Liverpool Banter 3

20 Sep 2026 09:55:44
Hi Ed033, possible for a poll?

Do you wish Salah was here for one more season? Options Yes, Indifferent and No.

{Ed033's Note -


Salah poll

20 Sep 2026 10:34:02
In hindsight we should've kept him

It was the right time to let Salah go

But nobody could envision the club would be so stupid to not sign a replacement right winger. What a terrible idea that was.

20 Sep 2026 10:38:05
Name me one that wanted to join or was available at a reasonable price?
Mbaye might have been the only one?

20 Sep 2026 10:43:39
I think regardless we should not have let him go before signing a player. It's not hindsight, but letting your first choice and only right winger leave before getting a replacement means that clubs can demand a high fee since they know you will be desperate to fill the position.

Had we signed Semeneyo like we should have in January, I would have been fine with Salah departing.

20 Sep 2026 11:34:43
7 goals and 2 assists in 6 games. He's doing okay. How are we doing with his replacement(s) on the RW?

More important than his performances over there, is the lack of a replacement for him here. Sheer glaring stupidity. No suitable replacement available? Fine, then why push out a player under contract for free? Like I said. Stupidity. I would have taken 10-15 goals from him this season, with gone legs, age and all of the rest of the bla bla bla.

20 Sep 2026 12:36:07
I think in hindsight we kept him a year too long. His last season was dreadful. I think you can only blame Slot for some of it as well. Mo's first touch was awful, he couldn't beat a man and just looked slower all round.
We can't keep players forever and it's the clubs failure for not planning ahead.


Glad he's having a good time in the Turkish league but in the Prem I think he had had his day.
In answer to the question though, I'd rather have Mo on that right wing than Rio. But I'd much rather have a proper replacement for Mo, than keep Mo.

20 Sep 2026 13:22:25
I have to agree with you there Mikey.

20 Sep 2026 13:52:26
If we'd have kept Salah would we have purchased BB? He was on what. £400k a week?

Also - even a 3-5% difference in quality of opposition is the difference between a hattrick, or running into traffic (which is what he did last season).

{Ed666's Note - nodes about the finances but he was running into traffic because of the prehistoric tactics slot employed

20 Sep 2026 14:24:24
So many times I'm sure i was not alone in groaning as the ball pinged off Salah. Sure the team was set up wrong too but Salah had still dropped of a cliff compared to previous years.

I"m not dissing him. He's King Salah for a reason!

{Ed666's Note - and whose form didn’t fall off last season did they all get sold?

20 Sep 2026 15:08:39
Fair.

20 Sep 2026 17:22:13
There was a serious push from many fans to sell Macca too after his performance last season, 'legs have gone' @ 27 years old, now this season he is probably 1st name on sheet for midfield- forms is temporary, sure salahs age and trajectory are moving in the decline but he would still offer a lot on and off the pitch.

I would be curious to know once Slot was sacked was there any conversation about remaining or was the dye fully cast.

20 Sep 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Rangers Recruitment: Patience Versus Immediate Demands

19 Sep 2026 17:56:48
Eds666 why do you think Isak dosen't press, is down to fitness, laziness or sounds daft but does he not know how to properly.
appreciate you input eds as always👍.

{Ed666's Note - I think that he was mollycoddled at Newcastle because the way they played suited his game and of course he was prolific. At Liverpool and especially Irola the system is alien to him and he needs to adapt his game and we have to adapt to him somewhat aswell. I honestly think if he adds the press to his game he could be succesfull at Liverpool also. The amount of turnovers we would get and he would be the recipient of would be plentiful. I think one things for sure IA doesn’t suffer passengers and irrespective of his price tag if he doesn’t press he’s history. Just look at Wirtz and Barcola how they press and they came with ridiculous price tags also.

20 Sep 2026 00:16:13
Newcastle had three workhorses in midfield and two more on the wings in Gordon and Murphy and Isak in fairness was the lethal clinical knife at the tip of it. Think when he came in under Slot the idea was that he wouldn't need to do it, that we'd dominate the ball. Under Iraola he's just going to have to.

But let's be real here, to run hard and often is the easiest part of football. If I was Isak and I knew how classy and clinical I was, and the only thing stopping me from been the complete forward was to get the finger out I'd be dying to improve that side of my game.

20 Sep 2026 00:33:23
The problem with Isak is that his legs are too thin. He looks awkward when running fast. He reminds me a lot of Ian Rush a goal poacher.

