.
Ideally, we'll also go abroad and put in a serious offer for Yan Diomande. He's the one who can be a world class Premier League winger. Diomande and Gordon flanking Isak/Ekitike next season would be frightening for any defence.
3
06 Apr 2026 11:58:26
I reckon we are going to go three up top next season. Isak up top, Diomamde on the left, and I know we have been linked with Olise for the right (fingers crossed).
Looks great on paper at least. Then you have Ekitike, Rio and Frimpong as backups.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:19:07
Mikey, Diomande has 11 goals and 6 assists in 21 games this season as a RW. In 8 games as a LW, he has 0 goals and 2 assists. I don't think it makes sense to sign him and play him on the left. I think you're right about the 3 up top though. I hope that with 2 proper pacey wingers and a higher tempo, more direct approach to attacking, we'll finally see the best of Isak.
I really like Olise as a player, but in terms of what I think our team needs, Diomande is a better fit in my opinion.
Olise is a top player with more technical ability than Diomande, but he lacks raw pace and struggled with the intensity of the Premier League with a recurring hamstring injury, despite having a virtually free role at Palace where he didn't get asked to do any defending or pressing. I'd be pretty excited by either player though, to be honest. I'd rather an actual LW to play LW, though.
1
06 Apr 2026 12:35:04
Saka the man the Myth, don't rate him at all.
4
06 Apr 2026 12:44:59
Saka ain't been good this season, MK, just my opinion.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:50:56
In what universe is Schade a better player than Gakpo? Insane.
Olise isn't what we need, unless we want somebody to play the Mo inside right position the way Mo did, as virtually a number 10. Diomande could hit another level or three in the next few years, and he has everything we need in a wide player despite being raw and having only played one year of top level football. Knowing FSG, I think he would be the one we target.
Gordon isn't worth the money, but he is kind of the profile we need, a wide player that has serious pace and can supply ammo to the forwards. I'm not sure he has the one on one ability we require on the flanks, though.
The question is whether we play withdrawn wingers with Kerkez and Frimpong providing the width or inside wingers like Salah going forward.
1
06 Apr 2026 14:12:29
I wouldn't take Bowen, has maybe one good year left in him and the price West Ham would ask would be too much, plus he's settled there and not going to be interested in moving.
Gordon is too one dimensional, yes he has some pace, but he's not explosively quick, he has no physicality and his use of the ball is pretty poor. Stewart Downing vibes with that lad.
Barcola isn't going to be interested in joining us. Forget that. Same for Olise.
Minteh's end product is non existent, Outtara looks pretty ordinary and that's being generous, Kudus had a shocking injury history at Ajax and it looks like it's returned at Spurs, so hard pass.
Mane at Wolves would be a good long term investment because he would count as HG, which is useful. I think Diomande is the stand out because it's pretty clear his ceiling is pretty high and he offers the same qualities that Semenyo did, explosive pace, physically strong, hard working, good end product, and makes good decisions in attacking situations.
1
06 Apr 2026 15:31:54
Viktor, I believe that Minteh has the most Premier League goal involvements of all u21 players since the start of last season. 8 goals and 8 assists in approximately 3600 minutes across the 2 seasons. Is that really that bad for a player who is still only 21?
Bowen, I agree, will cost too much unless West Ham are relegated. Even then, he might not want to leave. Kudus I'd also put bottom of the list due to those injuries you mentioned, although he could still become a good player, it's just too risky for what Spurs will want. Ouattara can be hit and miss, but on his day he's a very hard player to stop because he's so quick and strong; I think he'd be complimentary to Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz, but he's not the best option.
Minteh, Mane and Gordon are the 3 best options in my opinion. Mane and Minteh as long term projects and investments who might not make the impact we want until a year or two down the line. Gordon would offer an instant impact because we know he dovetails well with Isak and is a huge Liverpool fan who will run through brick walls for us. He isn't as limited as you've implied either.
He can cross with both feet, and he's also a very disruptive player for opposition defences because he has that 'housery' about him where he'll get about them and make them rush with the ball. A useful trait in the modern era where everyone wants to play out from the back. We could do with a bit of chaos. Nunez, Jota and Diaz were the only forwards we had who brought that unbridled 'housery' to the frontline, and we lost them all last summer. Gakpo, Isak, Ekitike and Salah are all too nice. Gordon also knows where the goal is and has proved that this season, in the Champions League in particular.
