Liverpool banter 10

01 Sep 2026 16:25:43
One of the biggest sticks used to beat Slot with was his reluctance to engage with the academy and give our young lads chances. Iraola has come in and wants to do just that with the likes of Rio, Chambers, McConnell, Nyoni and Koumas.



Now there’s a new thing to moan about though, that we’re putting too much faith in them and leaving ourselves short. Is there a touch of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” about this?

01 Sep 2026 16:48:00
Personally, I'd stick Nyonyi in as a DM (Assuming we're playing one) and see how he gets on. He looked good when he came on against Forest.

01 Sep 2026 16:51:07
There is a difference between giving them a chance and relying on them. If they are good enough, they should get a chance, but if you are relying on them, you are setting them up to fail.

01 Sep 2026 16:53:52
Couldn’t agree more, mk. I think personally slot and his reluctance to use young lads was his biggest downfall and square pegs in round holes, it made him look out of his depth and probably contributed to him losing his job.

01 Sep 2026 16:54:04
I’ve also been surprised to see a number of people advocating for Szobo at RB. Something else that Slot got pelters for.

01 Sep 2026 16:57:16
Was it really one of the biggest sticks, mate?

Around Anfield last season, the biggest moans I heard were how slow the team were in and out of possession, the lack of running in and out of possession, the fact they dropped lots of points at home and looked like they were unable to defend set pieces.



Not sure I heard anyone mention the youth solving those issues.

01 Sep 2026 16:57:19
Last time I looked, we don’t have a right back in the academy ready to promote. We sold Stephenson. I had hoped we might move for Daniel Banjaqui, but alas. Not this window.

McConnell has looked way out of his depth in pre-season.

Perhaps I’m missing something there. I’d be flabbergasted if he ever plays at the highest level.

Koumas, Chambers - good to keep them around this season.

Trey and Rio will get more minutes.

01 Sep 2026 16:59:56
Thought the same, MK. Not sure all of them can get much game time given the results so far, but I’d give Trey a chance. If he plays for a while and isn’t cutting it, fair enough, take him back out, but so far he looks pretty good in there when he gets game time. He’s maybe not shiny enough to please a lot of fans.

01 Sep 2026 17:00:32
If you're good enough, you're old enough, but also bed them in slowly.

01 Sep 2026 17:04:09
Who's relying on them, Fifth?
Not one of those named has started both games and two of them haven't even featured.

01 Sep 2026 17:11:21
I see what you mean, MK. You can't make everyone happy.

If Nyoni continues to play anything like his cameo from the weekend, I don't think anyone will have complaints. He completely ran the show when he came on and completely embarrassed much more senior midfielders imo.

01 Sep 2026 17:13:12
Trey at the moment deserves to be in the starting XI on merit.

He did more against Forest than Gravenberch did and Gravenberch should not even have started after the Newcastle horror show.

Szoboszlai also needs to be careful. He is not as good as he thinks he is.

It’s about time we had a ruthless manager. Let’s see how it pans out next game.

01 Sep 2026 17:17:06
If you offered Iraola a good LB and RW at the expense of Chambers and Koumas he’d bite your hand off.

01 Sep 2026 17:20:54
We’ve played two games, Rigsby. Wait until December when we are playing two games a week and we have five injuries. I guarantee some will have to start then.

01 Sep 2026 17:40:16
JK23, you probably get to more games than me. I only watched 2 at Anfield last season. Both times, though, there were people moaning about Slot not trusting Rio enough and refusing to drop Gakpo no matter how badly he played.

If you read this site and other forums regularly, you’d also have seen hundreds of different usernames all questioning why Slot didn’t trust Rio/Ramsay, why Slot went on holiday during international breaks instead of working with the kids, why Slot never attended academy games etc.



It was a pretty big stick in the ground and online.

01 Sep 2026 17:56:48
@StEitienne,

"And Gravenberch should not have even "started" after the Newcastle horror show"

He never "started" as he came on the field as a substitute with Nyoni after 71 minutes.

Andoni's way of punishing players is to either bring them off as a sub, hence Wirtz after 60 mins versus Newcastle, and not even starting Gravenberch versus Forest as a punishment for sloppy passes leading to the last time an LFC player made contact with the ball, till Becker picked them both out of the net.



You get no second chances with Andoni, don't pull ye weight, off ye Pop?

01 Sep 2026 17:59:05
Koumas could surprise us.

01 Sep 2026 18:01:40
Three of the five you mentioned weren’t at the club last season though they were rightfully out on loan. The other two, Trey and Ngumoha, got about the minutes they were ready for at a top club defending a title.

Apart from them, there was no one else near Premier League ready. I hope they all get minutes this year, but hopefully not because we’ve had several injuries to senior players.

