Liverpool banter 5

10 Dec 2025 14:56:00
Ed001 What are your views on Slot regarding his man management skills. The way he dismisses likes of Endo, Chiesa and until absolutely needed Gomez. Apparently there has been zero contact with Elliott since his loan. Rio barely gets a minute and obviously what Salah suggested about no relationship.

{Ed001's Note - I am not happy with his man management at all, it seems pretty much non-existent.}

10 Dec 2025 15:23:27
Thinking the same mate tbh. let's hope he doesn't alienate anyone else important.

10 Dec 2025 15:25:40
He is a coach not a manager. He does not exude confidence, makes far too many excuses and is welded to this slow paced vision he has for the game, which is not suited to the prem.

10 Dec 2025 17:05:23
He’s a walking Dutch stereotype. Charisma doesn’t tend to be their strong point from the ones I’ve worked with, good folks but very blunt honestly not much else to them.

10 Dec 2025 16:46:27
Ed, let's also not forget how influential Heitinga was in the DR as the bridge btw the players and Slot cos you said the players like communicating with him better cos Slot seemed distant thru last season.

{Ed001's Note - yes, he is a huge miss, but that is just an excuse as Slot could have brought someone else in to do the same role.}

10 Dec 2025 17:09:21
Doesnt rate the first three so why play them unless necessary? For all intents and purposes Elliotts move to Villa was a permanent one. No one could have foreseen Emery taking the absolute p. outa Harvey and Rio is a kid who has had a lot of top level exposure for his age.

He was getting minutes at the start when we were going well but many a manager would keep a 17 year old on the bench when his job is on the line.

{Ed025's Note - as i see it FM villa dont want to trigger Elliot,s clause where if he plays more than 10 games they are obliged to buy him mate..

10 Dec 2025 19:10:10
Thats exactly what's happening Ed, but like i said no one would have thought Harvey Elliott would not make 10 appearances for Villa in all comps. He must have made twice that for us last year when we were champions.

10 Dec 2025 19:12:41
That’s why his man-management is poor in FM. He refuses to give certain players a chance in the first team, even though the ones currently starting in their positions have been awful all season. Gomez could easily have played instead of Konate but instead we’ve had to watch Konate making mistakes week after week.

Chiesa has practically been saving us all season and he has yet to start any games for us this season bar once in EFL cup. This lack of rotation, poor man-management or stubbornness, whatever you want to call it, has left us sitting 10th in the league. With only Wolves and Burnley having worse run of form than us, and both sitting at 19th and last place in the table.

10 Dec 2025 20:45:38
You want him to mange us, when we're clearly in a mess. And still follow up with players on loan with obligation?

There's plenty to complain about with Slot but I'm sure there is a whole backroom staff to keep in touch not him personally. Also he did say he spoke to him, but not as frequent as you'd like.

I don't think he's going to turn it around mind, but let's not just find things to be mad about that if we weren't in such a bad spell you wouldn't care.

11 Dec 2025 00:31:48
to be fair, Mo said that he did have a relationship with the manager, and then it changed.

10 Dec 2025 14:52:18
Hopefully not tactless, but I was wondering how much Salah would go for when/ if he is sold?

The only reason I ask is because, on the live chat, I made a point that I think Salah would likely go for 30 million, as opposed to the 100+ million Al-Hilal submitted a season or 2 ago. Others disagreed, believing Salah would go for 50 million, one even said closer to 100 million. I just can't see it being anywhere close to 100 million. No chance.

According to Ben Jacobs, the clubs interested are: Al Hilal, NEOM and Al-Quadiash. I know the Saudi project is beginning to wind down, with numerous clubs available for purchase, which the private investment fund no longer wants to bankroll, but even then Salah would be highly sought after.

So, how much do people think Salah will go for?

10 Dec 2025 15:10:59
Hughes will bleed them dry, if there's one thing the silver tongued cunning linguist is good at, its that.

90M.

10 Dec 2025 15:14:13
30-40 million I'd say.

10 Dec 2025 16:47:10
We have no leverage here as we are the ones bombing him out so yeah, 40m as @Salah said.

10 Dec 2025 17:02:38
A hundred thousand times what that spitting guy is worth.

10 Dec 2025 16:31:37
The same way Newcastle saddled him for isak Mrbrightside.

10 Dec 2025 16:37:12
I'd snap their hand off, if they offered £40 million plus.

10 Dec 2025 19:08:45
Whatsup I think we can safely say that Newcastle didn’t want to sell Isak so to suggest they ripped us off is laughable.

Hughes was tasked with signing the very best number 9 he could and nobody could argue that’s exactly what he did.

Isak was a dream signing that no one thought was possible but Hughes somehow managed to pull it off. He shouldn’t now get criticised just because Isak hasn’t hit the ground running.

10 Dec 2025 21:30:55
I personally think (and I said so in a post a few days back) that Salah will go for around £60-£70m, and therefore a similar transfer fee that Semenyo would cost us.

I'm basing this on a couple of things, the PR that is going out about Liverpool not being interested in selling which will (hopefully) increase the price for the Saudi clubs who are interested in signing him now.

Mo is also on £20m a year, so for LFC (excluding agents fees etc etc - RIP ED002) they could swap Salah for Semenyo and save at least £10m per year in wages.

10 Dec 2025 14:47:59
There are rumours going around that Alonso could be sacked if Real Madrid lose tonight. Interesting if true. Maybe that's what we've been waiting for?

