Liverpool banter 8

15 Sep 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - thefutureisoldgold3 has posted a new article entitled, Wolves Ratings v Sheffield United

15 Sep 2026 12:03:15
Thought this was a Premier League tie for a second.

15 Sep 2026 05:25:25
Or, play Wirtz as a false 9 and drop Isak

Ali
Dom. Araujo. Virg. Kerkez
Jacquet
Grav. Macca
Gakpo. Wirtz. Barcola.

15 Sep 2026 07:46:32
Oh god no.

15 Sep 2026 08:13:17
What Frode said.

15 Sep 2026 08:26:03
It has to be Wirtz or Dom not both unless Dom is RW.

15 Sep 2026 09:06:14
Dropping the top goal scorer Isak 3 goals, just doesn't seem correct? Szobs is the second top scorer with two goals.

Isak's most PL goals (27) in a season, are two behind Mo Salah's PL winning goals with Slot at 29.

The goals are clearly there, the service/supply line is clearly not?

15 Sep 2026 09:45:11
All this effort to play him? pretty sure Isak would score more goals than wirtz if that is what you wish from anyone playing uptop.

15 Sep 2026 09:56:39
Isak came off away at Ipswich and Wirtz went the false 9 and basically went missing.

Surely the most expensive 10 in football should play 10 and the most expensive Centre Forward plays centre forward.

15 Sep 2026 09:56:42
Exactly, Sonic & 007. We complain we don't create enuff but don't worry because the solution here is to play our creative player in a position he can't create and play the guy he should be creating for behind him or on the bench.

Eureka? Nope, not even close.

Seriously, can we can this "Wirtz in the false 9" crap now?

15 Sep 2026 10:05:03
What JK said.

15 Sep 2026 10:08:01
How can we build a team around Wirtz if he keeps moving position?

Good point, OliRed.
I don't remember Firmino creating anything as a false nine.
I'm sure Wirtz will nail down a position though.
It might be in Munich, mind 😂.

15 Sep 2026 10:27:04
What JK said.

I agree with Rigsby about the Munich bit!

15 Sep 2026 10:54:53
Of the 3, if 1 needs benching, I would go with Wirtz.

15 Sep 2026 11:35:18
We're eighteenth in the big chance created league, who knew such a thing existed but it does. Only Coventry and Villa below us right now.

Whilst discussion of the double pivot seems flavour of the month our £400m strike force are not ripping up any trees, and didn't last season either. I guess that will be the fault of our lack of CDM, not doubting we need one by the way.

15 Sep 2026 11:35:43
I think we need to stop thinking about dropping players until Iraola has had a season to coach them first. Wirtz has been average so far but he's had a goal and an assist chalked off for offsides that weren't him. I hope that he just needs a couple of things to go right to give him some confidence back as well as some time to gel with the others.

At least he's working hard for the team and hasn't thrown the towel in. Its his second season yes but how many games has he actually started with Isak? Oh and a song wouldn't go amiss either. Barcola had a song before he'd even played a minute. Wirtz not the most catchy name for a little singsong but surely there must be something.

15 Sep 2026 11:46:35
Red-Will, I've been saying for 12 months that the fact that Wirtz doesn't have a song is a reflection of how he's performed, or not performed as the case may be.

Like you say, Barcola had one before he kicked a ball. Albeit it's a rehashed version of someone else's.

15 Sep 2026 11:52:34
Play the players in their best positions.

I missed the game on Saturday but I've watched it since and the main thing we were lacking is the speed of pass.

Countless times there was someone (usually Isak) making a run and a first time pass puts him in on goal. Instead, the player on the ball takes an extra touch or chooses the wrong option or over hits the pass and the chance is gone.

That's a confidence thing. They don't want to make mistakes so they take that extra touch which gives the defender time to react to the run.

It will come. Iraola needs to be sitting them down and showing them these patterns of play where a quick pass opens the opposition up.

If we can do this it will free up Barcola, Isak, Wirtz and Munoz to use their attributes and people will be talking about us having the best attack in Europe.

We just need confidence to believe it.

15 Sep 2026 12:07:18
Generally in the prem players don't like taking risks. I've also heard it said that quite a few players get obsessive about their stats, and like high pass completion stats even if those are gained by making 5 yard passes.

It'd be interesting to know Trent's overall completion stats for his long passing, they probably weren't great but he created chances and opposition teams feared him.

I feel we're lacking a bit of risk taking, early release of a pass is part of that. I've only really seen Cody thread a great early ball this season that resulted in a goal. Too much pointless ball carrying, not enough incisive passing right now.

15 Sep 2026 12:50:22
Chiesa has a song though Rome. Does that mean we should be starting him?

15 Sep 2026 13:54:02
Drop Wirtz. Play Szoboszlai in the 8. Tell him to drive forward + take shots on. Grav + Nyoni behind. Give instructions that no one may pass to Grav if he's in the opponent's half.

15 Sep 2026 15:10:02
Dracred, absolutely not, mate. Never have we had a player who has done so little had such a brilliant song.

15 Sep 2026 15:34:28
Barcola LW
Wirtz 10
Dom RW
Isak ST

That's my preference. Whatever happens we need to sort the midfield out because that's where we lose goals. I don't think Dom is part of the midfield solution as he's too attacking.

