Liverpool banter 5

11 Oct 2025 22:01:26
Questions to edd1

Have you heard about any cantract renewal for Slot?
I completely understand it in order to signal some workingspace for Slot, even if things does not work out, even if spending big this summer. I'm much more letting him turn this team into a machine, and then give him a new contract. We've not been in hurry to fire coaches even if they're in a very bad period.

Have you thought about letting your ideas about the state of the coaching, low intensity and playing with to many touches before going at the opposition. Or do you trust Slot to find out him self that this kind of football is not suited for the players awailable? Wirtz, Salah, Szobo, Ekitike, Isak as I see are much better playing in high intensity teams. All Ekitikes goals have come from playing quick and pressing.
I do think Slot have been good at altering things better during matches that Kloop was, just that maybe Klopp was better in creating a fearless unit, tormenting the opposition.
Do you trust Slot to somehow change a bit and going more for the throat than all this dull boring slow play, trying to avoid burning out players, which I personally think is bull. But the Guadiola fascination have somehow spread into every club in the premier league.

Do you think managers are too focused on avoiding injuries, even though an injury to one player should benefit another player.

The last one. Do you think Slot will sacrifice Salah and give Chiesa the chance in the nearby future, maybe even for the Manchester game?

{Ed001's Note - I have not heard of any renewal for him yet. They will give him time though, I am sure.

Slot is willing to change and adapt, so I am sure he will adapt his style anyway, even if it had worked immediately. So I am doubly sure he will be tinkering with it gradually to find a way of playing that works.

I think it makes sense to look at avoiding injuries, but you can't let it be to the detriment of results. The squad should be more than strong enough to provide cover.

Chiesa is best on the left, so I very much doubt that Salah will be dropped for him. It is more likely Frimpong would get the nod, if Slot decides Salah needs a break.}

12 Oct 2025 13:24:14
Like you, Ed. I hope Slot changes and tinkers less. I also agree that it is way too early to start rotating while still trying to bed in new players and a new system.

If you are playing well then, fine I can get into that esp. if the goal is to mitigate against injuries. In fact, that shows the foresight Slot has going into this season as he thinks the title will be tougher to win this season than last season. I fully back this argument.

However, he's going to have to find a settled structure, a settled team esp. backline, get the system that fits the strengths of the players right and go from there.

{Ed001's Note - I think you get it settled down first, then you start worrying about potential injuries in the future with rotation.}

12 Oct 2025 21:37:31
You have to consider what information he’s getting from the sports science dept too. If they are telling him certain players are undercooked and are at risk of injury he has to listen. If they are saying the team can’t handle 90 minutes at full pace safely yet he will alter his tactics accordingly.

In the first 5 games we were underwhelming yet we beat some very good teams so he had no reason to worry too much. We played at half pace and won. He tried something different against Palace and it backfired badly although we probably should’ve turned that game around in the second half after being fortunate to only be one down at the break.

The Gala game was a farce with the whistling from the crowd, the ridiculous penalty and the ref blowing his whistle every 30 seconds. It wasn’t even a football match.

The Chelsea game was one which could’ve gone either way. The major disappointment was that after we’d equalised we didn’t push on and put them under enough pressure.

My point is, after the first 2 losses I don’t think he would’ve been too bothered. His own fault against Palace and just a weird game against Gala. However, after the Chelsea game I think he’ll realise that more urgency is needed. This is the premier league if you invite teams into the game they will take advantage of it. Even the worst teams have good players who can hurt you if you allow them to.

We have to be more clinical both in attack and defence. I’m sure we will be.

13 Oct 2025 05:39:14
The bigger problem, it seems,
is the fact that we are finding it difficult to move the ball through the thirds right now, none of the players we have in midfield or defence are really passers besides Virgil and Dom, and our full backs are great carriers of the ball but they aren't really being asked to do that either.

It's been said so many times on here that Trent was a massive part of us being able to get the ball from defence through the thirds or out wide to attack the opposing third, robbo and Kostas were huge for us carrying the ball on the left as well. For people saying Kostas wasn't good enough to play for us, the stats don't lie, he was a more than decent option carrying and passing at left back. Kerkez can be superb for us, it's a matter of us playing to his strengths, right now he is having to stay close to the center halves and play short passes under pressure in build up, it's not his forte. Not saying he can't become much better at that over time, I'm sure he will because he is young and a great footballer, but that's not his strength right now.

The fact is that we really miss Trent right now, and we didn't replace him with a similar style of player in defence or midfield, so we have to gradually figure out how to progress the ball in a different way, Madrid had a similar problem when they lost kroos and I'm still convinced that Trent was brought in to fix exactly that problem. Macca lacking match fitness and not having a natural inclination for receiving with his back to goal under pressure also means wirtz has to drop much deeper often to get us up the field as well.

