Liverpool banter 4

06 Nov 2025 00:55:00
Flo played well on the left but I still think his place is left of a midfield four like Coutinho used to play
We still need a wide player in my opinion and possibly two as Salah has been grim this season and will go this summer or next anyhow.
Barcola on the left and Olise on the right would be lethal.

06 Nov 2025 08:35:09
Wirtz is just one of those players who you need to give a free role too, otherwise you waste his talent by shackling him into a rigid tactical approach.

He will work as hard as anyone else for the team still, but you need to give him that freedom to go where the space is and crop up in all sorts of positions as that makes him impossible to mark.

We saw against Madrid, that although he was playing on the left on paper, he was regularly cropping up on the right to slide a ball across for Dom, or tackle Huijsen by the right corner flag etc.

At Leverkusen he played like this, on the left of a front 3 but with total freedom, and he was unplayable. It's about time we got him back to that. Yes, he can play as a 10 or a false 9, but those are not the roles where he is a £100m player. Those are just role he can do a job in.

Coutinho is a decent comparison to an extent because he also needed a free role to really thrive in possession. The difference is, that Wirtz is also a grafter, something Coutinho never was. He'll press, he'll track back, he'll fly into tackles etc.

We've seen many players like this down the years (Ronaldinho, Payet, Nedved, Hazard etc) who playing off the left with total positional freedom are absolutely world class, but if you forced them into something more rigid it stifled their game completely. Very few players like this work as hard as Wirtz though, which is what really sets him apart. You don't need to coach a player like Wirtz. Put him on the pitch and let him play. Mavericks should not be shackled.

06 Nov 2025 08:45:39
Coutinho was left of a front 3 when at his best at Liverpool. We signed Salah, moved Mane to the left and tried Coutinho in the midfield and he was shocking.

I do think Coutinho was more of an attacker than Wirtz is though. Wirtz has a better engine and can get about the pitch. If he improves his physicality he could play in our midfield. Think Macca with more ability on the ball.

His physicality was much better against Real but can he do it on a rainy Tuesday night at the Emirates?

06 Nov 2025 09:30:00
Flo will eventually be the 10.

06 Nov 2025 10:17:01
Back the squad as is.

06 Nov 2025 10:22:51
Great post mk, my sentiments exactly.

06 Nov 2025 10:35:45
I think Wirtz already had a free role overall vs RM even tho, he started on the left on paper. He popped up on the right combining with Macca and Ekitike as much as he was on the right combining with Szobo which led to him laying that ball on a plate for Szobo that Courtois saved.

Now I do agree that Wirtz will eventually end up centrally in the 10 as I think that he is starting wide right now to drift in-field to create and combine cos it suits our setup right now, IMO.

06 Nov 2025 11:47:09
The thing is that wirtz' favored position actually is out wide or in the left half space even though he might start as a central attacking midfielder on paper.

A lot of times for Leverkusen he was picking up the ball on the inside left channel or all the way out wide near the touchline and then coming inside, he would also drift right in his free role on occasion, but the thing is that he was playing with two central forwards in boniface and schick who would rotate with him based on where he liked to go, frimpong as a super wide wing back pushed up the field and grimaldo staying wide or coming inside or holding back depending on frimpong.

Right now starting him on the left does kind of make sense, because he won't be tasked with as much responsibility off the ball, and because Dom's way of playing the 10 is so critical to how we press right now, he is like a non stop pressing machine closing down the keeper, center backs, and midfielders all at once.

06 Nov 2025 13:13:37
The Coutinho comparisons should end.
Not only are they very different players, but Wirtz is MUCH better than Coutinho ever was, other than the long-range strikes.
I’m saying this to anyone who’ll kindly listen: Wirtz will be the best player in the league next season.

{Ed025's Note - big shout that Lowe, you do know that Grealish and Ndiaye will be in that league as well dont you mate.. :)

06 Nov 2025 13:52:49
"The thing is that wirtz' favored position actually is out wide or in the left half space even though he might start as a central attacking midfielder on paper. "


This is indeed very true, PB. As for being in defensive transition, Wirtz was very effective in his work rate and pressing at Leverkusen. So him running his legs off covering spaces and pressing effective vs RM, was no surprise to me, personally.

06 Nov 2025 13:47:00
Steady on @25, it’s not 100% certain that the “People’s team’ will be in the same league next season, let alone any of the players 😉.

