Liverpool Banter 4

18 Oct 2026 14:26:57
Question to Ed001, and indeed all my fellow Macca skeptics, how do you view his early season contributions? I'm personally happy with how he is performing right now, even if I still would like to see him replaced in the summer. I think if he can carry on like this, it may be actually on considerably better terms in more ways than one.

{Ed001's Note - he is having a decent season, but he is not good enough.}

18 Oct 2026 20:22:30
Did you not watch the game then? You need to watch the goal we conceded and his "attempt" at preventing the cross which led to the goal.
Macca has to be moved on nevermind him seeking a bumper new deal.


I'll keep repeating. The first team needs two top midfielders to go straight in. One, a top 6 and another proper midfielder who can dictate the play. Grav and sob should not be guaranteed.

18 Oct 2026 20:48:06
If we're finger pointing, Ron, Nyoni lost Potter to allow him a free header.

18 Oct 2026 21:00:48
Ron, make sure you bring up the issue with our mids again tomorrow so none of us forget. Haha.

18 Oct 2026 22:09:33
He's consistent enough - just like Gravenberch and possibly Szobo.

Midfield needs to be stronger and more disciplined, we all see it.

Szobo is a good player but he's not very solid in midfield. He needs to improve this aspect, hopefully Iraola and his coaches can help him.
I'd not lose any sleep if we replaced Mac Allister and Gravenberch.

18 Oct 2026 22:17:15
Ron the Potter goal was entirely Nyoni's fault, he was fast asleep, pulld a Trent completely forgot he had to actually track his man. I think MacAllister simply misjudged the angle at which Thiago struck the ball.

18 Oct 2026 22:24:39
I think it was pretty clear in the post - especially clear for my posts - that I don't want him as part of the long term midfield setup. I was more intrigued to see if those who agree with that position agree that he has been decent.

I think Szoboszlai and Gravenberch need to be paired with someone more defensive minded RK. As others have suggested, at some stage we could return to the 2024 configuration with Szoboszlai the most advanced of the midfielders. I haven't lost hope in Wirtz though and I think he was really good the other day. It was good to see him perform well against such a physical side.

18 Oct 2026 22:29:32
Typo - He ISN'T consistent enough .etc.

18 Oct 2026 22:41:30
Fornax, Macca has upped his game this season, for sure, he still goes missing at times, but he at least looks to be putting in more effort. He's doing a good job for us atm, but of course he could be improved on, he was always a bit of a budget purchase, and even at his best we could bring in somebody better.

Wirtz is highly mobile, whilst he lacks that edge that really makes him effective effective in the final third at the moment; that high level mobility is a huge part of what we do need in the 10 right now. He's essentially playing a new role with a new frontline this season. From playing on the left with Ekitike and Mo to playing centrally behind Isak Barcola and Munoz, it's a big change again for him. I think the kid deserves the season to prove himself but he needs a string of goal contributions sooner rather than later to boost his confidence and hopefully kick on, otherwise I fear it will be more of the same.

I remember when people were saying Dom wasn't doing enough as an attacking midfielder prior to moving into the 8, yet he was far more effective than Wirtz, so the kids going to have to pull his socks up or he'll be heading back to Germany come June.

19 Oct 2026 00:27:29
If Sunderland continue to tank then Sadiki might become available.

19 Oct 2026 10:00:28
So essentially, the Potter goal was a collection of errors with Macca not closing down Thiago and Nyoni not checking his mirrors to see Potter ghosting in behind him.

Wait, isn't this how goals like that always happen?

If that is the case then, why the scapegoating, exactly?

20 Oct 2026 11:06:30
Because you have to have someone to blame these days @Oli.

18 Oct 2026 11:49:06
So many on here were saying we should sell Ngumoha over the summer. A "one trick pony".

Seems to me he's developing nicely.

18 Oct 2026 11:55:20
Very nicely and very quickly, it usually takes time to develop, kid's a natural 🔥🔥.

18 Oct 2026 11:57:05
The thing is that he is very very good at the one trick that he does. He really needs to learn how to be a threat running in behind rather than always needing to run at the defence with the ball at his feet and he is not a terribly good passer or crosser yet, but one on one he has to be one of the hardest to contain dribblers in the entire league, and he's only 18.

Even when his dribbles don't come to anything they can result in a goal because of the chaos they create when he cuts in the box, as we have seen of late.