10 Dec 2025 15:15:13
Like a kid looking at the sky on Xmas eve hoping to see Mr. Clause.

10 Dec 2025 17:06:00
About right, FM.

10 Dec 2025 16:48:27
Salah, cos he is sacked doesn't man he is going to come to us directly. Lots of clubs out there who would take him. Failing at RM is not a death blow to your career for obv. reasons, IMO.

10 Dec 2025 17:03:29
More chance of getting a chewie from Roy.

10 Dec 2025 15:46:07
You would think that a conversation would at least be had, Alonso might want some time out until the end of the season. It might be a now or never for the club to get him if they really wanted him. It doesn't feel to me as Slot is going to be the long term manager here even if results improve.

I am not too concerned about his performance at RM, from what I have heard is that he has tried to instill more professionalism in the club and players and it has not gone down well. Players going above his head to Perez and making life difficult.

10 Dec 2025 13:38:48
Watching the game last night with a couple of mates and Just moving away from the monotony of the Slott in, Slott out or Mo stays or goes for a bit I mentioned how drab the modern day match comms are these days - not just football but the comms on most sports I like .
So for a bit of fun I put down my 3 favourite match comms and moments that I’ve witnessed heard or watched - and yes I’m showing my
age!

1 - Coleman and Banks save against Pele in Mexico 70
2 - Cliff Morgan - Gareth Edwards try for the Ba Bas v the all blacks
3 - Harry Carpentrer - the rumble in the jungle when Ali knocks out Foremsm.

10 Dec 2025 14:10:42
I watched the Gareth Edwards try only the other day. You've come up with 3 classics there, Bristol. "They think it's all over" Kenneth Wilstenholme, has to get a mention, also. Not a massive rugby fan, but Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal, Ian Robertson commentary. I'll come back with a 3rd.

10 Dec 2025 14:36:54
Wolstenholme nearly got in for me Rome with the comms on Brazil’s 4th goal in 70 -Carlos Alberto.

10 Dec 2025 14:43:45
"Mellor, lovely cushioned header, for GERRARD! "

"OHHHH YA BEAUTY! "

"WHAT A HIT SON! "

"WHAT. A. HIT. ".

10 Dec 2025 14:44:05
As I’m Irish, I have to put this one in.
George Hamilton commentary for Dave O’Learys penalty in Italia 90 for RTE.
As O’Leary was about to strike the ball ( a winning penalty would send Ireland to the Quarter-Finals at our very first World Cup finals appearance) George uttered the immortal line ;
“O’Leary vs Timofte…. A nation holds its breath…”.

10 Dec 2025 15:04:43
Little Archie Gemmill waltzing through the Holland defence.

10 Dec 2025 15:05:00
MK -, that was going through my mind as well mate

Colemans comms were iconic though. He was on the Mik for a few of our great games -73 UEFA cup final and the 74 cup final!
“Goals pay the rent and Keegan pays his share”!

10 Dec 2025 17:04:15
“And that’s why he’s the greatest player in the world! ” Maradona 86 vs. England.

10 Dec 2025 15:37:50
The great Peter O’Sullevan calling home the even greater Red Rum at Aintree in 1977.

10 Dec 2025 15:48:48
No particular moments but commentators Alan Green, Mike Ingham, Peter Jones, Barry Davies ("that's nice, that's McDermott and that's a goal! ") . Ok, one moment.

Murray Walker has to get a mention as does the ever smooth Peter Alliss.

Mike Costello another whilst Reg Gutteridge and Jim Watt made a fine double act.

Modern day commentators are soulless. A recent montage of clips an 5 Live ahead of the recent Chelsea Barcelona game were all Alan Green and all infused with a ferocity and passion of delivery that is sorely lacking today.

10 Dec 2025 16:19:15
George Hamilton, RTE "The Spanish manager is pulling his captain off! ".

{Ed025's Note - i remember one of the commentators saying at the boat race in 1977 "now here is the chairmans wife going to kiss the cox of the winning side".. :)

10 Dec 2025 17:29:40
Can’t remember who the athlete was and I think it was Coleman who uttered the immortal line just before he crossed the winning line.
“He opened up his legs and showed his class”.

10 Dec 2025 18:20:54
Gaga3, it was attributed to Coleman but was in fact Ron Pickering. It was about Juanterana, the Cuban athlete.

10 Dec 2025 19:15:33
Ally McCoist on Konate a couple of years ago ‘whoever plays right back for Liverpool must feel good with the big man inside them’.

10 Dec 2025 19:55:19
Has to be Barry Davies, on BBC1, during the whole of the 1977 European Cup Final but especially his iconic words, following Phil Neal's penalty, to make it 3-1, "With such simplicity, the European Cup surely is won". Still, for me, the greatest night in Liverpool's fine history.

10 Dec 2025 20:27:41
The batsman's Holding the bowlers Willey.
Infamous cricket commentary from West indies Micharl Holding v England's Peter Willey. followed by minutes of commentators hysterics.

10 Dec 2025 21:43:57
Continuing the cricket theme with another Johnners quote:

"He couldn't quite get his leg over" - referring to Ian Botham swivelling to try to hit a ball, stumbling over the wickets and just catching a bail with his thigh.

Let to 3 minutes of just hilarious laughter - including "oh Aggers" - as Johnners and Aggers both peeing themselves with laughter!

I was privileged to hear it live on TMS as I was heading somewhere with my parents in the car.

Some other notable Johnners quotes:

"The bowlers Holding the batsmans Willey" - apparently he didn't actually say it, his son said (when writing his biography) that it was too good a pun to pass over!

