Liverpool Banter

26 Apr 2026 02:06:47
What a finish by Wirtz.

{Ed078's Note - he was the only one who looked like scoring late on

26 Apr 2026 07:42:13
We'll see a lot more of that if Wirtz is managed like the elite talent he is. The ability is there, and so is the attitude. We'll be a great team if we get our defence/spine sorted and allow Wirtz to wreck the opposition.

26 Apr 2026 07:57:46
Morning, all Reds, just watched MOTD there and have to say a couple of things, and that is, if there was ever a case that proves VAR is run by crooks, it was yesterday. In that, the blue half of the city should have had a penalty against West Ham Utd, and 2ndly, just before the West Ham goal from the corner, Pickford again committed a horrendous challenge against Tatt, I believe it was.

Why did VAR not have a look at it? Surely it warranted a check, but nothing. So does that not prove a point. 👍

26 Apr 2026 08:11:18
Hunter, so Everton should have had a penalty and also conceded a penalty. Not sure how that proves it's run by crooks, mate.

On a separate note, fair play to Freddie Woodman and his performance yesterday.

26 Apr 2026 08:40:07
Yep, an error for both sides warrants corruption accusations for sure. Suggest you look up confirmation bias. 😆

26 Apr 2026 08:33:14
True Ed78, then again, its not like the subs were made with the idea of getting another goal.

26 Apr 2026 09:29:35
I thought Pickford's challenge looked pretty horrific. Only seen it on MOTD for a brief moment, but it certainly didn't look too good.

25 Apr 2026 23:57:49
Good win, not a great watch but nice to see the old and new guard all get on the score sheet.
I gave him pelters at Everton so it's only fair that I say I thought Jones was excellent today.

25 Apr 2026 22:50:11
I was always taught to play the whistle so have no issue with the Palace goal (although I did enjoy booing the player afterwards). But the Ref blew up about 3 or 4 times for ‘injuries’ to Palace players that weren’t head injuries and when we were counter attacking, so why not do the same for the injury to Woodman? It’s the inconsistency that was irritating.

26 Apr 2026 00:17:42
Agreed, I've no issue with their goal either, like you say, play to the whistle. If it was us that scored it, there wouldn't be an issue.

26 Apr 2026 00:51:10
I think it's pretty common that if a keeper's injured, then play should be stopped. I thought pretty unsportsmanlike from their player, but these things usually come back to bite you in the arse. Let's hope so.

26 Apr 2026 01:51:55
Nothing technically wrong but absolutely zero class shown by Palace, but I expect nothing less from a Glasner team.

26 Apr 2026 02:21:30
The inconsistency is frustrating, but it's always been that way and always will. It should be expected, you play the whistle. I was more annoyed everyone just stopped playing and threw their hands in the air and nobody covered the net.

26 Apr 2026 03:16:59
Like all things in life, there was too much finger pointing and no one red taking control of what we could control,

Play to the whistle. That was our bad.

26 Apr 2026 06:09:31
Other bit couldn't get, when Palace player hit posts, the linesman put his flag up for offside and ref gave a corner? Minor detail, but seems an obvious and fairly basic ref error.

26 Apr 2026 06:11:02
Hopefully, that whinging ratskinner Glasner will leave the country at the end of the season. Miserable little fun sponge. I don't like him.

26 Apr 2026 07:36:43
There is always an important difference between what you can do and what you should do.

There is no rule against playing on if a player is injured.

There is no rule saying you can't shoot if a goalkeeper isn't in goal.

So, Munoz absolutely could take the shot and the goal has to stand.

However, good sportsmanship would dictate that you don't take the shot.

An injured keeper changes the game fundamentally more than if play continues with an injured outfield player.

Frankly, I thought it showed a complete lack of class and was a scummy advantage to take. Before anybody starts, I would feel exactly the same if it was us.

26 Apr 2026 07:54:04
Nothing wrong with the Palace goal, ref never blew, so you carry on... Imagine if it was the other way round n we had the chance to score but we stopped playing n let player recover, the outrage would be off the scale from our supporters.

{Ed078's Note - I don't need to imagine if it was the other way around... Robbie Fowler anyone?

26 Apr 2026 08:40:25
For me, nothing wrong with what happened.
Our players need to explain why they stopped.

This is a situation like the head injury situation.

I have absolutely no doubt, players use the head injury rule to fake injuries, just so that there is a break in play.

If play has to be stopped because a keeper is injured, then I have total belief that that rule will be taken advantage of as well.