18 Oct 2026 12:12:15
Munoz and Rio seem to be pushing each other along nicely with a little bit of friendly competition.

18 Oct 2026 12:43:19
Rekon arrival of Munoz has pushed Rio. Rio is playing more direct and low to the ground. Still don't like the stand still and inching forward that 99/100 ends up in losing the ball but hey, Barcola is don't that too so. lol Rio picking up some bad habits from another 100m+ player!

18 Oct 2026 13:07:01
He should've been on at half time against 10 men

As fate would have it, Frimpong gets injured yet again so Rio did get on quickly, but it definitely worried me how Iraola was forced rather than naturally looked towards Rio at half time.

18 Oct 2026 13:14:48
Thing is Burgher, that beating defenders head on is the most difficult of all the skills you mentioned.

18 Oct 2026 13:15:03
Kids 18.Not liked on here. Truth is though he's better than the £100m plus bloke we have on the left so far this season.

18 Oct 2026 13:26:56
Minteh will bring a different quality to the right side, one which we have sorely missed at times.

18 Oct 2026 13:29:55
Barcola has been with us for 6 weeks, 3 of those was away at international duty. Please can we give the lad a break? 😅.

18 Oct 2026 13:54:35
@ASB, no we can't. Just because it's a different league in a hew country for a club that has a new head coach and a different style of play to what the lad's used to doesn't mean we make any allowances.

18 Oct 2026 13:59:09
Truth is Florian, he's not. Maybe he will be and maybe he won't but Barcola has just arrived. Give him a break. Give them all a break actually.

18 Oct 2026 14:28:01
On cow's arses and banjos. Barcola can't finish, we should have just taken Darwin back on a free transfer.😂.

18 Oct 2026 15:05:16
I go by what's done in a Liverpool jersey. Yes Barcola is not here long and he may well improve(I should bloody hope so)but so far what I said is not untrue. Give Barcola a break? Ngumoha just turned 18, very few seem to give him a break.

I actually see more football intelligence from Rio at 18 than I do from Barcola. Some of the things Barcola did yesterday were mystifying.

18 Oct 2026 15:23:12
Absolutely Chewy, it's frightening watching Rio when he is in full flow knowing how young he is and how much room he still has to develop.

I'm curious as to what you thought Barcola did yesterday that was mystifying Florian, do you mean when he messed up the counter attack near the end when he looked like he was out on his feet? I think he just ran out of gas the last quarter of the game, he didn't have a preseason and it's a new environment with new physical demands.

18 Oct 2026 15:41:12
The 3 previous LFC left wingers were Mane, Diaz and Gakpo that's the minimum standard for him to equal, will he be as good as Mane only time will answer that? he should at least equal Diaz and Gakpo, but Mane is obviously the Gold standard! the only defence for Barcola is the 3 above played in a far better Klopp team, one plus none of the 3 above scored a hat trick in the UCL, and in a lesser team?

Mane scored his first PL goal on his debut, Diaz scored his first PL goal after 5 apps (21 days, he scored an FA Cup goal before a PL goal, after 2 apps)), Gakpo signed 7 January scored first PL goal circa 35 days later on 13 February against Everton.

Barcola is yet to score a PL goal, but time is on his side? all the three above could also quite comfortably play as a CF also if needed. Talking of goals man United have today versus Leeds conceded a PL goal in every PL fixture so far.

YNWA Andoni.

18 Oct 2026 16:22:02
Rio has definitely improved since last season. He frustrated me last year by not attacking his man directly enough and waving his foot over the ball.
I wonder if he was nervous of loosing position under Slot and Keeping the ball was priority?

Lately he's been moving the ball quicker and turning his defender around. Quick 1-2s in tight areas makes good viewing.

Barcolla looks a little lightweight at times. His runs in behind are good, like to see him get the pass quicker to make the defence drop off us a bit. But overall very early to say at the moment. Hope he doesn't become a flat track bully, playing well against weak teams and not showing up against the big boys.

I'm definitely pleased with the progress overall slightly better than I expected. 2 away wins in the PL already is surly worth noting I think under Slot we would most likely have lost or drawn those?

YNWA.

18 Oct 2026 16:58:30
Rio is 18. Imagine him after another 3 years of development. Those wanting rid of an 18 year old needs to give their head a wobble. Kid has bags of potential but needs time and to learn which is done in training.