"There's Neil Harvey standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle"

Said about Peter Pollock from SA who had broken his ankle "He’s obviously in great pain. It’s especially bad luck as he is here on his honeymoon with his pretty young wife. Still, he’ll probably be all right tomorrow if he sticks it up tonight. "

Would've loved to have met the bloke, and amazing that his proteges - Aggers and Blowers - have had such long careers, with Aggers still going strong!

10 Dec 2025 22:11:10
I seem to remember John Motson during a Euro 96 game saying something like "Here come the German's" followed by the player on the ball surname which just happened to be Kuntz. Bad timing at its best.

10 Dec 2025 22:17:51
RTE legendary football commentator Jimmy MaGee. WC finals 1986. Argentina v England. Maradonna. Second goal as he dances and scores "Different Class ". "DIFFERENT CLASS! ".

11 Dec 2025 07:52:03
Ted Lowe describing Fred Davis’s snooker shot …. “He’s too old to get his leg over these days so he’s using his left hand”.

Murray Walker …” You can cut the air with a cricket stump”

On a serious note, Wolstenholme’s “They think it’s all over …. it is now”. Magnificent timing.

I assume most people, certainly of a certain age, will know about Colemanballs’. If not, google it and see what you get. From a time when sport was a bit more fun.

10 Dec 2025 13:01:14
On Isak lads, a year ago the lad had 7 goals in all comps for Newcastle. Ended the season with 27.Keep the faith the guy is elite.

10 Dec 2025 13:58:10
Playing devils advocate, and based on a stat i saw whereby only 7 / 28 players bought for 80m or more proved to be a success, im calling him as the next Benteke for Liverpool.
Not saying that he won't score some goals, but just don't see him being a raging success at a club that faces the tactics that we do.

Que the only positive vibes brigade calling this out, but i'll stick by that 1 of Flo, Eki and Isak will not be deemed a great success at L4, and my call is that its Isak who doesn't make the grade.

Wirtz to be the next Kenny though!

10 Dec 2025 14:20:47
I sneezed watching the match last night and he fell over.

10 Dec 2025 14:56:51
Isak does very little other than score, and yes he is an elite finisher, a good sub to have, but i don't see where he fits in a hard working side.
His stats have been woeful so far, and i can't help but think that the chaos around the move has had a serious knock on effect.

10 Dec 2025 15:06:32
I agree Mr Brightside. I am worried about Isak. Wirtz and Ekitike just look like Liverpool players. They work hard, they're silky smooth and they're still only 22 years old with a lot of years ahead of them. I think they'll both be massive successes for us.

Isak though, I agree fully. I'm just not seeing him as a Liverpool player right now. He's injury prone, lazy, weak, lacking end product etc. Maybe he'll come good next season after a proper pre-season? But right now I have zero expectations for him this season. If he gets to 10 goals I'd be staggered.

I'm gutted with how it's going. I was so excited for him to sign for us. You're right though, our laboured and slow build up, coupled with our refusal to put a cross in early just seems to not suit him at all. The worst part is, if we sell him you just know he'll go do an Iago Aspas and score 150 goals for someone else.

10 Dec 2025 15:22:11
All about opinions lads, me personally am starting to think all 3 will work out. Initially had my doubts on Wirtz. £80 m doesn't get a lot these days Mr Brightside so that stat wouldn't surprise me, the likes of Anthony, Mudryk or Enzo whereas the three we're talking about are top class. Cream can't help rising im afraid.

10 Dec 2025 15:23:02
MK Scouser - id like to know whos vision includes him, is it Eddie and Hughes or Slot.
I wonder how they see this side evolving, with Isak.
If you could blend Nunez and Isak, you'd have a generational striker, and right now, as much as i hate to say it, Nunez work rate brought more to the side than Isak has done.

I hope this changes but Im not convinced.

10 Dec 2025 15:27:44
Isak won the ball back last night did he not? And then had a shot. A bad shot. But wasn't a lazy interception. Also his link up play is good as he has showed many times at Newcastle.

He started the season unfit, got injured and has been in and out of the team. He will be fine once this team has gelled and he is properly match fit after this run of games now.

10 Dec 2025 17:05:54
I think all three will win the Ballon D’or!

10 Dec 2025 17:06:48
Be sound when we get a new manager the fire power in the team will be unlocked again.

10 Dec 2025 16:50:49
Isak doesn't look fully fit year. Also, the way we play is very diff. to the way Newcastle play where teams don't park the bus against them, for the most part. It's a transition esp. when Isak plays in a team that is out of sorts schematically.

10 Dec 2025 16:32:21
This was always my concern with Isak and particularly with the price we paid. He has never been a hard worker or contributed to the team other than goals which is obviously important, but we're playing with 10 men on the pitch and he contributes very little unless the ball is dropped at his feet. What's been more worrying is that he's never even in a position where a ball could drop to his feet so he can have a shot. In the precious few build ups that don't involve 5 minutes of passing between our CBs, Isak has been no where near the box. My concern is he could be the perfect player for slots tactics of creeping the ball forward so slowly it bores the opposition to sleep then Isak pounces with a clinical finish. The problem is 1) it doesn't work cause it turns out the other team wants to score and will actually press us, and 2) it's boring the fans to death!

If Isak was a third of the price and could be an impact sub we throw on at the end of games to try to snatch a victory from a team with a stubborn low block, I could see him making sense. But there's no way you don't expect a British transfer record player not to start. The whole situation just makes no sense. I'd love if Isak proves me wrong and actually starts contributing but he's barely broke a sweat with the effort he's put in and he's not even scoring goals.

What's worrying is he seems to be just another thing management team has gotten wrong this year.

