Liverpool banter 6

07 Jan 2026 16:02:13
I know family circumstances are different, bbut it's a mistake to have a full-time Liverpool manager who's a part-time resident of Liverpool. He needs to settle down and become a part of the fabric of the Club and the city. That will do him a world of good! This back and forth doesn't help, and it doesn't help him not having his family next to him!

07 Jan 2026 16:15:08
True but I feel it is too late for that now.

07 Jan 2026 16:16:07
I think the manager and every player should be based in Merseyside, they can't get the area or the people, when they live in Cheshire . I know its only 40 mins away but I think it makes a difference.

07 Jan 2026 16:42:11
They should basically all live in the dressing room at Anfield, it's the only way.

07 Jan 2026 16:44:37
No one moaned last year Noski whe he won the league!
Im all for everyone having an opinion but every player it seems is getting a bashing at the min.
Still 4th, still in champions league still in FA Cup.

07 Jan 2026 16:51:42
But obviously the club must have known before giving him the job that his family had declined to move to Merseyside and he was going to be making regular trips home to see them. They had to have known this.

07 Jan 2026 16:55:42
Noski - Pointless argument in my opinion. The club has no control over peoples personal lives. Slot and his wife have their own family values. Clearly they're not willing to uproot, there's absolutely noting wrong with that. It shouldn't effect his duties, they're really not relative. How often he see's his children doesn't influence his tactical choices.

Stromsgodset - We're talking about professionals here, extremely highly paid professionals, they don't mingle with us common folk. And you don't need to "get the people" to play great football. You want to force the players to live in a specific area. have I got that right or am I missing something?

07 Jan 2026 16:56:28
Wasn't a problem for him last season?

07 Jan 2026 17:02:03
I can't help but disagree with this one, there are other ways to connect with the people and city without living on Anfield Road. Klopp did alright from a mansion in Formby.
You employ the best peope for the job, Slot has his reasons for not bringing his family over, kids finishing school i think being a main one which i respect.

07 Jan 2026 17:10:17
Love it RK 😂.

07 Jan 2026 17:15:38
Countless people work away from home. It's a part of modern life.
And how do you think it will effect potential new players, coaches, managers etc when the club tells them where they can and can't live?

07 Jan 2026 17:29:36
I thought he lived in PopWorld?

07 Jan 2026 17:45:43
It's one thing I don't care about Slot and I don't think this is the biggest issue that he has got himself into.

07 Jan 2026 17:48:02
He won't have the problem for much longer.

07 Jan 2026 18:27:47
Sure, it wasn't a problem last season but you got to understand that when the going gets tough, then things like his family being away etc will just add to the struggle.

07 Jan 2026 18:50:06
Chewy. that's right, they should live in the area, you don't see the United or city players living in Southport do you, the only reason they don't is because they're entitled and don't want to be bothered by pesky fans, n someone mentioned Klopp living in Formby, well that's Merseyside n he got the fans, the people and that didn't turn out too bad did it.

07 Jan 2026 19:18:19
Disgrace all of them don't live at Norris Green.

07 Jan 2026 19:55:19
To clarify then if Enrique wanted to be the next manager and wanted to bring kvaratskhelia with him it would only be ok if they both live within what 10 miles of the stadium? 20? What a load of nonsense.


That was my point about Klopp, I don't think Formby is representative of your average Liverpool supporter however he still connected with the fans without having to take the 68 bus in on matchday.

07 Jan 2026 20:39:43
Dont get it wrong, it has nothing to do with complaining or not complaining about last year when we won the league. You need to understand the context of the original post. As I prefaced, circumstances are different for every family, and I know he mentioned his kids were taking exams last year and/ or language differences and stuff like that. But living from a suitcase and flying every weekend in a job that literally induces aging must be insane, especially now that things are not as rosy. It must be very lonesome as well.


Listen, this is not an argument; so no need to be sanctimonious and all that. Just an observation. Having your mate and kids with you really can help a coach feel settled especially if you have a close-knit family. There's no question about that, and I wrote my original post reflectingon this as a family man myself. Also, I'm not from Liverpool, so also it's not about that. I just feel it just helps if everyone in the family are together especially after a bad day at work. which is kind of everyday for the last 4 months!

07 Jan 2026 22:37:43
Fair play Noski, apologies if my response appeared abrupt, I was just simply offering my opinion that it didn't seem to matter last year, and if we were top of the league right now would his living arrangements be called into question!
I get your point however, Collymore had issues with it when he refused to move from Cannock back in the day, if my memory serves me right! Ed 1 may well be able to clarify that.