18 Oct 2026 18:49:14
Salah wasn't exactly pulling up trees at 18.

18 Oct 2026 22:23:10
In Barcolas case I think he's suffering from a dose of Eki-isak syndrome. He's only a 70-minute man right now. You could see he wasn't really there physically or mentally in the dying minutes, he had a long Summer and no real pre-season.

We've already seen him suffer from cramp, he said in an interview the biggest difference between Ligue 1 and the PL was all the running and we've heard Iraola speak about him improving his fitness so he gets a pass for now.

18 Oct 2026 22:28:03
Past two performances on the right wing have been very good in my opinion. He's shown more variety, both cutting inside and hitting the byline.

19 Oct 2026 10:02:25
I see what you did there, WDW.

And I like it.

19 Oct 2026 11:52:20
Getting Minteh as well now? How many forwards do we need? Midfield and defence need to be prioritised.

18 Oct 2026 11:35:06
Watching the game yesterday and was thinking about how many of our first team squad will be still around in 2/3 years time.

Jaquet, Kerkes (maybe) Barcola, Rio, Florian (maybe) Ekitike, Isaak (maybe) Munoz, Trey, Leoni (if he comes back and is as good as we hope) Dom (maybe)

Got me thinking about how much we've spent lately and how much it's looking like we still need to invest.

Alison, Verg, Macca, Gapko, Enzo, Gomez, frimpomg (hopefully) Grav, The Greek etc I don't see in the first team by then.

Some big shoes to fill - interested in others thoughts on who you guys think will still be around 29/30 season.

18 Oct 2026 12:44:24
dunno mate, but was listening to potential of Alex Scott for another $100m and was thinking at this rate in a couple years' time, we'll have a starting XI where all the players were bought in for $100m each lol.

18 Oct 2026 13:18:17
None if the goalies. Bradley, Jaquet and Leoni. Trey and Dom from the midfielders. Rio, Isak and Ekitike.

18 Oct 2026 14:09:51
Jaros, the giant Belgian kid, Bradley, Jacquet, Leoni, Ndukwe, Kerkez, Wirtz, Munoz, Nyoni, Ngumoha, Kumas, Wright, Barcola Ekitike of the younger generation all seem to be reasonable possibilities. There is also the South American 17 / 18 year old attacking midfielder and the 17 / 18 year old French CF, that we bought in the last window to bring in next summer and now apparently the lad Mora from Mexico who's 17 or 18 may be joining next summer.

Plus the ones that the club will bring in over the next 3 or 4 windows.

18 Oct 2026 16:08:02
Gravenberch too old at currently 24? played against the cheats with and against 3 midfield players who cost £100 million plus and was easily streets ahead of all of them? While Andoni is here, Ryan will be going nowhere?

19 Oct 2026 11:54:31
Definitely a future with us for Grav I feel. Macca doing well this year but I'd sell if RM come calling.

18 Oct 2026
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Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled,

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18 Oct 2026 11:02:39
🤣🤣 it's surprising the team don't look to put more crosses into the box rather than check back and recycle possession which seems to be the common theme.

Only run I saw Isak do in first half was on the left edge of the box and Barcola just got in the way and headed it.

Can Isak do more. Absolutely

but I'll take match winning goal though over the praise "he ran around a lot and caused chaos" propaganda.

18 Oct 2026 11:12:36
It's not either / or JK.

There will be many more games where we will left wanting more from Isak than games he does nothing then pops up for the winner.

He'll literally need to score 30+ in the prem to get Mo Salah level praise for doing nothing but scoring ( :p )

18 Oct 2026 11:15:58
I think we'll all be happy, JK, when Isak starts getting caught offside about 20 times a game. In addition to just running around like a headless chicken. He needs to work on both those aspects of his game.

18 Oct 2026 11:18:08
Who's giving him Mo Salah level praise?

So you're bashing him on future fixtures that haven't even happened 🤣.

18 Oct 2026 11:19:26
So would you take Isak over Firmino then JK23? Bobby used to get slated for not scoring enough goals, but his movement allowed Salah and Mane to get in on goal more.

18 Oct 2026 11:35:18
Taurus I'd say a 35 year old Bobby would struggle under Ai's intensity mate and Salah and Mane are no longer here. Barcola got in on goal a few times yesterday and didn't capitalise.

Bobby, Mane and Salah were world class as a 3. I don't think anyone would put Isak in that team era ahead of Bobby.