{Ed666's Note - Ian Rush was one of the best pressers as a striker in football history

20 Sep 2026 01:16:47
He reminds of benteke. Expensive and not suited.

20 Sep 2026 01:17:08
Oh no, not another Ian Rush.

20 Sep 2026 01:27:36
Isak's output was intentionally tailored at Newcastle to reduce risk of injury and maximise minutes on the pitch, I've always expected we would utilise him in a much similar manner. There's very little that can be done about it; his frame and build put him at risk, you can't change genetics. It's not to say he's completely incapable of pressing; he's done it before at times, but with higher output you increase risk, it's just not worth it.

You will see him press at times when needed, expect to see him subbed off after 60-70 minutes in those kind of games though. But he will never do what Koumas does, and nobody should expect him too.

20 Sep 2026 05:09:05
I am sorry ed. 21 and 23 goals in two seasons is sort if prolific but he was the penalty taker. He has never been epl top scorer ever. Hell cole palmer scored more goals than him in one of those seasons.
He is overhyped overrated and will be one of our worst signings. The sooner we realise and act accordingly in transfer season the better. He is lucky ekitike has had a injury. If ekitike was fit under iraola isak would be a
150m bench shiner. Because ekitike can press can assist can play on flanks can drop to switch play is a nuisance on corners and can still be deadly with his back to goal.
Leave out penalty goals - he scored just 16 and 17 goals in those most prolific seasons. And assisted just 7 more. Not actually prolific numbers.

For isak you need to present him a chance on a gift wrap with his name written on it in bold capital letters and someone to shout loudly hey heres your gift .only then he sees where the ball is and might score if he is facing the goal.
For all that money am still waiting for him to meet one corner and head one in. For a 6'4 striker he should be terror on corners. But this lad can't jump can't head.
I can go on about weakness in his game but am a BP patient and might blow up an artery or two.

{Ed666's Note - let’s not raise your BP mate we don’t want death by Isak on these pages. If we apply your theory then shearer, Kane, Salah etc numbers wouldn’t be so impressive either. Let’s cut the guy some slack he had no pre season last season, broke his leg etc. as I said previously if AI gets him to modify his game we could have a real weapon. He has mitigation and credit in the bank for not setting the world on fire in a Liverpool kit for me.

20 Sep 2026 08:18:49
I think isak has been a bit like the team so far, has done OK. plenty to improve on, looks bit disjointed at times but at times has looked excellent. If he stays fit will only get better as season goes.

20 Sep 2026 08:31:14
I wonder if it is by design, given Hugo is out and there's no backup to his position. Perhaps Iraola is playing him until the end because he doesn't press as much as others, or it's part of managing his legs?

It is frustrating I would think, but maybe it's forced due to a) building up fitness and/or b) lack of cover.

Either way, it's not ideal at all and we're compromising our game as a result.

20 Sep 2026 09:26:31
Firmino would be a demon in the current squad!

20 Sep 2026 10:34:08
Ekitike was the stand out of signings last season and his injury was a massive kick in the teeth for the club.

But one thing he didn't do last season was press.

20 Sep 2026 11:13:32
Tbf JK, not one of our players pressed last season.

20 Sep 2026 12:03:06
Drac that's also true mate.

20 Sep 2026 12:29:25
Once isak gets injured, maybe Andoni will play wirtz in the false 9.

20 Sep 2026 12:51:43
Neither Ekitike or Isak are big pressers, that's not going to change, and people shouldn't want it to. They're not built for it, they're '70-minute men' so to speak. High output means fewer minutes, and if you push them, they will get injured.

If you want 90 minutes out of them, you have to tailor their output. If you want relentless pressing for 90 minutes, you put Koumas on. Expecting anything else will leave you frustrated.

20 Sep 2026 13:46:09
I'd sit Isak down and play him videos of Ian Rush making an absolute pain of himself with opposition defenders until he "gets it". And boy does he need to "get it"! 😁.

20 Sep 2026 02:22:05
@666, you win today's star prize as the 1000th board member to spell the manager's surname incorrectly 🙂. I know as I'm the worst person on the board for not checking for gibberish before I hit the send button 😳.

{Ed666's Note - 😁🤣

20 Sep 2026 14:04:50
Maybe we should put Isak on a milk drinking regime.

19 Sep 2026 21:00:13
Salah is soo finished they said 😳 just hit a hat trick + 1 assist v Galatasaray in a 4-0 demolition Job!

