Liverpool Banter

21 Apr 2026
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21 Apr 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Everton v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

21 Apr 2026 08:05:16
Hard reading unfortunately. What a mess. Thanks ED01.

{Ed001's Note - but at least we don't have to worry about the Bluenoses giving us grief for a while!}

21 Apr 2026 09:32:17
Great review 01. Thanks, as always.

{Ed001's Note - thank you so much del!}

21 Apr 2026 09:31:32
Ed01, the way you described the LFC performance, anyone who didn't watch the game did not miss a damn thing. Your description is enuff because it is what we have all been seeing for the whole season, roughly.

To that point, I was watching an LFC-related podcast and one of the guys was having a go at Wirtz for, "Not grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck" and all that jazz. The other guy response was that, "As a team, We are good at nothing".

So I ask you (cos I agree with the guy's response), what do you we have been good at this season under Slot's tactics? because I can't tell ya, mate.

{Ed001's Note - we have been good at slowly rolling the ball across the backline.}

21 Apr 2026 04:31:23
Liverpool are exploring potential deals for Yan Diomande, Archie Gray, Adam Wharton, Bradley Barcola, and Denzel Dumfries according to various outlets.

I really hope all apart from Dumfries happen. Some young exciting players, to add some dynamism to our play.
Dumfries is a decent player, but is 30 yrs and has had injury issues recently.


We would be better pursuing someone like Kayode or Mukiele.
The thought of Diomande on the right and Barcola on the left would be something to get excited about next season.
Would like to see Endo replaced with a decent DM too.
Carra or any of the ITKs, is there any formal talks or contact with these players' agents already in progress?

21 Apr 2026 07:02:08
Sadiki should be in the conversation instead of Dumfries.

Sadly, I had dinner with a famous football writer recently, and he's convinced me that Slot will see out his contract, come what may, so I doubt any DM will be coming.

21 Apr 2026 08:19:43
I can't see why Barcola would leave PSG. He gets good minutes there, he's a French player winning trophies in France every season, and also PSG would probably want well over £100m for him as he's 23 years old with 2 years still on his contract. I think it's pure fantasy linking us to the likes of Barcola and Olise. They're both settled at clubs where they are guaranteed success and gametime.

Excellent players, mind you, I just don't see it happening. Diomande (Leipzig), B. Toure (Hoffenheim), Minteh (Brighton), M.

Mane (Wolves) etc all feel like much more plausible signings. Also they're all the kinds of mid-range signings we've historically done very well with (S. Mane, Salah, Firmino, Jota, Diaz, Torres, Suarez etc). We don't tend to shop well at the other European super powers (J. Cole, Morientes, Thiago, Litmanen etc). The two exceptions in semi-recent memory were probably Sturridge and Coutinho, but they were low risk and not getting a look in at Chelsea/Inter so we got them cheap.

21 Apr 2026 08:45:21
Barcola is stalling on signing a contract, MK, he doesn't start regularly and it's rumoured that PSG are looking at Diomande to replace him anyway.

21 Apr 2026 09:27:41
PB, he may be stalling, but he still has two years left so he won't come cheap either way. We see this a lot where players posture and stall. It's all part of negotiations. He's also started for PSG in 57% of their Ligue 1 games and 86% of their Champions League games. So I wouldn't say he doesn't start regularly. He's started 30 games for them this season in all competitions. It's not like the Gravenberch at Bayern situation where he was actually only playing a few hundred minutes a season.

Barcola is still a key player for them. They just rotate their starting frontline in the Ligue 1 to keep them fresh for the Champions League.

Like I say, great player, would love him at Liverpool and hopefully the relationship he has at PSG really is deteriorating so we have a show at signing him, but I'll believe it when I see it.

21 Apr 2026 09:39:25
Nah, not Mane for me, MKS. He reminds me of Baj when he was doing well in a dead LFC team and was getting good reviews (and rightfully so). When stuff got tough, he faded. Don't be fooled, my friend. These "midrange" signings aren't the players we need.

The comparison with getting such players (10 years ago) no longer applies here, and, to crown it all, those players then were levels above the ones you are mentioning now.

Mane was levels above Minteh, Mane (Wolves) and Barcola at the time we signed him, for ex. While Gray was nowhere near Gini nor Shaquiri either when we signed them. We need a lot better than these, IMO.

Just my opinion.

20 Apr 2026 20:14:35
Hi guys and Ed's I was just wondering why everywhere I look on social media people say Kevin be bruyne is the best midfielder to grace the prem what do you think?

I think he's one of the most overrated of all time a top player no doubt but he's not even top ten for me I just don't get why people rate him so highly? So many better players for me vieira Keane scholes Gerrard Essien makelele I honestly could list a load more or am I missing something and he's the Premier League goat?

{Ed025's Note - hes right up there for me QOSR..

20 Apr 2026 20:37:23
I think Roy Keane said he was cus he didn't want to say it was Gerrard, and people are latching on to that, but, if fairness, he's very very close! He's right up their.