10 Dec 2025 18:15:57
I can see Isak is getting fitter by the game. The lad basically missed pre season but he seems to be getting stronger. As Joe Gomez getting longer game time helps.

We were much better last night! Don't scoff at the result. it was steady and Slot got his tactics spot on. Although he kept having to remind the players to focus, and a very dodgy penalty won us the game. we should have been 1 up Tru Konate goal.
Overall better than most of us expected I'd say.

YNWA.

10 Dec 2025 19:41:01
Isak will be just fine I guarantee it.

10 Dec 2025 12:17:23
Hi, just wanted to ask Eds for their overall opinion of what has went wrong this year. To me it looks like it has been the recruitment, with the club now trying to deflect attention from. I'm not sure how much say Slot has on the players we sign but it is clear that Isak and Wirtz aren't great fits to our system.

Do you think it is the recruitment, or is there something else at fault? I know a lot of results have happened because of unforced and individual errors, Konate and Virgil etc not trying.

Whilst i was Slot out a few weeks ago, i am kind of feeling a bit sorry for him now, and whoever comes in afterwards will inherit the same squad and have the same dilemmas. A new manager isn't going to make VVD any younger or change Salah's ego.

{Ed001's Note - there is nothing wrong with the squad, it was just mismanaged.}

10 Dec 2025 16:51:12
Quite Easily Demonstrated.

10 Dec 2025 17:11:24
Exactly that Ed,01 we have a quality squad with some world class players.

10 Dec 2025 18:50:54
The Squad is a title winning squad, the manager just is to narrow minded and focused to realise he can't have 11 players he "trusts" while the rest are cast aside like trash. With the right manager this team would be challenging with Arsenal and Man City no issue.

10 Dec 2025 12:06:15
Hate to burst some people’s bubble, but we’re not the title winning vintage of last season

Obviously lol

We’re taking steps towards getting to where we want to be, and for me that is ok.

So we go again

Expect more ups and downs this season.

10 Dec 2025 12:21:44
We were not vintage last season, started welk but feel away badly, a decent city team would have probably beaten us to the title last season, we were all over the place from march onwards,

10 Dec 2025 12:38:21
But why are we not?

10 Dec 2025 12:41:21
Nah we’re back. Trebles on.

10 Dec 2025 13:25:38
Faith, I admire your positive spin but in reality, rewind 4 months and see the expectations for this season. Champions of everything back then. Even the bookies agreed. In the interim Slot has fkd it. Nobody else. He's not strong enough to manage the dressing room nor make the big calls when needed.

There's an enormous gulf between now and then and we're scraping like hens in the dirt for any bit of positive progress with the squad! Hugely disappointing season. So far.

10 Dec 2025 13:57:02
Yeah, dropping Salah wasn't a big call.

10 Dec 2025 14:00:20
Just because everybody expected us to stroll to the title this season doesn't mean that they were correct, or that we should expect the same. Of course you would feel massively disappointed if that was the expectation. Isn't it better for us to reconcile ourselves with reality than dwell endlessly on the fantasy of what could/ should have been? I'm not saying that we shouldn't be higher up the table than we are, maybe we should (and you can't deny that if little decisions went our way here and there we definitely would), but clearly things have not gone to plan and the club can work on righting the course and fixing things. The belief that hiring anyone other than slot, even Gerrard, would have us skyrocket up the table with wirtz and isak sharing the ballon d'Or is just silly to me.

At any rate if spending a lot of money meant that you would cruise to the title, football would be a lot less interesting.

10 Dec 2025 14:05:18
But we had the league won by March Barry.

10 Dec 2025 14:30:25
If he made it when he initially should it would have been Rigsby. Too little too late.

10 Dec 2025 16:52:18
"Hate to burst some people’s bubble, but we’re not the title winning vintage of last season".

Ya think, Faith?

10 Dec 2025 16:41:45
Slot has ended our pressing so we don't win the ball back, made our transition to attack so slow there's no room for our attackers to exploit, and organized us so that when we lose possession were easy to play through. Then he's persisted with these tactics that don't suit any of our players until we start calling for players who look poor in a system that suits no one to be benched. The result is that we're boring to watch, losing games, and turning on our players.

Salah shouldn't have said what he did, but I sympathize with his frustration because he has been scapegoated when he's the only poor performer being dropped. We scrape results against very poor opposition and lie to ourselves that maybe Salah was holding us back, yet Isak contributes nothing, Gakpo, Maca, and Konate will continue to get picked, and chiesa, Rio, endo, and gomez will be ignored, and we will continue to be boring and get picked apart by mediocre opposition because we're set up to fail.

10 Dec 2025 21:23:22
Salahs main issue is things besides not being played but this gets less coverage. Just look at what ED01 has said.

11 Dec 2025 00:53:05
I'm not putting spin, just saying what it is.

Why? There could be a multitude of reasons why, but my sense is that people will have their biases and will sway towards finding one person to blame. usually the manager.

I don't think in that way tbh.

Rather, I look at where we are and where we are headed. There will ups and downs along the way and I'm more interested in how we work through this period than thinking about who we can get in to "save us".

I don't recall many, if any, examples of a mid-season managerial change resulting in long term success. other than Klopp.

In the absence of a Klopp-like figure currently unemployed waiting for their next opportunity, my mind is in the here and now and watching this team grow.

10 Dec 2025 11:19:47
Before any of yous jump on this, its just a curiosity statement to gauge expert opinion from the Eds but all opinions are welcome of course.
Eds, could any of you see a possibility of Mo taking more of a CAM role, ala Messi and Ronaldo as examples. Could you see this working for us?
Personally I can't see past him being sold in January, however his family seem really settled here and i'm sure that would impact any decision he would make.