It's not a common thing that keepers get injured in that situation, so need for a rule to stop play if a keeper is injured.

Imagine keepers coming out to close a player down, make a save and then they feign an injury so that play is stopped.

Not for me, thank you... I don't trust these modern day divas to not pull a fast one over the officials.

25 Apr 2026 20:21:14
Letting go of Robbo is a mistake in my book, he's still our best LB and proved it yet again today. What a goal. Great to see him score. Sad to think it might be his last. Tsimikas is a big downgrade in every way.

25 Apr 2026 21:39:22
Agree. I don't know why it didn't occur to me until today, but given the slow, boring way Slot wants to play, with relying on individuals to have moments of brilliance to create goals rather than develop a system that creates them, why hasn't Robbo been played more? It actually makes no sense because, of course, we all accepted he lost a bit of pace, but I don't actually see how that matters with slotball.

Additionally, I'll just reiterate that losing Salah, Robbo, VVD, and Allison all in one window is a huge problem.

That removes what little memory of mentality/industry that Slot hasn't mismanaged out of this team already. It's a huge on the next manager (still praying that has to happen, right?) to bring their system, get the squad fit again, and instill a new mentality/unity with no senior players who were part of our past success. A massive ask. Let's hope whoever we get is up to the challenge.

25 Apr 2026 22:17:38
Chew, it was a great goal and I only wish it was the last game of the season to say goodbye.
But he is not our best left back anymore by a long shot. Robertson's legs started going three seasons ago, and it would be wrong for a club of our size to offer him a new contract, even as a backup.

It's not right for him, us, or him.

25 Apr 2026 22:41:20
Robbo has sentiment on his side when he plays like this, let's not forget, though his legs have unfortunately started to go.

We need to be ruthless, he's not the player he once was. Father Time catches up with us all. If we want to win major trophies, we need to say goodbye.

25 Apr 2026 23:06:28
Robbo has been a great servant and has been involved in many great occasions and trophy lifts, however, in the last couple of seasons where he was the starting left back he was, in most people's opinion, the worst performer of the 11 and the easiest to upgrade due to his age. Robbo is a fan fave and will leave that way, but age is against him and someone will replace him sooner rather than later. It's time to look forward and support the future of our club rather than look back. Kerkez has been good for 6 months or so now, has he been as good as Robbo was 4 years ago? No.

Will he ever be? Probably not, but the fact is Robbo isn't as good as he was then either. Respect to Robbo for what he's achieved, but don't use it as a stick to beat Kerkez or whoever else ends up there. I hope we don't compare next year's right winger to peak Mo Salah because there's another comparison that can't be won. It will likely be a long time before we get it as good as we've had it recently again. People who wish after Kelleher & 25 year old Robbo & 30 year old Salah & Klopp & Gerrard & etc etc, it's now the past. Support the present & future.

25 Apr 2026 23:36:12
I might be sentimental about it and sure he's not as fast as he used to be, but if his legs are proper gone, how'd he score that goal today? He put Isak to shame with that run.

I'm not saying he should be starting every game ahead of Kerkez next season, far from it, but Kerkez is a bit scatterbrained at times, let's be honest, and I do think he should have been shadowing Robbo this year, not the other way around.

Robbo's consistent, reliable, and intelligent enough to know he's not going to beat everyone for pace. Although I bet at 32 he's still faster than Tsimikas.

It's the end of the season, crunch time. We need reliability now more than ever, and who's been the starting LB in 4 of the last 5?

26 Apr 2026 00:24:07
No Chewy, as much as I love Robbo, think the times right for him to leave.

26 Apr 2026 00:58:55
I would have given him a contract for sure. Nobody is expecting him to be in the starting 11 every week, but he is a great sub to have.

26 Apr 2026 01:31:06
I'd of liked him to stay, experience alone is worth the price.

26 Apr 2026 01:33:58
Maybe Robbo still thinks he can still start every match, Irish Rover, and not want to be that sub, Carragher didn't.

26 Apr 2026 02:24:07
Keith, Robbo's been on the bench all season, he knows he's not first choice, he's also not leaving by choice, he wasn't offered a contract, so he has no say in the matter. I'm certain if he was offered an extension he'd sign it without hesitation.

26 Apr 2026 03:18:23
It is the right time to go. Leave while the memory of you is still positive. Don't stay longer than you should.

