Liverpool banter 10

31 Aug 2026 10:33:11
Hang in there ED's we're almost there, just one final push and we can get back to normal for a few months - very much looking forward to the transfer window closing and getting back to normal and just reading about how awfully run we are and how terrible some of our players are.

The thing I'm particularly looking forward to most is not watching us play and seeing AI work with the squad. Post Edwards and Hughes I'm super excited to find out who will be the next figures everyone can get behind blaming for any perceived failures.

Can we do a quick poll to see who we think will be the new hate figures once the usual suspects have left the building? Obviously FSG will likely win but I'm looking forward to seeing who else everyone else wants to get angry about.

31 Aug 2026 11:01:52
I would say get on your high horse, but I see you are a different kind of horse entirely.

31 Aug 2026 11:06:04
It'll be Iraola, not before too long, if the wins don't start rolling in.

31 Aug 2026 11:16:13
I don't eat Mango's, I find them a little too bitter.

31 Aug 2026 11:22:00
@Faith, probably mate, but I'm confident some of our fans will find others, we are exceptional at playing the blame game and expressing our vitriol - sending thoughts and prayers to the new lambs about to be slaughtered in the name of "mummy my football team didn't do a win today and my butts hurt".

31 Aug 2026 11:36:24
Give it a rest, Crazy Horse. Fans have a right to express their frustration without your sanctimony. "Can we do a quick poll to see who the new hate..." - No, we can't, but I can tell you without needing a poll that your post is pointless and inflammatory.

31 Aug 2026 11:50:56
Highly doubt anybody will be turning on the manager, you, perhaps. In fact, I've never seen the fanbase treat any manager even remotely close to how we treated Slot... but no other manager was dumb enough to be calling Ramsey s*** in press conferences and the f***ing off on his jollies every second week.

31 Aug 2026 11:52:12
I'm sending the muckspreader down to Bournemouth today.

31 Aug 2026 12:14:24
Lowe, do you honestly believe people coming on here expressing "their frustrations" is anything other than also pointless and inflammatory? Or do you think the ranty equivalent of going outside and shouting at a lamppost comments are adding value?

Also, by your own logic, I also have an equal right to my opinion - or are the rules now that we all need to agree?

31 Aug 2026 12:28:01
"But no other manager was dumb enough to be calling Ramsey s*** in press conferences and the f***ing off on his jollies every second week."

BJ, not gonna lie, that made me laugh.

As for "Crazy One", Lowel responded to you appropriately.

31 Aug 2026 13:38:16
Can a post be pointless and inflammatory?

31 Aug 2026 10:28:05
This is to the ITK. Is there any slight chance of a midfield reinforcement before tomorrow deadline?

31 Aug 2026 10:27:46
Not gonna lie, signing a goalkeeper was not what I expected at this point in the window, with the amount of work that is still needed in other areas of the squad. Also solidifies my fear that Alisson won't be signing a new contract, and will be leaving at the end of the season. If Van Dijk leaves as well, oh boy, the next Sporting Director is going to have a job and a half on his hands.



Once Barcola signs, we will need an RB, Left Back (either first 11 or rotation), CB, CM (possibly 2), RW, and signings to improve our depth of quality on the bench. That is an awful lot of work.

31 Aug 2026 11:00:13
Alisson and VVD have been poor so far this season.

31 Aug 2026 11:53:44
The real question is who will be captain? Szoboszlai is the only option, but he is lucky to be getting on the pitch atm with his current performances.

31 Aug 2026 12:08:38
B_J - Szoboszlai is no captain. A man who can't even make basic tackles simply cannot be the leader of a team like Liverpool. One of the biggest issues the current squad has is an insufficient number of aggressive b*****ds who yell at and demand more from each other.

31 Aug 2026 12:49:25
Unfortunately, there isn't anyone else once Virg and Ali leave. Gone are the days of Gerrard, Milner or Hendo setting the standards from the middle of the pitch.

31 Aug 2026 08:39:25
Its going to be a long post so buckle up. But how has our squad planning become so, so awful over the past few years. It is absolutely insane.