15 Sep 2026 15:47:44
Riosstepover, I think you're right up to a certain point. The problem is that quite a few of our players don't have it in their locker to play that pass quickly and with precision, and therein lies the difficulty of the thing. We've been missing a player like that since Trent left.

15 Sep 2026 15:48:51
Isak was good against Ipswich but other than that game if you told me it was Origi up top for us I would have believed you. Not saying Isak is Origi level but anytime we don't get the result we want, its a "Wirtz problem".
I though that from the midfielders and attacker that played at the weekend he was by far the most likely to make anything happen going forward. Szobo was ineffective, Grav looked like a man lost out there, Barcola just came to use and Munoz is new also but both didn't have a good game. Cody did nothing really when came on. The team as a whole looked much better when Maca came on, so there's that.

For me, Isak needs to do more. He is older and has much more prem experience than all the other attacker around him. I believe he will but this season its time he shows it because we really need it for this campain.

15 Sep 2026 16:02:20
Adam, and who plays in the no.10 if Szobo is playing the 8, the same position he's been playing?

15 Sep 2026 16:53:25
OliRed, I'd move Szoboszlai into that more advanced position, bench Wirtz, and have Grav/Nyoni playing behind. Isak up top. Barcola/Gakpo on the left. Munoz/Gakpo on the right.

15 Sep 2026 17:14:30
Chiesa currently has the best song for getting the crowd going. Up there with Bobbys and Jota's in my opinion.

Hopefully the football will get the crowd going again soon enough.

15 Sep 2026 05:21:38
could Jacquet work as a 6?

Ronald comes in at CB with Virg and Dom could move out to RB.

And is it time to reconsider Flo as one of midfield 3? Playing him as an inverted LW instead gives us more solidity in the midfield but keeps his creativity. He's also more likely to use Kerkez on the overlap or exploit the space created by Kerkez to play in others.

Not sure who works better at RW - Barcola, Cody or Munoz, take your pick 🤷🏼‍♂️

Crazy to think of the money we've spent and we're still shuffling the pack to solve last seasons problems, but here we are

Logically, doing the same things with the same players with the same results is crazy. We've already had a season of this midfield conundrum, maybe it's time to do something radically different?

Ali
Dom Araujo. Virg. Kerkez
Jacquet
Grav. Macca
Barcola. Isak. Wirtz.

15 Sep 2026 09:22:56
Two players end up out of position, one of which Jacquet has been our best player so far.

Everyone's looking for solutions, basically though according to many we just need to sort the two in the 4231 and much of the rest then falls into place.

Why not just try Trey with Macca as the two. Macca has been the best bet in there so far, so if we're looking for the second why not give Trey a try. If he can't do it then we may need to go into the market but there's no point disrupting what's good in the defence to fill a hole in midfield.

If it works great, there's then less business to be done and we can focus on fullbacks in Jan. The full midfield rebuild can then be done in the summer.

15 Sep 2026 10:06:59
I'd go with Macca and Trey as well and see how they get on. If the club had've just added a midfielder or two or at the very least replace Jones this may have been avoided.

15 Sep 2026 10:48:21
Give Trey and Macca a go, put Dom at RB for a couple of games.

I really like Araujo but I'm not a fan of playing all our available CBs from the start. Who do you bring on if one of VVD, Jacquet or Araujo goes down injured without massively downgrading the squad?

I prefer we rotate those 3 as the 2 CBs for now to give each enough consistency and rest.

15 Sep 2026 11:02:18
He has been playing his 3 fit CB's for the last couple of games though, apparently Joe Gomez is "back" hopefully he lasts more than 20 minutes this time. Leoni is also due to be back after the international break too.

15 Sep 2026 11:26:25
Imo Wirtz should have a few role in midfield for me and the other two midfielders should provide cover for that. He played his best for us when he was allowed to roam and I think that's the best position if we want the most out of him.

15 Sep 2026 11:38:17
I can see Jo going in at left back, if he stays fit. Follow the Arsenal blueprint of four centre backs at the back, if you can't beat them join them!

14 Sep 2026 18:54:47
Just read on the net that Pierre Kalulu, 26, a defender from Juventus, described as a progressive central defender & a rampaging right back, is a target for LFC and Man U.

Report suggests 50 million euro would tempt the Old Lady to sell the French player.

14 Sep 2026 19:57:53
A French Revolution happening here.

14 Sep 2026 20:09:38
Hopefully he's got a big hairy set of balls on him - we need some potency.

14 Sep 2026 21:46:57
Another top singer "Lulu" after we have just had Shirley Bassey of Fulham.

LFC are yet to beat 2 PL sides that begin with the Letter N, and 2 PL sides with the Letter F? (Question Mark) Fulham and who "else"? Question Mark? , Question Mark?

Tonali ruled out tomorrow night, Gomez to return for LFC, Spurs are yet to score a PL goal, they have a minus 5 goal difference, and De Zerbi was touted on here to replace Slot?

Whoever gets the 2 PL Club F's answer above must either be in MENSA? or a Lumberjack?

14 Sep 2026 22:44:42
I don't think Lulu could be described as a top singer but I'm sure she'd Take That.
I always wanted to be a tree surgeon but I can't stand the sight of sap.