Gordon has 17 goals in 2798 minutes this season. Ekitike is our top scorer with 17 goals in 2763 minutes this season. We could do a lot worse. Getting the best out of Isak (a £125m investment) has to be a consideration. If you spend that amount of money on a striker, it has to be with the intention of building a team around him. He made his name playing with fast and direct wingers, not Gakpo and Salah drifting inside because they lack the explosiveness to beat a full back, only to smash their shots into a wall of defenders.
0
06 Apr 2026 15:36:41
Gordon has spent a lot of time playing number 9 for Newcastle, though, MK, so he is essentially playing the same position as Ekitike. As a winger he scores a lot less. You're right that Isak thrived with Murphy and Gordon behind him, though, which is why we need to target wingers who will supply him with chances rather than goalscoring wingers.
06 Apr 2026 09:47:32
Just read apparently the players have had another private meeting probably about stopping the rot or more than likely there holiday plans for the summer based on all the other players meetings they have had.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:26:19
I seen that, if they put as much into playing as they do meetings, we may not be having these conversations.
5
06 Apr 2026 10:31:30
They were probably modeling their new Tommy Hillfiger clothing, see who looks the best dressed for getting off the bus at the grounds. Or they could have been playing bingo at this meeting.
4
06 Apr 2026 10:41:52
The only meeting that should be taking place is one where Slot gets his P45.
2
06 Apr 2026 11:23:18
Who is leading these meetings?
Van Dijk standing at the front, waving his arms about?
Curtis walking round the room, putting chuddy in people's hair?
Macca lying on the chez lounge - piping up after the works done?
The type of player I was (limited but nailed in 100% effort), if any of our current crop of players stood up and told me what we should be doing, I'd have aimed a decent half volley at them and walked out.
2
06 Apr 2026 12:46:02
Fatwallet, would that be private meeting 257?
06 Apr 2026 07:57:23
Have we got a world class player in the squad anymore? Wirtz show glimpses now and then and under a new manager mite unlock that like he does for Germany. Isak again looked no where near when he joined but totally unfit and very unlucky with a bad injury.
Salah is finished as is VVD, Alisson can’t stay fit and his kicking is not there anymore. We have a World Cup winner that is weaker than my Nan. I’d say no we haven’t yet.
2
{Ed078's Note - I understand your point. Alison's injury record is by no means the worst, but not great. That withstanding, I'm not saying he's the best in the world, but IMO he's in the top one :)
Agree re Salah. VVD is not exactly finished, but the focus on his errors are based upon years of being the best in the world, unfairly putting a spotlight on him that others don't have to bear.
From an LFC perspective, only time will tell with Isak.
Wirtz? Hmm. I wasn't worried about his adaption to the PL at the beginning of the season, I'm still not worried about his apparent lack of "stats". I think there are very few teams that he wouldn't walk in to. I think he is the most gifted and intelligent player we have.
Sboz. His recent scandal aside, he is a top midfielder. Energetic and committed, the sweetest strike around, a workhorse engine.
Grav. Last season, one of the top DM's around. What's changed? Tactics, motivation, who knows.
The phrase "world class" is often so unhelpful. Think about it, of all the thousands of really good pros plying their trade, only a handful could be described as "world class". How many of those can one team claim to have?
15
06 Apr 2026 08:34:01
Isak is probably the closest we have, but we haven’t seen him in a red shirt. The rest, no, other than Ali when fit.
What we do have added to that is about three or four who are often first choice internationals in their positions in strong international teams, in Wirtz, VVD, Grav, and Macca.
So we have six who should be top drawer, plus Szob and Kerkez.
They’re not necessarily world beaters, but there’s a strong core that shouldn’t be getting beaten by four several times a season.
0
06 Apr 2026 08:44:38
If you're winning Bundesliga best player twice, you're on the cusp of world class.
4
06 Apr 2026 08:43:33
Virgil and Ibou need help. If we're going to push all the midfielders so far up the pitch, we need to press from the front aggressively and not retreat into this weird passive mid block that we have, everybody needs to engage the ball instead of hanging around and thinking we can defend purely through zones and numbers. Virgil isn't young anymore and he can't defend an entire half of the field on his own, expecting him to do anything close to that is just asking for trouble. I'm sure, or at least I'm hoping, that he has indicated to the coaching staff that he needs help and that he isn't getting any younger.
I can only assume that Slot thinks that this team can't press high and aggressively on a consistent basis, which is why he doesn't do it. We have shown that we can do it to devastating effect in certain games, but maybe the cost physically is so high that given our lack of rotation options, we immediately look knackered the next game/Slot drops the high press for something more conservative if we have two or three games a week.