Would have been Nice to see what AI could have done with him but life goes on 🙏 3 points tomorrow please 🙏🙏.

19 Sep 2026 21:08:21
I totally agree. It was a mistake to let him leave. The whole setup was so stale and lacked any attacking ambition which is why I think salah struggled. Still think it's mental he was let go and no RW was brought in.

19 Sep 2026 21:37:29
Love it, puts him at 9 g/a for season so far which is just 1 short of our entire front line. Shame he didn't stay on. Cue the naysayers rambling on about how dirt the Turkish league is even though the very team Salah demolished today has beaten us in 3 of our last 4 games, and how Mo's legs have gone even though not a single Gala player could catch him over an 85m sprint today.

19 Sep 2026 22:07:54
I'm firmly in the 'should have kept him' camp.

19 Sep 2026 22:39:01
I'm just so pleased it's going well for him.
This is exactly how he should wind down his career, still banging in the goals.
He shouldn't getting outpaced by fullbacks and losing his place in the team at Liverpool.

Just my take, but it was the right time for everyone.

{Ed666's Note - I don’t want to own up a can of worms again 😁

19 Sep 2026 23:25:26
Agree with Ron here.

So, so pleased for the legend that is the Egyptian King.

But he was dropping off the pace last season, and it was time for him to leave the EPL.

It was a mistake not to recruit the right RW for us, completely agree.

But the answer wasn't, in my view, to keep Salah.

{Ed666's Note - did you see his goals today Zeddicus? Didn’t look like his legs had gone or a shortage of pace to me. But maybe I’m wearing my Mo Salah embossed blinkers. I’m not trying to start any strife mate I just don’t agree with you. I think today showed what we’re missing in our team.

20 Sep 2026 00:21:53
Love Salah, and don't honestly know whether him leaving was the right decision or not. How he's doing over there though is the whole reason why he was going to a weaker league. He wasn't going to be hitting them numbers in England.

Its easy now after a hattrick to re-write history and his struggles last year. For me an alltime legend and my biggest gripe is not that he left but HOW he left. His departure should have been so much more glorious than it ended up being.

{Ed666's Note - But my point is the reason for him to stay isn’t recency bias it’s because his legs haven’t gone to the degree that people are opining. The goals he scored today weren’t tap ins. He had to outrun defenders, put on the afterburners and beat the keeper, exactly the goals he was scoring for Liverpool before Slot changed his tactics to tyrannosaurus football.

20 Sep 2026 00:30:29
Let's stop mourning the loss of Salah. His form fell off a cliff, last season, and it was time for him to go, regardless of what he does in Turkey. Let's move on.

{Ed666's Note - name the players who played well last season Rome the exception of probably Slob? Let’s just agree to disagree on this one mate.

20 Sep 2026 01:20:07
There is a reason Salah ended up signing for a team in Turkey instead of England, Italy or Spain.

{Ed666's Note - Please elaborate mate? I would love to your opinion?

20 Sep 2026 02:21:43
Because, at the age of 34, Salah no longer has the legs to play at the very top level. According to the UEFA coefficient Turkey is the 9th ranked league in Europe.

{Ed666's Note - And what of the offers he got from Serie A that he turned down to go to Turkey? Pretty sure Serie A isn’t that lowly on the UEFA coefficient. It’s a shame Salah gets the blame for Slot Balls failures. The whole team was garbage last season

20 Sep 2026 03:31:33
If Salah was able to be rested or subbed without throwing a hissy fit maybe we would have kept him.

{Ed666's Note - So CR7 has been throwing hissy fits all his life and he’s passionate about the game but Salah does it and he’s a troublemaker get him out of our club. Moronic take

20 Sep 2026 03:40:41
The hissy fit wasn't that he was subbed off or started on the bench though. He spoke out because he was touted around to other clubs without his knowledge. Imo, if we had gotten rid of Hughes and Edwards earlier, Salah would still be our player now.

20 Sep 2026 04:28:56
I think most Liverpool supporters think Ronaldo is an absolute pillock for throwing hissy fits, seeing a Liverpool player do it was very disappointing.
Salah spoke out after being on the bench for 3 games in a row, that was the only reason, stop with the conspiracy theories.

20 Sep 2026 05:16:36
Hissy fit was because everyone was blaming salah for our situation last year. So he made that public interview.
He was bad last season. We have to accept it but he was moved because we had morons in charge who didn't value his contribution to this club and a manager who just said yes and didn't fight for his players.