01 Sep 2026 18:13:57
And now Rio's playing, we are all seeing why Slot didn't pick him, MK. Ramsay has now gone. Again, Slot must've known something. Elliott's gone. Again, Slot must've known something.

I wanted Slot gone, but last season he was being blamed for everything. Some of his decisions are now being proved right.

01 Sep 2026 18:26:00
Rio did about as good as any 17-year-old winger would do, in fairness, Rome. The craziness was leaving just him and Gakpo for the left wing. He’ll have benefited from the game time he’s had. This is what happens when ye have to promise a kid the moon and the stars to get him out of Chelsea.

01 Sep 2026 18:34:53
I'm not knocking Rio, FM, I'm simply saying he's not yet ready. His time will no doubt come.

I'm looking forward to seeing Barcola and Munoz flying down the wings. They are the immediate future.

01 Sep 2026 19:01:00
Oh, so we'll be relying on them in December, Fifth? You could be right on that and we might get to see whether they can be relied upon or not.

Ramsay's not a kid; he's 23 and has played one game for us.

A 3-0 defeat at home.
It's evident that Slot didn't trust him but neither did the managers of Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic or Kilmarnock.

01 Sep 2026 19:26:20
Hundreds of different usernames. I think you’ve overshot that one, Mk mate.

Def agree on the Slot holidaying, and I do remember Rio getting calls to be playing more games, and Ramsey did for about a week, but it definitely wasn’t hundreds of usernames.

Nyoni, Rio & Ramsey weren’t changing last season's awful performances or results.

However, looking forward to seeing what the youngsters can do this season because it’s clear we’re not strengthening again this window and we’re about to hit the 2-3 games a week schedule and then a 3 week international break, so the youngsters will def be needed.

01 Sep 2026 20:33:41
JK23, to be honest I was being conservative with my estimate of hundreds. As I said, across this site “and other forums”, it would not shock me if it was over 1000 different people I saw complaining about just Rio not starting over Gakpo.

Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X etc. They were gunning for it everywhere.

This isn’t the only place on the internet where people discuss football.

01 Sep 2026 20:48:33
Ok mate I’ll take your word for it then.

Considering there’s an estimated 500 mill LFC fans worldwide, hundreds or thousands, as you’ve put it, is still the minority.

01 Sep 2026 16:16:21
It's tough to watch all our rivals signing players to make their team better whilst Dick sits on his brain doing nothing.

01 Sep 2026 16:25:49
Not a massive fan of the STC at all.

01 Sep 2026 16:45:36
I am stupid… What does STC mean? Everyone says it and I seem to be the only one that doesn’t understand it. 🤣

01 Sep 2026 16:57:06
Silver tongued charmer.

01 Sep 2026 17:01:59
STC=Silver Tongued Charlatan. 👍

01 Sep 2026 17:05:51
While I don’t think he’s making the right choices, I think the reason we’ve now stopped buying is financial.

After Barcola, we’re probably now needing sales to fund purchases, or loans with obligations. I hope I’m wrong, but I can’t see Minteh coming in now even if Brighton have secured his replacement unless someone’s out the door.

01 Sep 2026 17:05:59
Charlatan.

01 Sep 2026 17:00:04
Man.of.todd

STC = Silver Tongued Charlatan = Richard Hughes's nickname

01 Sep 2026 17:13:00
Rubbish Talking Qunt

01 Sep 2026 17:19:53
Scandinavian Turkey Charmer.

01 Sep 2026 17:24:13
Arsenal fans moaning because they haven't signed LW and CF. Modern day football fan. Pathetic.

01 Sep 2026 17:38:57
We've spent nearly 200 million. Should we have bought more? Most of us think so. But, we haven't, so we all need to suck it up. Also, as I keep saying, according to many on here, last season's squad should've won the league.

We've strengthened and have got a new Head Coach. Therefore, logic dictates we will walk the league this season. Am I missing something? The Bald Fraud was to blame. What's changed?

01 Sep 2026 18:05:12
Reality has kicked in, Rome.

01 Sep 2026 18:35:57
Saudi transfer consultant.

01 Sep 2026 19:12:07
Rome, we'd walk the League with the players that get mentioned on here. These players don't even have to be players; it can be any right back, left back, DM or RW that needs to be brought in.
It doesn't matter if they can't be signed or that if Iraola wants them or not, but they need to be signed so that we win the League.


Simple, really.
Just get it done, but don't pay too much or try to save tens of millions of pounds by getting it done, because the fans are not happy.

01 Sep 2026 19:24:58
No real fan would be happy with the s***show. And why bring Arsenal into it?

01 Sep 2026 19:42:40
HGP, I brought Arsenal into it to highlight the modern football fan, never happy with what they have, despite, in their case, being champions.