However a Suarez I would. The guy was world class and despite having the morals of an alley cat he could nut meg a mermaid.

Probably the best player I've seen live over a sustained period of time.

However saying that Salah, Suarez and Mane might not work and we know how class the other 3 were together.

I've never seen someone describe Bobby as causing chaos in fairness and 111 goals for the club is hardly slim pickings.

18 Oct 2026 11:50:33
Isak does make quite a lot over a that do t come off
We have to transition from keeping the ball and playing it safe to playing more risky balls in behind.

That mix of playing short and long passes means opposition do t know whether to press high or drop deep.

We are slightly too predictable at the minute until we get away from the approach taken by Slot and his coaching team

Until we do that, we won't get the best out of Isak, or Wirtz, or Barcola.

18 Oct 2026 12:01:01
Could it be that Isak is being instructed to stay in the box and attack the 6 yard box? At Newcastle he was constantly dropping deep and laying it off, or drifting into the left channel, at Liverpool his radius seems to have shrunk and he is much less involved in general play.

You can't argue with the results so far, he's the second leading scorer at match day 6 despite not having played well in any of the games. His finish last night was absolute top quality, world class instinctive number 9 goal.

18 Oct 2026 12:24:57
Bobby did brilliant JK23 and he did have one season where he scored 27 in all comps. His normal range per season outside of that one was 11-15 per season. His ratio of goals per minutes was actually slightly worse than Darwin Nunez. Nunez had a goal every 195 minutes, with Bobby at a goal ever 225 minutes according to ChatGPT.

18 Oct 2026 12:46:24
JK - I'm saying that Isak will need to hit Mo's goal output year in year out to get to the point we can praise him for doing nothing but scoring. That was tongue in cheek dig at Mo of course.

Back to my main point - Isak needs to do more. We aren't going to have a majority of games where we need him to pop up for a winner whilst doing nought. We need him for all the other games when we're struggling.

18 Oct 2026 12:48:40
I think we need to build our attack around Isaac. He has 5 in 6 in the league. Goals win matches, we need him fit and staying at a high scoring level and the wins/success will follow.

18 Oct 2026 13:21:53
For the record, I couldn't care less about Isaks movement so long as he scores, I knew what he was when we first went in for him, he's not the typical 'Liverpool-style' forward we've been used to, but he's absolutely clinical, and I'll take goals over any other stat all day.

18 Oct 2026 13:23:24
Faith I fully agree and I did in my original post that he needs to do more.

But in fairness I think we could all argue that point about every single player in the squad.

Excellent result yesterday but every player could have done more and done more in previous games.

Games have been far more watchable in my opinion this season than they were last so that's a massive bonus.

Brighton and Arsenal next sandwiched in between Europe and league cup.

2 PL games should be the priority at this point and looking at Ai lineups to date it appears he shares that sentiment.

Main point is great result but lots of areas for improvement for all players.

18 Oct 2026 13:23:35
Well at the moment he has popped up with winners in 50% of the league games he's played so we are not been left wanting. And this is at a time where let's face it we are not exactly playing scintillating football. Stays fit and he's only going to get better for us.

18 Oct 2026 14:12:46
What's wrong with a CF who scores goals? Isn't that what they are supposed to do?

18 Oct 2026 15:07:35
No WDW. A centre forward is meant to feed the wingers 😁.

18 Oct 2026 16:18:55
Nunez or Isak?

Nunez couldn't score goals, Isak couldn't press a button, Isak has a very dirty habit of regularly putting the ball in the back of the net! how dare he!

YNWA Andoni.

18 Oct 2026 17:07:11
Say what you will about him, but inside the penalty box, he is lethal. His instinctive finishing is top class, and the power he generates from almost no backlift is so good. That being said, its not his fault we paid 125mn for him and hence he is expected to be out of the world each game.

But he is a world class player and if he stays fit he will bag 20-30 goals a season without a doubt.

18 Oct 2026 22:39:59
JK - yup and that result will do a lot for the team's confidence. Away result at a tough ground, injuries stacking up, adjustments mid-game. That's a great result.

19 Oct 2026 03:52:09
As long as we all live we would be very, very lucky to see a front three that could work as well as Mane, Firminho and Salah. Individually they were all excellent, collectively they were even better. We were spoilt rotten watching those three playing together. They were all different in their style and approach but complimented each other perfectly.