20 Apr 2026 21:06:12
Must just be me. I thought he had a good period at City for what, like 7/8 years? But he was in an expensively assembled squad with the best players in the world, the likes of Gerrards, Scholes never flopped when they were younger, and longevity wise blitz him.

Pretty sure Gerrard was hitting 20+ goals for a few seasons. I also think David Silva was better, as was Yaya Toure, but wasn’t around as long, but like I said maybe I’m wrong.

{Ed025's Note - Silva was a great player as well, both miles and miles above Gerrard for me, but thats just an opinion of course..

20 Apr 2026 21:12:18
Watching KDB in his prime live was an experience.

First time I watched him, I watched very closely, and you take your eye off him for a few seconds, and all of a sudden he just pops up in space where there was no space to receive the ball.

He was not quick, but it was like he was teleporting around the pitch with how he was reading the game, because he just seemed a few steps ahead.



Stevie G, on the other hand, looked like he would run through a brick wall to win.

Guy was a born winner.

20 Apr 2026 21:07:34
And I know you said right up there Ed but number 1? Loads of people seem to think it's not even a debate

{Ed025's Note - its just how you see things QOSR, you have battlers and you have ballers...im a ballers guy myself and love to see flair so the likes of Scholes, Lampard and miserable arse are down the list for me mate..

20 Apr 2026 21:52:16
A Premier League great, should have a winners medal, or 2, to be even a part of the conversation.

{Ed025's Note - i dont think it was all his fault he never Ritchie, he played in some very poor sides at times mate..

20 Apr 2026 21:56:43
KDB was a great midfielder, but give me Keane, Gerrard or Vieira any day of the week.

{Ed025's Note - there should maybe be 2 categories Ecogsi, one for grafters and one for ballers...you are obviously a grafter guy mate..

20 Apr 2026 21:57:15
There have been so many, and there's a lot of recency bias.

It's hard to judge because of the various criteria, longevity, durability, pure skill, goals scored.

If you're asking about "baller" quality, then I don't think you'll find many with the skill level of Paul Gascoigne.

{Ed025's Note - he certainly makes the list Ron..

20 Apr 2026 22:03:37
Ed025, Gerrard was a baller and a battler, you need to take your bright blue national health specs off, you don't like Gerrard because of things you've supposedly heard about him, he was a supreme athlete and footballer, be worth about 150 mill plus in todays market

{Ed025's Note - i dont like him only because he is a tosser Strom, but taking personality out of it he was a grafter who excelled in mainly poor sides, scored quite a few goals as well so is right up there in the grafter category mate..

20 Apr 2026 23:58:15
Gerrard and KDB were unique players with more individual star quality than any other midfielder to have played in the PL. I think Gerrard was better, but KDB isn't far off.
The Yaya Toure shout is wild - he was nowhere near the level of those two. He could score a hat-trick yet somehow be outplayed by Joe Allen in the same game.

21 Apr 2026 00:38:45
Yaya Toure was an absolute beast. He's a bit of a p****, but can't fault his footballing ability. He can do everything and is one of the most complete midfielders I've seen.

But in all honesty, we have been blessed to witness some really great midfielders in the PL.

We have not even discussed players like Alonso, Essien, Ballack, Mash, Carrick, Fabregas, etc. Maybe not the best midfielders, but all truly good players in their own right.

{Ed025's Note - Ngolo Kante?..

21 Apr 2026 00:45:12
Yaya Toure was ridiculous that season, he hit around the twenty mark, but KDB does him on longevity in terms of pure talent. Yaya was insane, go watch some of his goals.

21 Apr 2026 02:45:37
KDB is a top top player, but calling him number 1 is a bit much in my book, and likely an opinion only shared amongst those who spend most of their time on Snapchat. Where exactly he ranks depends on what you're looking for, I suppose. If you want a leader who can really command a game, you take Keane or Souness, a physically dominant box to box midfielder; Viera or Toure, a creative passer, you take Scholes or KDB, high goal output, Lampard or Dalglish, but if you want all of the above, you take Gerrard.

😉

Have to say I'm very partial to a bit of Matt Le Tissier though.

21 Apr 2026 04:09:45
Chewy, Souness wasn't factored into my opinion as I only mentioned PL. If it's all-time, that is a much bigger debate.
Keane, Vieira, Scholes, Lampard, etc., were all outstanding players, but imo Gerrard and KDB were a lot better.
Matt Le Tissier was excellent, but his lack of real honours rules him out entirely, even though he had plenty of opportunities to move to bigger clubs.


Yaya Toure was a can-crusher. He could easily overpower lesser midfields, and had great technique on the ball, but against equally capable midfields, he was a liability. He showed some defensive ability at Barca, but even then his ability on the ball at CB and DM was far more important to their team.

20 Apr 2026 23:13:58
Ed025, Gerrard is one of the best players ever at Liverpool, a team that's has won the league 20 times the European cup 6 times, imagine the talented players who have played for us over tg3 years n Gerrard is in the everybody's top 5, Madrid, Chelsea (when they had mourinho ) even whiskey nose wanted him at united and yet you don't think he is top drawer.we are never ever going to agree on this one

{Ed025's Note - im not saying he was not a good player Strom..he obviously was, he stood out in a team that was not as good as him and thats why he never won a league title and never really did it at international level, he carried Liverpool for a number of years and i get the adulation i really do mate, maybe its because im a blue but ihe just not one of my favourite players..