14 Sep 2026 23:31:37
I thought you might have got the other Premier League F Rigsby, being a clever gentleman, as Miss Jones often says.

Sometimes you can't see the "Forest" for the trees being a tree surgeon Rigsby.

15 Sep 2026 01:04:13
007. Don't drink and type.

15 Sep 2026 08:58:17
My Apologies for exactly "Copying" your posts Suarez?

15 Sep 2026 09:11:07
Who on earth wanted de Zerbi to replace Slot?

15 Sep 2026 09:45:32
007, yeah, I should have got it.
My excuse is that I always spell Forest with two 'r's and the correct answer only has one so I was barking up the wrong tree.
I do enjoy your posts though. Keep them coming, mate.

15 Sep 2026 10:00:59
No one that's who.

15 Sep 2026 10:02:29
Fatwallet, Kalulu is from DR Congo, if i'm not mistaken.

15 Sep 2026 10:10:08
And some wanted to replace Slot with no one.
Or even worse: Gerrard!

15 Sep 2026 11:11:14
Kalulu is a poor man's Kyle Walker. Very quick with decent dribbling but that's about it.

14 Sep 2026 17:49:59
Who would you rank as the top 3 most gifted two-footed players? Mine is 1. Nedved 2. Cazorla 3. Lallana.

14 Sep 2026 18:47:24
Best, Charlton, Andreas Brehme.

14 Sep 2026 18:51:08
1. The King himself
2. George Best (bit before prem, some player tho) showing my age here 🫣
3. Zidane.

14 Sep 2026 19:10:25
Zidane
Pele
Cruyff.

14 Sep 2026 19:21:07
Best, Maradona, Di Stefano.

14 Sep 2026 19:49:02
Maradona was very left footed.

14 Sep 2026 20:54:11
Souness, Keane, Sergio Ramos

2 footed. Right down the shin 👌🏻.

14 Sep 2026 20:56:20
Ronaldo nazario phenomeno.

14 Sep 2026 20:56:42
He was very left footed but he could play with his right, just not as good.

14 Sep 2026 21:29:16
Ron he used his hand more than his right foot 🤣.

14 Sep 2026 21:36:41
Good shout with Bobby Charlton, Bristol.

14 Sep 2026 21:42:35
I was a big fan of Santi Cazorla. He could do as much with his 'bad' foot as his good. Fantastic player.

15 Sep 2026 01:15:33
Don't know if he can really be ranked with the greats, but Lallana is always the first that comes to mind.

15 Sep 2026 02:03:07
It's nedved for me. Iirc, he wasn't naturally two footed but he trained his weaker foot so that it was just as good as his stronger one. Imo all professional footballers should be like that since they do nothing but play football for a living.

15 Sep 2026 00:41:02
Zidane ended up developing a great left foot but he was still predominantly right footed. Maradona was mainly left footed. R9 had a powerful left foot but again was right footed. None of them were anywhere near as ambipedal as Nedved. Cazorla was crazy too.

The guy would take set pieces with either of his foots. Same was the case with Adam Lallana but surely not at Santi's level. George Best is certainly a great shout. Amongst present crop of footballers Dembele isn't bad with his right foot. Eds what would be your choices?

15 Sep 2026 03:49:28
Zico. Apparently R9 watched him on tv explaining how he trained his weaker foot, and it inspired him to do the same when he was like 13.

15 Sep 2026 05:16:30
I remember years ago a former Liverpool player was being interviewed (can't remember who!) and he said Yossi Benayoun was the most technically gifted player he had ever worked with!!

15 Sep 2026 05:32:03
There was George Best and then there were the rest.

15 Sep 2026 09:45:13
I might get pelters for this but Trent was excelent with both right and left.

{Ed025's Note - his left leg was for standing only Worzal, he could not head a ball and had no positional sense at all mate...besides that he was very good..oh and he tackled like a 10 year old girl..

15 Sep 2026 10:06:33
Paulo Maldini. Naturally right footed.

Trained his left foot so well, people thought he was left footed.

Comfortably two-footed with near no weaknesses.

Greatest all round defender of all time.

15 Sep 2026 10:40:21
2nd best @Oli, Baresi was better 😉.

15 Sep 2026 11:04:02
Dembele from PSG, he is truely 2 footed, you really can't even tell if he is left or right footed, I doubt he even knows 😅.

15 Sep 2026 11:26:24
WDW, there is a reason I mentioned "All round defender" in my comment.

Why? because I had never seen "The Baron" play all 4 defensive positions, something Maldini had done at diff. parts of his career.

15 Sep 2026 12:25:23
@ArneSlot'sBarber I am pretty sure Dembele even said once that generally he decides on the spot which foot to take his penalties from. Whichever gives him the better "feeling" at that time. Its impossible to tell which foot he prefers really.

15 Sep 2026 12:23:53
You might hate him Ed025, but he was a better long range passer with his left foot than more people are with their preferred foot. He had many flaws to his game, but he had one genuinely elite skill (the best in the world at that by far, in fact) and Klopp knew how to create a system that was able to harness that strength and mitigate his other weaknesses.

