Liverpool banter 10

02 Sep 2026 00:22:08
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 2 - Quick Round Up

02 Sep 2026 00:39:50
Great read as always Ed.
The Calvert-Lewin fitness bit made me laugh.

{Ed001's Note - thanks mate.}

02 Sep 2026 01:10:21
Great write-up, Ed.
I can't understand why more clubs ignored Jackson and just let him go to Villa. A thoroughly underappreciated player.

{Ed001's Note - he has disciplinary issues which puts teams off.}

02 Sep 2026 01:33:29
Brilliant to have them back Ed001 👏

{Ed001's Note - thanks Bazza.}

02 Sep 2026 09:31:29
I didn't realise Jackson was that bad.
If he is, it's not surprising that with the transfer window looming Villa could beat it because a lot of other clubs would Neverland him anyway.

01 Sep 2026 23:56:43
So apparently we asked Monaco to wait and we will get closer to their asking price for Camara?
So hopefully we'll be in with a bit in Jan and probably looking to offload Macallister.
Spoke to Camara also, asking to wait. There's still hope.

02 Sep 2026 01:24:38
Why wouldn’t we pay it now if they wanted him?

02 Sep 2026 09:33:19
We're saving up and we'll have our Christmas money in January.

01 Sep 2026 23:38:00
I love the signings we did make like Barcola, Araujo, Jacquet, Munoz and some promising youngsters, but I can't help but feel we only got about half done what we should have.

The window could've been so much better with just a few more deals like:

1) Mama and Chiesa out. No need to replace either, just use Woodman as no.2 GK (Jaros back end of year I think) and Koumas takes Chiesa's minutes.

2) Camara or similar in. Macca can stay if happy with limited minutes or go (VG said Man City made a late approach).

3) Sign a RB. So many options, even get a loan.

Of course, more could've been done like Tsimi out and use Chambers or sign better LB. Maybe Gakpo out if unhappy and get Mbaye, Sarr or Minteh etc etc but the 3 points above were in my opinion very doable and would have made a world of difference to bring better balance and improved quality to our team.

In a way it makes sense to get about half done when you have a relatively incompetent Sporting Director working in half capacity for two clubs.

It was so odd to me that it always felt like we could only work one deal at a time but now it makes more sense since Hughes was working transfers for two teams at the same time and even the Barcola deal had to be finalised by Gordon.



I think ultimately FSG is at fault there. Hughes and Edwards were left in way too long making a mess and Hughes should never have been allowed to work for two clubs at the same time, that is bonkers.

Nothing else we can do. What's done is done. Iraola is not a miracle worker so we'll need a lot of patience this season.

Klopp had similar seasons and worked miracles, but at least he had players with more fight in them even if quality was lacking a bit. Our current crop of players, especially our midfielders, are just too soft and there seems to be little fight and passion in some of them so Iraola will find it harder in my opinion.

Still, looking forward to this season, especially seeing what Barcola can bring to the team. I definitely think Wirtz and Isak can both improve having the pace of Barcola and Munoz. I'd consider using Gakpo up top over Isak if Isak doesn't kick on in the next couple of games.

02 Sep 2026 07:14:11
I’m not a fan of Mama but I certainly don’t want a guy that couldn’t cut it in a lesser league as our backup keeper either. To me that’s just ludicrous.

01 Sep 2026 23:28:49
I think this team is going to struggle. We have Ipswich away Friday night and I’m not confident at all. The team is so imbalanced and looks like we are going to have to play players out of position.

01 Sep 2026 23:51:35
Good to read your opinion.

02 Sep 2026 00:11:31
I think we’ll batter Ipswich myself.

02 Sep 2026 00:39:28
Ipswich just got battered by Manchester United and are one of the favourites for relegation. If Iraola can’t beat them with the likes of Isak, Wirtz and Barcola then we have bigger problems than an unbalanced squad.

01 Sep 2026 23:26:21
There are a few positive straws to clutch at:
1) Expectations on the new manager are lowered. Less pressure, less clamour for instant results. Gives Iraola a bit of time with the squad.

2) Iraola can work with the players and see exactly what he can get out of them. There isn’t a player in our squad who can’t improve. Szob is arguably in the form of his life, but all the others can and have done better.