GK: following Alisson was never going to be easy anyway, but trying to replace him with a goalkeeper who treats the ball like a bomb each time is so dumb.
RB: buying Frimpong, who is not a RB to cover for Bradley when you k ow Bradley will miss a lot of games each season.
CB: still no virgil replacement. I would prefer a left footer for variety too, but I will be satisfied if Araujo shows enough to be made permanent. Him, jacquet, leoni, and a new experienced signing next season should cover us well.
LB: actually the onky position i think where the idea was sound. Kerkez was a team of the year LB and hardly ever misses a game. Tsimikas is a decent enough backup. No one would have thought that Kerkez would struggle so much though, which has put a spanner in the works.
MF: not a singleoption apart from Endo (who is old and not qyute at the level) who has a single defensive instinct in their body. Szoboszlai runs a lot but he simply has no defensive awareness and his tackling is so poor. Also, he can be too conservative in possession. Macca also at his best at 10, and he doesn't have the legs anyway. Gravenberch has one elite skill and is otherwise a fairly average player. He can't tackle either, but somebody needs to make it clear to him that he needs to sit. None of them can progress the ball from deep either through passing. Dom has the tecnhique but lacks the courage in my opinion. All this making Wirtz struggle too. Qhile he himself looks lightweight, it doesn't help when everyone wants to play in the same spaces. Why sign him unless you wanted to replace szoboszlai.
ST: signing both isak and ekitike was a bit strange if both are fit. But then isak has a terrible injury record and ekitike can play from the ft, so i can still understand it.
Wing: which nrings us to wingers. 4 LW and no RW. All the strikers also prefer dropping to the left. So does Wirtz. Isak needs wingers who can put in crosses and cutbacks. None of our current wingers are skilled at that. Gakpo is an inside forward, Rio is also a ball hogging winger who is not ready anyway. Munoz does look exciting though and has pace to burn. I like the idea of Barcola too, and hopefully he can shine. But the decision making and succession planning has been very poor.

All in all it has been quite a rubbishshow since the new management actually began making signings.

31 Aug 2026 10:16:30
Good assessment, thekoparmy.
If Wirtz is going to work and become what we all hope he will, we need to build the team around him.
This requires a striker who can play with his back to goal and play link up football.
Two fast pacey wingers who are prepared to run in behind.
Most importantly, two hard working physical midfielders, who will win the ball and give it to the danger men quickly.


This squad requires new players and a lot of time on the training pitch.
If we do not give Wirtz what he needs to be a success, we may as well sell him and play Szoboszlai as the no 10.
Wirtz is not going to work with the current midfield options.

31 Aug 2026 10:19:16
I think there was a focus on big name exciting talent vs team balance/overall structure.

The physicality was absolutely sucked out of the team. Every player who left pretty much was replaced by a less physical player. On occasion that's fine, as you gain in other areas, but Hughes and the team has done it to such an extent that we are left with a very unphysical team size wise.

To pay for these big name, high profile players and recoup cash, Hughes has shrunk the squad of depth.

Failure to secure contracts has led to players leaving without recouping transfer fees to replenish the squad.

Taking opportunistic transfers has not worked out. It's like focus on the top transfers and then we'll fill out the rest. Everyone that comes in that door must be carefully selected. I'm sure there's a plan. It's not being worked on hard enough, though, and executed well enough.

When we miss on a target, it's very panicky looking from the outside.

Overall, the job Hughes has done. /Edwards/ anyone else involved has been a shambles. Thank God they are leaving.

The good news is that we bought good players in the door even if they don't work well together just yet. We need to add the physicality back into the team through transfers and training. This will get the best out of the big signings that Hughes brought in. All is definitely not lost.

One or two more seasons of Hughes could have brought this club to real dark times. A good DOF should be able to rectify this squad. Especially with Iraola at the helm. I'm more positive than anything right now personally. But we certainly have a rocky patch to get through this season. (Especially early part).

31 Aug 2026 10:19:51
Well said - how we have gone from having that ruthless instinct for good players, good prices and getting it done quickly is unbelievable, Jeff... although still thinks the Diouf, Diau, the new Zidane shades this as worst ever. Let's go again and hope we have a plan come January.

31 Aug 2026 10:32:22
Good post mate. Play Wirtz as the 10 and sit Grav and Trey in as the double pivot, with Grav holding and Trey breaking the lines or passing through, we have seen enough from him to know he has it in his locker. With Barcola on the left offering the pace to make the stretch.

Playing Slobz as RB and Munoz as the RW, which allows the stretch on the RW side as well, pace on both wings which should free up Isak. We still need a CM and another wide player who can play across the line on both sides. Interesting 48 hours.