In the latter years, he did seem to get an over inflated ego and the way he left he will never be loved, but during the 2018-2022 period when he actually tried to defend, he was basically a cheat code: A PL level average defender who was also the best deep lying progressor in the world. Arguably it is his skill set that we have never replaced more than anything.

{Ed025's Note - i dont hate anyone TKA,i met the guy once and he seemed a really nice guy actually mate, i just think some supporters have a very inflated opinion of how good he was, wand of a right foot of course but the rest of his game was pretty poor for me, but thats just my opinion..

15 Sep 2026 13:49:35
He was the main creator for a team that won every trophy, had 3 90+ points seasons in PL (two of them being 95+), and reached 3 CL finals. All while being a defender. By no means, in my opinion, did we over inflate his achievements.

If anything, people from the outside don't realise how good he was in that 2018-22 period. But I agree he was never quite the same (especially in defence) once his effort diminished from 2023 onwards.

15 Sep 2026 15:39:36
Jean Michel Ferri was genuinely 2-footed.

He was equally dreadful with both.

15 Sep 2026 16:13:32
@thekop, I fully agree with you. Trent was dynamite and a player who could dictate play from RB that no one had ever seen before. Won all the trophies and personal accolades (PL TOY, CL TOY etc.) to go with it.

I do agree that he dropped his levels when it seemed he had made up his mind to go to Madrid and that didn't happen in 2025, as you alluded to.

14 Sep 2026 14:42:35
looking forward to tomorrows game. Nyoni minutes are a must and i would love him to grab the bull by the horns and make a statement to start this weekend.

Wataru will provide some much needed passion in midfield and watching big joe for his consistent 15 mins a szn will be nice - anyone want anyone in particular to start? gutted Leoni isn't fit as he really impressed me this time last yr hopefully he comes back stronger!

14 Sep 2026 14:57:17
Alisson, Virgil, Jacquet, Isak and Wirtz should be rested. May as well leave Szobo out too.

Nyoni, Rio, Koumas, Chambers deserve to start.

Marmar, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Tsimikas, Gakpo will have to start.

Add McConnell, Endo and maybe Gomez in the lineup too if they are fit.

Barcola, Araujo, Munoz, Macca, Danns, Ndiaye make the bench.

14 Sep 2026 15:08:40
I want 8 first teamers in starting XI or we'll get knocked out. Not going to happen, I know.

14 Sep 2026 15:37:58
Robbo running at Frimpong - see who puts in the most crosses.

14 Sep 2026 15:56:08
Don't want too many changes. We need to win this.

{Ed025's Note - then you need to make changes Das..

14 Sep 2026 16:06:52
Lads, it's Tottenham.

14 Sep 2026 16:15:31
He needs to go quite strong imo.
A positive result & performance is a must after Saturday & don't want a repeat of last seasons surrender in the comp.

14 Sep 2026 16:21:59
We could probably do with making the changes FPF suggests. But if we make them changes we'll lose. Catch 22.

14 Sep 2026 16:47:31
I guess it's telling, you have to rest somewhere. It depends on whether we think we can win the whole cup. If not then just put out the fringe players.

14 Sep 2026 16:55:29
If you want to attack all comps then your fringe players need match fitness. If you don't want to attack all comps, play the kids and risk going out while giving them some experience.

Significant changes are inevitable unless you have already lost trust in the fringe players so early into your regime.

14 Sep 2026 17:00:26
You make a good point, Ed025. However, chucking in the likes of Endo, Gomez and a few kids is forfeiting the game, regardless of "it's only Spurs". It was "only" Forest and Fulham. The 14 players we are putting out need to play us out of this, so just a few tweaks here and there, for me. I hope you're listening, Andoni, you know I'm right!

14 Sep 2026 17:09:23
Most of our fringe players are kids Pelican, except Endo who will play a part tomorrow if he's fit. Chiesa has either been frozen out, or is injured so probably won't feature.

14 Sep 2026 17:50:22
Going by the team vs Fulham I can see Munoz, Rio and Gakpo start up top. Then Gakpo, Isak and Barcola will play the weekend. The middle three may be Trey, Grav and Dom and I can see a back line of Frimpong, Araujo, Virg and Kerkez. Mama obviously in goal.

14 Sep 2026 18:12:23
A total guess but I reckon we lineup as follows:

Marma, Frimpong, Gomez, Chambers, Tsimikas, Nyoni, Gravenberch, McConnell, Rio, Gakpo, Koumas - with Woodman, Endo, Araujo, Munoz, Barcola, Macca and Danns on the bench. Endo and Araujo to come on for the two starting CBs, Macca on for McConnell and Munoz and Barcola on for Rio and Koumas late in the game for a run out.

Can see Alisson, Virg, Jacquet, Wirtz, Szobo, Kerkez and Isak sat in the stands for this one.

14 Sep 2026 18:20:52
I think we lose then FPF. And Andoni comes in for some large amounts of criticism.

14 Sep 2026 18:41:57
We can't afford to play fringe players yet! Season is young and players are fit. The two domestic Cup competitions are imperative this season. Get past Spurs and give the manager a chance to try and find his place and gel his players, giving the fringe players an opportunity later on.