Thing is, they didn't do it straight away, they worked at it and got better and better - a lesson there for us in the current situation maybe? I will say again though that we were lucky beyond belief as fans to watch them play together.

19 Oct 2026 08:36:36
Isak scores the winner and he still gets lambasted for lack of movement

All I can say, is that I don't care as long as he scores, and if his goals end up being the match winners, then Amen.

19 Oct 2026 10:37:10
Personally, I don't even know what this argument is about. Also, why are we comparing Bobbie to Isak. To Darwin and then back to Isak? I am sincerely baffled.

They are all different players who were being asked to do different things from different managers. One can score goals for fun (Isak). The other couldn't but could do other things (Darwin) to facilitateand open space for others to score.

While the 3rd guy (Bobbie) was literally being asked to do everything and facilitate other great goalscorers (his main job) without being asked to score goals, per se. And even at that, man still scored 100 plus goals in an LFC shirt.

Good luck trying to get anything out of this debate.

You're going to need it.

18 Oct 2026 08:52:06
Ed01, here are a few observations from yesterday's game.

First of all, it was a great result. We have not always done well away at Brentford, and given their recent form, three points there is a very good return.

I won't say much about Wirtz. My fanboy bias is well known, and enough has already been said about him. Good game or bad, the lad never stops trying, and that is all I will add.

Ronald Araujo has been a strong addition to the defensive setup, but he is holding back our attacking play down the right. His crossing is not great, and there is very little offensive supply coming from that side at the moment in my opinion. Gomez is probably a better option there but his fitness won't allow it which is why Iraola is probably refraining from using him there.

The other thing that stood out was how many players were holding onto the ball for far too long instead of passing. Munoz and Rio both had a very good impact, but even for Munoz's goal, the sensible option was probably to play it to Macca, as the chances had dried up by that point. Rio rarely plays a pass either. It all worked out yesterday, but it will not always. Barcola was guilty of the same thing and squandered a lot of chances. The one positive was that he did pass to Koumas in the final attack. It was the wrong decision at that moment, but it at least showed he wanted the other man to score, even if it came far too late in the game. Koumas also failed to pass on a couple of occasions when it was the obvious choice, and doing so would probably have made a difference.

I am sure this will improve with time, but it was noticeable.

Isak did exactly what we hoped he would, so any complaint about him would sound foolish. That said, when Ekitike is fit again, could he rotate with Isak up top? His hold-up and link-up play may be slightly better than Isak's, provided he learns how to press. He has the skills and the pace, and if the attitude is right I think it could work well. It would also give Isak the chance to get fitter and sharper in his overall play.

What do you think?

{Ed001's Note - I can't say anything yet as I wasn't able to watch the game, I had family stuff to do. I will have to watch the game during the week.}

18 Oct 2026 09:54:02
With Wirtz, I think Iraola needs to put the hammer down and get the message to the team - feed Wirtz the ball.

The CMs dictate way too much if the play and swinging the ball around imo. Whilst there is a place for that, I think once we're settled in the attacking third, that they should be prioritizing getting the ball to Wirtz and playing off of him.

So many times he gets the ball, passes to someone, he should get the ball right back. Instead the ball goes to a CM then goes to the others side of the pitch. Then Wirtz is head down then motors over to the other side of the pitch.

He's running so many miles because he keeps running back and forth across the pitch to get the ball hahahaha

Just feed him, feed him, feed him. Prioritizing him as the attacking fulcrum and that will also help boost his confidence and feeling of importance on the pitch

Since arrival it looks like he is playing to prove he belongs. We need to make him belong and we will do that by giving him that focus and priority.

18 Oct 2026 11:14:10
Just wait for the match review LFCDas. That'll give you all the info you need.

18 Oct 2026 13:28:26
Gets plenty of ball Faith. Done well yesterday and midweek. But whether he does well or bad is on him the other players need to stop being blamed.

18 Oct 2026 09:53:28
Did we win because you didn't watch it Ed001 ;)

{Ed001's Note - that's what worries me!

18 Oct 2026 14:18:57
Perhaps the team having now played 8 or 10 games are starting to understand what their team mates are going to do?

Wirtz's match stats for chances set up against a solid, top half unbeaten PL team this season were astonishing - the most in a game since Mane about 7 or 8 years ago. Suggests to me that the more chances we make the more we'll take as Barcola, Munoz Rio, Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo and Ekitike get to know each others roles and the way the coach wants them to play.

