Liverpool banter 10

30 Aug 2026 08:00:38
I’ve seen a few posts on here from people showing frustration about Gakpo leaving, even on social media showing outrage about him leaving, but I seem to remember many of the fanbase was Gakpo out last season, and were ripping him a new one calling him slots love child etc. Is it a thing were people are more angry that he’s going to City?

30 Aug 2026 08:09:12
I said the same on Twitter, people wanted him sold and would take 75 million, one saying he's been our best player for 4 seasons! Clueless, some folks.

30 Aug 2026 08:25:45
If we can't get an upgrade on him, then he shouldn't be sold. The manager has started him in both games, so it would indicate that he trusts him. It's a strange transfer imo.....

30 Aug 2026 08:35:40
I think the frustration is born from a few things. If we had four wingers and cover for Isak, I don't think the response would be the same. Add to that a couple of wins rather than draws, more depth in the squad at RB and DM, and people would be more agreeable to getting what is a decent return on a player who is unlikely to improve. Finally any RW is going to be compared to Salah, which means anyone, literally anyone we are linked to will be a come down.

Personally I'd like Sarr and Minteh. Sarr gives us an immediate solution and cover for Isak until Ekitike is fit, and allows Minteh to be integrated when fully fit rather than being rushed.

If, as we were told, we wanted Barcola and Diomande, then the budget would be there. I think we've left everything very late though, and the fees quoted reflect that, which is why any other additions might not happen. I hope im wrong.

30 Aug 2026 09:40:56
Ooh Cheeky Minteh, you've made me forget!

30 Aug 2026 09:55:55
Yeah, but the majority of those people will develop chronic arthritis in their knee from all the knee jerk reactions.

This is bad, imo.

Losing more experience. Not just from the league, but in the club.

Assuming Barcola is still coming (he's coming right?), then minus Gakpo we're going to have a collective of just a handful of games where the remaining attackers + Wirtz have spent time on the pitch together.



This might get worse than a roller coaster season, lads.

30 Aug 2026 10:56:33
You have to factor in the fact that Gakpo wants to leave. The request to leave, if true, changes your approach and selling price. You go from a place of dictating your price to a place of having to accept the highest bid you receive. Of course, he can be told he's staying, but I don't see the good in that.

30 Aug 2026 11:16:14
Gakpo wants to leave as we've replaced him. We could have an unhappy player on the bench, but no way we'd have a £250k a week player on the bench by design. City have no such worries. Also small matter of £85m.

30 Aug 2026 11:24:29
RedHorizon, I was never one of those people cos last season, I knew where the real issues lay. I have always had Cody's back and always have.

Now it could just be that Cody wants out cos of all the abuse he got (unfairly, imo) and wants a fresh start?

Or we are really up crap's creek esp. if we have no replacement in place.

30 Aug 2026 07:22:48
So i guess with fresh 85-90m from gakpo, let's see what options are there

1.) Sarr (maybe hughes will buy him for 60-70m in a year or two at saudi? )but jokes aside he did provide a very decent output for palace last year. I presume somewhere between 20-25 goals? which is decent enough

2.)Chemsidine Talbi
Needs much development

3.) t.Kubo- very attractive because has a 50m release clause

4) bakayoko - was one of the guys ed01 or 02 was saying should be targetted for replacing mo

5) Rayan - add another 20-30m and get him for another 100+ outlay

6) should have just signed semenyo when he was available for 65 .

30 Aug 2026 08:16:55
1.) Sarr - way too old to be wasting £70+ on, failure of recruitment if we do, plus how did negotiations with Palace go last summer at the same point?

2.) Talbi - mediocre player at best.

3.) Kubo - too small, too weak, poor end product, another downgrade.

4) Bakayoko - has completely failed in the Bundesliga, so very unlikely to be successful in a tougher competition.



5) Rayan - Bournemouth don't need to sell and apparently the buyout clause doesn't come into effect until January. Bournemouth would ask for stupid money at this point in the window and certainly a British transfer record.

All ends up, this is farcical stuff from the self declared "smartest men in the room".

Season is a write off before it's even started.