Maybe I'm not a real fan, maybe I should be screaming for Hughes and FSG to be run out of town.

Am I happy we didn't sign full backs and a centre mid? No, I'm not, but I'll suck it up and get behind the team I support, and come on here and moan about players when we lose. It's what I do.

01 Sep 2026 20:09:00
Why FSG?

Hughes is clearly the ringmaster here. Gordon had to come in to save us from him, Slot and Edwards.

FSG aren’t to blame.

01 Sep 2026 20:09:26
You're not happy but you're moaning about other people not being happy. That makes sense.

01 Sep 2026 20:40:11
HGP, I consider FSG to be very good owners.

WD40, I'm happier than most on here, that's for sure. I do like to moan though.

01 Sep 2026 16:12:25
I think barcola will get the best out of wirtz as he will take a few defenders out with him and give a lot of space to wirtz to work in.

The problem with Gakpo is he almost never reaches the byline to draw and suck defenders and always cuts in on his right and takes up space where wirtz should be.

Barcola will drag defenders out of position and hence it gives wirtz more time and space and i think we will finally see the best of wirtz.

Also i am awfully tempted to try munoz on the right. He is pure fire. Just needs trust of his manager.

Hmm i also want to drop VVD and try araujo and jacquet. Vvd is gone next year. We need to prepare this year for life without him. And VVD has been below par. Wounded and seething and plays a little scared for me to deep and always open.

If not CB araujo has to be at RB.

In fact i don't think AI has played 3 at back but we have right players for 3 at back

Now midfield - can't figure midfield out. I want nyoni to start but i can't figure who among gravy macca szobo to drop.
I think trey and szobo in midfield

Araujo jacquet vvd kerkez
Nyoni szobo
Munoz wirtz barcola
Isak

Looks fine to me.
Actually as long as we font start frimpong we are going to be ok.

01 Sep 2026 16:33:13
JG is due a season with no further injuries. Yeah, I know.

01 Sep 2026 16:50:18
Can't argue with any of that tbh...

I think eventually (fitness permitting) Leoni will take VVD's place... The sooner the better for me.

01 Sep 2026 17:14:12
Munoz looks more dangerous on the right, so has to play there for me. It’s a no-brainer.

01 Sep 2026 17:19:31
Szoboszlai can’t play that role. He needs to be the 10, the RW. He has no awareness and can’t defend (nor should he be expected to, he’s an attacking midfielder). It would be like playing Wirtz there.

01 Sep 2026 18:06:29
But Araujo will be gone next year as well. He also isn’t a patch on Virgil.

01 Sep 2026 18:30:59
Barcola coming has finally put to bed. Wirtz tried as a LW; he now only has 2 options: a false number 9, aka Firmino, with RW/LW alongside him, or competing for a MF/AM role (unless he started as a Left Back earlier on in his career).

Bobbie Wirtz roll on?

01 Sep 2026 19:15:13
I agree with dropping VVD. As good as he has been, he sadly is not the same player anymore, and rightly so at 35 years old, not to mention he'll be gone next year and realistically we won't challenge this year so perhaps a transition year for players to gain experience this year.

We have an option to buy Araujo, so should give him a run to see how well he does to make a proper decision. I'd also like to see a long run of Leoni and Jacquet once Leoni is fit and ready to play so we can see if we have the next partnership at the club already.

As for the wings, I'd switch Gakpo to the right to rotate with Munez and rotate Rio with Barcola on the left, rotate Sboz and Wirtz in the AM position.



Midfield I'd be rotating Macca with Grav and Trey with McConnell and Endo. Whilst Endo might not be a great player, I don't think anyone can doubt his attitude and willingness to give his all so may be a good role model for the 2 young lads, but again not the best player allowing for them to fight for their place.

Ideally I'd also like the club to make a bid for Kelleher to return next summer, better than our backup keepers and dare I say it may now be better than Ali who will leave next summer, plus we know he is a safe pair of hands, although my No.1 choice would have been Suzuki but not many brilliant keepers out there.

01 Sep 2026 15:56:19
We definitely should be making moves to sign Camara or Kone.

Iraola likes the double pivot in midfield and had Cook/Scott at Bournemouth. Cook is certainly the more defensive-minded of the two. Our current pivot is comprised of players who naturally want to progress forward, be it runs with or without the ball, leaving us exposed.



It is essential, in my opinion, that this needs to be addressed first before any more forwards are bought. A solid midfield gives much-needed protection for a creaky defence and adequate support to the forwards.

We have enough cover up front to last until January. We need Camara or Kone now. Get it done LFC!

