Liverpool Banter 2

21 Oct 2026 10:40:46
Some say I'm moaning again about midfield.It's not moaning. It's realism. Grav was a disgrace before going to RB. To put in a shift like that on the money he's on, no not for me. You can't have a first team player like that where he decides when he wants to graft. You can look at the exit for me.
Macca scores goals atleast but his legs are made of stone.

21 Oct 2026 10:54:23
What does it matter how much money Grav is on? If he was on less would you be happier with his performance?

It was a poor start to the game last night and VVD decided to play as a number 10 for the opposition for the first 30 minutes but we sorted it out and got the win. Job done.

It's a very busy time for us at the moment, playing every 3 days and we have some significant injuries to key players. To not expect the odd lull in performance is just unrealistic.

The main thing is we won the game. Now on to Brighton on Sunday.

21 Oct 2026 11:37:54
Sounds like you're moaning about what moaning is Ron :)

21 Oct 2026 12:20:39
Ron, there were issues all over the pitch in that first half but Grav is the only one you slated because of the money he is on?

Yep, not scapegoating at all.

21 Oct 2026 12:26:34
I'm with Ron. If our first half is like that v Brighton they'll put six in the net. Being busy with games doesn't mitigate the 'lull in performance' as Rio phrases it. My phrasing would be somewhat more expletive than that. The players need to be switched on from minute 1 to end.

From August to May. If not then forget about winning anything regardless of how many shiny toys we have in the box. And I may be a critic of both but credit where due to Rio and Wirtz. Both were good last night. On towards Brighton. That's going to be a good one.

21 Oct 2026 14:29:23
Alarming the amount of goals we have conceded in champions league.

21 Oct 2026 16:01:16
I agree that we have conceded a lot in the UCL but I'm not alarmed by it with the context.

Substituting both of your CBs at once is something you never want to do as a manager, in Iraola's own words. You can only do that when you're up as far as we were, and the gamble more than paid off. 6-3.

Yesterday was a bizarre start to the game, with Virgil making a couple of big blunders very early on. One wasn't punished, and one was - the first goal. A combination of the whole teams imbalance, especially after we conceded, and some really good tactics from Villarreal, they baited Araujo into following Moleiro centrally. Rio did then not cover himself in glory with the tracking back and they ended up with an overload on the right-centre of our defence leading to the second goal. We then make changes, thrash them for a while to end up ahead 4-2. Gomez then comes on (another CB sub), gets caught chasing a player in midfield and struggles to get back in time to stop them destabilising our defensive line and we run 4-3 winners. All that considered, I'm fine with it.

21 Oct 2026 08:29:39
It amazes me the amount of people that now just watch a game of football to find something to complain about. How times have changed.

21 Oct 2026 08:44:25
People have always done that. Social media and fan forums just give them the opportunity to whinge to a wider audience.

21 Oct 2026 09:06:50
I find it sad personally. 3 wins in a row scoring 12 goals plenty of squad players getting game time but the same people only want to point out the negatives every time

It's almost as if we don't have a new manager trying to implement a whole new way of playing or anything 🤷🏻‍♂️.

21 Oct 2026 09:26:44
The lack of voi scooters makes it a nightmare getting back down to Lime Street by the way. Throwing that in there for a quick moan.

21 Oct 2026 09:39:11
Fans also need to take joy when we win. We came back from 2-0 down to win 4-3. Last year when we went 2-0 down, we would probably ship another 2.

If you're not happy in these moments, you'll be miserable for the whole season.

21 Oct 2026 09:55:40
Maybe some of the complainers wanted Slot to stay on? I personally see big signs of improvement and many players improving a lot from last season already. At least we don't get outrun & bullied every game now like last season 🙏.

21 Oct 2026 10:09:24
It amazes me when people want to only take positives, completely ignore all the issues and slate anybody who dares to use a little critical thinking.

21 Oct 2026 10:34:31
Chewy, enjoying your fishing expedition?

What you state is annoying, but that's not the views being expressed in this thread, in fact I don't think I have seen a serious "rejoice rejoice the world is perfect" message on here for a long long time.

Take the balance, not just the negative. And taking just the negative is a view that IS expressed on here several dozen times a day.

21 Oct 2026 10:36:50
Chewy as you are alluding to, it is possible to be happy for a win and enjoy it while at the same time, state the flaws on show in the game.

What I think is happening here is like I always say, it's simply a matter of what people choose to focus. That is the problem regarding this topic.

There is always a middle ground in these things and recognising that multiple things can be true at the same time. And that regardless of result, you can play well in stages and then, get done like a kipper on a couple of errors or patterns of play.