14 Sep 2026 18:55:03
Spurs are claiming they'll be making wholesale changes for the game. If we make minimal changes, we'll probably beat them, but no fringe players will get minutes in them. If we play a 2nd string, it's a toss up for the game.

Big decision for Iraola, I expect him to ring the changes and see what the back ups have got in them.

{Ed666's Note - or just play players that can listen to instructions and aren’t functioning on one brain cell between them. How difficult is it to learn the triggers of a press. It’s not like it’s molecular science

14 Sep 2026 19:04:27
Not a fan of this resting stuff. Especially this early in the season. They've played 5 games .
Playing a full strength team will sharpen match fitness if nothing else.

14 Sep 2026 20:18:30
We have the same conversation every year about these cups. Bigger squads have come a cropper going deep into these comps. This is the weakest squad we've had since Klopp arrived in 2015.

14 Sep 2026 20:31:24
But a far better squad in terms of quality than Klopp had to pick from in 2015.

14 Sep 2026 21:00:18
Klopp could pick a right back and a 6 when he arrived. :)

14 Sep 2026 21:57:30
True FPF. Ye would have thought with us been so light at RB the would have kept young Ramsey around.

14 Sep 2026 20:18:23
Well apparently it's hard ed!

{Ed666's Note - sigh

15 Sep 2026 05:37:24
@FPF, not trying to wind you up or trying to be obtuse, but why do the 4 you mention first deserve to be in the starting line up? I think you are probably right about them playing but it seems to me that they are playing them because AI wants to rest key members of his normal starting 11. They are playing because they are back-up squad members which is different to them deserving to start.

Either way I think we need to win. There are a lot of nervous fans willing yes to succeed but not always sounding like they think they will.

15 Sep 2026 07:21:32
I'm not normally bothered about this cup, but I don't like us setting out to lose any game where fans are paying good money to watch. If anyone is carrying a knock or completely off form then rest them, otherwise go strong and make subs.

15 Sep 2026 10:18:50
I think Flo's lineup works under the circumstances.

15 Sep 2026 12:24:39
It said on talk this morning that Iraola has said eleven changes. Don't know if that's true, they do exaggerate for callers.

14 Sep 2026 12:18:16
I have played and been around amateur football for more years than i care to mention, but can anyone enlighten me when the rule changed for corners?

I watch football on TV and they do not put the ball in the quadrant anymore when taking a corner, it's placed outside the quadrant.

When did this rule change? The rule was, it had to go inside the quadrant for a corner.

14 Sep 2026 12:37:54
Games gone!!

14 Sep 2026 12:44:22
The rule hasn't changed
The line is part of the quadrant and as with all lines the whole of the ball has to be over the whole of the line for it to be outside the quadrant and so the refs let it go as long as the ball is over hanging.


Its another case of PROFESSIONALS pushing to the limit.
If the refs just blew for a free kick every time a corner was taken overhanging they would soon start taking them from inside the quadrant again.

14 Sep 2026 12:56:05
"all of the ball has to ba over all of the line", that rule counts everywhere.

14 Sep 2026 15:46:54
I don't get the corner one it makes no difference if it's all in or a half in. no advantage to be gained imo unlike goal line or throw ins.

14 Sep 2026 16:07:22
It's been like that for about 15 years 😂.

14 Sep 2026 10:35:31
Isak = When you buy Shaun Goater from Harrods.

Feed the Isak, the Isak will score.

14 Sep 2026 11:05:00
I thought he had a decent game on Sat. On another day he could have got a couple of goals.

The one on he edge of the box he created himself with quick feet was then let down by miss striking the ball allowing the keeper a easy enough save.

{Ed025's Note - hmmmm..

14 Sep 2026 11:09:49
I thought Isak was okay, not good nor great because none of the players were good individually nor collectively as a team.

Isak looked a lot more confident in his decisions with the runs he was making behind (when he did make them) and taking plays on before taking shots (on one occasion) and all that.

Small signs, I get it but he wasn't doing any of the above literally two weeks ago and was getting rightly criticized for it.

14 Sep 2026 11:29:31
Isak is showing positive signs I think. Not least the three goals so far this season. His first against Ipswich, whilst the keeper made a bit of a mess of it, was one of his trademark short back-lift, take it early powerful strikes (a better version of which was his goal against us a couple of years ago).

Also a few skillful dribbles and a great cross for the chance he created for Wirtz the other night. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic and certainly Isak isn't the biggest of my concerns and frustrations at the moment. Just hope he doesn't pick up niggles and have interruptions and loss of momentum.

14 Sep 2026 12:23:38
He is not an LFC forward. so we can defend from the front. isak is a laptop signing, unsuited to the reds way.

14 Sep 2026 13:17:12
For around £350m for Issak, Wirtz and Barcola, I'm expecting Rush, Dalglish and Barnes level performances or something closer to them than what we are getting.

14 Sep 2026 13:48:17
Given he's a forward and he signed for Liverpool he is, by definition a Liverpool forward. You may not have noticed but AI keeps picking him (and Wirtz). Come Christmas time when we are about 7 or 8 games unbeaten and playing consistently good football, we'll all have a laugh about th3 current comments about Isak and Wirtz.