The 4-4-2 with players spaced closer together and everybody knowing their jobs when it comes to squeezing the player in possession high up the field and forcing them into traps, with two forwards running the channels in behind and looking to receive balls early over the top or through the lines, the lines much closer together out of possession and the center halves jumping up to make up the numbers in midfield off the ball has given us our best performances this year, but because of injuries or lack of fitness we haven't been able to see it consistently for more than a game at a time.
I don't think it's a matter of whether we have world class players, but of the overall shape that masks each players deficiencies while accentuating their strengths. When the spacing is better Grav doesn't need to play passes that he can't execute, he can either turn and leave a defender in the dust if they are getting too close to him, or do a simple 6 yard pass to somebody else. Macca doesn't need to cover huge amounts of grass that he clearly can't cover. Wirtz has runners in behind, Ibou can play on the front foot engaging players (which is where he is best) and isn't marooned on an island in possession trying to figure out how to pass to, Mo can stay tucked in the half space and doesn't have to start out wide trying to beat two defenders, we can more effectively cluster around players pressing when we lose the ball.
When we've lined up like this, everybody's job is easier and everybody looks good, even Macca has looked back to his best in such situations because he isn't left exposed trying to do things that he can't do.
I personally think that the problems with this team aren't that the players are not as good as we think, I think they are as good or close to as good as they have been, it's that they haven't been playing in a structure that makes up for their deficiencies and puts them consistently in positions where they can make the most impact on or off the ball. A lot of that has to do with Slot, yes, and overall fitness has a lot to do with it as well (not all of that is the coaching team's fault either, Ekitike for example is still acclimating himself to the league physically and playing two games a week is clearly a stretch for him), but the stop start situation with injuries also doesn't help.
7
06 Apr 2026 08:58:26
At their peak VVD and Mo were undoubtedly world class. Their brilliance week in week out made them icons, and if you were picking a world 11 they'd be in it or around it.
Isak and Wirtz would be in the conversation, but we've not seen Isak, and Wirtz is far too inconsistent at the moment.
He probably needs another two or three years to reach his peak level and he simply needs to do more each week.
If we had a world class coach we'd be doing better.
0
06 Apr 2026 09:36:27
I think Wirtz, Ekitike, Kerkez, Leoni and Gravenberch all have the potential to be world class. No amount of potential is a guarantee though. They need to keep working at it. I think Szoboszlai already is world class and he's proven it time and time again in big games this season; he reminds me of David Beckham is his prime, as he is capable of winning a game with a moment of sheer magic and also does a deceptive amount of work out of possession. Isak and Alisson are world class when they're fit, which is unfortunately not that often this season. If both of them can get back on the pitch next season, though, that will be a huge boost.
Van Dijk and Salah were definitely world class, but not anymore. The really disappointing thing is Macca and Konate, I think, had the potential to be world class.
There is a reason why a team like Real Madrid was interested in the the both of them. Their drop off this season has been as sharp as the drop from Virgil and Salah, though, and they're still in their mid twenties so it makes absolutely no sense to me. Application in training, maybe?
All these players need is a manager who will get them fit and get them playing at a higher tempo. They've been asked all season to conserve energy and play at half pace for some stupid reason, and now we're reaping the seeds that were sown. We have a team miles off the pace of the football at this stage of the season who've lost all belief in the manager and his tactics.
3
06 Apr 2026 09:47:56
If we were to name a current world 11 starting line up, only Allison makes it. If we include subs, maybe Isak, Witz or Szoboszlai, at a push.
2
06 Apr 2026 10:13:46
No.8, that's only your definition of "world class" though. It is a largely subjective term in a football context. World class means something different to every football fan. If you asked every football fan on the planet to name all of the world class players in the world, I reckon you'd get well over 10 million different combinations/lists.
I've always considered it to be the top 10 in the world in your position. That's just my own criteria though based loosely on the Cambridge Dictionary definition of world-class which is "Someone or something world-class is one of the best that there are of that type in the world". According to that definition you do not have to be the best, you simply have to be among the best of that type. You have to break it down by position, because how do you compare a GK to a striker? I also don't think you can limit it to one player per position by saying they have to make a World XI, because doing that would mean that Salah was never world class (as he was behind Messi for virtually his whole career) but someone like Ashley Cole was world class because he was the best LB in an era of quite poor left backs in general.
Was Ashley Cole a better footballer than prime Salah?
