Liverpool Banter

09 Aug 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Why Rangers Must Handle Matchday Pressure Better

08 Aug 2026 22:53:40
I know Iraola must have clearly requested a different set of transfers that will compliment his style of football.

Was camara ever a real target or just a hopeful one from fans?

I do think a winger is being targeted, i'm just wondering if a midfielder is because Iraola mentioned he wanted Ryan to not be stuck in a number position?

08 Aug 2026 23:25:57
I don't think a midfielder is being seen as an absolute necessity by the club unless somebody's planning to move on, like MacAllister.

08 Aug 2026 23:31:37
Still think that Ireola can get the best out of Macca.

08 Aug 2026 23:46:39
Let's hope!

09 Aug 2026 00:26:20
I hope the club sign the players that they think will have the best chance of being successful.

09 Aug 2026 01:19:37
I'm almost sure MacAllister and Jones will be gone by the start of the season.
Not so sure on Gakpo though.
Chiesa will be gone too.

09 Aug 2026 04:24:54
I have to say that I'm very concerned about the signing of Araujo. On the face of it, a loan for a highly experienced center back looks fine, but he is marginally less injury prone than Joe Gomez, and I also can't really stomach the fact that folks on here made Konate out to be the worst player of all time, but somehow think that Araujo is leagues better.

If you think that Konate is missing a few brain cells, you're in for quite a ride with Araujo, who is equally capable of brain farts in critical situations. Konate has had one season where he has arguably been a bit of a liability; Araujo has had at least two.

He doesn't strike me as being an especially intelligent footballer and often makes deeply questionable decisions, but yes, on paper and in certain moments he can be an elite center half. The problem is that he has recurring muscle injuries every year, exactly like Gomez.

Naturally, I will support anybody who puts on the shirt and I'd love for things to come off for him after all he's been through. I do have my worries when it comes to the player, though.

09 Aug 2026 05:26:26
I can't comment on Araujo, as I haven't seen him play, but you can't say Konate had only one season where he was a little of a liability.

Every season, he had several brainfarts and was a bit like Bambi on ice.

Konate looked half decent because of VVD next to him. That shows you the type of defender he was and that he wasn't a leader.

We were just blessed with VVD being fit a lot of the time.

Araujo, at least, is a captain with leadership qualities and is not as injury prone as Gomez from the stats. Gomez can put 2-3 games together without coming off injured.

I can't comment on his football, as I've never paid attention to him at Barca or with the Uruguay national team.

09 Aug 2026 06:37:14
I have to say that I can't agree with that. For me, overall, Konate's career with us was very positive, and I rate him a lot higher than a lot of people here, I think. Under the circumstances Araujo is a borderline acceptable move, but nobody can convince me that he is in any way an upgrade on Konate, he is in a lot of ways the same sort of player as Konate (aggressive, good aerial and ground duel winner, decently comfortable straying out wide to cover for his full back, quick and physical), but not a superior one.

09 Aug 2026 07:04:56
All fair points Patrik, but you're missing 1 key point. Konate didn't want to be here... Araujo does. Give the lad a chance. It's a loan with no obligation, so if he does the job, it's a cracking piece of business, if he doesn't, it buys us a bit of time to find the right player next season without spending a fortune on a gamble.

Also, another leader to have around to help advise the young centre halves we have at the club.

We didn't spend that big of money on Jacquet for him to be a squad player, in my opinion.

09 Aug 2026 08:11:04
When was Konate a good aerial duel winner btw? He left pretty much everything to Van Dijk, and when he did go up for a header, you had absolutely no idea where it was going because he had a head like a 50 pence piece!

Thanks for the service, of course (and he did have some great moments, to be fair to him), but he was very average overall, and in the end, he got way too big for his boots, asking for such a monumental salary increase.

Madrid are in for a shock, and more fool them for paying him that much.

09 Aug 2026 08:18:03
The amount of times he headed the ball straight up in the air, MK. And he never, ever had a season like Araujo did in 23/24.

09 Aug 2026 09:30:19
I'm pretty sure Konate was in the upper 90th percentile for aerial duels won among center halves last year, MK. Are we seriously going to contest the notion that Konate had an excellent season the season before the last, by the way?