{Ed025's Note - i would expect we will WDW, this season is just the start of the re-build mate and it is only going to get better from here.. :)

06 Nov 2025 14:01:19
Big fan of Ndiaye, Ed. He’s a quality player.
You never know, might even get a move across town someday ;)

{Ed025's Note - hes very good Lowe but needs a bit more help i feel mate, that will come i expect and he would be a great replacement for Mo but once this club has touched your heart there is nowhere else to go.. :)

06 Nov 2025 14:59:05
Will they be playing in Everton blue or city blue ed25?

{Ed025's Note - there is only one shade of blue that matters John...the royal one, its the colour of kings and queens mate.. :)

06 Nov 2025 18:56:11
As Derek Trotter famously said “This time next year …” @25 👍.

{Ed025's Note - i will feel like a millionaire on Saturday WDW, im going to my first game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium mate.. :)

05 Nov 2025 21:32:35
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 10 - Quick Round Up

05 Nov 2025 21:46:48
Cheers Tris. Good point about Robbo, same last night as Flo did more than enough to track back and help out. We have missed that since Diaz left. I like Cody but his work rate is nowhere near Diaz or Flo on that left side. Robbo looked buzzed last night to have more of an outlet.

05 Nov 2025 21:51:11
Thanks Ed. Nice to see you highlight Dan Ballard, so far this season he has been superb.

Would love your opinion on a few players if you have time? Alex Scott at Bournemouth has caught my eye, and a few times I've watched Fulham it seems Josh King has a lot of talent, although maybe a bit light weight. Have you watched any of these lads this season?

{Ed001's Note - I would say Scott was lightweight, King is wiry strong but dives. Scott is ok, but for me he needs to put himself about more. King is skilful and quick but needs to stay on his feet in the box as he already is getting a rep for throwing himself over ala Grealish and Tarkowski.}

05 Nov 2025 22:34:37
That looked like 2019 Robbo last night. Unbelievable performance. Sometimes all it takes is competition, Kerkez has come in and not really impressed yet, and Robbo has responded

I think we might see a sharper Gakpo also, now Wirtz has impressed out wide, he’s under threat. And we all know how much Cody and Diaz pushed eachother last season.

06 Nov 2025 10:39:42
I agree, Ed. The Wolves manager benching ballers like Andre and Joao Gomes alone deserved the sack.

05 Nov 2025 19:46:28
Much much better the last few games. There could be a few reasons for that .

Firstly Slot looks to have changed tact somewhat and the slow side ways passing and slack press seems to have gone. Back to something like the intensity and speed of passing we are used to. Secondly neither Villa or Madrid played the way that has troubled Liverpool these last few months. Thirdly the team was at home . City on Sunday will be a huge test however .

I very much doubt Pep will play a low block ( or flat back 10 as it used to known) and lots of long balls so that may work in Liverpool favour. It is at the Etihad which I've never found to be the most intimidating away ground when I've been there but its still an away game. The main worry is Haaland. Remove him from that City team and they are no where near the side we've seen in recent years but he is there and is a machien. I feel he will need to have an off day Sunday as stopping him is not really possible at the moment he's just on a hot streak and scoring for fun. If he doesn't play well we will win comfortably. If he does play well he will score. I feel the game could be a high scoring draw and game of the season so far . Don't rule out Pep going long a lot more to Haaland to try and disrupt Liverpool . Poor Haaland performance 3-1 win. Good Haaland performance 3-3 draw. Lookong foward to the game massively.

05 Nov 2025 20:03:26
Good job Slot didn't get sacked after the Palace game right?

05 Nov 2025 22:02:49
Van Dijk has Haaland’s number. And City can never be written off.

But they did lose to Villa, who are apparently rubbish (because we beat them) .

05 Nov 2025 22:20:51
Haaland gets nullified every time we play them. Van Dyke is all over him.

05 Nov 2025 23:31:23
Thunderbird. If slot persisted with the way we played for the last 6/ 7 games prior to our 2 wins . how long do you think he would've lasted.

06 Nov 2025 10:42:39
Slot would have gotten sacked eventually (whenever that would be? I don't know) had he been playing the same way. That much we do know.

He did the right thing and swallowed his pride and ego and I applaud him for that BUT let's not act like Slot was going to survive had he been playing the empty midfield/ horseshoe nonsense we were seeing initially.

05 Nov 2025 17:37:09
We've taken to calling Dom Duracell bunny in our house now, what a engine and great to see the shooting shackles removed, how many MotM performances so far this season.

