Liverpool banter 10

09 Apr 2026 18:33:37
Confirmed that Robbo will leave at the end of the season - the brilliant Klopp team goes and another leader in the group gone too.
One of the best LB we’ve seen at the club, what a bargain as well.
Cheers Robbo, thanks for the superb service you gave us - wishing him well wherever he may end up.

09 Apr 2026 19:42:43
Hi Ed's, any of you know if Milly has done his coaching badges yet? I would love to see him go into management / coaching. I think with his mentality he will be very good in the years to come.

{Ed001's Note - I don't think he has completed them yet. Why not Lallana?}

09 Apr 2026 21:01:24
I don't think Lallana is on the same level as Milly. Milly looks like he would chew a few of the current players up if they gave him the ego b*******. Bit of Yorkshire grit in that bloke.

09 Apr 2026 19:28:28
Oh Andy Andy, Andy Andy Andy Andy Robertson.

Thank you for everything and God speed.

You magnificent *******.

09 Apr 2026 19:21:56
One for hindsight.
Last summer, we let Salah leave on a free transfer, won the league player of the year etc. Offered half or more of his new wage to a prime age Diaz. Kept Nunez and used Isak money on Mbeumo and maybe an extra body in midfield.

Not taken the Guehi deal to deadline day, offered £50m in July. Would Slot got more from that squad than the one he has now? Or would it have been the same? What I’m saying is have we got square pegs in round holes?

09 Apr 2026 20:10:55
No, cause his tactics are dogrubbish. People like to try and blame the players, the transfers, the Diogo tragedy but we were terrible during the tail end of last season after Slot started introducing his own prefered style of play, which was long before any of the above happend.

I'll admit that Guehin might have helped somewhat solidify the backline but it wouldn't be enough, we're getting trampled on all over the park, 1 decent defender is not going to fix that. Diaz stays, sure there's more energy on the left but Mo is still gone and Diaz isn't picking up that slack, we'd still be playing slow indirect football which doesn't suit Diaz either so there's no doubt he'd be underperforming along with the rest of the team. Nunez, as much as I like him, had little contribution last year, Slot gave him just 7 league starts, clearly not his prefered coice of striker, the kid wears his heart on his sleeve and was never going to cope well under those circumstances.

Yes we have square pegs in round holes, the pegs are Slot, Edwards, Hughes and Peeters, and the holes are in their heads.

09 Apr 2026 19:06:09
So Robertson has just announced he's leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.

What a player! To think we got him pretty much in a swap deal for Kevin Stewart.

Really does feel like an end of an era.

{Ed025's Note - great player Rusty..

09 Apr 2026 19:51:55
What a player, lads. The best LB we had in years and only £10m.

09 Apr 2026 19:57:52
Fantastic player. What a privilege to have seen him playing to the maximum. He was proper.

09 Apr 2026 18:05:15
Ed's or anyone in the know. As much as I'd love Alonso to be the gaffer I just can't see anyone else but Jurgen turning this around.

He's known to have his sabbaticals then go back into management. Is there even the shred of possibility that he comes home as he's had his rest and probably hates to see what's happening?

09 Apr 2026 19:10:16
Nope, he's not coming back.

Don't lose hope for the future. If Arne Slot won us the league, you should hold hope someone else can!

09 Apr 2026 19:14:44
Depends on what you mean, turn it around.

Win the league next season? No, I don't think there's many managers that can pull that off.

Improve us to the point where more competitive, hungry, more attractive to watch, more comfortable in the Champions League spots next season - I think there's managers out there that can do that.



It's not an instant solution.

It's a building job now.

But it can be done. Still, many quality players at the club under the right leadership and tactical plan. But it will take more than one season now.

09 Apr 2026 19:34:43
Same, mate, these lads will take the mick out of him, can't imagine Alonso shouting and roaring, and that's what these lot need. We also miss Milner and Hendo like crazy, they've never been replaced.

09 Apr 2026 19:51:08
Qosr, Elliot Anderson is the spiritual successor to Henderson/Milner. Even if it's just one transfer in the summer, we need to do everything to make Elliot Anderson happen.

09 Apr 2026 19:57:09
I’d go as far to say most of our big personalities and voices have not been replaced. It’s crazy the imbalance of the squad and some of the recruitment failures. Did anyone genuinely think Isak would play a lot of games? My memory of him at Newcastle was he was permanently injured.

How was that a good move? I’m so pissed off with these guys in charge.