30 Aug 2026 09:23:52
VV you are a
Miserable
Old
Goat.
Trust in a great coach doing what they do best, and wait till the end of the window
Before vomiting the bile.

30 Aug 2026 09:43:41
VV, spot on as usual.

30 Aug 2026 11:24:45
Swampdonkey, I'd be more inclined to "trust the process", but for the fact we have been here multiple times before and signed piss poor players in a panic (Balotelli, Arthur, Kabak to name but a few). We had nearly three months to sort the squad out, there didn't appear to be a plan, and it's evident that Hugjes is going about it in a scattergun, haphazard way with 48 hours to go.

The issues we could clearly see last year with midfield and fullback personnel are still there, and it's entirely evident that none of Mac Allister, Gravenberch or Szoboszlai are disciplined or defensively capable enough to play in a pivot.

We were second best to everything yesterday and in the previous match against Newcastle. It's evident we're still a soft touch and have opted to do nothing about it. Iraola may be a very good coach, but he isn't a miracle worker and you can't polish a turd. He's been stitched up by the imbeciles above him who have not adequately supported him during the window.

So feel free to take your toxic positivity and put it where the sun doesn't shine.

30 Aug 2026 11:25:33
VV, I agree.

30 Aug 2026 02:44:35
Ed1, you were right about Rio. He always wants the ball to his feet. He'll do a few stepovers, and if he can't beat the player in front of him, it's either losing the ball or passing it back to the LB or one of the midfielders.

It's the same thing every time. It's kind of frustrating because the defenders know exactly what he's going to do whenever he gets the ball. I never saw him make a run in behind the defenders once yesterday.

Do you think this is a tactical instruction, or is it just his default setting?

{Ed001's Note - it is defo him and most modern wingers coming through academies, as they coach them on keeping possession rather than hurting the opposition.}

30 Aug 2026 08:17:28
Finally, people are starting to see this. I've been saying this for months, he does the same thing every time, 20 step overs, cut inside and no end product.

30 Aug 2026 08:29:49
But he's young and can be coached to make those runs behind. The stepovers worked in his academic days and have become 2nd nature. Give him a few more months to utilize his pace and game intelligence. He should come out a fine winger.

Not sure the fan base has the adequate patience, though.

30 Aug 2026 09:14:52
He could do worse than watch Michael Owen at the same age and see how direct he was, the runs he made, etc. He's got the natural pace, just needs to utilise it more.

Regardless of what people think of Owen, he was supreme at attacking defenders in his formative years.

30 Aug 2026 09:24:48
Take
Bayern's 70m
And run.
Rio
Is so one-dimensional
And does no defensive
Work.

30 Aug 2026 09:52:18
I actually thought he did ok when came on yesterday. Beat his man a few times and got the ball in the box. A few occasions he got into a good position but had to pass back as there wasn't anything on for him.

30 Aug 2026 09:57:47
Rio might develop well at Bournemouth.

We're seeing the live reason why it's increasingly more difficult for Liverpool to buy a kid cheap before they turn into a £100m player.

He needs time.

30 Aug 2026 10:37:44
He's got talent but nowhere near ready for me. Step over and lose the ball.

30 Aug 2026 11:18:55
Rio isn't that quick, most fullbacks can match him for pace. That's his problem as he hasn't developed anything other than a stepover, Mark Walter's reboot.

30 Aug 2026 11:30:04
Owen came thru 30 years ago, mate. Football has changed a ton since then, so the comparison is in your words, "supremely" flawed.

30 Aug 2026 11:55:49
Thanks for your in depth critique, Oli, clearly a student of the game.

It wasn't a comparison, it was a suggestion. Speed in football has always been an asset regardless of decade, it's how it's used, and football itself is cyclical, with the odd generational introduction (Cruyff, Guardiola).

22 players and a bag of wind and how that bag of wind is moved.

Talking about a bag of wind...

30 Aug 2026 00:40:54
Ed001, it's no secret we are sorely lacking on the right wing, however, I just can't see anyone on the market that would realistically improve us. Sarr is 28 and I just don't think he's good enough for a top level team and while I think Minteh has potential, he is out injured for the next 2-3 months.