14 Sep 2026 14:01:45
Iask was horrendous.

14 Sep 2026 14:14:29
WarMachine, not sure if you are being sarcastic but those players played in a functioning system and lineups that brought the best out of them.

Is that happening at all at this moment with these 3 players? If the answer is no hence, you expectations is OTT and that is down to you, not the manager nor the system.

Klopp never signed players of this calibre yet he had a system that turned them into legends and PL all-timers.

Imo, you get the system right and the players have a chance to thrive because at that point, it will be down to them. Not before.

14 Sep 2026 14:29:35
Reminded me of benteke. Just stood there like a lamppost. Very disappointed in him to be honest. Florian must be fed up getting criticism about his game when he has a forward that doesn't make any runs to try and find. I like the knowledgeable globe trotting playboy Barry from Louth thought he was horrendous.

14 Sep 2026 14:49:07
All the shiny forwards will make a difference if your fullbacks and midfielders cannot move the ball quickly.

14 Sep 2026 15:00:34
Put Haaland or Mbappe in, you'll get the same result. The whole system failed on Saturday. Whether that is fatigue, personnel, tactics or the crowd, it is what it is.

Hopefully we take the lesson and move forward.

{Ed001's Note - that is not true, the biggest miss was a forward runner, the amount of times we got in to positions to play a through ball but no one made a run was insane. Put Haaland or Mbappe up there and they have a field day. That Fulham defence was wide open to runs in behind.}

14 Sep 2026 15:11:53
Isak is what he is chaps - limited in some aspects, better in others.

For me it's as simple as: feed the GOAT - if you have him up top and want him to score goals, give him service and play to his strengths, no point trying to turn him into something he isn't or getting upset when he doesn't play to the standard he can't/wont play to.

He's a proven goalscorer, in the prem, champs league and internationally - he will score plenty for us too: if the team plays to his strengths and not personal glory - modern attacking footballers all want to score and grab the headlines, the front 3 gang have killed out and out strikers IMO - if we're going with a number 9 we need to feed the Isak and he'll be golden

Ed25 - what you think? Yeay or Hmmmmmmm ha.

{Ed025's Note - i have an old fashioned way of looking at players CH, its more about if a player suits a team rather than his ability for me mate, i have to ask myself is he a Liverpool type player...its a no from me im afraid, at Newcastle he was a big fish in a relatively small pond and that suited him but now he looks a little lost not being the big cheese anymore, i could be wrong of course but that has not happened since 1979 as you know.. :)

14 Sep 2026 15:23:27
If we are saying that Isak Barcola and Munoz didn't make enough forward runs was the reason for that limp performance, I would politely disagree.

14 Sep 2026 15:38:16
And you'd politely be wrong, the off-the-ball movement was virtually non-existent. If I had a penny for every time I shouted, "Make a run" during that match.

14 Sep 2026 15:28:21
I'm with you Ed025. For example, as much as a lot of people did not like Darwin Nunez, he fit that Klopp system very well. Football is a team game and I think people forget this when they want to sign these big names when it does not make sense.

{Ed025's Note - its just how i see things Taurus mate..

14 Sep 2026 16:58:13
Was it a lack of forward runs or a lack of midfielders finding there runs? When you have Isak, Barcola and Munoz all playing there biggest strength is running in behind and for me they all suffered at the weekend because they were starved of decent forward passing.

I'd have to put the weekends result on the coach and set up because we were collectively well off it, perhaps tiredness played a part but we were poor from minute one!

14 Sep 2026 20:22:15
Agreed Downey. Hence us needing a solid defensive midfielder and pair him with someone like Wharton who decent enough defensively but looks for that pass forward. Szobo and gravy want to carry the ball and take too many touches.

The ball travels faster than a man, it's okay to let it do the work sometimes.

15 Sep 2026 11:10:36
Ed25, I agree. For me Isak and Wirtz are not suited for us and they're both the types of players a team should be built around so we're having a difficult time.

Isak no suited to our style. Wirtz not suited to the PL.

Isak suits more a counter attacking team that's really fast in the transition. He needs space in front of him to run into or to run with the ball like he often did for Newcastle and like he does for Sweden.

Wirtz is a great creative player in my opinion and he works very hard, but I find his shots and passes are often weak or like just short of what they need to be. I think he would thrive at Bayern or in Spain.

{Ed025's Note - I agree Greg..

15 Sep 2026 11:22:23
Ed01, I agree with you. I saw the game back and even tho, we were poor all round, there were no runs in behin, d either. There was a part where Wrtz and Isak combine to help get the ball forward to the left wing.

Wirtz then, receives the ball and is cutting inside to look for runners to off the option for the thru ball. Apart from Barcola (who was already offside), not a soul out of Isak, Szobo and even Munoz (who inexplicably went in-field, causing a crowd) made a single inside run.

Wirtz then outta frustration, passes the ball to Araujo and the play is dead.

In the end, there is a lot of blame to go round and players should take responsibility for their poor decision-making and Wirtz was guilty of this, as well.