09 Apr 2026 20:24:29
Did Klopp go back to Mainz, or Dortmund? No, he's not coming back. He genuinely hates many aspects of the Premier League; the schedule, the stress, the media, the weather... He's Global Head of Football, he gets paid millions to work from home in sunny Mallorca where he can spend a lot more time with his family. Don't forget Klopp's move to Red Bull was not on a whim, it was a long-term plan. Red Bull initially made contact with Klopp over 2 years before he made his announcement, which was also around the same time he bought his current Mallorca home, that's no coincidence.



Just watch the Steven Bartlett interview with Klopp from last year, go to 1:54:43, or stick this on the end of the URL &t=6883s, watch how he answers the question about the possibility of returning to Liverpool. Pay attention to his body language and facial expressions. He says it's "theoretically possible" but his body very clearly says "absolutely no chance, mate".

09 Apr 2026 17:49:08
Now that I have calmed down after the game and had a lot to think. Rewatched highlights and well.

So Arne went from major confident fluid football to winning the league to problems against low block to playing low block football.

Wild!

09 Apr 2026 18:32:06
Since getting knocked out to PSG last season, we've only won 50% of all our matches since (29 of 58 games), conceding 79 goals in that time.

09 Apr 2026 18:47:40
I'll caveat that Cafu to say that when teams come out and play, like City and PSG, we struggle too. We aren't fluid in attack, and we can't defend. The latter was very evident early in the season, and was the first thing we needed to fix.

Never been addressed. The lack of changes in tactics, levels of fitness, determination, etc., as the season has "progressed" is truly staggering. It looks intentional at this point, which of course is unthinkable.

09 Apr 2026 19:59:50
Yeah, I don't think MacAllister, Gravenberch, Gakpo, Konate, Salah, or VVD have been trying all season. And if they have, then they must all be finished cos not one of them has been good, or even acceptable.

09 Apr 2026 16:46:24
At least my home town Dundalk are doing well 👌

Come on Da Town.

Isn't that right SG 😁.

09 Apr 2026 18:38:22
You're on the money there, Bazaa!!! They're flying it! H'On the town!!

09 Apr 2026 18:43:41
Bazza, you from town, are you living there now? No need to answer on this forum if you don't wish to, obviously! Just wondering!!

09 Apr 2026 19:10:49
I went to secondary school and socialised for many, many years in Da Town.

09 Apr 2026 19:13:01
Another Louth man here. Clogherhead just down the road.

09 Apr 2026 19:59:54
H'on the Clogherhead!!! I'm in the Sunny South East though. Have been for years.

09 Apr 2026 16:13:35
I think there's a few stinkers within the squad. I don't like quite a few mentalities.
The amount of rubbish slot is taking is actually ridiculous at this stage. We all agree it's best if he moves on but I've watched slot for months yell on the sidelines press and press faster etc and some of them are doing it, others half-hearted.
You can say he's to blame but I think there's a few rotten eggs hidden in the squad.
On what we need. There's several key positions.

There is no justification for Virg being here next season. He's another Salah situation. Buy if we need to buy more centre backs. He's not a leader and regardless of how bad Konate is, it doesn't justify keeping Virg.
This has been a disgraceful season for many, many reasons and there should be a massive reset in the summer and major reshuffle.
We need the right players in which I'm doubtful and we need the right personalities.

09 Apr 2026 16:43:59
Really don't get the slatings Virgil is getting lately. Yes, he's been poor, as they all have been, but he's not suddenly become a poor defender over night.

The whole team are off it, and personally I think it's important we don't lose all the standard setters at once. I look at the Chelsea scenario, signing loads of talented youngsters but no leaders to guide them. Jacquet and Leoni could have no better mentor, really.

The trouble with Virg is because of the lack of alternatives, he's had to play nearly every game... when at his age he needs a bit more of a rest from time to time.

Still a very strong defender, and in my opinion a strong leader. Crazy how we talk about loyalty as fans, and can see some of the abuse the likes of Salah and Van Dijk have received by so called fans of late.

Whatever about some of the rest of the lads re desire and representing the club, in my generation there's only been a handful of people who've represented the club as well as both Virg and Mo over the past years.

Anyway, rant over. Yes we need to remove our over reliance on him, but we should be helping him share the load. Think we need to be careful what we wish for... could be a lot worse without him, both on and off the pitch.

Also, final note, you'd imagine the likes of Leoni and Jacquet were delighted with the chance to learn from one of the best that's done in the past decade or so.

YNWA!

09 Apr 2026 17:12:59
VVD is getting judged on his sky high standards, yes he hasn't been at his best this year but he's still by far our best defender. You can feel sympathy for Slot if you want, but it's his tactics n style of play that he has implemented that has wrecked our season.