What are your thoughts on using Szoboszlai on the right and spending the last few days of the window focusing on strengthening the midfield. I think bringing in a strong, ball winning central midfielder to play alongside Macca/Grav is the way to go. Someone who can sit while the other CM joins Wirtz and co further up the field when we're attacking.

{Ed001's Note - I said a while ago that is the route I would have gone down, rather than just buying for the sake of it. If the market is not there, it is idiotic to buy for the sake of it, you buy what is there rather than being overcharged for something you can make do without for now.}

30 Aug 2026 09:29:09
Putting Szobo out there also gets him out of Wirtz' way. He's hindering us in that regard at the moment. I've thought for a while that he'd be decent out on the right and it allows us to put someone a bit more defensive into midfield, maybe Nyonyi, whilst keeping a good player on the pitch.

30 Aug 2026 08:58:42
Do you think the market will get better though ed1? I worry this is the new valuation bar.

I do hear the point though that the players aren't there

{Ed001's Note - the price might stay high but the quality of players should improve. Better to spend it when the quality is there.}

30 Aug 2026 07:14:45
I wish Liverpool would revert to the recruitment early Klopp era. It isn’t a co-incidence the best player so far this season Munoz, is probably the cheapest and the one who wants to prove the most. All these ridiculous fees, where is our scouting team.

30 Aug 2026 07:27:06
As WDW said, "trust the process. People better than you are working hard behind the scenes."

I think we'll get a CDM and a right winger. And maybe a surprise for the bank holiday.

30 Aug 2026 07:50:00
Scrambling for last-minute desperate deals is not working hard....

We've known about our frailities for how many months? And we are yet to solve those frailities... At least we have 2 days to fix them...

30 Aug 2026 10:25:05
Grujic
Matip
Karius
Mane
Klavan
Manninger
Wijnaldum

Sure Mane and Wijnaldum were great, but there's some bad signings in there.

30 Aug 2026 03:27:05
Not a single post on two horrendous decisions yesterday.
Even manager didn't really speak much.
If this was Arteta Klopp Fergie or Mourinho the referee would be fighting and whole city would have turned against him.

I think this is also a major difference since Klopp left every half decision keeps going against us.


I know these even out eventually over a season (they didn't last season) but we were hard done by two trash decisions yesterday for offside and penalty.

30 Aug 2026 06:51:55
The penalty call was honestly ridiculous. Besides the fact that the Forest player did a dive after a coming together of the attacker and goalie that you see countless times in these situations, he had already got a shot off that went wide. I don't recall seeing penalty calls given for after a player has already taken a shot.

It makes you wonder why Van de Ven wasn't sent off for the challenge on Isak that broke his leg if that's the case? And what about the Delap foul throw prior to the penalty?

30 Aug 2026 07:25:50
I feel, with the word natural position being thrown around, wasn't it Alis natural position for his hands? I get it.

We are not gonna get every decision going in our way, and penalties can be subjective, but come on, how can the fourth official take like 4-5 mins for substituting? There's been rules changed so players get yellow or whatever for not leaving the field, na? Why isn't ref getting any heat?

30 Aug 2026 07:35:49
We are too soft. We have a soft captain. We have soft players and we have a soft media centre. PGMOL should be getting pelted from the club in a formal manner but, my goodness, the players need to be more passionate and vocal on the pitch. Have some backbone and bite!!

30 Aug 2026 08:15:37
They were vocal on the pitch though. Both Munoz and Allison got booked for "dissent" when they were protesting poor decisions by the ref.

30 Aug 2026 08:12:18
Its vvd. under klopp he would have the referee by his throat. Him milner and hendo would absolutely hound the referee all game and be at his case if he gave a soft decision.
Its comes from manager - both slot and iraola lack any aggression and well vvd has gone soft and all other players are just little babies. No man in the squad.
Thats also the reason for example szobo his reactions in scoring what he did last year to the fans when they were booing. Such a ladyboy behaviour. All prima donnas here. Absolutely zero men in the squad. Nobody can chin up no body can fight no body is scary.
If you tackle our players under klopp you would have signed a death warrant and would get battered whether it be hendo milner fab or vvd. They would make your life hell on the field. Now you can kill our players and play 90 mins scott free. Example martinelli - if he did that under klopp he would have not played another match in epl - first the players would kill him and then klopp would blast him into oblivion in the presser.