07 Jan 2026 22:44:41
How has the club got no say in where you reside? Look on indeed for example most jobs on there come with the caveat of local residence unless its a nationwide offer.

07 Jan 2026 22:51:21
Collymore refused to move here from Stone . he travelled all the time . in the night on his way home, he stopped off for a quick rest at the local dogging spots.

07 Jan 2026 22:54:13
Ernest Formby is Merseyside still, plenty of red fans live there . point being i think it helps if you know the city, the people from the area you work in . Slot lives near Manchester as some live in Cheshire, they're all aloof.

08 Jan 2026 00:20:53
Collymore was a good example of how not to join a club. So long as it's a reasonably easy commute though there isn't too much of an issue, it's more about optics when things don't go so well if you live outside the city region.

There is something about getting the vibe of a place, even in an international business like LFC because much of the fan base and heritage has roots in local communities. He doesn't need to live there but local connectivity is important.

08 Jan 2026 02:00:56
What about the fans that don't live on Merseyside?

08 Jan 2026 14:21:46
What about them Rigsby? The team is called Liverpool and the majority of the fans are from there . certain fans might be spread far an wide but don't think they'll be bumping into thousands of fans like they would if they lived in Merseyside would they.

07 Jan 2026 15:03:28
Gravenberch appears to be getting a pass for some reason, he's pretty much one of our main weaknesses. People keep saying he's been told to attack, but he's supposed to be on his way to being 'world class' according to some last year.

He's been equally as poor as Mac, probably worse in that he's so much of a ghost in games, he's being completely overlooked. He's supposed to be a professional, you can still attack and do your primary job of shielding the defence.

He's being viewed with rose tints in what he could be, but he could easily be another Michu. So so weak and passive for his build, he's like Patrick without the Viera.

{Ed025's Note - i have to agree Bob..

07 Jan 2026 16:05:18
Spot on. He is a phyical unit that can't tackle or head the ball. We are so weak in midfield this season.

07 Jan 2026 16:07:06
I think its because we can't work out if he's doing just what he is told. Slot spoke about freeing him up, and he seems to be all over the pitch.
If he had been told to be CDM then I think is fair to criticise him for his vacancy.

07 Jan 2026 16:11:29
Whilst he was great in 24/ 25, I haven't seen anybody say anything good about hm this season. I, like many others, been heavily critical of our midfield, the opposition seems to just saunter through unchallenged at times. Whilst I wouldn't say he's had stand out poor performances, like Konate, he has absolutely gone missing at critical times.

I do think the CDM role is one that can easily be overlooked when the whole team's underperforming, hence why he hasn't caught as much flack.

07 Jan 2026 16:17:26
Grav is playing like he did when Klopp was the manager . not sure if its him or because Slot has changed his position.

07 Jan 2026 16:39:39
The player has been asked to play further forward, a position he struggled with under Klopp.

Actually, Gravenberch being pushed further forward has been of detriment to the team and the defensive cover he provides….

07 Jan 2026 16:56:48
Is he not been asked to play last years position but with more of a licence to get forward? Think the player himself pushed for it. Because if so that's a big difference to him being pushed further forward.

Surely as a pro if he sees we are struggling and been gotten through too easy in a game you show a bit of initiative and park the attacking and go and shore up that gap.

07 Jan 2026 17:13:18
Florian, your post takes me back to the story that Souness often tells, when he made his debut at West Brom ( I was there) . He asked, I think it was Fagan, "how do you want me to play? " To which Fagan replied "if you don't know we've wasted our money".

My point being, players have to take some responsibility for what they're doing. It's not all on Slot, though I accept a lot of it is.

07 Jan 2026 17:29:37
Gravenberch is not world class or even on the way to it. I'm not saying he can't be but he needs to get his finger out of he has ambitions to be.
Patrick Vieira is one of my favourite non Liverpool players of the PL era. He could control games and Grav is nowhere near that level.


The spine of some of those Arsenal teams were incredible. Adams, Bould, Campbell, Keown, Vieira, Petit, Henry, Bergkamp etc.
They could play and mix it.
Even Henry and Bergkamp who were brilliant technicians, were six footers who could look after themselves.

07 Jan 2026 18:47:27
@Florian, I call hogwash on that point that Grav pushed for anything. How do you know the player pushed for it? Please, provide evidence and not just a throw away comment in a bid to slate him. The manager benched a PL legend in Mo Salah for 3 games yet allows Grav to dictate where he plays? Yeah, good luck with that.

At the end of the day, it is the manager that dictates where the player plays and Slot is playing him further forward which does not suit him rather than play him in the DM role sitting in front of the back 4, something that worked for him and the whole team last season.