{Ed001's Note - he hasn't been though, Gomez has been miles better than him when he has played. Virgil looks lost.}

09 Apr 2026 17:26:45
I didn't agree with him coming out and saying we give up (v City), but maybe that's his way of outing what's going on behind the scenes.

09 Apr 2026 17:39:39
It's gotten so bad I wouldn't be bothered if we sold every single one of them. But then that begs the question, is it just all the manager?

Suppose we'll never know coz he'll never get sacked. 😂

09 Apr 2026 17:51:31
Vvd bashing is mostly because he is a very bad leader to have when the team is down. Obviously, he is a level below his usual standards, but he just has not been anything close to a leader on the pitch. No authority, shoulders always dropping, and looks flat and gassed.

09 Apr 2026 17:59:07
Great post Blameitontraore, I have been guilty of being harsh on Vvd but I guess it's because he has been so good last load of years. This is the same with Salah. Their motivation last season was a new contract. I think it's fair to say their motivation this year hasn't been as high, and Slot doesn't look like a motivator. Also, these senior pros will have worked with some great managers, will maybe know that Slot is out of his depths, and maybe subconsciously have dropped their efforts a bit.

He is a great defender but is working under a s*** coach in a poorly coached side. He is 34, and doesn't get rested so this downturn was inevitable. The recruitment team failed to address key areas in favour for unfit strikers, and the coach for me, is the biggest problem.

09 Apr 2026 18:15:06
I think you meant to say "The amount of rubbish Slot is talking".

09 Apr 2026 18:19:57
Virgil has been immense, but he is well past his best now. I would sell him and get someone else in the summer.

09 Apr 2026 18:32:12
The 3 CB's yesterday looked like it was sprung on them, there was no positional stability, everyone was trying to be over everywhere and essentially covering nothing, it was like watching children.

I still stand by the defence not being that bad, it's more a lack of a proper DM and piss poor coaching.

09 Apr 2026 18:36:59
I think people underestimate how poor a player can look under a crap coach. In the summer, our transfer window and squad were being spoken about like we would walk the league and now it seems they are all crap and should be sold??

Don't get me wrong, the players have been performing poorly but are the conditions right for them to succeed? They look poorly trained, very unfit and our system is a mess.

Take last night, 3 CBs up against PSG's forward line which doesn't have a proper no 9 to mark, our defence man marking the likes of Dembele who was dropping deep and dragging our CBs all over the field, honestly clueless tactics! How in God's name can Virg or any of our other defenders properly defend when set up to fail.

09 Apr 2026 19:21:16
Amazing how every older player in our squad is suddenly past their best. It's rubbish and Slot's abysmal approach has been the root cause. If you think these players from elite to crap overnight, you're deluded.

09 Apr 2026 19:26:50
Also, re leadership, I think a lot is made of the captain's armband, real leaders don't need an armband to be a leader. Virg was a leader long before he wore the armband. I remember being in the stands for his debut at home to Everton, and he was already organising the defence from day 1. (And scored the winner.)

The problem is we've lost a lot of other leaders over the years, the Hendersons, the Milners, Robbo to a certain degree, as he's been more out than in on the pitch at least.

Also, the phrase you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink comes to mind... Virgil has been visibly frustrated with some of his teammates, maybe himself too, but again, as mentioned above, he's set ridiculous standards... same with Mo, who's stats are, I believe, better than wonderboy Saka even though he's had a horrendous season...



Anyway, again I think we all agree none of it's been good enough, but I think stripping away all the senior members of the dressing room at once would be a massive mistake in my opinion. Just saw Robbo's interview too, a huge loss behind the scenes too.

Hopefully, there's a few who've been around them long enough to carry the torch, if and when we finally put Arne out of his misery.

Thanks for the title, Arne, and he's handled himself with great dignity. I'll never forget some of his interviews dealing with the unprecedented tragedy, but it's clear it's best for all parties if we part ways as soon as possible before the damage becomes irreparable.

09 Apr 2026 19:36:06
Terrible squad management by the hires up, lads who rely on place fall of a cliff fast, Alexis Sanchez and Rio Ferdinand being two examples, Salah and Vvd should have been replaced long before now.

09 Apr 2026 19:41:50
ED001 gomez has hardly played, VVD plays every minute with Konate beside him plus a new left back who is struggling aswel, he still the best defender we've got.still got at least a year for us.but i'd take the captaincy off him though

{Ed001's Note - he is done, his legs have clearly gone and his attitude stinks.}

09 Apr 2026 20:06:53
Agree 100% Ed, people need to wake up and smell the coffee the hire ups have completely fd everything up we're in a bit of a mess here and it could get worse if we don't make the right choices this summer