Right now the likes of mo and isak look pretty marooned for the most part, isak without Murphy feeding him every chance he got and mo without Trent and Dom. We have a plethora of incredible attacking players but until we figure out how to connect the dots between the thirds they are going to struggle more than usual. I'm sure slot is working hard to figure that out, and they can very much be fixed.

11 Oct 2025 21:24:16
Hi Ed001,
I saw that Rob Page recently came out and said that he believes Danns would be the next No9 for England afyer Harry Kane. That's very high praise and not something he explicitly needed to say unless he truly felt it. Danns has had a tough time with injuries recently but he has always looked impressive when he has played for us (apart from the PSV game) . I wanted tonask if you know how highly he is thought of generally in football circles, and is he really that big a talent? I hope he recovers quickly from his new hamstring injury.

{Ed001's Note - he is very highly rated, which is why he has had chances. Not so sure he will be the next no 9 though, I would think there will be someone in between, even if he does reach that level.}

11 Oct 2025 21:39:46
Fair enough, thanks Ed. Hopefully he can get over these injury struggles and get the chance to play for us regularly.

{Ed001's Note - I hope so too as he should have a very bright future.}

12 Oct 2025 02:39:33
I heard a rumour which I hope isn’t true that he needs hamstring surgery.

12 Oct 2025 08:06:52
Funny his playing style always reminded of harry kane. On what I've seen he looks potentially super player but I just fear all these injuries have set him back too far to ever make it as a starting lfc player.

12 Oct 2025 13:26:05
That kid's got talent and the goals he scores are real quality cos he knows the right finish to apply depending on the situation. Very essential. Hopefully, he makes the cut.

11 Oct 2025 13:17:03
Konate on his way back to Liverpool with an injury. 🤦🏻‍♂️ hopefully it’s not to serious but also good tp have Gomez and Virg get some games together.

11 Oct 2025 15:04:29
Quadriceps.

12 Oct 2025 07:47:33
I thought Konate had a knock before the international break.

12 Oct 2025 13:26:49
Me, too Faith. Not sure why he even went. I guess Gomez is up.

11 Oct 2025 07:29:04
I always remember Klopp used to give almost hald a season to new signings to train and bed in with new team surrounding and tactics. e. g. Fab, Robbo.
I think we ideally would have liked to do same now. but the amount we spent on the new players meant the expecatiations was they will hit the ground running.

11 Oct 2025 10:06:12
Not sure that the cost of the plater makes him match fit, it’s more a case that Frimpong, Kerkez, Wirtz, Ekitike and now Isak are all getting regular game time and 5 new starters (half a team) can’t all be expected to gel and be up to speed on what Slot wants. It was a really good effort to not play well and win their first 7 competitive matches. They’ll do ok.

11 Oct 2025 10:14:27
Don’t think he gave half a season to Sadio Mane or Salah. Mane was bought from Southampton similar to Kerkez and Isak and he was terrific. Got us into the CL all by himself.
Fabinho and Robertson were the only two players that took time to settle to my memory. The rest showed instant impact.

11 Oct 2025 10:15:17
Exactly BHAV. I think some here are being very drastic with their calls for major formation changes etc.

I think the issues are much more minimal than the need for major changes. minimal changes can make a big difference. None of this is a shocker with the new players and first team coach. I know the club won't panic and give it time. We should also.

11 Oct 2025 11:20:28
I think only Fabinho, Robbo and Endo fall into that category mate. The rest of Klopps successful signings more or less went straight in.

I don’t believe though that any of them went into a side that had 40%-50% of new outfield players so I think that’s more of a factor.

11 Oct 2025 11:57:35
I think the criticism is on a broader scale. Rather than pinpoint a certain player, it’s more Why are we so slow and passing it around the back creating Zero chances?

11 Oct 2025 12:15:24
I think it’s more tactical. Slow build up making us easy to play against.

11 Oct 2025 12:29:31
If you're only slotting one or two players into an established system with established patterns of play and understanding between players then it makes sense that it's easier to accomplish, a moment's hesitation makes a massive difference at the top level, especially in situations that require split second decisions or instinctive execution, like in transition, which requires you to play the ball into a space that you know your team mate will be in.

The quality of our players is such that we can win games or create moments of inspiration even when we are disjointed and the chemistry between individual players is still forming, like isak's layoff for Cody or Flo's for Salah, but I'm sure things are progressing fast.

11 Oct 2025 12:53:04
We have changed a lot of the patterns from last season.
We are trying to inbed new players, and new patterns and it looks sloppy atm.
I said at the start if the season that if we were in around the top after 8-10 games, I thought we'd go on and win it again.