31 Aug 2026 10:38:17
It's all a bit dramatic. We now have 4 cb's plus Gomez. Grav is decent, he just needs to be told to play more defensively. We are buying the 2 pacey wingers (one of which will be the league's best player) and Wirtz will thrive. Work to do, especially at full back positions, but it's far from a crisis.

31 Aug 2026 10:52:13
Maybe it's the result of the manager not having a big enough say in recruitment?

I'm not a fan of the whole head coach nonsense.
If someone is appointed the role as coach/manager, they must be able to have a say in who gets recruited.

31 Aug 2026 11:45:10
@MolbysMagic, Wirtz worked a treat and was outstanding vs Forest imo with the current midfield options. If we didn't leak 2 bad goals, we would all be singing his praise, mate. And I know his goal was called offside, but he took that goal very well also. If this will be his base form this season, he will have a good one.

31 Aug 2026 12:35:12
"Play Wirtz as the 10 and sit Grav and Trey in as the double pivot,"

Sorry, Sir Charles (nickname for NBA legend Charles Barkley, lol), but this is not the answer. Neither Trey nor Grav have the penetrating passing ability that VVD, Jacquet and Araujo have, let alone Macca who was very good in this area vs Forest.

So, for me, if you want to get the best out of Wirtz like we did in the second half v Forest, you're gonna need a Macca or his profile of player to punch those incisive passes thru the lines to get Wirtz in the game in advanced areas to find his wingers and Isak.



Not sure, Trey, Grav and even Szobo can execute this task as they don't possess these passing qualities.

31 Aug 2026 09:33:01
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and refer to an interview I seen Semenyo give talking about Iraola.

If I recall correctly, Semenyo spoke of how much running Iraola made the team at Bournemouth when he arrived. It took quite a while for them to build up enough fitness to both train and play with the intensity Iraola wanted.



It's more than possible that with a limited pre season as well, the team just aren't capable of backing up the intense training on game day just yet.

Yes, there are some problems with our mids and fullbacks specifically. Hopefully everything falls into place in the near future.... and Hughes pulls his finger out of the proverbial!

31 Aug 2026 10:00:38
Agree and this is why I'm baffled by people's criticism after only 2 games. He's clearly got a way of playing and it will take time. Rome wasn't built in a day!

31 Aug 2026 10:05:47
It's going to take a long time to adjust, up the fitness, and master Iraola's system, but in the meantime some players are absolutely abysmal, some are making mistakes you wouldn't see in pub team, and some just aren't trying hard enough. The criticism is very much warranted.

31 Aug 2026 10:18:42
Agree, Chewy. I just don't see some of these players, particularly in midfield, being able or willing to meet Areola's demands.

31 Aug 2026 10:53:34
Fitness is key. They did it under Klopp, lost it under Slot, now need to regain again. As with Jurgen, it took time, have faith in the process.

31 Aug 2026 10:54:30
Good post, Aussie Mark.

31 Aug 2026 11:08:15
I agree, but unfortunately Iraola is at Liverpool now.
He doesn't bring the pedigree that Klopp brought.
So I think, while the results are likely to be up and down, the fanbase needs to see progression in the identity of the team and a clear style.

31 Aug 2026 11:56:17
I've always thought that the first half of the season would be up and down and it would be January when we really see the team gel and take off. I still believe that.

31 Aug 2026 12:39:12
I always thought it would be a slow burn of a season early on as well, so none of these things surprise me esp. coming off a season where the tactics, system etc. was pathetic and put the players in a bad spot all season.

Iraola is trying to revitalise the team and the progress is already there if people bother to actually look.

As for the players, they need to step up and be counted and help the manager get that first win and go from there.

Therefore, if you're losing your marbles over something you already knew would happen, then that's on you. Not Iraola.

31 Aug 2026 09:11:47
I think it’s safe to say that we are now at the point of panic buying. Even if we manage to get a new RW in, we have lb in Kirkez who isn’t great and right full back in Frimpong who is good at taking players on but has no end product/passing ability whatsoever. Plus we have no DM and Macallister is back to normal 💩 self.

There’s so much to do and yet we have left it last minute, so I don’t have high hopes for us this season, even to get Champions League position. By the time AI has got us going, we will already be too far behind teams like City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Villa etc to even make an impact.