05 Nov 2025 18:02:57
I was at the game last night first of all the atmosphere was amazing.
The amount of work Both Dom and grav do off the ball is incredible neither of them ever stop both played very well.
I know Connor will get all the plaudits and rightly so but my personal MOM was Florian his energy, work rate and effort was second to none every time he picks the ball up his first thought was to progress forwards .

I was disappointed with Salah I thought his body language looked a tad off and end product did not come off fir him last night .

05 Nov 2025 19:30:12
I like that, Idontlooklikeklopp. As for MOTM, if you have that many MOTM candidates to choose from then, you know it was a good day at the office. Personally, I can't pick one.

As for Salah, I didn't think his body language was off at all. I thought he worked hard and the ball stuck with him a lot more. His off the ball work was better, as well. Then again, Im not a body language expert.

05 Nov 2025 19:43:22
These body language experts are hilarious.

05 Nov 2025 16:06:42
Is it just me or has anyone really seen Bellingham play that good. Every time I see him he is bang average Rice absolutely dominated him twice last season now twice we have played against him and nothing even city last season when they went out to them he was crap.
Just another vastly overrated English player.

05 Nov 2025 16:10:29
Could he be another of those supremely talented teenagers who get everything they want too early and so just don’t kick on?

The lad has ability, no question but I agree Grino I’m always underwhelmed whenever I watch him.

05 Nov 2025 17:49:19
First time I saw Bellingham play was last season against us.
I haven’t watched England since 2014.
My 2nd viewing of him was last night.
I don’t see the hype to be honest

Would he better our midfield?

05 Nov 2025 18:12:50
That German league can elevate average players into world class.

05 Nov 2025 19:01:27
Lol, how can you write off a 22 year old because he didn't light it up in the few games you've watched him play?

And yes, he would better our midfield.

The PL bias runs deep here. You do realize most players in the PL came from other leagues, including "that German League". maybe look up how many on LFC alone came from "that German League".

05 Nov 2025 19:03:46
I would agree with that Ron 👍.

05 Nov 2025 19:34:06
I've seen Jude play well several times with RM. And tones of players have come to the PL and rocked it. LFC alone has its fair share with Szobo, Matip, Bobbie and even Endo for a spell there. Oh, and don't forget Ekitike.

The PL bias does run deep, as RedMob said.

05 Nov 2025 19:52:01
Didn’t write him off
Genuinely asked a legitimate question.

Don’t feel the need to be ripped for not having an opinion.
I’ll ask somewhere were I won’t get ripped into

Cheers all.

05 Nov 2025 20:28:18
Seen him play good loads of times
Wtf lol.

06 Nov 2025 00:26:41
So many snowflakes on these pages who throw a tantrum the moment their opinion gets torn into. Gazza, you say you have only watched him twice and don't see the hype. That's an opinion based in a very small sample, is it not? And many on here don't agree with that.

Imo, he was a very good player before he moved to RM but he grew a big head there, thinking that he's better than he actually is. His attitude was good in his first season with RM, but I felt that since the beginning of last season, it has been very poor. No one likes a player who strops around the field with a sulk in their face. It is possibly due to the laissez faire approach Ancellotti had and he is still young so hopefully Alonso can shake him out of it.

Would he improve our midfield? I would say it depends on whether we get the version that was fresh out of Dortmund or if we got the current one. Imo, Klopp would have been a very good manager for him when he left Dortmund, much better than Ancellotti was and Jude may have been an even better midfielder if he had come to us. But then again, that's just my opinion.

06 Nov 2025 01:27:19
I must have missed Endo rocking the PL.

De Bruyne is the best player to move from the Bundesliga to the PL.
He was world class and one of the best players of the PL era.

06 Nov 2025 04:52:01
Bellingham is top class, simple as that. His first touch, passing and physicality are all of an elite standard. The only thing he lacks for now is intensity, in my opinion. I think he is trying to model his game on Zidane, who was absolutely amazing in slower tempo matches, like internationals, where his sheer quality dictated the entire game, but was sometimes overrun against very intense or tactical teams.

06 Nov 2025 06:04:20
All I said was on the two occasions I have seen him play against us I wasn’t impressed.
Then a question of would he better our midfield as I don’t have enough information to form a answer.

Wow. It really is a sad state that a question can’t be answered on here without being politely answered
LoweLFC. Thank you bud. All I was asking for was a response to a question.