I also couldn't see Slot putting him in that position but we all live and hope!

{Ed001's Note - I think he will just leave now, but yes, I did expect him to play a more central role at times this season.}

10 Dec 2025 12:53:00
Think he's gone next month, ED001?

{Ed001's Note - I don't know for sure, my opinion though is that they sort it out and he finishes the season.}

10 Dec 2025 13:54:10
With and If Semenyo coming in i think Mo may well move on. Incase we don't sign any1 for wing he will stay till end.
Also i think it depends on how good he is in afcon. if egypt do well . salah will prob sort himself and stay.

10 Dec 2025 14:23:53
Semenyo doesn't fit in slots stupid way of playing so unless he's going there's no point in wasting money on him.

10 Dec 2025 17:07:31
A lot is turning water into wine most weeks.

10 Dec 2025 17:08:16
I could see him gone in january especially if slots still here. Honestly I’d be fine with both leaving anyway.

10 Dec 2025 17:13:52
No one fits into Slots way of playing IMO.

10 Dec 2025 18:40:35
I agree SM.

10 Dec 2025 10:14:58
We all have our opinions on issues and can agree and disagree with other people's opinions.
We can dislike the media's agendas but unfortunately as a population and society, social media and controversy have taken over.
We are all guilty of it.
Without it and tv subscriptions,
these players, managers and pundits would not be earning and living the fantastic lifestyles they are fortunate to have.
We need to get behind the manager and players and hope they can change this season around and get top 4 as a minimum.

YNWA.

10 Dec 2025 10:49:55
People are just people. Bad apples everywhere. But I like to believe most are just ignorant and of a lower outlook. Just be.

10 Dec 2025 11:02:04
That's just not how we do it here Molby.

We have our Positives, our Negatives and our Fence Sitters. Each like a cult and we all hate each other, even the Fence Sitters. We bicker and argue and try our best to convert others to our particular cult.

There is but one solution to have true harmony that I have proposed before but has not yet gone ahead.

We rent a big field.
We strip down to our jocks.
Positives wear green jocks
Negatives wear red jocks
Fence sitters wear yellow jocks
And we beat the living daylights out of each other.
No attacking the face, we all have jobs to go to.
The safe code word is "Banana! "
The minute someone screams that, you must cease beating him.
Once you have said banana, you must leave the field to the dead zone where I'm thinking we have some light refreshments. Sandwiches, biscuits, tea and the like. Do some networking.
Each team fights until only one colour remains.

Now I'm with you Molby.
I'll be out the shoulder to shoulder with you arm in arm wearing nothing but our yellow jocks.
We'll be short in numbers. Right now I imagine the negatives will have an absolutely army.
But we have heart. And belief that a fence is a great place to sit.

"They can beat us up but they'll never take.

OUR FENCE! ".

10 Dec 2025 12:07:15
What if you only wear thongs?

BANANA!

10 Dec 2025 12:07:34
You're correct. we all have opinions. I mean, look at my missus. massive a*** but shes a great cook. rant over.

10 Dec 2025 11:37:19
Slots a dead man walking in my opinion mate. In the last 2 weeks there has been an upturn in form, but only just. West Ham are terrible, Sunderland and Leeds should've been 2 wins with Sunderland being at Anfield, and Inter we needed a very soft penalty to get the win.

Long may the fortune continue, and if Slot does turn it around I'll eat my humble pie with a smile on my face. But I just can't see it. We still look poor, we're just getting results these last few games. It was like that at the start of the season too and at the time I couldn't see it and just thought we had great mentality to keep grinding out wins. But when you either lose badly, draw from a winning position, or win unconvincingly something is obviously not right.

We can't let some tight margin wins/ draws hoodwink us for the second time this season into thinking the team is playing okay.

10 Dec 2025 12:17:57
Post of the month, Davey! Or worst post of the month, I'm not sure - time to don the yellow jock!

10 Dec 2025 12:37:39
I really hope Slot figures this out and is successful. The thing that has really bothered me is that when we get a lead, we fall back and play this "prevent defense" which is, in my opinion, not playing to win, it is playing not to lose which does not work.

10 Dec 2025 12:43:26
Jesus when other managers do it its great. How many wins did Alonso's Leverkusen grind out in injury time in his excellent season? no one cared, results were what mattered. We were the better side vs Utd and lost, again no one cared results were what mattered.

But when we actually start to get some positive results EVERY excuse possible is pulled out. To downplay your OWN teams better results by the way. Sad.

10 Dec 2025 13:11:01
Slot is better than Alonso. Our league is more difficult. Slot got the lot!

10 Dec 2025 13:16:20
Davey, love it mate.

Mk, fully agreed.

10 Dec 2025 13:36:31
Mk,
Can't see any sort of turnaround either im afraid.
Last season bar a few games we were very much the same, slow and laborious. we went on such a good run imo because we were new to everyone and slot was left quite the industrious, well organised outfit that pulled him through the season.

pundits and fans alike analysing his tactics were also conned into thinking he was changing things cleverly. big nope from this guy.

10 Dec 2025 16:56:45
MK, there's a reason why I've checked out after the Sunderland game. The Leeds game only made it worse and the Inter game changes nothing. Slot has destroyed this team of talented players and abandoned his system that brought success.

Even when the players (per Ed01) went to him saying they wanted to change to the system they were comfortable last season, he still didn't. What are we to do? A protest? He's going to go eventually. That much is clear, IMO.