Salah should have completed his contract at Liverpool there are no two ways about it. It was insane we let him go. As is clearly visible we are no better without him either.

20 Sep 2026 06:30:49
Chewy Mo was in them LFC sides that Gala beat us.

20 Sep 2026 07:15:39
Pretty sure Salah took his family to Turkey for cultural reasons, not football ones.

It is apparent that he has already settled and is happy. Long may his good form continue and I hope he sets even more records at Trabonszpor.

What is in the past is done, we cannot change that. The future we can plan for but shouldn't worry about too much. Things change over time. Let us enjoy the moment and today's game against Bournemouth.

If it makes things any better, I am on a football WhatsApp with a bunch of mates, two are Arsenal fans and you would think they had lost 6 on the bounce. Absolutely hilarious over-reactions going on.

20 Sep 2026 07:16:03
It's not a conspiracy theory. It's a fact Edwards and Hughes were trying to push Mo out of the club and went behind his back to try and sell him. That's what got him upset.

20 Sep 2026 07:33:36
I can't stand Cristiano Ronaldo and have never once called him passionate about throwing hissy fits so i'm not sure how you can completely make something up and call me moronic for it 🤣.

Lots of different takes on why he went to the press instead of handling it in house on here today.
I thought he said that after all he'd done for the club that the position should be his didn't he? and something vague about someone throwing him under the bus? that's what i remember. Whatever his reasons I think that things should be handled in house and not to the press.
I still remember when Jurgen benched him and he kicked off and told the press 'there will be fire if I talk' and the countless time he got subbed and showed dissent towards the manager.
I love Mo and he is a club legend but I think it was time for him to go. I wouldn't have wanted Iraola to have to handle all of that. He has enough on his plate already.

20 Sep 2026 08:37:14
It's impossible to know if he would have had one more season of success, or 10 games in the Premier League. I did personally witness fullbacks our pacing him, not just last season either. The contract dispute seemed to give him a new lease of life but it only lasted a season to my eyes.

I think he still has it in him for little bursts of success. But not the incredible consistency and levels he produced for us over the years. There will probably be a drop off at some point this season, it may be masked in a weaker league.

He'll always be remembered as one of our greatest and whichever team he represents, when he comes to Anfield he'll be given a hero's welcome.

20 Sep 2026 09:22:21
Salah is god enough to have finished his career at Liverpool. His departure was caused by the then DoF and Coach not by Salah or his ability. The best of luck to him.

20 Sep 2026 09:26:29
Our whole team last year looked like they lost their legs in all honesty. We will never know about what could be with Salah, but ultimately I don't think it was the right time to move him on. Mainly because you can't be letting first team players leave before you have someone through the door.

20 Sep 2026 10:26:52
Surely there can't be a debate that our squad would be better with Salah in it this season?? We have no RW, had we signed Diomande or someone else then maybe the argument could be made but we didn't so it now looks ludicrous that we let Salah leave early with no replacement.

20 Sep 2026 10:37:38
I'd love to have seen Salah here this season. Yes he wasn't the same player as he used to be but he'd be the best right winger in this current squad.

Ok he'd be the only right winger in the squad but tomatoes tomatoes.

20 Sep 2026 12:54:30
I love how people are calling it a hissy fit when he very calmly and simply told us how he was feeling based on things that were happening in the background that we didn't know about. What a hissy fit!

20 Sep 2026 10:14:13
Like I've said, Ed, agreeing to disagree but still having respect for one another, like I do with you.

There were countless times, last season, when Salah wasn't doing the basics, and that had nothing to do with Slot. Red-Will is right, I very much doubt Salah would have been happy with starting 15 games a season, which is likely would've been the case. The groans in the ground would've got louder and louder, every time he lost the ball or misplaced a pass. None of us would've wanted that to happen to a legend. Thanks for the memories, Mo, the time was right.

20 Sep 2026 14:08:53
Hilarious "start 15 games a season". Salah's worst ever season in the PL last year and he's only ever had 1 bad one mind, he still bagged 22 goal contributions; that's as good as Saka on a good day, who's revered at Arsenal. I'm starting to see what some mean when they say this fan base has become entitled.

{Ed666's Note - your telling me Salah wouldn’t have made a difference in the first 36 mins against Bournemouth? Our right side has been anonymous

20 Sep 2026 16:18:22
Great thread lads. Will Salah be playing for us in our next game?

20 Sep 2026 16:27:40
Chewy, if you're aiming your "entitled" barb at me you really are directing it at the wrong poster. If you're not, I take it back.