18 Oct 2026 22:42:05
Florian - you're missing my point and I'm not blaming anyone. Go back and watch the game and specifically just watch Wirtz. I counted at least 10 times where he is right there and available for a pass but whoever has it opts for a sideways pass.

To my overall point, it's about getting his integrated as a key part of the team and actually playing to him. there is talk in thread above about playing to Isak's strengths. Well, we'll unlock that if we play to Wirtz's strengths and get him on the ball early and often.

19 Oct 2026 10:42:55
Good points there, Faith esp. your last point re: Isak and Wirtz.

As for Wirtz, he has played a lot better in the last 2 games because he seems to be getting a bit more decisive in his runs and decision-making. These are the things he needs to be doing because those are the things he can control.

Also as WDW, it is a bit of the understanding and relationships that are beginning to brew within the team that guys seem to know where to be so he can find them. Not a stats guy per se but the stats from Flo in that Brentford game were absolutely mad.

I agree, a lot more needs to be done and come from him but he can take heart in the last games and keep believing in himself. Again, the talent and ability just oozes from this kid when you just focus on him on the ball.

18 Oct 2026 08:09:57
There appears to be more dissatisfaction after a hard earned win yesterday. We’re obviously not perfect at the moment, but I’m going to do something controversial and just focus on some positives:

We beat Brentford who were undefeated this season, and hasn’t lost at home in the last 10 months.

Isak has 5 prem goals in 6 appearances this season

Since the start of last season, Only Cherki has more open play assists than Florian Wirtz who has 11.

Andoni who is having to learn to manage workload with many more fixtures has managed to win his first 2 champs league games, and rotate the team.

Youth are getting an opportunity in Koumas, Rio and Trey, and they’re all paying it back quite nicely.

Rio in particular is starting to look way more effective than he ever has before.

Araujo has been really good and was someone who was met with a lot of scrutiny on these pages when signed.

Jacquet looks incredible and is only 21!

Iraola ball will take a while to fully click but is certainly starting to

Munoz is looking handy and has 2 scored 2 good and important goals for us this year.

I look forward to a doom monger coming to s*** all over this post

18 Oct 2026 08:23:53
I'll drink to that.

18 Oct 2026 08:28:54
Great post can't argue with any of that.

18 Oct 2026 08:31:37
We're picking up results whilst not playing well.
I think that's a good thing because we all know what happened last year. The players lost condition, we limped in to the champions league and we looked like we lacked direction.

Iraola didn't have most of his first team for pre-season as they were at the World Cup or resting following the World Cup.

I'd say most of our players have shown signs of improvement and our new signings look good - Jacquet, Munoz, Araujo. Barcola is still new to the squad but you can see the potential star when he settles.
In many respects this first half of the season is a fact-finding exercise for Iraola so to pick up results too is a welcome bonus.

November will tell us a lot 😬.

18 Oct 2026 08:31:52
Outstanding post mate.

18 Oct 2026 08:37:23
Id go even more controversial and say Wirtz has been playing well!

{Ed025's Note - do Specsavers open on a Sunday?..

18 Oct 2026 09:03:56
Thank you for that. Some actual positivity for once. I know it is difficult but we just have to wait and let system and style sink in. And also players are getting fitter so let's see how and where we are in January.

18 Oct 2026 09:06:19
Good post full metal; I agree with all of it and I love the positivity.

However to 1988s comment on Wirtz, I was quite harsh on live chat on Wirtz because he missed a good few passes. But he did improve, his pass to Munoz was lovely for the goal too. he created a few chances to be fair to him. But at the moment the guy just gives away the ball way too easily- his miss passes or his inability to win any sort of duel make the team weaker. For me at the moment unfortunately the team is weak with him in it. I'm hoping he can turn it around but I worry.

18 Oct 2026 09:11:42
Great post. Keep the positivity coming!

18 Oct 2026 09:18:06
Honestly, I think we are improving. We started the game really well yesterday. Good control although forward areas still an issue.

We are still a little jittery when the other team gets a chance or two. Evidenced again when we went two one up and got jittery again. Need to build that mental toughness.

There's still a complete lack of what I call "go" in some of the forwards and there's still not the connections being made up top.

Pity Szobo got injured. That seemed to rock our plan.

I know it's not perfect but I too am seriously surprised to read so much criticism of a win away at Brentford.