3) Hughes can be replaced with no more damage to the squad.

I’m keen to see what Koumas and Nyoni can give us whereas if we had bought more players, their paths would have been restricted.

01 Sep 2026 23:38:51
That's the spirit, Ron.
Let's see what Iraola can do. We've been wanting to see more minutes for our youth players... They'll get a ton this season, I'm sure.
Koumas, Nyoni and Rio all look extremely good. Also keen to see TYLP this season.

01 Sep 2026 23:45:24
That's not a bad way to look at it, Ron.

01 Sep 2026 23:50:52
Szobo is in the form of his life?

01 Sep 2026 23:52:55
A fan being a bit optimistic - it'll never catch on.

01 Sep 2026 23:07:09
The one thing I expected this window was to get in a replacement for Salah on the right wing. The bare minimum. I never even envisioned, despite Hughes' incompetence, that we would fail to do that. And yet, with the window now closed, our options at right wing are a 17-year-old left winger in Rio, and another left winger in Victor Munoz.

Speechless. Actually speechless.

01 Sep 2026 23:30:33
We bid for at least two, Chutney.

01 Sep 2026 23:47:28
We should've got another winger in, but Munoz is looking good, and hopefully Rio will come better on that side for now.
Salah replacement can be seen as Barcola. Yes it's the other wing, but the key is to have that start winger/player, doesn't matter if he is left or right side. Ideally it'd be the right so it is a direct replacement, but not essential.


With the collapse of Camara to Chelsea, and apparently we asked Monico and Camara to wait and we will be bidding in the next windows, hopefully we get the VM we need, along with a stronger RM.
Not ideal, but Barcola is a big Salah-type signing.

01 Sep 2026 23:50:01
Munoz can play there as can Gakpo. The more they play there, the better they’ll get. We might even play Barcola from the right.

The fact is we never tried to replace Salah because we don’t need to.

Did you forget how poor he was when we played with a number 9? We now play with wingers, not wide forwards, and Salah has never been a winger.

01 Sep 2026 23:57:06
1. You aren’t actually speechless - you took the time to type your opinion.

2. As AI’s system is a bit different to Slot’s, the requirement was not to specifically replace Salah - an impossible task on an individual level anyway - but to bring someone in who could play across the front and that is Munoz.



Forget Salah, he is gone and played an integral part in a system that we won’t be using this season.

01 Sep 2026 22:59:39
Based on the current squad after transfer season this is the team I play against Ipswich.

Alisson.
Szobo. Jacquet VVD. Chambers
Grav. Macca
Gakpo. Wirtz. Barcola
Isak


Couple of close calls.
I just want to see Grav and Macca together as a two. It's not perfect but they both hold the center a little bit better than Szobo in a two. Nyoni will remain under consideration if we can't find the right blend there or players not picking up the tactics.



Isak is on thin ice. He needs to pick up. If not, he gets hooked for Munoz with Gakpo going up top. Still he scored last game and I'm hopeful confidence and work rate will build from there. Only two games in.

Even though only two games in, I'm pulling the full backs in favour of giving Chambers a chance at left back and Szobo a threat from RB. Chambers might balance the side a little bit to free up Szobo.

01 Sep 2026 23:19:18
Davey has to be Munoz on the Right. He looks better there than Gakpo and Rio have.

01 Sep 2026 23:26:40
Finding it amazing how often I'm reading calls to play Dom at RB.
Maybe Slot saw something in it as a stop-gap...
I don't see it as a starting option in how Iraola plays.

I think Frimpong needs more time.
His connection with Jacquet is less than 2 games old.

01 Sep 2026 23:38:13
Faith, Frimpong just isn't a fullback for me. He's a wingback in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation where, if he loses the ball or doesn't get the tackle in, there's enough cover from the right-sided CB and holding midfielder for it to be less of an issue. He leaves us too exposed within our setup (not helped by our '2' both galloping upfield).

01 Sep 2026 23:32:32
The Bald Guy got slaughtered for playing Szob at RB.

02 Sep 2026 00:18:26
Trent wasn’t a fullback either, Lofty, but he did ok once he got to grips with it.

The game’s history is littered with players who have learned new positions, new systems and flourished.