My post says he wouldn't have been happy with starting 15 games for us. Who cares about Saka. It's my belief that Salah's time was up with us. I stand by that. Let's agree to disagree, but don't accuse me of being entitled, if indeed you are.

19 Sep 2026 13:01:07
Hi Eds

Hope. your all well.

I just started watching the spurs game and noticed Solanke is back up top for spurs. i then remembered they paid Bournemouth quite a tidy sum for him.
He has only ever had one decent goal scoring season. under none other than our own Iraola. this fills me with confidence in that if he can get someone like solanke banging in 20 goals a season what can he coach into our boys.

Do you think he can get bigger names firing? or from what I have seen this season Koumas can hopefully step up and add goals to his work rate (which is insane)

Keep well fellas

Thanks.

{Ed666's Note - If he can get Isak pressing I think that will help us immeasurably.

19 Sep 2026 17:47:16
It's far, far more important that he scores goals! that will benefit the team more than pressing, scoring goals is the hardest thing in football, and the most important football commodity of the lot.
If you don't score you don't win? and if you don't concede you don't lose!

19 Sep 2026 19:33:17
007 you are missing the point. AI needs his forwards pressing as this will help the attack to get the chances to score the goals. Without the press you don't get the best out of Isak and all the attackers, so yes the press is just as important.

19 Sep 2026 20:19:00
Iraola needs time with the squad, he took 9 games before getting a win at Bournemouth. It's a case of gradual progress and improvement. He won't turn us into world beaters overnight, there will be lots of mistakes but they will be gradually eradicated.

19 Sep 2026 20:49:53
@MOT, Goals win games, not how many presses you make, you can make 50 presses a game and not score, but score one important goal from a corner, penalty, free kick, throw in etc and win the game that's not pressing a football, they are dead ball situations.

Tell me how you can press a football if a Goalkeeper kicks every goal kick directly into your half of the field, every dead ball in their half as well directly into your half of the field, every clearance an opposition defender makes in his half to your half, you can't press a football when it's 50 foot above ye head unless ye Peter Crouch!

The above dead ball situations, defenders clearances are 4 of your forwards and your 2 midfielders caught in the opponents half of the field, and been bypassed aerially, that's how ye simply beat a press you go aerially, that makes every challenge in your half of the field a 50/50 ball, as it can only go to a home shirt or away shirt, and more importantly the ball nearer your goal than the oppositions, goals will always be the most important and the most deciding factor in football.

19 Sep 2026 20:59:36
I'd rather Isak's output stay tailored; pushing him to press unnecessarily will result in injuries. Anyway, he's far more useful in a counterattack, breaking lines with well-timed runs, receiving delivery from out wide or being a general fox in the box, which is where most of his goals come from.

If you send Isak out to do what Koumas does it will only end in tears.

19 Sep 2026 21:12:49
@MOT,

For reference purposes just take a look at Coventry's winning goal today their goalkeeper kicks it directly from his own half directly to his winger in the opponents half, who then wins a 50/50 ball, then scores the only goal of the game, one goalies pass, one winning goal, bypassed all ten outfield players of Nottingham Forest "aerially" not a press to be seen! That route one goal was Coventry's first PL win in 25 years, and all achieved with one goalies clearance from his own half.

YNWA Andoni.

19 Sep 2026 21:23:55
I think it also ends in tears if Isak trots around aimlessly and allows the opposition to pass out of from the back through him because he's not closing down. You can't have the rest of the team press and Isak do nothing; it's worse than being down to 10 men.

There have been some signs Isak work rate is improving, but if our strategy is to press and Isak can't just be a passenger.

This nonsense about goals overlooks the fact that Isak contributed almost nothing all last year and most games this year so far because he's been largely immobile and our team has moved the ball so slowly the defense is always setup.

To score goals you need take chances, to get a chance you have to receive the ball in space, to receive the ball in space you have to lose your defender which means making runs AND a team mate needs to complete a pass, to complete a pass you need possession, and to get possession you need to win the ball back, and one good way you can win the ball back is by pressing.

Saying all Isak needs to do is score goals is like saying all you need to do to win a race is cross the finish line in a car and then completely neglect the car's engine, tires, and the driver you put in it. Wild stuff.

19 Sep 2026 22:00:11
007, I think you misunderstand me. I am not saying goals aren't important of course they are, only an idiot would think not. AI has made it clear that our attackers need to press as that is an important part of how we attack and defend as a team.