And even if that is remotely true that Grav dictated it (fat chance of that happening) then, why is the manager not stepping in to change it when clearly it isn't working and the player is struggling?

08 Jan 2026 05:55:06
I find it hard to imagine that Grav asked for more license to move forward. He mentioned last season that he was most comfortable sitting infront of the defence and that he struggled at Bayern and his first year with Liverpool because he was asked to play further forward. Or I could be entirely wrong and just imagined him saying that.

07 Jan 2026 14:58:30
Waiting until the Summer to reinforce the squad is a huge and not unfamiliar gamble for LFC!

If they miss out on Champions League qualification it will be cheaper B list targets so why not show some ambition while there is time and opportunity to salvage the season?

07 Jan 2026 16:33:25
With all the changes over the summer, it seems madness to create more by playing Grav in a different position to last year. He was brilliant there and, while some may think we need more of an enforcer in midfield, if he could do it once he can do it again.

I don't get it. Implement changes to the playing style, whatever, but keep something of worked so well before.

07 Jan 2026 16:58:34
He's playing his position from last year just with more of a licence to get forward more. The difference is he's just not playing as well as last year.

07 Jan 2026 18:16:47
That's my point FM. He's still nominally the 6 but the licence to get forward means he's not playing the role he did last year so effectively.

07 Jan 2026 18:52:37
So if he has the license to get forward then, who is minding the shop at DM in transition? That would be either nobody or Macca who can't run, both of which is damning on Slot.

Grav is not the only one struggling to play in a way the manager wants and is struggling at it. Slot had Kerkez inverting which made NO sense (the kid struggled mightily) until he changed it. Why is the manager not making things easier for Grav who is also struggling like Kerkez did? Again, it's all down to the manager. Nobody else, IMO.

07 Jan 2026 13:30:49
Hi Ed,

Why do you think we pulled out from the race from Semenyo? I am sure money was not the issue. Was it that due to the uncertainty around Slot, the club do not want to go for big moves?

Cheers!

{Ed001's Note - I don't know mate sorry.}

07 Jan 2026 15:02:41
Maybe we just preferred waiting to go for Barcola in the summer?

07 Jan 2026 16:06:48
Hope not. Another lightweight player with no Prem experience and doesn't like tracking back.

07 Jan 2026 13:29:15
Hi ed001

I wonder if you think the same. But Slot looks like a broken man. He doesn't look well physically to me. As we know that job takes its toll so much on Liverpool managers.

{Ed001's Note - I think he looks fine, but lost.}

07 Jan 2026 14:42:22
Not a great situation, his family still living in Holland, so much be a bit lonely, still he will easily get another job at his home town and return to his family home,
He does look a bit lost, so we might give him a break and let him go home.

07 Jan 2026 14:49:54
All the lights are on and nobody is home.

07 Jan 2026 15:00:07
Hahahaha! class!

07 Jan 2026 16:05:16
He looks tired, but that's often the case when the pressure is on. He answered the questions well in the media today about the style of football, at least they were asked.

It's hard for anyone to find the right answers right now, only good performances will relieve the pressure.

The players need to also bring their best form onto the pitch. Arsenal will have their tails up though, we often forget there's two teams on the pitch and sometimes the other one is in a better place.

08 Jan 2026 09:02:13
It's a huge pressure managing a club like LFC. You are responsible for the happiness of millions of fans and it takes its toll.

Look at Klopp when he joined Liverpool vs Klopp when he left. He looked about 25 years older in 9 years!

I think Slot looks tired, like he's just got out of bed in every press conference. He's probably not sleeping properly which in turn is probably affecting his performance.

07 Jan 2026 13:24:23
Ed001 I see a post that you said Gerrard really wants the job and will be most likely and you said that ok if it's short term.
But do you think if he gets the right team around he could do a good job, am sure I heard Dalglish say that about when he took over he had Bob in the background for any advice needed and when he came back he got Stephen Clarke there basically to sort the defence out because that was not one of his strong points.


That is something Fergy did very well too and when his number 2 left and he did not get one in straight away United did struggle.
One thing I would be confident of if Gerrard was long term manager because of his love for the club he would put the club first and not let players over stay past there best.
If you said before that he is a good coach but tactics is his week point.

{Ed001's Note - I wouldn't want him for the long term. I don't think he has the right personality.}

07 Jan 2026 16:01:50
I do believe if Garrard were to come in for any longer than a few months, his success would be heavily dependent on who he's got behind him. Stevie gets instant respect in the dressing room and would be great for boosting morale, passion and drive. He would be more open to adapting our game and playing fast direct football too, but that's kind of where the benefits end.