Give Frimpong time to build relationships on the pitch and to learn the system and what’s expected of him. He will improve.

Bradley will also be back soon so we will have more options.

02 Sep 2026 08:03:56
For me,
Ali
Frimpong/Szob Jacquet VVD Kerkez
Nyoni Szob/Grav
Wirtz
Munoz Isak Gakpo

Barcola will probably be a sub.

02 Sep 2026 08:18:13
Szob can play RB because he simply isn’t disciplined enough to play CM.

01 Sep 2026 22:30:24
There's going to be serious pressure now on those midfielders. If they get found out game after game, there's no one to jump in and take the pressure off.
Wirtz is a luxury player. No one would say he's a midfielder even as a ten. If Andoni wants to drop him favouring Isak and two wingers, you're then playing all your central midfielders available in the 3.

So guaranteed no injuries?
Bonkers. I cannot imagine Andoni would have kept quiet knowing if Jones goes, there'll be no replacement or competition.

We're relying on Macca probably to sit and be our 6 😂 now against top teams who have all strengthened their central midfields.

01 Sep 2026 23:09:40
We’ll be fine, Ron. Try not to lose any sleep over it.

01 Sep 2026 23:24:56
It is mad that we've left ourselves so short in midfield, but it could be the perfect opportunity for Trey Nyoni to step up. The team looked the most balanced it had all game when he came on against Forest.

I don't agree on Wirtz being a luxury player. He does press and did well for Leverkusen. It's hard to judge any of the players on last season, frankly, as it was comical at times. We were saved by flashes of brilliance from a lot of these players, Wirtz included, to somehow drag ourselves into the Champions League.

It was also his pass to Gakpo on Saturday which unlocked their defence for Isak's goal.

I believe we need to give the squad a clean slate and allow Iraola a fair crack at getting a tune out of them before drawing any conclusions. In the meantime, we should be getting behind them all.

All will become clear as the months pass, but as we sit now, we're only 2 games in. OK, the squad is not in the best shape, but we have improved our attacking and defensive options in this window - just not as much as most of us hoped.

01 Sep 2026 22:28:10
I’m sick - Chelsea got Camara! They’ve added him to Caicedo and Lavia as dm’s and we are being told we don’t need one!

Absolute mess bar the kid Trey there's not one good battler or tackler in Grav, Sobo or Mac and all brutal without the ball.


3/4 seasons after trying to sign Caicedo and Zubimeni we’ve still not signed a dm.

Iraola hasn’t been backed. We can’t fault him.

01 Sep 2026 22:52:01
I don't know where the management's head at. Like it's obvious to the whole world, just not people sitting in the office. They haven't spent on everything but the most important position.

01 Sep 2026 23:08:55
If someone told you we don't need one, then someone might think we don't need one.
It's ok to disagree. Don't be sick about it, Jay dub.

01 Sep 2026 23:11:16
Chelsea finished 13th last season with Caicedo and Lavia.

They can’t play all of them at once either. Call me stupid, but I’m not jealous of Chelsea.

01 Sep 2026 23:13:19
Looks like they're not getting him after all.

01 Sep 2026 23:20:34
Camara to Chelsea has fallen through after AS Monaco went back on their word.

Sky Sports.

01 Sep 2026 23:44:01
You’ve got to laugh. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.

01 Sep 2026 23:49:04
And apparently we had a word with Monaco and Camara and asked them to wait and we would follow up interest in another window (hopefully Jan).

01 Sep 2026 23:58:55
Can you imagine if that had happened to us? Hughes would be castigated! Goes to show, transfers aren't easy and failures can happen to anyone.

Arsenal tried and failed to get their attacking reinforcements in, United failed to get a left back and centre backs, City need centre backs, fullbacks and cover for Haaland, Villa have destroyed their entire first 11.

It's really not easy.

I have no real opinion of Hughes as I don't really know anything about doing his job but I do think we've won a league and signed some players that I never thought we'd be capable of signing since he's been at the club.

I think it's a good time for him to go but he hasn't been all bad in my opinion.