14 Sep 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - HAJI has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool's Midfield Pivot Is Starving the Front Four

14 Sep 2026 08:23:07
Starves the attackers and doesn't protect the defence. Our midfield is worse than useless.

14 Sep 2026 08:36:38
I couldn't agree more, I've been shouting from the rooftops that we need a passer in midfield, we can't pair two runners and carriers who don't want to sit in there, it just doesn't work. It's not a defensive midfielder we need, it's somebody who doesn't need to be ahead of the ball and somebody who can hit the ball early without needing to take two hundred touches just to pass it 5 yards forwards, sideways or backwards. Against Fulham Dom had several chances to hit it out to the wings early before the defense was set, and he just ambled about with it before giving it back to Virgil. It was infuriating.

I don't really like slating Grav or Dom because they are individually excellent players who are being asked to do something that they can't do, it's just not their game. As such I don't want to say they're not good enough or any of that nonsense, they are more than good enough at what they are good at, but they can't be a double pivot pairing with the squad balance that we have right now. Either Dom goes to right back where he doesn't have the pressure of playing a first time ball and has more time to pick a pass from deep, or he plays 10 and Wirtz moves out to the left wing inverted so we can bed in a more combative midfielder who is willing to be more withdrawn. Whatever the case may be though, we need a specialist passer who is confident receiving from deep, is ahead of the play and can get the ball to Wirtz or the wings as early as possible.

Stiller or Wharton, I'd be okay with either. Also Camara is a must for an option in there who will do the dirty work off the ball, doesn't need the ball at all times but can pass it short or long forwards if need be, and won't charge to get on the end of stuff up the field.

14 Sep 2026 08:43:25
It's kind of telling that right now the best passer in our squad is Jacquet. Even Virgil deferred to Jacquet more than once in the game because he knows he has the quality and confidence to get it through the lines consistently. With Grav out of form, Jacquet is our best carrier from deep too. Sad state of affairs.

14 Sep 2026 08:47:28
@Patrik If you want a deep lying playmaker who can launch an attack from the deep in the split of a second, why do you even need wirtz? just pass the god damn ball to the wide players instead. that is what we did with Trent / Fabinho supplying to Salah and Mane.
And BTW that player you are mentioning is called a Holding Midfielder.

14 Sep 2026 09:01:31
If you play Wirtz left where does the £100m plus Barcola play. No doubt we'd say right but that's just not what he was bought for.

We've tried Wirtz left in the Premier League and he just got outmuscled continually, or lacked sufficient pace to thrive, even though that's where he plays for Germany.

Problem we have is it's compromise after compromise to keep the likes of Wirtz in the team, so others end up playing out of position to accommodate him.

I think we're better playing a system that suits the players we have, and play whoever is best in their best positions within that system. If that means Grav, or Szob or Wirtz sit on the bench then so be it. We need to be winning more matches, and playing more coherent football.

14 Sep 2026 09:05:19
To suggest that our midfielders are being asked to do something which they can't do, is an indirect criticism of Iraola. I predicted it would start in October, it's started already.

14 Sep 2026 09:09:56
It's not so much a criticism of Iraola as an indictment of the squad planning before Iraola and in the summer transfer window. Iraola can only do what he can with the players he has, and he is currently trying to do so.

The likes of Hughes should have seen what the problem was with our midfield balance, rather than passing the buck to the coach to solve.

14 Sep 2026 10:03:26
And there lies the problem, We claimed this team would walk the league if not for Slot for the whole last season and now we say the squad is inbalanced. What are you blaming Hughes for actually? Not signing "This" and "That player".

14 Sep 2026 10:36:31
Sonic, you've said exactly what I've said countless times, mate. To me, it was obvious that our problems last season weren't just Slot. I wish I could've been proved wrong, but it unfortunately appears that I wasn't.

14 Sep 2026 11:05:03
dom and Macca can play those passes, but they look gun shy to me.

I think driven by not wanting to make an error particularly on a switch then they're vulnerable to a counter and.

14 Sep 2026 11:14:47
Rome for some reason, maybe blind faith, some fans won't have it that quite a few of our players just aren't all that.

It could just be that to accept that would be to accept that there's not necessarily an easy fix. It could and should click, but draws against very poor teams this season and last seasons debacles suggest there's more to it than coaching and systems.

If you think about what we've done as a club we've gone from best in class in Jurgen, to maybe men in Arne and Iraola. They're good coaches but quite high risk appointments with little to no big club experience.

We've also taken quite a lot of risk in the transfer market by not filling key positions, but also continually recruiting young talent from abroad. We've lost a leadership core, and we've lost a lot of experience in a short period of time.

As Patrik said we've got a very imbalanced squad. Why did the board let that happen, makes me think they're too hands off at times with insufficient scrutiny and accountability around football operations and huge transfer outlays. I suspect in truth they're more interested in the business than the football.

Some will say well Edwards and Hughes have gone, but so what, Edwards probably went with contract paid up and suffered no loss. In Hughes case it looks like he went of his own accord rather than being sacked, but I guess that may come out eventually.

Either way the underperformance at the club isn't because Arne goes to Ibiza, it's about culture and leadership. One is a symptom of the other, with the ultimate measure being performance outcomes on the pitch.