10 Dec 2025 17:16:08
Hang on Davey! What if I genuinely feel hungry and request a banana and my beating stops prematurely. All things considered can we have another safe word 🤣.

10 Dec 2025 10:14:14
There are a lot of contradicting opinions on here today so let me start by just saying that, whatever your opinion of the performance, you cannot argue that last nights result was an excellent result.

For me, it was very much a step in the right direction. The performance was still below what is expected but we went to the San Siro and we beat last year's finalists. Most importantly, I don't think that anybody can really argue about the result. It wasn't a smash-and-grab and we weren't particularly ever under any kind of pressure other than maybe the last 5/ 10 mins of the first half.

I did however struggle to work out how good the performance really was. After the game I came away thinking "we played pretty well tonight" but that got me thinking. Did we play well or has the benchmark sunk so low that 90 mins without either centre back doing something stupid is seen as a good performance?

We've been here before after beating Madrid and hammering Frankfurt so the true test will be against Brighton at the weekend. We have gone 4 unbeaten now (admittedly against 3 teams that we really should be beating comfortably) so have we begun to turn a corner or will it be back to the same old mess this weekend? I hope this is the start of the recovery but I'm not going to get over excited. Equally though I'm not going to go into the Brighton game all doom and gloom. All we can do is sit back, get behind the team and see what happens next.

{Ed025's Note - good idea SK..

10 Dec 2025 10:34:29
For me I feel like slot is doing what everybody wanted him to do- go back to basics and try to keep the other team from creating in open play, which you have to say he pretty much has done, our collapse against Leeds was through a penalty and set pieces, Sunderland weren't cutting us open either.

It's not been exciting pedal to the metal football but anybody expecting that after the problems we've had are in dream land, you are expecting him to tighten things up at the back, stop conceding stupid goals and also work out the attack to blow teams away all while the team is struggling for confidence and we have an off the pitch bombshell to deal with. I don't find the performances particularly awe inspiring but you have to give some kind of credit to the manager for trying to make us harder to score against.

I feel like there have been steps in that direction, the attack has suffered as a result but I prefer to not concede than stick all our players up the pitch and then let in a goal through a ball over the top targeting konate. Everybody complaining that we are slow and aren't free scoring are sort of missing the point.

Yes we can fantasise about setting the team out to press better and play on the front foot, but besides the fact that the press was better against inter, I feel like slot is trying to get points and wins on the board, stop conceding soft goals in transition and losing duels over all the field before figuring out how we can get to playing free flowing beautiful football.

Do I feel like it is beyond him to get there? Personally, I don't, I think anybody who thinks that he is constitutionally inclined to win games by a goal after buying hundreds of millions of pounds of attacking players are simply wrong, I'm sure he wants us dominating games and blowing teams away as much as any of us. I think everything needs to be put in context and that we need to take one step at a time to get back in the right direction after a few stumbles.

Again I have said a hundred times on here that I think slot has made mistakes. He is still an inexperienced coach and has blind spots like any other manager. But until he loses the dressing room and his position becomes untenable I want to be fair and judicious in evaluating what he is trying to do game by game.

Oh, and folks saying he hasn't changed anything or is simply persisting with his ideas judging purely on the basis of the 'speed' of our build up are just offering lazy takes in my opinion. He has changed plenty of things the last four games, he was forced to change plenty last night, it's clear and plain to see.

10 Dec 2025 10:35:52
I know Isak did nothing, but he looked much fitter than before. First time I have seen him put a genuine effort in pressing. Also, seemed to be a bit more involved than usual. Hope that he can build on this.
In terms of actual play, a lot of the times there was no connection between Eki and Isak, but I guess that's to be expected. Bradley was superb when he came on, and when he plays like this he really seems like a top level option. Wirtz also seems to have settled now, and has put in 4 good performances on the trot now. He has started to get a hang of the physicality, and his first touch and dribbling is just a delight to watch.

Jones was excellent too. He has started to make more line-breaking passes. I remember him doing the same against Sunderland just after he came on, and one of those led to our goal. Also, irrespective of how Grav is doing in the rest of the game, his ability to take the ball on the turn is unrivalled. Simply unstoppable when he does that.
The one weak spot offensively yesterday was Robertson for me. I have lost count of how many times he ignored the forward option, and chose to turn back. I was very surprised as this used to be his strength in his peak days. But defensively he was good, and maybe it was an instruction by Slot.

10 Dec 2025 10:45:32
Correct mate. Beating Inter Milan at the San Siro will never ever be a bad result, and never has been.

10 Dec 2025 10:53:40
Wirtz has put on a coupla kilos of muscle. 2.5kg I heard.

10 Dec 2025 10:53:55
We know about Isak’s quality.
We know about Wirtz’s quality.
They just haven’t quite settled yet for a variety of reasons.
Form is temporary, class is permanent.

10 Dec 2025 11:04:28
Agree PB, we were never going from conceding 10 in 3 to playing Brazil 1970 football overnight. We have chopped down the chances teams are creating, cut down the goals from setpieces. We seen this under most of our better managers of the last 25 years by the way.

Under Ged, Rafa and Klopp when we'd have a poor run the recovery would start with scrappy back to basics football getting a couple of results. Confidence built from that and the football then flowed.

10 Dec 2025 11:06:23
Fantastic performance last night. Players working hard in a familiar setup. Jones was outstanding, Robbo was at his best. Isak looked like a wounded flamingo, I hope that his form and legs improve. Other than that. top top show!