I think the criteria for what is world class in football has been warped in recent years anyway. It's been overused at times because the younger generations love hyperbolics (legend, hero etc) but also due the emergence of Messi and Ronaldo who were simply in their own league way above world class, what world class actually is has become even more subjective and muddled. Are Messi and Ronaldo actually the only world class players in the last 30 years? Nobody else even comes close to their sheer levels of output and dominance in the Ballon d'Or conversations.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:25:55
I'd take a high functioning team over world class players.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:28:34
I don't agree with it, but I don't think the average football fan would have Ali as No. 1.
I still think he's the best. Dom, Isak and Wirtz are knocking on the door. Vvd and Salah have dropped out of the discussion in the past year or so.
3
06 Apr 2026 10:33:36
Not having a dig at your opinions, MK, but not a cat in hells chance is Szob world class. Given he has stood out in probably the worst performing Liverpool team in a decade, also some fans calling for him to be captain, not a chance he's a poor man's Gini for me.
2
06 Apr 2026 10:38:40
This season no one has been world class. Last season, Alisson, Vvd, Grav n esp Salah was playing at world class level. We got a few who potentially could be, Wirtz, Isak, Slob maybe Grav if he played in his natural position, but I think whats more important for the team is work horses like Hendo, Milly, Fab, thats what we really need.
1
06 Apr 2026 10:41:05
Consistency makes a player world class, and at the moment Szob is the only player who comes into that bracket. At times this season, Wirtz, Ekitike, Isak and Grav have shown their potential world class ability, they have just lacked the consistency and the continuity to keep them all fit together.
If we can add a Diomande to the attack for sheer pace, and shore up the defence with a fit Allison, with at least 4 players who can tackle and stay in a position to defend, we should be okay. Let's hope next season we can move on players and coaches who need moving on.
0
06 Apr 2026 10:42:33
I would love to see an in-depth investigation on how we have got to where we are in such a short period of time. In all honesty, we are playing like a team fighting relegation, and the players look like they believe we're finished.
There has to be a reason behind this, yes we can blame everyman and his dog, but there has to be something wrong within the football club, and it needs to be given the resources and time to find out what it is. YNWA.
0
06 Apr 2026 11:33:50
Different spin.
Forget world class players, world class team.
Hendo (ex Sunderland), Robbo (ex Hull), Gini (ex Newcastle), Millie (not wanted by Citeh), Fab (ex Monaco), Mane (ex Southampton), Bobby (ex Hoffenheim).
None classed as Worldies when they joined, but look what they became.
There seemed to be a plan then on how we wanted to play, the role of each position, and we went and got players we needed.
No "kids in the candy shop" approach, but identification of who we needed.
06 Apr 2026 08:10:22
A well written piece. Ultimately, if the players have down tooled, then it is up to the manager to fire them back up. If he has lost the dressing room to the extent that his words have no effect, then it's time for change.
If we look at the Amorim/Carrick similarities, you could see the players did not buy into what Amorim was trying to do, so they brought in a previous player, one I'm sure they wouldn't have looked at if he wasn't.
It's like night and day, and dare I say it, they are actually playing some good stuff since his appointment. Hopefully this is a one season blip and we find some balance through the transfer market and a new managerial/head coach appointment. We need someone who understands what this football club means to so many. I personally think, and this is just a hunch, that if we get embarrassed against PSG, then Stevie G comes in as interim.
2
06 Apr 2026 08:11:22
Comparisons to Bruno are also unfair. Bruno Fernandes is stroppy and juvenile at times, but he gives everything every time he plays. VVD's main focus is to look cool.
2
06 Apr 2026 09:11:21
I'm not sure it's as simple as you say with Amorim and Carrick. With Amorim, sometimes the players haven't looked like they knew what they were supposed to be doing. With Carrick, he has massively simplified things and done what any sensible manager would have done- emphasize the speed of your forwards in behind, scrap the three at the back system that limits creativity in possession and get Bruno on the ball as much as possible. It's just a matter of getting the best out of what is at your disposal.
I think the players have let the club down, and I agree to a degree that it's not Slot's fault that we can create serviceable chances time and again and the players consistently fail to put them away, that we can do decent things in build up and get in and around the box before completely messing up the final ball/choose to shoot rather than pass or the other way around, or that they lose concentration on the other side of the ball and concede stupid goals through poor judgment. The players clearly have more quality than what they have shown. Also injuries, fitness and general availability have affected us badly.
I do however feel that Slot has us stuck in a no man's land of being too meek to impose ourselves in games for fear of getting done on the counter or risking injury through an overly aggressive pressing game. It's like he's traumatised by the horrible spell that we had and has been making little adjustments to stem the bleeding, while hoping that we have enough quality at the other end to edge games.