Our mental game is zero.

{Ed025's Note - Testosterone levels have peaked here i think.. :)

30 Aug 2026 08:32:04
Sorry to go against the grain, but it's ridiculous to condone harassing officials because decisions don't go our way. If it was up to me, I'd have a sin bin for that kind of thing.

We have to be better than that. We have to be better as a team to be able to overcome bad decisions.

If we're relying on decisions going our way every time in order to get results, then we're not as good as we want to be.
Complain officially through the right channels. Never do it on the pitch, and never do it in a post-match interview.

30 Aug 2026 08:58:15
Was Delap a foul throw? That's not good if it's correct. Does VAR not get involved if it leads to a goal?

{Ed025's Note - thats called..."clutching at straws" Irish..

30 Aug 2026 09:04:47
Such a baby ron. Baby. Men don't complain men act.

30 Aug 2026 10:31:43
Ok "Lastfanofslot", I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and treat you like you're not some spoofer:
If the officials are women? You condone players harassing them and getting them by the throat.
Some "man" you must be.

Babies throw tantrums, not men

30 Aug 2026 11:37:24
The refs had several howlers in the game including the pen and the Wirtz goal which should have stood cos MacAtee lost the ball and at the time he lost it, Frimpong is onside hence, new phase of play hence, goal. Goal.

That being said, let us not start getting involved with harassing officials even tho they are women.

30 Aug 2026 03:14:13
Gianluca Prestianni would be a good option at RW. Started well for Benfica this season.

30 Aug 2026 06:23:29
Not sure we need a homophobic/racist bellend at the club.

30 Aug 2026 11:38:04
Urakhunt, Really? That guy? Do better, mate.

30 Aug 2026 11:40:22
Really? Horrid person, why would you want that at the club?

30 Aug 2026 02:54:35
Cherki continues to impress me at City, a brilliant player and exciting to watch.

Wirtz continues to underwhelm me, a brilliant player but rarely shows his best.

30 Aug 2026 06:15:46
Harsh! 10 years ago, would have had a goal & an assist. Plus, he sent Cody through for cross on our first. He kept us in the game.

30 Aug 2026 06:24:41
Wirtz actually played really well last night and was probably motm for us, not sure why you feel the need to single him out at this moment?

30 Aug 2026 07:30:38
People expect Wirtz to have hattrick of assist and goal every game.

{Ed025's Note - or maybe they just want him to justify the amount of money they spent on him Liverbird?, he has been very underwhelming to be honest mate and seems very lightweight to me..

30 Aug 2026 09:01:22
I don't think Wirtz was Mom yesterday, but he did show up at the pivotal moments and was unlucky with a few efforts.

30 Aug 2026 10:04:24
I'd be ok with Wirtz going no goals and assists all season if he stamped his mark on a game. I've said this for years with Mo - yay all the goals but I always wanted more. More involvement with the team, more link up play, creating angles etc etc

With Wirtz, I think there are 2 key factors.

1 - the team needs to play through and around him and get him involved. The waste of time 5 yard pass to him will be beneficial because he will thrive on getting as many touches as possible. In the lead-up to his pass to Gakpo before Isak's goal, there was a phase right before that where Jacquet had the ball with Wirtz right next to him but Jacquet passed somewhere else.

Eventually the ball broke back to Jacquet, then he gave to Wirtz who immediately broke the lines for Gakpo to set up Isak. Our players' priority should be to get the ball to Wirtz, then others to connect or make runs.

2 - Wirtz needs to do his bit and stamp his mark on his team mates. Whether that's vocally or body language, he needs to show that he wants to dictate the play and demand the ball.

30 Aug 2026 02:29:50
The only hope of saving our season is if the following happens:

Guela Doue or the Spanish lad -RB.
Camara or Kone -CM.
Mbaye -RW.
Back-up striker.
Even then the squad is thin.

Gakpo goes for £85m.

30 Aug 2026 06:25:01
So, the only way to save our season is to sign four players in two days. Okay....

{Ed666's Note - kind of 😆👍