26 Apr 2026 07:01:35
Chewy, no one wants Robbo to stay more than me, he's my favourite signing of the Klopp era, a fellow Scot and for me the best LB we have ever. But his time has come. Robbo wants to be starting, he's the captain of his country and is likely to beat Kenny Dalglish's cap record soon. He needs to be starting to feel like he validates his selection.

He has the odd great game in him still, but he is nowhere near as consistent as he once was.

If he was happy to play a big part and carry out the "Milner" role then fine, but he's not willing to, as I said, he sees himself as a starter.

We need to be ruthless to win titles, no passengers. Sentiment, you're remembering the Robbo of old and letting it cloud your judgment if you think he's a starter over Kerkez.

26 Apr 2026 08:42:11
It's not even just the fact that he wants to be playing. I guarantee that he wouldn't accept the contract on offer for him if we decided to go down that route. Some issues aren't singular, think for example Robbo 200k (made up figure) pw to sit the bench, or we can save 140k pw (made up figure) to have Tsimikas sit bench, from Robbo's perspective this season he's been okay with sitting bench on 200k (still a made up figure) but would he sign a new deal to sit bench on 60k (made up again)? No, absolutely he wouldn't. And that's why the club wouldn't offer him a deal as it's disrespectful to him, and you don't do that for legends, you just say look Robbo, we love you but if you want to play football more regularly or earn the same kind of money you do currently it's best you find a new club. As for Robbo's legs, it's not all about sheer pace, it's about agility, it's about response time, it's about how quickly he recovers to play 3 games in a week.

It's about the fact we still have to have this conversation every other week, because we've not had a clean break already. It's about the fact he might be team Mo when the new guys are team Slot. It's about what changing his name does to someone like Kerkez, who must take that as a dig every time he hears it. And, btw, we only have to look back to last week for a goal Robbo cost us, falling asleep, not following his man, getting beat to the ball and goal. This will and has happened with Kerkez too, but the difference is Kerkez is now our guy and Robbo won't be. Supporting one harms the other. We need clear 1st and 2nd choice players who are happy and confident in their roles, who are paid accordingly to their roles.

26 Apr 2026 09:19:18
Sentiment, my arse, he's more than good enough to stay. The question is, does he want to, given he'd be in and out because of Kerkez. I personally think he's better.

26 Apr 2026 09:24:26
Frode, you think Robbo is still good enough... that's the issue, he isn't.

26 Apr 2026 09:29:09
Kerkez is half the player that Robertson was, but now is twice the player that Robertson is.
Anyone who thinks Robbo should be starting must believe King Kenny, Rush and Barnes should be our front 3.

26 Apr 2026 09:33:16
I disagree, he is on the decline, bad is losing his running power which is his greatest asset. Now is the right time for him to go, Father Time waits for no one. Great goal though and lovely to see it.

25 Apr 2026 17:45:17
Hi Eds and fellow Reds,

As a Nepalese supporter, I've always been keen to see Asian teams make a deeper impact at the FIFA World Cup.

From a structural point of view, is the gap between Asian nations and traditional powerhouses mainly down to factors like youth development systems and domestic leagues—or are deeper elements like football culture, competitive intensity, and governance more decisive? In countries like Nepal, political influence seems to play a significant role in shaping football progress.

Given current trajectories, is it realistic to argue that an Asian team could become the first outside Europe and South America to win the World Cup? Or are African nations still better positioned for that breakthrough?

{Ed001's Note - there are so many issues. Missed opportunities is one, such as when India (and all the Asian nations offered a place after them) turned down the chance to go to the 1950 World Cup. At the time football was huge and they were very good at it, but they chose the Olympics instead. At the time there was no realisation how big FIFA's comp would become, but it saw them left behind. The lack of investment into infrastructure in Asia holds them back from ever competing properly.}

25 Apr 2026 19:08:01
Japan are making real, steady progress. They are a genuine threat to the big teams, but are still probably at least 15-20 years away from becoming one of the big teams themselves, providing they continue to make progress.

I don't see the way forward for any other Asian team to potentially win the World Cup if nothing changes.

25 Apr 2026 19:48:13
I remember in 90 + 94 World Cups when Cameroon + Nigeria were excellent that the talk was that there would be an African winner of the World Cup within 20 years but never materialised. In fact, that was as good as it got for African teams, nothing as good since that I can think of. Not quite sure why it hasn't happened.

25 Apr 2026 21:04:27
The great Pele, himself, said that an African side would win it within 20 years. Can't ever see it happening, myself, to be honest.