However, people choose to be OTT and over negative rather than being balanced. That my friend, is a choice. Nothing more.

21 Oct 2026 10:44:23
Absolutely. The positives are morons. And the negatives are "critical thinkers". Let's appoint someone to hand out the medals.

21 Oct 2026 11:06:38
I don't think it has happened all the time. I vividly remember going to a game as a kid against Sheffield Wednesday at Anfield. Now I'd never heard of Sheffield Wednesday so expected a big win as we generally tended to do during the 80s.

Anyway, we lost 2-0. Rather than booing the team off the pitch the crowd stayed on after the game to applaud the team and the opposition and I went to the pub with my dad afterwards. Even in the pub there was not one moan from anyone.

People used to just accept that you can't be perfect all the time and enjoy the game for what it is.

Nowadays if we don't beat everyone 5-0 some fans are up in arms and everyone thinks they are a manager because they won the league on their PlayStation once. The sense of entitlement is a bit pathetic to be honest.

21 Oct 2026 11:12:49
Agree Zed and Oli.

Do I think we can improve? Yes definitely.

Am I happy with the progress we made? Yes this is also true.

21 Oct 2026 12:22:57
Taurus, that's it, right?

ArAy1969 not going to lie, that line was hilarious.

21 Oct 2026 12:41:15
The first 30 minutes of football was arguably the worst I think I've ever seen us play but god forbid you express concerns after a win for fear of the happy police.

You can be happy with a win and still voice concerns at the same time lads.

21 Oct 2026 13:42:18
Don't be such a wally Chewy. Everyone was annoyed and peed off with the first 30 minutes, it's not a competition.

But the mental fortitude to battle back is an encouraging example of AI's growing influence on the team.

I've sat through many worse passages of play, especially in the early days of Klopp as he strove to mould the team in a different way of playing than had gone before.

I'm especially encouraged as I didn't expect us to start so, relatively, well this season. We're not topping the league, but we're further up the table than I thought we'd be right now, given the damage done by Slot last season.

21 Oct 2026 15:08:09
If you want everyone to agree with you, don't post your thoughts and opinions on a public forum.

21 Oct 2026 15:49:27
A wally? Just read the comments, hapy police out in force. Thou shalt not critique a win!

21 Oct 2026 16:01:32
Yes a wally, for want of a better more appropriate word that would have been blocked by the filters.

Its not "Happy Police", it's pointing out that you are being an unnecessary doom monger. Obvs that's just my opinion, albeit shared by plenty others here, you may have your own. But when I see it, I will call it out, as is my right.

21 Oct 2026 16:12:17
Zed, been saying it. it's all about what you wanna focus on. And that, is a choice and always will be.

21 Oct 2026 08:28:06
While we had a nightmare start yesterday, it is good to see we have a coach who can identify the issue and make the necessary changes as the game goes on.
The team showed real character to come back.
Defending was sloppy at times but there are good signs that the coach's methods are starting to bed in which bodes well for the future.

21 Oct 2026 08:47:58
I thought Rafa did a good analysis at half time as a pundit. He was a great tactical coach, shame about the owners at the time.

21 Oct 2026 07:58:38
EDs, Thoughts on Gravs performance and positioning last night?
Found that a hard watch, that first half was some terrible football from us.
Felt like Grav was trying to play CF and just left massive gaps for trey and mac to cover which they couldn't.

{Ed001's Note - before shifting to right-back, he was very lazy in his play. No tracking back, no working to cover, he was just looking for the glory runs and doing none of the hard work covering back. He played well at right-back though.}

21 Oct 2026 08:42:36
Can't hurt to have another RB option with Brad and Frimpong out!

21 Oct 2026 08:49:38
It looks like he hasn't either got the game intelligence or desire to play a more disciplined game. Strange how he's better at RB, but perhaps he can fill in there when needed until we reinforce.

21 Oct 2026 09:43:55
Desire. He was well intelligent enough the do it in 24/25.

21 Oct 2026 09:45:03
Forget him at right back. Their last goal was his fault. He was in no man's land and too lazy to get over even though he'd clearly seen the scorer in acres of space.

21 Oct 2026 12:25:51
Ed, I literally did not know Grav was playing. He was that bad in that first half.

20 Oct 2026 21:53:35
That midfield needs majorly addressed and hopefully it starts in January. They ain't good enough.

20 Oct 2026 21:58:56
Ron complaining about our midfield. Now I have seen it all.

20 Oct 2026 22:03:41
Considering the contract situation around Van Dijk and Alisson, there is going to be a lot that needs addressing.