10 Dec 2025 12:01:53
And perhaps they never will either Ron.

10 Dec 2025 11:20:59
The setup yesterday worked well but it was very much solidity first which is totally what is needed right now. As confidence returns and the players relax a little that setup could easily become quite attacking just by playing Bradley, Kerkez and Wirtz from the start.

Sturridge was referring back to when he first started playing in a 2 alongside Suarez and likened it to what he saw last night from Isak and Ekitike, saying how they used to find themselves disjointed and spread too far apart but that they just need to play together more to build up the understanding. I took positives from it and I thought that it helped both get involved in the game more.

Will Slot stick with this setup for Brighton or switch back to his preferred 4-3-3?

10 Dec 2025 13:04:46
Wirtz looks like a different player in the CL to the PL currently.

Wirtz needs to start these CL games.

10 Dec 2025 13:37:14
" I came away thinking "we played pretty well tonight" but that got me thinking. Did we play well or has the benchmark sunk so low that 90 mins without either centre back doing something stupid is seen as a good performance? "

This is the exact feeling I have/ had after the game. Is the bar really that low now? A win at the San Siro in the CL is nothing to sneeze at, for sure. However, we have to analyse the performance and for me, the issues are still there and we will continue to struggle in the PL. Just my opinion.

10 Dec 2025 09:11:33
Whilst you lot are still arguing about salah. Hello, Fabregas as our new manager lmao?
I hope we continue to get results until we hopefully get a cb and seymenho in January. I would love nothing more than the team and manager to come through this.

10 Dec 2025 09:24:06
Here, here, Batman.

10 Dec 2025 09:28:06
Can't see that happening to be honest. Would be one hell of a risk, but then again, what do I know?

10 Dec 2025 10:15:54
Still think we have a better chance this season and beyond by sticking with Slot.

10 Dec 2025 10:36:49
I'm with you on that for the time being, faith.

10 Dec 2025 10:56:08
I can’t work out that post from FORNAX.
It seems to have a clear thought pattern and logical conclusions. Weird 😁.

10 Dec 2025 11:03:52
Copy and paste PatrikBurgher.

10 Dec 2025 12:12:35
It's of grave concern that FORNAX is making sense.

10 Dec 2025 11:24:19
I'm not. I think his football is atrocious this season. I wouldn't look forward to another couple of years of that.

10 Dec 2025 11:46:40
I think it needs a good run of games with not conceding - or not conceding multiple goals!
build the compactness and discipline from the back again - I’ll take a few 1-0 wins for the time being -

I said before, the leeds game was over at 2-0 and it wasn’t Arne diving in to give away a ridiculous pen and it wasn’t Arne failing to find a man with a 5/ 10 yd pass or not picking up a bloke on the far post with seconds to go - 3 points last Saturday and we would of been equal 5th!

The Mo issues have taken away from the fact that there has been imo a slight improvement

Fitness allowing I’d go into the Brighton with the same team and Shape bar Wirtz for Macca.

10 Dec 2025 11:51:57
The prospect of a manager like fabregas sounds great considering he’s showed such promise so far but I don’t think we do well with prospect managers, especially in the modern era, they need 4-5 seasons minimum to maybe get it right. It might even be the same thing with slot, give him 2-3 more seasons and this could be a completely different conversation, but as for now, it’s almost untenable the same way Rodgers was by the end of his last full season.

A prospect manager that works like arteta for example is huge in the long term, it’s like having a young QB in the NFL that is elite level, doesn’t matter how bad the other parts are, you’re always competing for years. I just don’t think that formula has been proven to work for us, klopp was a proven manager by the time he got to us. Rafa had proven himself as well. Even Houllier had extensive experience before us and had won the French league. These are our best 3 managers of the PL era.

It’s always attractive romanticising over a highly rated prospect manager coming in and building something long term, but I think with certain names there to be spoken to in the summer potentially (enrique, inzaghi, naglesmann etc) and with the squad being invested the way it was, it’s hard to see why it wouldn’t be more of a win now approach.

We shall see regardless, I am just extremely wary of entering a similar process to man united in the manager department. I know we aren’t run the same way, but the risk is there.

10 Dec 2025 12:23:59
When the Fornax speaks sense, it is a sign of impending doom.

You have all been warned.

{Ed025's Note - love it TF..

10 Dec 2025 13:13:58
The bible says the world will explode. The chief sign will be Joey Barton not acting like a ratfckr and Rioferdy5 keeping silent on every debate.

10 Dec 2025 14:58:29
Service notice: my Malmo downlink has been unreliable, hence the occasional outbreak of clarity. The Swedes blame condensation on a damp LÄTTAD in the junction box. I’m assured normal service will be restored by 1st January 2026. Until then, brief episodes of sense may occur. Please remain calm.

10 Dec 2025 07:51:59
Got to say I’m quite surprised how short fans memories are, while Salah deserved to be dropped as did half the team, to say Carragher is right about Salah being a disgrace etc is a joke. Salah has done more for LFC tha Carragher ever did, secondly Salah may have spoken out of turn at least he wasn’t spitting at fans and being a complete idiot that should of lost his job, people in glass houses….

{Ed025's Note - i dont think anyone can take Carragher seriously the way he has acted in the past MM...i think hes a scumbag mate, but whether you agree with his views on how Salah has conducted himself...well thats a different matter..

10 Dec 2025 08:26:36
I don't know Ed, but him saying Salah is “just a Chelsea reject” before coming to Liverpool and that he has “done nothing for Egyptian football” clearly feels more personal than just giving an opinion about Salah’s interview. That is just wrong and disrespectful. And there are people here saying they agree 100% with everything Carragher said in that rant, which includes these two points.