09 Aug 2026 09:30:46
In fairness, Patrick, I don't Konate was as bad as he bes made out to be here either. He was our man of match in a Champ League final and was part of a good partnership that won a league. Never got to the level I thought he would with us tho, I felt as he seemed lacking in concentration. Araujo in good form is a better player than Konate in good form imo.

09 Aug 2026 09:32:26
@Gregarious, not having seen him play hasn't stopped other site contributors providing psych profiles, observations about his being injured all the time, his lack of football skills, and oddly, his having the combined faults of all loan players we have brought in over the past two decades. Just go for it....

08 Aug 2026 21:36:32
Outside of losing big players in Robbo/Salah, their places in the first team needed replacing anyway, I think the thing that could and already appears to be having the more significant impact is their leadership and their standard setting.

It appears with players like Jones, who is nothing more than a squad player, but now without anyone in that midfield really pulling up any trees or being a particular leader/standard setter. It’s giving him a sense of entitlement, as in I’m as good as those around me so I deserve to be in the first team.

Losing that mindset of I’ve got to be fighting to reach the levels of the likes of a Robbo/Salah turns you into what we are seeing now. Players meandering, lack of drive or fight, putting more effort into their TicToks than their performances.

Feeling as though you should have a captain's armband when in reality Jones being anywhere near captain tells us exactly where we are as a squad, barebones.

I have no real opinion on Araujo, of the little bits I’ve seen, he gives me Romero/Porro vibes, but for me, having a slightly older head could be a positive dependant on his personality. We’ve not had a real dog (fighter) in defence for a while, hopefully he has a bit of that in him.

Don’t get the whole ‘Marquee signing’ nonsense, we don’t need marquees, we need damn hard workers, players who fill the obvious gaps in our squad. I’d bet a high % of our fans would say they would prefer a lesser name we could turn into a superstar than a ‘marquee signing.’

08 Aug 2026 22:06:13
" A team can pull one man, one man can't pull a team."

08 Aug 2026 22:16:12
Unless it's Maradona.

08 Aug 2026 22:18:49
Maradona and Messi have made good efforts for Argentina.

08 Aug 2026 22:25:52
It's funny, when Jones scored that lovely goal against Everton all them years ago and said afterwards he wants to force his way into the starting team and be an important player for us, he was applauded for that bit of ambition and arrogance, almost.
I can't blame the lad for still wanting to be the first name on the team sheet for the club he supports. I totally get that he wants to be captain, of course he does.

I'd be disappointed if he didn't.
His ability doesn't match his ambition, though, sadly. He's never going to be that player. He's always gonna be a squad player for us. So I think he needs to make his mind up now what he wants, first name in a mid table team or bit part player for us.
I really want the lad to do well and just hope he puts in 100% and gets better under Iraola.

08 Aug 2026 22:41:56
1. I don't think Jones ever had the "fighting to reach Salah level" attitude you mention to begin with.
2. He isn't anywhere near the captaincy, so no, it doesn't tell us anything about the squad being 'barebones'.

Not only is he nowhere near it, but his recent antics just proved without doubt that he never should be, and you can bet your bottom dollar everyone now knows it, including Iraola.


007. Tell that to Gerrard.

09 Aug 2026 03:19:06
Are we talking about football, @007. Put me in mind of a funny story Rodney Marsh used to tell.

09 Aug 2026 03:22:42
I think we are all overdoing this on the captain piece. Since the time of Klopp, after captain and vice captain, the philosophy used to be that the player who has been at the club longest wears the armband.

Jones may have felt entitled because of that and not because of some entitlement that he is the best player in the team.

I agree he is nowhere near captain level, but we don't have to take two and two to make it 5 :).

09 Aug 2026 05:15:33
Yeah, I get the exact same sense with Jones.

It's almost like he has a sense that by virtue of being there longer than others that they should naturally look to him.

Whereas Milner, Hendo, Robbo were leaders because of who they were and how they led.

08 Aug 2026 20:41:39
Ferran Torres to PSG gives Barca the funds now to get Rodri, which then means one of their midfielders will most likely be out the door for some first team football (Thinking of VD’s mystery marquee midfielder).

With Ferran at PSG, Barcola is more likely leaving as well due to the front line minutes, along with Mbaye most likely departing too.

Could be the one transfer to unlock us getting a few deals over the line.

08 Aug 2026 22:11:37
City close to signing the young Moroccan kid Bouaddi apparently.