06 Nov 2025 09:32:10
I’ve never seen him dominate a game or drag his team with him the way Gerrard would do. To my mind he has no leadership qualities as he’s very self centred. Have seen him throw the toys out the pram and have a hissy fit plenty of times when things aren’t going his way. Personally don’t think he’s anywhere near as disciplined or tactically aware in the way that someone like Gravenberch is.

You couldn’t sit Bellingham as a number 6 because he lacks the awareness and discipline to do it. He’s a good footballer, don’t get me wrong, but not the second coming of Gerrard by a very long way. I do think he is very anonymous in big games.

06 Nov 2025 10:53:55
Rigsby yeah, you did. Were you watching him at all or were you in hiding behind your sofa whenever he was playing? Endo was getting rave revies for a few months after his integration in the 23/ 24 season and was getting rave reviews by many on here and in the fan base hence, why he was a cult hero back then.

The guy dogwalked Caicedo and Endo in the EFL final vwith an MOTM perf., made KDB cry to his mommy Pep, went toe to toe with Rodri and Rice at Anfield. Oh, and scored a banger that started the comeback vs Fulham at Anfield.

Is that Endo rocking it for ya cos there's a lot more facts where all the above came from?

06 Nov 2025 11:30:26
Well Lowe 1fc Bellingham did not show any of the attributes you mentioned in your post in our match. I have watched number of Madrid games and the lad just does not get me on the edge of my seat i think he is bang average Rogers of Aston Villa has more about him than Bellingham .


Steven Gerrard would of walked into any era of LFC teams Bellingham would not get into many Madrid eras. I think Bellingham maybe a better center back. YNWA.

05 Nov 2025 14:38:26
You know how I said I wanted Trent booed and I'm glad he was, not just for the stringing the fans along while learning Spanish. It's the fact he thinks we would take him back. The hour after doing the press conference in Spanish I would have of called our own press conference and un retired the 66 shirt number.

05 Nov 2025 14:51:26
The 66 shirt wasn't retired though, was it? So a bit of a waste to call for a press conference to mum-retire a shirt that wasn't even retired in the first place ;)

05 Nov 2025 14:57:23
You're a very bitter person and it will get you nowhere!

05 Nov 2025 15:09:44
I don't think it is retired, John.

05 Nov 2025 15:15:44
The worse thing for me is actually the coverage round it, for instance on the radio this morning the story was 'Trent gets hostile reception' rather than Liverpool beat Madrid. People acting like we are the worse people on earth for booing him. Btw I think booing is the most childish way to show any dissatisfaction, it's hardly hurtful.

The whole Trent thing has been spoken about long enough, but to every Liverpool fan he had it all. Played for our club, was winning trophies and getting paid handsomely to do so so of course it'll sting if he throws it away, to play for a club that historically has had our number. He made his bed and now he can lie in it. Maybe when his career his done he may get a different reaction but until then he plays for a rival and will get treated as such.

05 Nov 2025 15:28:51
I often stand outside the local college booing the students that are learning Spanish.
Well, it's mainly the pretty young girls that string me along when they smile back at me but then refuse to go out with me.

05 Nov 2025 15:30:25
He lost me when he tried to make the trophy presentation all about him, going around with a sour puss on him and bawling his eyes out.

Nunez had to know he was as good as gone and he could at least smile.

05 Nov 2025 15:38:13
It's funny that he's living rent free in your head.

05 Nov 2025 16:13:21
I couldn’t care less about Trent to be honest. He’s gone and good luck to him.

I did think it was lunacy from Alonso to put him on last night though. It just got the crowd up and made Madrid’s job much harder.

05 Nov 2025 16:24:17
Jotas shirt was retired for obvious reasons not Trent.

05 Nov 2025 17:01:16
Daamn Rigbsy, that is hilarious!

05 Nov 2025 19:36:05
"It's the fact he thinks we would take him back. "


And where is this fact coming from? Source (s), perhaps?

05 Nov 2025 20:29:24
His interview on Prime is crack-up. There’s no way the bro only started learning Spanish in March lol.

05 Nov 2025 23:54:06
I’m surprised that anybody is still talking about this. People really do need to get out and about. A nice walk in the fresh air costs nothing and improves your general health.

06 Nov 2025 10:55:21
Nice one, WDW. Also, the constant and gratuitous smearing of Trent is what I personally have a problem with.

07 Nov 2025 00:22:03
WDW - well, weren't talking about it. Then Real Madrid played Liverpool marking his return to Anfield.
And then Prime released an interview with him the week of the match
Not like it just came out of thin air.