20 Oct 2026 22:10:53
I do wonder why you watch football, you don't appear to enjoy any of it.

20 Oct 2026 22:28:00
There is just no pleasing some people.

20 Oct 2026 22:36:08
Both Allison and VVD should get a 12 month extension IMO. I'd also sign Araujo permanently and that addesses much of our defensive issue for a few years.

20 Oct 2026 22:41:37
Six changes from Saturday and Andoni still wins, you have to give Andoni credit for that!

YNWA Andoni.

{Ed666's Note - 6 changes and coming back from 2 goals down gotta give them total reverence.

20 Oct 2026 23:54:45
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses.

@Ron, this is all new to me, do you think you could do a quick article explains why the midfield is so bad and what the club need to do to make it better. Like I say, this is all new stuff to us and I, for one, would be grateful if you could keep the board informed on a daily basis.

12 goals in 3 wins (out of 3 matches) in a week suggests to me that we need a complete overhaul of everything and you seem like the chap who knows what the club needs to do.

21 Oct 2026 00:14:30
The defence was all over the shop though. Most of our midfield had good games.

21 Oct 2026 00:40:12
The midfield of Macallister, Nyoni and Grav? Ryan was mediocre at times but Nyoni was very good and Macca scored twice.

21 Oct 2026 01:51:37
Great to come back from 2 down, at least we've shown we can do it but there was some absolutely shocking football at times, especialy in that first 30 mins. VVD was on another planet for the first goal, I can forgive the misjudged header but why was he only jogging back at a snails pace after giving it away? He made no effort whatsoever. Araujo thought he was playing CM for the 2nd goal, complete lack of awareness, (I'll forgive him this time for getting the equalizer), Rio was half-ass tracking back even though he could blatanlty see the gap Araujo had left behind, and his man running into it. We were really all over the place at times, and again, like against Brentford we completly failed to control the tail end of the game, something we really need to improve on. 5 more minutes and I reckon we'd have conceded another goal.

Rio was phenomenal going forward, Macca had an excellent game too, hopefully a sign of things to come from him this season as we really need the midfield to step it up, Wirtz did well when he came on, hopefully that goal is just the confidence booster he needs to kick on.

{Ed666's Note - Bah humbug is it Xmas already..😆…6 changes from the weekend, much weakened side..we came from 0-2 down..Let’s gooooooo!!! I’m not having a go mate and you know I’m the first one to slag off a bad performance but I do think this is the time to do it. There was mitigation for the poor performance for some of the game today and very little mitigation against Brentford. We’re in a strong position in the CL table, Macca, Wirtz & Rio played well lots to be content with

21 Oct 2026 03:35:54
People are only happy if it's a perfect performance, it's quite sad really.

21 Oct 2026 07:18:21
I was surprised that Macca started deep with Grav further forward. For me, Grav's biggest strength is receiving the ball on the half turn from the defence and running at the opposition and Macca's strengths are very much at the top of the pitch rather than deeper. That said, I was pleased to see Macca tracking back and working harder than he has in the past. Hopefully Iraola's methods and tactics are starting to take effect.

It was the most Jeckyll and Hyde performance I can remember in a long time though. For 35 mins we were embarrassing. No urgency, no hunger, complete complacency but then when we went 2-0 down we seemed to finally wake up and were a completely different (and decent) team. We turned the game round before having another shaky period of the last 10 mins.

More positives than negatives I'd say but Brighton on current form will rip us a new one if we start like that at the weekend!

21 Oct 2026 07:24:33
Could probably write a 30 page article on the negatives and another on the positives. 3 points after that first half is an outstanding achievement.

Good thing that's gone unnoticed is how many players we have off the mark in regard to goals. 10 in total with Macca 2nd top scorer and Araujo 4th joint.

Credit to them pair and their goals last night.

21 Oct 2026 07:38:54
I cant't believe there's so many negative and critical post after that game. Do we think we have a right to win every game 4-0.

I was acting like a toddler for the first 36min after that i was screaming in joy at the TV cause we all know they can hear us ;)

It was very good to see such direct play from us at times. We do have a long way yet, and yes there are places we can strengthen, but If people can't see the improvements being made i think they will just always complain its just in their nature, and that's ok.

21 Oct 2026 08:33:31
People are right to be negative. It might be early days but those first 30 odd minutes was horrendous. A better team would have been out of sight by the end of it. People are right to be critical of the midfield issues which are as obvious as the nose on your face.

We cannot defend nor attack with it. There are positives too mixed in there but it's like we were the best of two bad teams. At least we woke up and won it. Just about.

21 Oct 2026 08:45:07
For me there's a big difference being critical vs negative.

Being critical means analysing specific elements objectively to find solutions or improvements, whereas being negative involves a blanket pessimism that dismisses value and creates a toxic atmosphere.