I think this entire season has been damage limitation because our Plan A didn't work out, and that has been absolutely awful for us to watch as fans, because we don't know what our club is anymore, and we have no discernible plan to win games.
I think it's probably unfair to say that what we're seeing on the pitch, the passivity and the lethargy and the slow tempo, is really Slot's vision of football, I think it's more his attempt to take the sting out of games and make it physically manageable for a squad hit with injuries/filled with players he doesn't trust to rotate for his core favorites. Also there's the fact that the one shape that does seem to work for us, a 4-2-2-2 with a high press, is disrupted by injury or can't be consistently played at the same intensity because of fitness.
Still one has to ask why Slot hasn't made better use of the squad even if he isn't in love with the options available, surely if Endo, Nyoni and Jones had been better used, or Chiesa, then we wouldn't have run into so many bottlenecks with fitness and fatigue and injuries, I'm not saying we should have started them consistently, but with the games piling up you have to give them time. This season has just felt like Slot fighting fires throughout the season, and every time we have started fires of our own, we can't stoke the flames for long enough and collapse at the earliest opportunity.
Ultimately it just feels like this season has shown Slot requires too many conditions to be in place for him to deliver his vision of football, and that's where the comparison to Amorim is probably appropriate. Loads of things have gone against us this year, and those higher up are just as responsible as he is, but it's hard to justify him keeping his job when every game we play feels like we're in a coin toss hoping the margins go our way, and the coach looks frightened and praying that we make it out of the game alive.
3
06 Apr 2026 09:57:37
Maybe a bit of a generalisation, I agree, but there are parallels. Whereas last season one of Slot's strengths was adapting to the opposition, normally using the first half to assess and the second half to adapt, this season has mostly been lethargic followed by panic stations when things don't go to plan.
Other teams have found what works against us, and there has been, for the most part, very little answer.
In any context, when a team no longer buys into a manager's vision, results aren't going to go well.
0
06 Apr 2026 10:48:52
Man United play one game a week. They can rest and train between matches. Carrick has been lucky that he was afforded this and has been given time to sort them out, but come three games a week you would see the difference.
They have no pressure on them at all.
Carrick is a championship manager, and he was not great at that level, so comparing Man U to us is wrong. Man U are a park the bus team and catch you on the break, that is all they have.
1
06 Apr 2026 11:52:07
Carrick will be found out when they play 3 games in six days like Slot as.
Our squad isn't good enough. Most of Klopp's mentality monsters have moved on or past their best. Allison, Joe, Virgil, Robbo and Mo are the only players that remain, and none of them are the force they were. I would only play 2 of them if they were fit.
I have written before, in Klopp's last season we were going for 4 trophies with 11 prem games to go. We won the League Cup with mostly kids. We lost at home to Atlanta 3-0. We lost in extra time against a piss poor Utd team. We were top of the league in March. Then we conceded 18 goals in our last 11 games, keeping 1 clean sheet in our last game against Wolves when the pressure was off.
We won 5 home games and lost 2 and drew 4 away from home.
We have made 4 defensive signings since those days. 1 doesn't officially play for us till next season. 1 who has played just once and got an ACL and 2 attacking full backs.
So even though our squad Defence and Midfield was shown up as not being good enough defensively in Klopp's last season, Mr Edward, Mr Hughes and Slott have failed to do anything about it.
Klopp would have replaced Konate and bought in a Fabinho replacement he didn't get the season before.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:14:04
Yeah, but does Carrick give his players days off in between these once a week games?
Carrick's track record is irrelevant right now.
His main objectives would have been to get the best of the players and push for CL qualification.
That's 2 out of 2 in my book.
He's come in and done a job that he was tasked to do... End of story.
1
06 Apr 2026 12:46:24
Carrick got sacked at Middlesborough for finishing tenth in the Championship. The players are playing for their bonuses for reaching Champions League. That's all. Playing 1 game every 3 weeks. Let's see them compete for trophies. Or are you now happy being Arsenal of the past, playing 40 games a season and competing for Champions League spots.
0
06 Apr 2026 12:51:37
I said it at the time. Utd playing one game a week (or even 2 games in a month) would highly benefit in the CL chase. They prolly gonna make top 4 due to their perfs that have improved (cos they have time to train and Carrick has time to get his ideas across) and the other teams playing multiple games in Cups and in Europe.
{Ed025's Note - stranger things have happened Rome..
{Ed078's Note - I understand your point. Alison's injury record is by no means the worst, but not great. That withstanding, I'm not saying he's the best in the world, but IMO he's in the top one :) 