The better team presses the better and more frequent chances we will create, which will mean the likes of Isak will score more goals. The press a vehicle to facilitate the goals, so yes the press is just as important for the way AI wants to play.

19 Sep 2026 22:49:04
You're right 007 goals win games, we should play 11 up front.

20 Sep 2026 02:27:56
@007, the two aren't mutually exclusive. It's a fairly basic couple of ideas. If we are attacking Isak should be looking to score. If we lose the ball Isak should be the first line of defence closing down the opposition player with the ball.

I'd doesn't just apply to Isak. Koumas won the man of the match earlier this week and a good part of it was for leading the press from the front.

Or am I missing something?

20 Sep 2026 06:41:24
We pass the ball between us to much Isak is a player that plays on the last man which means give him the ball earlier. Nunes suffered with this he was going earlier but the ball was not released early hence caught off side on numerous times which made him look poor.


There is nothing wrong with passing long it catches teams out Ali did this on number of occasions with Mo the famous one v city.

20 Sep 2026 12:56:44
Lets stop pretending every attacking opportunity comes from pressing in the final 3rd.

19 Sep 2026 16:54:26
Arsenal easily shown up. Such a shame we're weak in certain areas. Like I said though, if andoni can work his magic and we make it to January within 5 points, I absolutely believe we can compete for the league.
It's a disgrace we don't have the midfielders now but if we could get a camera type in January, we'd be there abouts.

19 Sep 2026 17:13:38
They were utterly, utterly outplayed today in every area of the pitch.
Not only do they really struggle when going behind, but the petulance in their game remains very much there, and Rice should have been sent off.
Most teams don't have the organization-quality combination of Brighton, but I just hope that showing inspires a few others to have a go at Arsenal.

A few more things - Kostoulas could develop into a top class player, Brighton looked defensively excellent without the likes of Dunk there to wreck it, and Van Heycke for Vuskovic may well be one of the stupidest transfers Tottenham have ever made, and that is saying something.

19 Sep 2026 17:00:59
Brighton were fantastic again today
Their press is relentless. even with 88 mins gone, and 3 nil up, they chased everything.

Their coach has them working as a real team
What a performance from them

PS. Rice you're a little prick. Such a big boy last week kicking out at Rogers and then you get bumped today and start having a hissy fit. put your dummy back in and take it on the chin mate.

19 Sep 2026 17:38:30
How on earth can we have midfield problems, when we are unbeaten in all comps after 6 games, you're looking for 100% perfection in every game, football will never be like that.

Leave it to Andoni he knows all the problems and "solutions" better than anybody. He has my 100% backing, of course we will get beat and when we do I won't be moaning, but the Slot brigade will, get behind Andoni we have an absolute gem, the sad thing is not too many know it!

Chelsea have conceded 2 goals or more in every PL fixture so far, and have a -2 goal difference, and 2 defeats, I wonder who the team is who has back to back clean sheets in the PL? and their manager is unbeaten after 20 PL games at two different clubs.

YNWA Andoni for me!

19 Sep 2026 17:40:03
I've been saying all along I really don't know why people have been so quick to give Arsenal the title. They are simply not very good.

They nearly threw the title away last season when there was nobody actually in the race with them. They got to a CL final by beating Leverkusen, Sporting and Atleti with all 2nd legs at home. That's the easiest run to a CL final in the history of the competition.

They had a chance to improve their glaring weakness in the summer which is scoring goals. Instead, they signed Bruno G and another CB in Konsa who are both not even as good as what they already had.

They could win the league but they are far from a shoe in. They won't score enough goals. 3-0 down with half an hour left today and they still only had 2 efforts on target in the whole game. A good team would've been peppering Brighton's goal trying to get back into the game.

Arsenal though, are not a good team.

19 Sep 2026 18:03:38
The first Blue-Print of how to beat Arsenal has arrived

I remember Atletico Madrid doing it to Jurgan Klopps Liverpool and it felt like after that game, every team copied it and we resorted to pep ljinders garbage

See what happens 🧐.

19 Sep 2026 18:16:05
Lfc8 when did a Madrid beat Liverpool that give everyone the blueprint?
The only time I remember them beating us under Klopp was when Adrian was in goal because Alisson was injured and he gifted them goals. I was at that game just before the COVID lockdown and we dominated only for a league 1 level keeper to chuck it away.