14 Sep 2026 12:13:28
I certainly wasn't one of the people saying we were going to walk the league. Then again, I never thought that it was exclusively Slot's fault that we didn't do better than we did last year. Up until the end of last season folks still kept saying that we had a squad good enough to win the league. I would say we have parts of a squad good enough to win all the big prizes, but that the rebuild is still incomplete, and I thought we would be closer to completion in the summer. I'd like to state for the record that I am not somebody who thinks that either Isak or Wirtz were bad purchases, or that the money could have been better spent. I do think however that not enough thought has gone into how all the different parts cohere together, and that's Hughes' job.

You could certainly put forward a case saying that adding wingers, buying one or two starting caliber midfielders and a starting right back in one window would be too much work for anybody, and I'd probably be inclined to agree. I'm just hoping Iraola can tide us through until January, when we can look to bring in somebody like Camara to help us, and then we can look towards bringing in a bonafide passer in the side next summer.

14 Sep 2026 12:28:02
Once Minteh and a gritty MF are signed, things will improve a great deal, IMO.
Minteh is a pressing machine, and currently we have too many vanilla players.
There will be some big name casualties over the next year or two, the side has been put together by a bunch of different people.

14 Sep 2026 12:28:50
Good post HAJI. I think you highlighted the problem in your title when you say our midfield starves our front 4. Why are we playing with a front 4? We changed last year with the introduction of Wirtz and abandoned our incredibly successful formation of a front 3 supported by three incredibly hard working midfielders.

We could add prime Mascherano and Fabinho to this team and they would still struggle to plug the midfield gaps on their own in the premiership.

14 Sep 2026 12:44:24
You're probably right Patrik that Hughes had the oversight and responsibility for squad planning. I can't help thinking though it should be a manager or head coach who does much of that, in conversation with a commercial director who then goes and gets the deals done. Whether that's transfers, sales or contract renewals.

The head coach can still be in or around the training pitch on a regular basis, but should also spend a proportion of their time planning and shaping the squad.

It's a subtle difference, but important. It's a bit like in a big business setting letting the HR department have final say in recruitment decisions and resource planning for teams. They should enable it, and facilitate and support it, not be the decision maker or have a strangle hold over it.

We've also seen a situation at the club where we've employed two head coaches in Arne and Iraola who have completely different footballing ideologies. The coaches contract lengths were both shorter than some of the players they signed, by a distance.

Theres no way some of those players would thrive under both coaching philosophies, it just didn't make sense in a footballing or business sense.

Hopefully the balance of this gets re thought when we replace Hughes. I suspect when they (Edwards and Hughes) replaced Jurgen, and then also Arne, they wanted to retain more power over decision making than Jurgen would have accepted. It's not a recipe for success.

14 Sep 2026 13:13:40
Ffs we can all relax a bit and give the new manager some time. Even if he were to perform miracles it will take more than 4 games. Let him figure out the players and the system, and let's assess him in December.

{Ed025's Note - as i see it TKA you have a lot of very good individual players but are a poor team mate, some ot them seem to be in a rut or playing for themselves and that has to change, Andoni has got his work cut out but i believe he is the correct manager...but he will need time..

14 Sep 2026 13:43:38
Our midfield looks like what it is. A bunch of randomly signed attack minded midfielders with no plan on how to use them long term and none of them with any defensive nous.

14 Sep 2026 14:19:35
Patrick has it right here. We all knew what the squad was like after last season and what was needed concerning the midfield and the planning was awful. Everything starts from there.

Granted the player that we did sign have improved us for the most part and are playing better with every passing day and that is down to the players ability and Iraola's tactics.

But with that midfield not being addressed from a deeper role perspective, is where our main issues are and till we fix that then, we will struggle early on.

14 Sep 2026 14:27:47
NRed, the problem with your comparison is that our midfield wasn't just hardworking. It had a creative player in it called Macca who worked hard but could find a key pass in the final 3rd.

Also and you may or may not want to here this, we had a "deep lying playmaker" in who? You guessed it: TAA who could play those penetrating passes, too. And if all else failed, VVD would just ping it 60 yards to Salah and we beat the oppo.'s press and we're off.

So if all the above is not happening because TAA is not here then, you have to try your best to replicate the next best thin. because Trent ain't coming back and Macca isn't that player anymore and now does his work a lot deeper because his lack of athleticism.

14 Sep 2026 14:57:09
Oli I don't disagree. Trent's ability to play that decisive pass is sorely missed, more than Macca's, as are Robbo's runs and assists from the left. Whwn we bought Isak and Wirtz, who are both quality players, and then of course Hugo I assumed we would change formation to 4312 to get the best out of these guys but we seem stuck in the old formation with players that just don't suit it.

14 Sep 2026 19:24:28
We shouldn't need loads of time Koparmy. For me enough time is pre season, and first three or four games to get match sharpness and team shape and preferred starting 11 or 13. That should be enough time to see more coherent football. City have it already despite quite a few changes of personnel.

We had coherent football with Slot very quickly in season one, he tweaked what was there basically and that was a sensible step, and successful.

Obviously last season they changed too much and it was also so boring to watch. The pressure was on Andoni to change style overnight, rather than phase the new style in more gradually and as and when he got the right players in.

He's basically got the first choice eleven available other than Connor Bradley so at least he hasn't got injuries to contend with, it's just about finding the right formula.

14 Sep 2026 23:13:54
But someone had a plan on how to use the midfield to win the PL title with the second fewest number of goals conceded.