{Ed025's Note - i certainly dont agree with all Carragher said mate, he said a lot of those things to sound current and provoke a reaction which is part of his remit i suppose...it does not make him right, i still believe Mo was bang out of order though and did try to throw Slot under the bus, he made it all about him and how great he is and should be picked even if he is not playing well because of things he has done in the past, he acted like a total Mars Bar for me..

10 Dec 2025 08:52:19
When they pay for someone's opinion, basically paying them to talk, so much, some of it has to be bull s##t, from a lot of them most of it is .
With so many ex footballers crawling out of the woodwork do they all have short memories and forget how they behaved, or do they just expect us to forget?

10 Dec 2025 09:01:45
"Ed025's Note - i don't think anyone can take Carragher seriously the way he has acted in the past MM".

And this is why I stopped caring about this crank and his agendas du jour for near a decade now when he was insulting Karius (who stood up for himself), telling him to shut up and do his job just cos he made a mistake vs B'mouth. He was called out (along with the other plonker G Neville) by other members of the media. Even Klopp stepped in when he was asked saying, "So clearly, Carragher has never made a mistake in his career, right? ". That is when I stopped, Ed25.

Also, I ain't trying to hear NO chat from a guy who spat in the direction of a child and still kept a job. Nope, ain't hearing it. And saying "Salah was a Chelsea reject before he came to Liverpool". Wow, that's some dark hate coming from the depths of severe bitterness, as if he had been waiting years to say that, as if Salah didn't do bits in Serie A and esp. at Roma which is where we signed him from.

If this bozo thinks he got one over Salah, he is deluded. He acted like a bent crank, IMO.

{Ed025's Note - he was bang out of order with some of the things he said about Salah imo Oli, i just cant stand the guy, whether i agree with certain points or not the personal attack was uncalled for..

10 Dec 2025 09:11:55
I can’t stand Carragher he’s an absolute melt without 2 brain cells to rub together but for once in his life he was actually right. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

The whole ‘Chelsea reject’ remark was him trying to explain that Liverpool FC made Salah into what he is today, which is true. It’s also true that Salah had a lot to do with Liverpool’s success over the past 8 years.

But none of that is really the point. Regardless of anything else Salah should’ve shown the club, the fans and his team mates more respect than to go mouthing off to the press. It’s just wrong.

We all love Mo but he’s in the wrong here and has now probably helped to force himself out of the club which is sad.

10 Dec 2025 09:20:12
I've made my opinions known about that moronic imbecile. Ignore all his jibberish musings at all costs.

10 Dec 2025 09:52:57
Or, instead of short memories, other people may just have arrived at a different opinion to you?

I will never forget what Salah, both individually and as part of the team, has given me as a fan this past 9 years. This has been the best decade I've had following the club.

I just cannot accept that he does not need to earn his position. Ed001 quite reasonably points out that he wasn't speaking in his native tongue, but I cannot see any other way to interpret what he said, especially with everything else said in that interview.

10 Dec 2025 10:59:42
I just disengage with the ex-pros on Sky. Sky pay them to create a premier league soap opera. I’m not into soap operas.

Sometimes I’ll listen to Roy Keane laying into Man United, that’s fun in short bursts.

10 Dec 2025 09:27:43
The fact that he is being talked about on this pages shows he's done his job.

Carra clearly loves liverpool, but it's cranked up to 11 when on MNF to get exactly what he's got, a reaction.

The only way punditry improves is to stop interacting and demand better. I hate listening to him on our games as he tries to hide his bias, but can't. It's the same with Neville on United games. I'd rather two people with no skin in the game commentating. If I wanted fan tv, I'd watch it through LFC.

10 Dec 2025 12:08:44
Live punditry in ROI is excellent. For ALL sports. They are allowed talk and are not constrained in any way. They are promoted to voice and air opinion regardless of situations. I find those Sky/ TNT employees just Americanised garbage.

Spouters of the finest order. Tune into RTE or VM coverage next time we're on. I'd recommend it. BTW for those who know, I do think Kenny Cunningham is a bit of a tool but you need a conduit too to get things going.

10 Dec 2025 13:56:21
"The whole ‘Chelsea reject’ remark was him trying to explain that Liverpool FC made Salah into what he is today, which is true. "

That's not even all the way true. Firstly, Salah was never going to out last Willian and esp. Hazard in his pump as a youngster. Not in a million years at the time. So if Salah is a reject, there are plenty of Chelsea players in that era who fit that bill.

Also, Carra made it look like we found Salah in the bin at Luton or something like we felt so sorry for him and gave him a chance, conveniently omitting that the guy went to Serie A to remake himself and his career so well that LFC signed him. What a crock of rubbish just to tear him down.

Thirdly, Salah himself will tell you he owes his career as we know it to LFC and Klopp who took a chance on him BUT that does not remove ALL the work that Salah did on his own to become so driven, so determined and a mentality monster with all the trophies on the football clubs would envy.

Man went full Beast Mode, from man to machine, after Ramos cracked his shoulder prolly saying to himself, "That is never happening to me again". Did LFC do all this for him?

At the end of the day, this is why people (Carra in this case) should not say such moronic things cos it make you look bitter, petty and an outright jealous crank. And a liar, as well. I seen him coming years ago so not surprised.

10 Dec 2025 15:01:04
Mo Salah has won more for Liverpool football club than Carragher ever did . Two league titles for instance how many did mr big gob win 0.
Carragher only got in the Liverpool team because he was a scouser no other reason he was a bang average player who had a half decent game in champions league final and that's what people remember they don't remember the own goals he scored.

YNWA.