19 Sep 2026 18:19:28
007, why would the "Slot brigade" want Iraola to fail? There were many - myself included - who wanted Slot to turn things around. He'd won us a title, and surely - we hoped - could turn things around.

But by January it was clear that he had lost the room, and his time was over. But I reckon the club was right to wait until the end of the season to replace him.

It meant we got the manager we wanted, without them being under pressure from the off.

We have to be patient now, but I reckon we have a special manager on our hands.

I do also reckon we have our best squad since Klopp's title: we have so much more cover in central defence than we have had since about 1950 .

A frontline of considerable talent, and a midfield that needs some structural work, but hardly shabby.

Fullbacks, though, are, of course, a work in progress.

19 Sep 2026 18:17:41
Atletico only beat us because we had a finishing nightmare and Adrian then made a very stupid error that put us one down (effectively two goals in the old away goals system). Also I didn't feel we were "found out" when we almost won the quadruple in 2021-22. So I think you are misremembering things, LFC8.

19 Sep 2026 19:09:19
Amazingly that game against Atletico is easily some of the best football we played. We should have won. The game probably shouldn't have gone ahead they were already cancelling so much at that point and somehow people were allowed to travel from Spain lol. If we were still in CL after games restarted we would have broke 100 points. I'm a little annoyed about it.

19 Sep 2026 19:41:41
007 are you on the wind up. Don't criticize the midfield because we're unbeaten in 6? Is this the same as the "title winning midfield".
We've been woeful in a few games now. We can be unbeaten all season and finish 10. Come back with a better answer that uses your eyes watching us play.

19 Sep 2026 20:30:11
My take out from the Brighton Arsenal game was that Chema Andres was excellent in midfield and was an immovable object. £21m will look like a bargain, we should have taken a punt at that price.

19 Sep 2026 21:02:53
"We don't have midfielders."

2 years ago we won the league with those exact midfielders. that we don't have.

19 Sep 2026 22:17:01
Maybe Souness was right about Rice?

20 Sep 2026 07:16:24
Ron - Souness is wrong about Rice. Though his point about Rice dropping into the backline too frequently is probably true, Rice is as complete a midfield player is pretty much any other midfielder in the game, and Arsenal are a much worse team without him.


Rice's weakness is that he just isn't as good as Souness was. But then again, no other British midfielder is/was, either.

20 Sep 2026 07:31:19
@Ron, if we are within (the magical number) of 5 points in January will it still be a "disgrace" for the midfield? Or would you say that you would apologise to the mids for the lack of respect that you are, daily, showing since the beginning of July?

20 Sep 2026 11:54:14
Souness is right about Rice he is a good number 8 because he can run all day long but he does not create or score enough goals.
As for him being a number 6 he can do the defensive side good because he is a cb playing there but he does not receive the ball on the half turn no way near good enough and he does not move the ball forward fast enough always taking 1 or 2 too many touches.


Souness never said he was a bad player but he is vastly overrated because he is English I think out of the two Anderson will show he is far and about Rice in quality he did i the World Cup for England he was way ahead of him.

19 Sep 2026 13:24:10
Gakpo is currently a better player than barcola. I wouldn't be moving gakpo to accommodate barcola in current form.
It's no good making great runs and getting into great positions if you can't finish. BB is known to be a poor finisher. I hope andoni can help him but I mean Nunez never became a great finisher.

19 Sep 2026 14:01:28
We know Gakpo's ceiling, he's hit it, Barcola has grat potential, yes Gakpo's been key for us in these opening few matches but we'll have to fit Barcola in one way or another, we didn't spent £115m just to bench him, he'll have to be afforded the same patience we've given Wirtz and Isak before we can make judgements.

19 Sep 2026 14:16:44
Price doesn't dictate your place in the team we've had some great players on the bench over the years. Alls you can do is be ready and take your chance when it comes Ala koumas.

19 Sep 2026 14:33:43
Gakpo our most in form player. Has to start.

19 Sep 2026 14:57:47
Never said price dictated your place, my point was that he was brought in to be a starter, I never said he should automatically take Gakpos place, I was arguing that we should keep Gakpo all summer whilst most wanted him moved on, I knew he'd be critical whilst Ekitike was out with Isak and Wirtz yet to find consistent form.

I simply said Barcola needs to fit in one way or another, whether its the left or the right doesn't matter to me, . we have 2 senior first team wingers, and 2 wings for them to play on, Iraola has always rotated his wingers, I fail to see an issue tbh.