21 Apr 2026 07:32:02
Can't believe I forgot about Kante Ed. He's right up there for me as well. A bit less attacking than Toure but he has a much better attitude and personality and works twice as hard. I still think Toure is more skillful but I'd rather have Kante in my team.

Makes me think of all those midfielders who are good but are from "smaller" clubs too. Players like Dembele, Modric, and Cahill who won't be in the conversation just because they didn't play for a "big club"

{Ed025's Note - Kante was an excellent player Drac and one of the best i have seen mate..

21 Apr 2026 08:10:29
We could do with a Kante now! And a KDB, and a SG... and a JK to fix this mess.

21 Apr 2026 09:48:02
Jimjim, funny you mentioned that cos even Rio (Ferdinand) said that KDB is nowhere near Gerrard on KDB's best day. Just saying.

As for KDB being the best all-time midfielder in the PL history, that's not a thing, I'm sorry. Gerrard, Viera, Kante, Keane, Silva, Yaya, Lampard, Scholes, Alonso (me, personally)? Nah, not for me and I'm a KDB fanboy, btw.



And the biggest complement I can play to SG is that none of those mids I mentioned could ever achieve what SG did, individually and collectively, had any of them played in the LFC teams SG played in.

Proof? Paul Scholes admitted that openly and still does.

20 Apr 2026 19:09:18
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Everton v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

20 Apr 2026 19:58:17
Can't argue with any of that, Crystal ball time, but how do you see Isak working out long term? Obviously brilliant at Newcastle, but something tells me he's not right for us.
Hard to judge with the injury and fitness problems so far and would gladly be proved wrong!

20 Apr 2026 19:52:29
Any idea ed why he is leaving the substitutions this late.

Starting Isak against psg felt like a weird move, if you're worried you'd only get a max 45 out of the lad bring him on at 75 mins rather than starting him. That is if extra time was a worry, bringing in a player clearly lack match sharpness, wreaked of him trying to be overly smart.

{Ed001's Note - he leaves the subs late because he doesn't trust them.}

20 Apr 2026 20:03:25
I wouldn't judge him so soon. The team is playing a way they don't like. They're not playing for this manager. Give him a season under a different manager and that goes for everyone. A man manger. A people person.

20 Apr 2026 19:52:50
Sent too soon, great review ED

{Ed001's Note - thank you.}

20 Apr 2026 20:57:05
In my opinion, Wirtz is playing poorly because he's out of position. Like Bobby under Roger's. Enter Klopp, he uses him correctly, and he becomes world class. I think Alonso would get a tune out of Wirtz in the Prem.

20 Apr 2026 22:42:50
Ed01, surely you must be joking with that "he doesn't trust them? " No wonder the players don't want to break a sweat, they don't trust him either.
Nunez for his lack of ability had desire and sheer determination but he also did not trust the manager and stopped trying.

21 Apr 2026 04:48:57
Good review, although I don't see how you can manage rewatching our games this season, even on the odd occasion we win.
It seems much of the club that has been built up since Klopp took over is deteriorating, whether by Slot or Edwards... We soon will just have a collection of overpaid players with little connection to the club...

Couple of points -
Wirtz - there are concerns, but his ability doesn't look in doubt.

However, he's a little slow as u mentioned - perhaps waiting for movement, and he needs to strengthen more. A little too easily bullied at times, much like us.
Ingamoa - you've been a bit critical at times, how far do you think he can go? He obviously has talent, personally think he needs to work harder out of possession.

Can't believe it is likely Slot remains next season, my enthusiasm for watching us dismisses each game.

{Ed001's Note - Ngumoho lacks pace and power, he needs to build himself up and get an end product as flashy stepovers won't get him far. Added to that, he has a lot to work on defensively. I am not convinced by him yet, he has so much he needs to do and I am wary of players that jump ship for money at such a young age.}

21 Apr 2026 06:50:33
Highlight of the review called out 100% correctly - where Macca was supposed to be...

21 Apr 2026 08:17:40
I agree ED01. Every time I see him playing I'm just not that impressed. I mentioned on a live chat that I just don't see what he provides, runs a bit and shakes his leg a lot but otherwise nothing. That said he scored about 5 minutes after I posted it! But in general that's his lot in reality.

Those clamouring for RN instead of Gakpo are totally wide of the mark imo. I like Gakpo he offers so much more than Rio. I don't see it with him. Yet.

{Ed001's Note - we might be the only ones that see it that way though!}

21 Apr 2026 09:40:11
I'm pretty excited seeing Slot playing Wirtz at right back next season when Dom is out injured.

21 Apr 2026 09:50:23
{Ed001's Note - he leaves the subs late because he doesn't trust them.}

hence, he makes subs to try not to lose the game. Or he empties the bench when we need to get an equalizer when behind at the end of the game as a kind of Hail Mary gamble right, Ed01?

{Ed001's Note - exactly.}