He would need a tactically exceptional number 2 on top of a collection of experienced, top quality assistants/ specialists to make up for his shortcomings.

07 Jan 2026 18:01:07
Have you seen his sit down with Ally McCoist? He spoke about this exact thing, he knows he has to have the right team around him to succeed.

07 Jan 2026 18:54:10
Think every manager needs a strong team around them . Klopp always praised his staff and he trusted them.

07 Jan 2026 11:51:08
How in heaven's name have we fell apart like we have we win the league we buy several top class players spending a lot of money a manager that won the league at his first go and now we are being told there is animosity behind the scenes between the manager and R. Hughes this needs to be sorted before it goes to far . YNWA.

07 Jan 2026 12:29:15
Because the manager has tried to fully implement his style which doesn't suit our players or the premier league.
Salahs and Vvd legs have gone.
Mac Callister is not as good as we thought.
Sold or got rid of all our high energy pressing players.

Elliott, Nunez, Diaz.
Bought 2 number nines and no winger.
Signed no experienced centre backs or full backs.
Other than that we should have been fine.

07 Jan 2026 12:35:48
It happens, you only have to look at Artetas Arsenal project which has been 5 years in the making. There have been a lot of personel changes and a change in playing style. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. If things get worse we will no doubt try somebody new.

07 Jan 2026 12:39:55
Did winning the league go to Slots head.

07 Jan 2026 12:43:17
I'm a pedant for punctuation.

07 Jan 2026 13:40:40
"I want to win as many trophies as I can but I think I'm also known for the fact that my teams always try to play attacking football and can only say that we are trying to do so. "

He's not watching the same games as everyone else.

07 Jan 2026 14:08:16
The high energy pressing players we had were either deemed not good enough or wanted to leave. Nunez was getting a lot of stick in here and many wanted him gone. Diaz, while energetic, has been wanting to leave for two seasons now.

It was a mistake not to get a speedy LW and one other CB but I don't think it was a mistake to sell the players that we did.

07 Jan 2026 14:24:38
Jimmy Boy you do realise that you've named 3 player we got rid of but 2 of them weren't first choice. In Elliot's case he barely played and my Nan could press better than him anyway.

It seems to me the worst decision Slot made was to take the shackles off Gravenberch. It made the whole team lose structure but he thought with Wirtz and Ekitike/ Isak in the team we could just steam roll teams by pushing 9 men forward.

When that backfired badly he's now gone too far the other way to stem the bleeding leaving us with no attacking threat whatsoever because he's too scared to commit players forward with pace.

That coupled with a ridiculous lack of fitness which I had attributed to the disrupted preseason but the longer the season goes on it's becoming clear that the players aren't getting any fitter.

For me I think Slot is being guided by the medical staff way too much who are always going to be cautious with a players fitness and susceptibility to injury. He's always 'managing minutes' or leaving players out as a precaution. Sometimes you just have to play these players into fitness. They'll never be able to complete 90 minutes if you keep taking them off after 70 minutes and it's not as if they run all out for the time they're on the pitch anyway.

It's noticeable that we always have a lot of possession but our final ball almost never find a player in red but conversely the opposition can easily pass around our box unchallenged, finding their team mates at will.

We need more fitness, more aggression, more composure, more quality.

On the upside we all know that all of these players are much better than they are currently showing and we are unbeaten in the last 9 games and are 4th in the league. Imagine what could happen if these players do start playing as well as we all know they can.

07 Jan 2026 14:30:53
Just because we signed players for top dollars, we don't have a divine right to blow teams off and win the league at a canter.

This unrealistic expectation is the reason why we have so many disgruntled fans.

It was always going to be a challenge integrating half a dozen players and move away from a set/ running template and start implementing a new template.

We are where we are because of wholesale changes.

07 Jan 2026 17:01:08
Totally agree Dracred.

07 Jan 2026 18:54:29
Kopcat26, you can definitely argue that.

07 Jan 2026 19:28:17
I don't know why we changed what was working last season and slowly integrated the new players like Klopp used to do.

07 Jan 2026 11:29:58
I know it will be never happen but tomorrow I would love to see us set up to counter attack with Wirtz at 10 and Rio and Frimpong flying down the wings.

07 Jan 2026 12:13:20
If only.

07 Jan 2026 12:36:48
I wouldn't be surprised if we s#! thoused a win against them y'know.

Been in playing badly and somehow pulled results against good teams before. Won't be pretty though.

07 Jan 2026 15:04:55
True SR. imagine we pull a Villa or RM result tomorrow night

It could happen you know!