19 Sep 2026 15:34:20
Barcola will play. Simple as. Whether Gakpo makes it into the 11 alongside him is the question. At the moment he will as he deserves to. Lets see if he can keep it up.

19 Sep 2026 16:39:16
Gakpo has obviously got to play if fit. I'm unbothered whether Barcola plays or not as he's shown nothing yet to be guaranteed a start, he may be a slow burner.

19 Sep 2026 16:49:43
Maybe Iraola will rotate them?

19 Sep 2026 20:05:47
@Ron Funk, Maybe Barcola is a poor finisher, IDK. But last season he had a higher shot and chance conversion rate than Olise and I don't see anybody always talking about him being a "poor finisher"

But Cody is showing up this season so far and fair play to him.

20 Sep 2026 06:53:57
Barcola has not taken Gapkos place Barcola has been on the right!!

19 Sep 2026 10:57:46
When we think Florian Wirtz, we envision a German Odengard to be honest. What is lacking is his physicality, aggression and that mentality to "grab the whole team by scruff of neck" to win.

I feel its a mentality thing, he should look at Odengard more.

19 Sep 2026 11:26:33
Who's this 'we' you speak of?

19 Sep 2026 11:29:18
I don't think they're anything alike at all to be honest, and I don't believe anybody envisions Wirtz as a German 'Odengard' either. It's Odegaard, by the way.

19 Sep 2026 11:30:04
Odegard is a pretty frigging low bar. He ain't even that good.

19 Sep 2026 11:42:49
You keep coming back, Leek, I'll give you that.

19 Sep 2026 11:50:07
Is it Leeks or Harry???

19 Sep 2026 11:59:54
It's Leek.

19 Sep 2026 12:38:13
Odengard? Isn't that where Thor lives?

19 Sep 2026 12:38:47
I am afraid so far Wirtz has been more like a German Harvey Elliott.
I really hope that once Iraola gets his tactics across fully, he really kicks on.
Just not seeing it up till now with Wirtz.

19 Sep 2026 12:48:10
Very funny thread. 😂.

19 Sep 2026 11:54:35
Hey pretty boy, are you new to football?

19 Sep 2026 13:23:14
@ LiverpoolFC8, that's Asgard for Thor, anyway Odegard is from Norway. Vikings.

I have. digress.

Still waiting for Bayer Leverkusen Florian Wirtz.

19 Sep 2026 13:15:51
Classic nonsense Leek post.

19 Sep 2026 13:24:23
That's Leek, Deisered. It's his alt account after his first one got banned.

19 Sep 2026 16:41:08
It is quite a nonsense thread, as they're not alike at all. We just need Wirtz to bring his best to the pitch more often, Bournemouth should suit him as they play quite open although the intensity of their play may be too much for him.

19 Sep 2026 13:21:19
Chewy and Patrick are on their time of month's bts.
I get what you mean. The team as a whole need to play a lot better. Unfortunately the "think they're superstars" Are really letting us down. Ed666 I thought was radical on his thoughts of the squad but he looks to be absolutely correct if andoni can't improve what we believe are "first team players".

19 Sep 2026 20:22:54
Anybody that watched Wirtz in the Bundesliga will know he was never a "grab the whole team by scruff of neck" player. He is, in my eyes, some king of Bernardo Silva- David Silva hybrid. that's his strength: movement, connecting play, interchanging positions, making the right dictions, technical ability with commitment and totally a team player above individual plays.

Maybe i'm in the minority, but for me he is instrumental to the way we move forward and our passing play and when we were good he was in the heart of thing ticking. Players of this ilk are valuable and hope it comes to fruition. He can do more, he can be better and should, but I don't expect him to be what he is not.

I could be wrong but I still believe we will have a very different conversation and view about what he brings to the team when this season is all said and done.

19 Sep 2026 10:49:54
So guys the most important question now, was that goal a volley? Or a half volley?

Ed033?

Please make this into a poll!

Ynwa.

{Ed033's Note -


Volley poll

19 Sep 2026 11:30:07
It's neither.

19 Sep 2026 11:36:21
Controlled volley.

19 Sep 2026 13:50:52
If it bounces it's not a volley.

19 Sep 2026 13:57:05
Easy way to tell -

Imagine you're playing a game of heads and volleys - would it be allowed?

Nope.

It was just a shot. Even half volley is incorrect because a half volley would be struck as the ball hits the floor for the first bounce.

19 Sep 2026 17:07:57
It was a goal end of.