18 Oct 2026 09:32:57
Nice one, Fullmetal!

18 Oct 2026 09:34:51
Rome was not built in one day, we are showing good signs of progress.

There will always be the haters who throw their toys out about one bad performance and demand we replace the whole squad immediately, but that has always been the case. Even in the Klopp years there were people moaning about how bad we were doing.

18 Oct 2026 10:54:26
I'm a well voiced Wirtz doubter but I thought he played well yesterday however our pressing was all over the shop and our midfield is as we all know way too soft. We were decent but the sending off of the Brentford guy helped us a lot in the second half. Regardless that's a good result against a good team. Keep her lit!

18 Oct 2026 11:16:22
Oh and hello Salah mate! Haven't heard from you in a while! Hope all is good with you and yours?!

18 Oct 2026 13:41:39
I like the the post, good stuff, mate. Keeping it positive.

Just thought I'd point out United fans would argue Fernandes is actually ahead of Wirtz with 13 open-play assists since the beginning of last season.

Opta logs an open play assist that derives from a set piece as a set piece assist. So if player A takes a free kick/corner, and it falls to player B before the ball goes out of play again, who in turn assists player C for the goal, Opta defines that as a set-piece phase goal and not open play. Just something I came across and found interesting.

18 Oct 2026 15:13:53
I'd love to see the most amount of assists Macca or Barnes got in a season for us. Weird stat for me. Plonk a corner on someone's head it's an assist. Pass a ball two yards to someone who beats three or four men and smacks one in from thirty yards it's an assist. Crazy.

18 Oct 2026 14:38:32
ED0025. No they aren't. But the pubs are! 🤣.

{Ed025's Note - i think you have had enough to drink with that comment 1988.. :)

19 Oct 2026 10:46:27
@Full, what is controversial about being positive? You spoke facts and focused on the positives which well within your right.

Anyone finding that controversial, is just exposing his/her/their way of thinking, imo.

As for your comments, spot on, my man. You covered everything.

We just need to keep working hard to improve and we will get there, for sure.

18 Oct 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - thefutureisoldgold3 has posted a new article entitled, Wolves Player Ratings v Burnley

17 Oct 2026 17:16:51
Great win. Congratulations to team. Iraola def got his selection wrong but the team dug deep and got a important result on the road.
Bodes well and def team showed character we expect. Still not the free flowing fast football we want but its a win i'd take with both hands
These referees decision against us needs to be really looked at.

Iraola has to start calling out referees aggressively. don't care if it results in a fine or whatever. We are drawing the short end of the stick far too many times on 50-50 and just plain wrong decisions against us.
Iraola has to be hard he needs to throw a proper fit on the touchline. He is far too mild at the moment.
It also flows into the team.

17 Oct 2026 17:23:46
Brentford finished the match with 9 men so I could understand them being unhappy with the ref, genuine question but what big decisions went against us today?

We were poor, got the 3 points but not a good performance.

17 Oct 2026 17:32:31
The general game it seems like every 50-50 post the red (which they took 20hours to give) went against us.

17 Oct 2026 18:19:22
Fair enough, agree they took an eternity with the red card which was obvious within 10 seconds but other than that I quiet liked how the ref allowed play to continue and didn't give too many cheap free kicks but it all subjective I guess.

I was more disappointed with our lack of composure and decision making to be honest. 3 points in the end I guess.

{Ed666's Note - the decision making was that of eleven Stevie Wonder’s. I must say I liked the Rio & Gomez cameos

17 Oct 2026 21:12:27
That's the best I've seen rio play ed666. Really made a difference and his final ball much better in general. Somebody on here recently had said about playing rio as a 10 or more centrally, thought it strange to put him there but he played a lot of today's game in more central positions and he looked v good.

{Ed666's Note - let’s hope it’s a platform for better things. I didn’t think he had it in him to play on the right but he did well today.

18 Oct 2026 01:58:30
I thought Rio did alright on the right. He did seem more comfortable playing there than he did earlier in the season. His tracking back and defensive work was slightly poor imo. But I did really like how willing he was to drive at defenders and constantly trying to create something.

I have a feeling too that we love him more than he loves us and he wouldn't hesitate to leave us if it means he gets a better offer to further his career elsewhere but that's nothing to be too concerned about.

18 Oct 2026 02:08:10
Brentford had two players sent off and some people think we were hard done by? Absolutely incredible.