31 Aug 2026 10:11:15
I don't know, in order to panic you'd have to be somewhat aware of what's going on, and I don't think 'ol Dickie boy has a clue

31 Aug 2026 11:03:40
Haha, excellent Chewie, nail on head.

31 Aug 2026 08:52:13
It’s rumoured Chelsea have this morning secured Lamine Camara for £38m. Meanwhile, back at their bolt hole in Dorset, Hughes and Iraola are pondering our clearance options in the twilight hours of the window.

31 Aug 2026 10:20:10
I don't think Iraola has much to do with transfers to this level.
This is all on Hughes.

31 Aug 2026 10:35:27
Don't blame AI for the s*** show, mate. This was not his making. Only people who can be blamed are Edward's and Hughes. I'll add whoever at FSG who decided it was good to go against the advice Klopp had given previously. AI is not the problem.

31 Aug 2026 10:48:18
I just think they're too busy playing with each other's bolt holes.

31 Aug 2026 08:50:11
With the way this transfer window is unravelling, it does seem that Hughes parting gift is to throw Iraola under the bus imo.

31 Aug 2026 07:53:15
You are quite right Jakedenney2. But 99% of them are for right price. My point is with today’s networking and pretty much access to every league. Surely a team of people employed full time who have a better skill set than us can find available players to improve our squad with our spending power. It’s criminal that we could start the season so thin on the ground with question marks over so many positions. If any of us got Hughe’s job this morning.

The very first thing we would do is have a meeting with scouting team and say:


Who can we get who is better than him? And him? And him? As a starter. I know it’s not that simple but there is a literally hundreds of players better than some of ours who have clubs that cannot say no to LFC. We need to stop looking for our £100 million + players and get back to who is best. How many of us was screaming for Robby when he was at Hull?

31 Aug 2026 08:50:33
I think we're going to roll with what we have until Jan and then buy out Rayan.

31 Aug 2026 09:21:15
We will sign 3 players before the window closes.

31 Aug 2026 09:30:05
I don't know if we've enquired after Rayan's availability now, but if he's the one we want, then it would make more sense to try and get him in than what feels like a stopgap in Sarr, even if much more expensive.

31 Aug 2026 09:35:29
Bournemouth have no need to sell now, they would ask an astronomical fee, probably double what Gakpo goes for.
It is reported he has a buy out clause for £130m activated in Jan 2027.

31 Aug 2026 09:50:19
I thought it's 130m and 85m in January.

31 Aug 2026 09:54:58
When Araujo signed, the video showed 4 lockets, 1 with the Uruguay flag in. It looks like Barcola has another, so I'm saying we sign 2 more. Hopefully a midfielder.

31 Aug 2026 09:59:53
The RW market is absolutely abysmal at the moment, Greenwood and Antony were ranked 4th and 5th for goal contributions last season, says it all really. Trincao was 3rd, and sold his soul to the Saudi. Then it goes;
6. Rayan - can't get him
7. Sarr – maybe, but last-minute deal will be difficult
8. Diomande – gone to Real
9. Lewelling – 5 years in Bundesliga with just 1 good season in his whole career at 25yrs old
10. Semenyo – went to Citeh
11. Trenskow – good player, nice left foot, good link-up play and ball retention but only has 1 good season of 'top-flight' football behind him playing for a mid-table Dutch team, would be a huge step up.
12. Doue - not leaving PSG
13.

Nene – 1 decent season in both Bundesliga and Turkey, just moved to Fenerbache last summer, doesn't impress me
14. Moussa – Another ok player from Eredivise, just 1 good season under his belt, not cut out for PL in my opinion
15. Akgun – some decent performances in Turkey but couldn't cut it in the championship previously, just signed new contract
16. Bowen
17. Saka
18. Salah
19. Pepe - Flopped at Arsenal
20. Douglas Mann - 1 decent season with PSV but couldn't break double digits in Serie A
21. Thauvin - 32yrs old
22. Wilson - 28, doesn't impress at Fulham
23. Akliouche - gone to PSG
24. De Frutos - 29yrs old, regularly struggles to break double digits
25. Adeyemi - gone to Barca.

31 Aug 2026 11:57:45
Would people really be happy, going by the small sample size we've seen of him, to hand over £130m in January for Rayan. World is gone mad.