07 Jan 2026 11:16:04
Liverpool spent a hell of a lot of money
But even with everyone fit it still looks weak
Especially defensively and we don't have any aggression, pace out wide, not winning tackles or headers and so many times highlights show how lazy the defence is by being pulled everywhere expecting midfield to do it instead of shifting across the back line (stopping goals like Wilson the other day) can't stop crosses and awful at defending set pieces and our press is weak

- the team still needs more investment but the biggest concern is either they don't like the manager or he doesn't do much of the above in training

Today is looks bleak cos Arsenal look hungry and lfc look like a wounded lion. why does this team look behind so fast after spending so much … worrying times.

07 Jan 2026 11:50:41
Because we have a gutless weak midfield and one decent centre back out of a squad of 25.

07 Jan 2026 12:20:30
We're as soft as diarrhoea in midfield and equally as bad in central defence, no real pace up top and we're predictable and one dimensional when we do attack.

{Ed025's Note - yeah but besides that.. :)

07 Jan 2026 12:37:41
Konate falling off a cliff and Grac being instructed to start getting forward all the time have had a big impact.

07 Jan 2026 13:12:23
It's just sad to see it's looks like such a mid managed set up that every fan who don't get paid that much would have done a better job at recruitment.

07 Jan 2026 13:14:16
Correct. Win the battle in midfield and you control the game!

07 Jan 2026 13:40:57
I remember struggling to believe what I was watching for the entirety of the 22/ 23 season.

The excuse from that season was that the midfield's legs had collectively gone.

There was also a suggestion that the preseason fitness and conditioning programme had been changed to accommodate the winter World Cup tournament.

The reality is, we never really got started that season and ended up outside of the Champions League places.

As for this season, I am not suggesting it is the same as 22/ 23, but I do worry that if we continue without backroom changes, we will drop out of the Champions League places again - which is more lucrative than it has ever been before and something our business model relies upon. I just don't believe it is a case of "waiting for it to click".

07 Jan 2026 18:58:47
@Pelican in the 22/ 23 season, Klopp (he said so) wanted to go all possession football which simply did not suit the players cos after the huge exertions of the Quad-chasing season, they wanted to allow the boys to feel their way thru the start of the season.

What they didn't realise was that as you said, the legs in midfield were gone and it showed. The whole team collapsed and the signings well, the less said the better cos by the next season ONLY Darwin was left and he just about was decent, nothing more. That terrible to the point that Klopp contemplated leaving and then, decided to give it one more go.

07 Jan 2026 10:17:07
Hey Ed001 would appreciate your input if possible. There seems to be a ground swell at the moment that Guehi will be off to man city, as they want him now, with their defensive Injuries.

I know he was virtually a done deal in the summer with us but do you expect him now to go to city or will he wait and see if we come back in for him?

Do you think it will be a missed opportunity if we don't land him or do we have definite targets outside of Guehi?

Thanks for your input as always.

{Ed001's Note - it will be a personal decision for the lad, so impossible to do any more than guess. He did give his word, but we are in a bit of a mess so I wouldn't be surprised if he backs out and goes there.}

07 Jan 2026 11:53:34
We need at least one CB and a hard, no-nonsense, defensive CM.

We need to fight for every 50/ 50 and not allow teams to believe they can walk through us unchallenged (which they are at the moment) .

Could be an embarrassing scoreline tonight. Wouldn't be surprised to see a record defeat.

07 Jan 2026 12:01:49
Are you sure we will lose tonight?! I guess we're that bad we lose a full day before playing.

07 Jan 2026 16:21:11
Some utter pedants on here today lol.

Will stop work and check the fixture list next time. Thursday night football? Are we that bad already?

07 Jan 2026 10:31:28
So our head physio has taken Hugo Ekiteke out of his fantasy football team. Strange way to find out he's not available tonight 😂.

07 Jan 2026 10:48:29
Good job it is tomorrow we play then isn't it Jimmy 😂

Sorry to be pedantic but if true. Absolutely far from ideal going into what is one of the biggest games of the season. Tomorrow.

07 Jan 2026 10:49:53
Hahaha classic!

07 Jan 2026 11:03:31
We don't play till tomorrow.

07 Jan 2026 11:32:16
He has missed training all week so I think he is unlikely to play - at least from the start.

07 Jan 2026 11:42:21
Apologies typo l was to say tomorrow night.

07 Jan 2026 09:49:57
Salahs goal against city after putting several defenders on their asses Alisions header Roberto goal against Manchester United 7-0 Nunez back heal against RM.

07 Jan 2026 10:21:03
Mané debut goal against Arsenal. VVD debut goal against Everton.

07 Jan 2026 11:02:23
The good old days. On match days I might avoid watching the current BS and just watch us in out pomp instead.