11 Oct 2025 14:07:45
I do think people just remember the likes of Robbo and Fabinho and their brain tells them that Klopp always eased players in.

In actual fact he did nothing of the sort. Virgil, Matip, Wijnaldum, Milner, Keita, Nunez, Mane, Salah, Macca, Szob, Ali, Jota off the top of my head all went straight into the first team.

You could argue he held Konate back but we bought him as a young centre back with the idea of developing him.

With the latest crop I don’t think there is a way to hold them all back as they have all been signed to replace first team players who have left. For example, if we still had Diaz and Elliot and the Jota tragedy hadn’t happened then there would be no need to throw Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak in straight away. As it is we need them up to speed so they have to play as much as possible.

We just need to stop overthinking it and be patient. It’ll come.

11 Oct 2025 15:39:03
However you cut it, we're in a mini-transition.

Klopp's fullbacks were the key playmakers in the team for the last 7 years. We now have total change there. The new guys need time to settle.

Trent's ability to pick out a team mate anywhere on the pitch was a superpower. We have to change our game to accommodate his loss.

MacAllister was our best midfielder last season, and he's not even turned up yet. He clearly needs to find his fitness and form ASAP.

Our whole game last season was about getting Mo more of the ball so he can do what he's great at doing. Trent, Virg and Darwin were Mo's biggest suppliers. We are not getting Mo enough of the ball. Hopefully we recognise and change that quickly. Mo did get a lot more of the ball in the second half of the Chelsea game - even if his decision making was off.

For some reason we have changed Gravy's game again. In his interview he said that this season he's being given more license to go forward. I assume this is to avoid the fact that the opposition figured out Gravy's role in our build up in the second half of last season. Whatever the plan is here, it needs refining.

Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz are new. They are too good to not settle down and perform.

Lastly, and I know some will not like it, but Cody's ceiling is there on show now Lucho has gone. I don't think he's in bad form. I just think this is broadly is level. A good bench option, but probably not the answer for the left wing. The promise we have made to Rio better be worth it.

Slot has the grey matter in that glorious shiny head of his to get it right.

11 Oct 2025 18:22:43
Keita was eased in over 5 years.

12 Oct 2025 00:08:10
Stuie. Definite truth about that. Either that or he eased himself out over 5 years.

12 Oct 2025 02:38:47
Until Isak is fully fit, Ekitike should be starting. He's clearly the best option right now. Szobozlai should be taking Maccas midfield spot and let Wirtz do his thing.

12 Oct 2025 13:32:56
"Got us into the CL all by himself. ".

False. Sadio did nothing of the sort in his first season and we weren't even in Europe in the 16/ 17 season.

Secondly, Sadio did not lead us to any of the CL finals we made under Klopp "all by himself". Sorry, that didn't happen. It was a team effort including the fans who hureled their lungs out roaring the team on in the home second leg vs Barca. Just saying.

13 Oct 2025 16:08:34
People will have forgotten but Firmino his first 6 months albeit some under Rodgers was really awful. Things will click.

11 Oct 2025 07:05:03
Hello ed1 hope u well. I read reports that ekitike played in a front 2 for france last nite along with mbappe. Do u think eventually we will go with ekitike and isak as a 2 up top? Wirtz playing behind them, use your full backs as your width which with current full backs we have probably suits them.
Obviously that would be leaving salah out which I don't think is going to happen soon but will at some point.
France where playing Azerbaijan so no comparison to a tough premier league game but I would think having watched ekitike 1st few games for us and having watched isak for a long time they too good not to be playing once both 100% fit.

{Ed001's Note - not while we only have 2 strikers are we going to play both up top regularly.}

12 Oct 2025 13:16:42
Could gakpo, chiesa and even mo play as back up ed1?
The 4 4 3 isn't working anymore, the loss of trent passing at rb have obviously stunted our build from the back method. The loss of Diaz on lw is worse. Would a 4132 system not suit us currently? Or a 4222 even. Either way we need to mix things up a bit.

{Ed001's Note - the system is not the issue, it is the way we are playing that causes the problems.}

11 Oct 2025 03:38:21
Ed001
Just out of interest, what do you make of Livramento at Newcastle as a RB. I think he is a really good player, would have been a better fit than Frimpong for me. I still worry that Bradley is not good enough and in fact, not premier league standard so I think this is an area the club may revisit next summer?

{Ed001's Note - too many injuries. He has had a fair few serious ones already, which is likely to lead to more in the future.}

11 Oct 2025 18:03:08
That’s a shame, he is good on his day.

12 Oct 2025 13:33:44
I like him, personally.