21 Oct 2026 10:29:12
Exactly Shankly, play like that against PSG or Barca and we'd be 4-0 down at half time. So many of the mistakes were inexcusable amateur nonsense, out of position, lack of awareness and particularly not tracking back, that last one is unforgivable for me, especially when they're watching the danger unfold as they casually jog back. there's a few in that squad need a good kick.

Spot on MrJones, the "vibe police" are always out in force after a win, no matter how poor the performance is, slating anybody who gives an honest opinion or dares to use a little critical thinking. They seem to be completely unaware that you can celebrate a win and still discuss what needs to be improved.

Ed, were there 5 more minutes in that match the tone of posts on here would have been very different, Had the result been a draw the vibe police would be singing a completely different tune despite the performance being the exact same. Humbug, I tell you! Humbug.

{Ed666's Note - I can’t stomach bad performances more than most mate. They truly boil my urine but we have to be philosophical about the situation. AI hasn’t got the players he needs to play his system. We need to give him some time to build his squad. In the meantime we’re going to get humiliated and angry and go through a gambit of emotions. Patience is the key! I have to say tho yesterday I was proud of the lads coming back from 2 goals down and more than half the team changed it was a fabulous result if not an exceptional performance.

As I say there was and is mitigating circumstances. We’ve put ourselves in a really healthy position in the CL table and now we got to just put in a team performance against Brighton who are NEVER easy

20 Oct 2026 21:35:21
Rio deserves a song.

His name is Rio,
and he's got Anfield in his hands,
His name is Rio,
and he only earns twenty-five grand.

21 Oct 2026 01:29:11
Or,

His name is Rio
And he dances down the wing
He shoots, he scores
And he makes us Koppites sing

20 Oct 2026 20:47:17
Sign Ronnie up! Rio is fantastic.

20 Oct 2026 20:57:54
This is why we need to keep Rio at all costs.

20 Oct 2026 22:00:26
We need a midfield revamp.

20 Oct 2026 20:31:27
Tsimikas is so bad, having a decent delivery does not outweigh how bad he is elsewhere.

20 Oct 2026 21:59:33
The Greek Scouser! Of course he's smiling. He's stealing a living mate.

21 Oct 2026 00:06:19
Loving it, another win signalling the end for Tsimi, VVD (on the transfer board) and the entire midfield.

Played 11, won 7, drawn 3 and lost 1. A new head coach turning the club around and still without Bradley, Leoni, Ekitike (and today Dom.) We are improving, we are nowhere near the finished article but 12 goals in the last three games would suggest that one or two of them are doing something rupight and some of the others are starting to join in. Why not, for once, highlight the positive stuff that we can build on - Nyoni, Ngumoha and the first signs of the real Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola showing up, rather than searching out some of the stock phrases to wrote players off.

I can't see the point in watching if it isn't fun and all people look for are faults and wheeling out destructive criticism game after game.

21 Oct 2026 00:52:49
Agree WDW.
Starting Nyoni, Rio and Koumas in a Champions League game and keeping them on the pitch until we fought back from a 2 goal deficit to 2 goals ahead showed absolute confidence from Andoni. It will have done them the world of good to be part of that comeback and proved they are as much as an option for the starting eleven as anyone else.
There were hiccups initially as we made 6 changes from Brentford but that was mostly due to established players like VVD and Tsimikas making poor decisions than anything.
Enjoyable game, great result and a superb showing by the younger guys. What's there to complain about?

21 Oct 2026 06:59:56
Go back a couple of seasons, take all the posts regarding TAA, swap TAA with Tsimi, and back to that whole situation again.

Great deliveries but can't defend.
Its the same BS all the time.

Just have to accept that we'll never be happy with what we have. until its gone.

20 Oct 2026 19:14:39
Would have liked to have seen Wirtz start tonight just to see if he can continue his slight upturn & form & confidence?
Either way I fancy us for a 3-1 win.

20 Oct 2026 19:37:52
Good to see Nyoni, Ngumoha and Koumas all getting a start.

20 Oct 2026 19:39:55
Forgot to add Danns on the bench too. Be interesting to see if he get# on for the last 10 - 15 minutes.

20 Oct 2026 21:01:26
Would love to see Danns get some minutes. Unlike Koumas he"s got talent.

20 Oct 2026 23:13:46
BR I thought Wirtz changed the game. brilliant 45 from him, dictated the tempo, found pockets and linked the whole thing together. Rio was excellent but for me that was what we need consistently from Florian.

{Ed666's Note - agreed on all points