01 Sep 2026 16:27:16
The STC is now relaxing with a naughty Cosmo and some chocolate post manicure.

01 Sep 2026 15:45:18
Palace have just come to an agreement for Fofana. Is this Sarr's replacement?

01 Sep 2026 15:42:55
Brighton just signed Azeez from Millwall, a left footed right winger.

Hmmm, wonder if that could have any impact on us?!

01 Sep 2026 15:55:36
Azeez is the Minteh replacement by all accounts.

Whether that means we move to secure Minteh or not is another thing.

01 Sep 2026 16:00:47
I live in hope, FPF, but maybe they are expecting him to leave in Jan so have brought in Azeez to cover RW whilst he's injured and grow into replacing him in due course.



Really would like us to get him now. He's out until Oct-ish so he has time to settle in the squad and come back fit and firing in the run up to, and over, the Christmas period.

01 Sep 2026 15:38:51
There will be no more incomings. We are interested in Camara, however we won’t move for him this window and Chelsea have had a bid rejected. Can someone please explain why we won’t make a move this window when it seems very likely and instead risk losing him to Chelsea? Make it make sense.

01 Sep 2026 15:54:06
Because they are more scared of getting into an auction with Chelsea than they are of failing the new coach and underachieving this season.

01 Sep 2026 15:55:30
You should ask the source from whom you got the info that we definitely won't be moving for him and who confirmed there would be no more incomings.

01 Sep 2026 16:18:08
Asking us to make sense of your statement of fact? That's a new one, I think.

01 Sep 2026 17:22:47
Chelsea with no Europe looking to have Caicedo, Kone, Camara, Lavia, Henderson and Barco. The only midfielder we have that can defend is Endo.

01 Sep 2026 14:18:43
Bit random, but would anyone have taken a punt on Gabriel Jesus for short term cover for Ekitike? I know he has bad injury record but I think Barca have done decent business at £8.6m.

01 Sep 2026 14:38:04
No, I think Jesus is terrible. I'm no fan of Gakpo but I'd choose him every day of the week and twice on a Sunday.

01 Sep 2026 14:43:24
Absolutely not, he's on over 250kpw and there's a reason he went for next to no fee, he isn't good enough and he's never fit.

Nunez and Woltemade were available for season long loans, much greater chance they would work out and if they don't you just send them back rather than continue paying their wages beyond this season...

I'm sure there are other players available for loan that haven't come to mind.

Ferran Torres also a much better option even if there was a fee involved.

01 Sep 2026 14:48:47
Too injury prone too.

01 Sep 2026 15:07:17
100% no from me.

I can certainly see Gakpo getting more minutes centrally for us until Ekitike comes back.

Gakpo's 2 best moments this season both came centrally v Newcastle.

Don’t want to jinx it but I have fears over Ekitike and his return from what is considered one of the worst injuries a professional footballer can sustain.

01 Sep 2026 15:41:24
Why? He’s more injury prone than Gomez!

01 Sep 2026 15:56:22
I would rather have taken a punt on Lewa before he moved. Give him a chance to tick off the EPL on his "leagues played in" card.

01 Sep 2026 16:05:16
Would have been awesome to have Jesus and Mo on the same team. Maybe Pope would be a good shout to fight for the number 1 position.

01 Sep 2026 16:15:00
Wouldn’t have been sold to us for £8.5m either.

01 Sep 2026 17:16:12
It would be remarkably bad business, even from Hughes, to sign a striker from a team who have spent the past 5 years crying about not having a good striker.

01 Sep 2026 14:02:51
I know the ship has well and truly sailed. But I can’t help think that we had an interim RW solution staring us in the face the moment Slot got sacked.

Mo Fecking Salah! The market is dirt for that side of the pitch.

Now we’re looking at Ismaila Sa?

The mind boggled at the decision making this summer.

Other business in so far is good, but we could have just kept Mo and gone hell for leather on CM.

{Ed666's Note - according to Melissa reddy Salah didn’t want to stay at Liverpool because he felt unwanted so there was no chance of him changing his mind

01 Sep 2026 14:43:06
Iirc, it wasn't only Slot that tried to engineer his move away behind his back but Hughes and Edwards were too. That's what caused him to have that outburst in Dec. So no chance he would have stayed here since Hughes and Edwards (then) were still around.

01 Sep 2026 14:55:32
His decline was drastic, the only reason to have kept him was for sentimental reasons.

01 Sep 2026 15:24:12
Let Mo go, lad! Better to leave a hero than stay long enough to become a villain. Some of our fanbase had already turned on him even when he was firing serious numbers the season before last.

Enjoy the memories, but we need to move on. Forever a legend, Mo, but we need a different type of right winger now, as Mo isn't replaceable.