18 Oct 2026 00:51:39
What team does Ed 666 support?

{Ed666's Note - Liverpool till I die mate..Have supported this club through thick and thin been all over the world to watch them, lost good women along the way because they didn’t appreciate my devotion to LFC but it’s my prerogative to be critical when I see absolute dross served up. Proffesional sport is about opinions and I’m happy for you that you can stomach bad performances.

18 Oct 2026 02:22:51
Before today Brentford had lost 3 home games in the league since the start of last season. Were people really expecting champagne football? Brentford is one of the hardest away games of the season.

18 Oct 2026 04:08:18
Ed0666 - I must protest.
Liverpool actually played reasonably well overall. Brentford, save for a few chances, were allowed very little, meanwhile we missed a hatful and should have won more comfortably. Even at 11-v-11, we looked the more likely scorers until Brentford actually scored.
Further, Brentford away is a game to be endured rather than enjoyed.

They've thrashed Chelsea and Spurs 3-0 there already this season, and were absolutely seeing themselves as favourites prior to the game.
We are still too open in midfield, but the performances are absolutely getting better and the players look fitter and more confident.

{Ed666's Note - I respect your protestation mate but I humbly disagree. Yes their well oiled side with a manager who’s been there a little while longer than AI. But we have 3 offensive players who cost circa £375 million pounds and our transitions, counters are like cocker spaniels trying to move a football. No menace, no cruel intentions just kick it forward and hope for the best. AI has to bang some heads together. I have no reservations about AI at all (he wasn’t my first choice admittedly) but I fear he might be too nice. Klopp would have gone apoplectic had that last counter we monumentally fluffed I hope AI isn’t a softie because we can’t keep letting that happen.

18 Oct 2026 06:46:44
Not sure which refereeing decisions went against us. Wirtz and Macallister were denied penalties as they both dived. Rio blagged a free kick and got their player sent off with another dive.


Thought we played reasonably well against a tough side and should have put it to bed in the first half. Not the greatest performance but no player let us down either and we are 3 points closer to the title.

18 Oct 2026 07:58:01
"don't care if it results in a fine"

I'd imagine Iraola might though.

Personally I thought the ref had a decent game. He could have made the decision quicker and given a yellow instead of a red then we would have had something to moan about.

Pretty sure some people just enjoy complaining.

I'd imagine if given a bag full of money some would moan the bag was too heavy.

18 Oct 2026 08:15:16
The big positive I take from ai 1st 10 games is he already has a solid back 4 sorted(when they all fit). Ron jacquet vvd kerkez give us a solid base to start from. they defend the box v well and there's a good 'guts' to them, they not afraid to put there bodies on line and if opposition want to play it physical they up for it. if u look at all brentford set pieces yesterday don't think they created a half chance even from them.

Last season we would've folded, far too soft. Keep in mind we lack a top defensive midfielder as well to offer them protection. Ron+ kerkez not the best on ball but they defend well and that's the starter for me, as team improves maybe we need better footballers in full back positions but for now they doing good job.

18 Oct 2026 07:04:22
Rio dived? You're saying he should have stayed on his feet when pushed from behind, that was a clear and obvious yellow card offense from Janelt, there could only have been one outcome when making contact after Rio got the wrong side of him twice.

Also think you are being incredibly harsh, ed666, you keep saying Barcola was terrible in the game when he was anything but terrible. Yes, he should have done better with at least one of the chances, but the first one on one with the keeper, he makes that chance entirely on his own powering through into open space, it's not like he was sent straight through on an open goal and missed a sitter. He is a chance magnet in and around the box and looks incredibly deadly on the counter attack. If he keeps putting himself in those kinds of positions, he will score lots and lots of goals. Also worth remembering he still ended up with one goal involvement, and that shot that hit the crossbar was excellent skill and improvisation, his game is not just sprinting into open space, in and around the box against a low block he has looked better than I have expected.

People slating him for the last 15 or so minutes of the game where he messed up one or two moves, it was clear that he was completely exhausted, he had his hands on his knees on the last two breakaways. This is a player who didn't have a preseason, Iraola has said that playing 90 minutes is effectively his preseason, and the fact that he can still run full speed with the ball at his feet in transition close to the 90th minute is in a way a good thing. Could he have done better? Yes. But context matters. I think Barcola played much better yesterday than he did his previous two starts in the league, for example, and I think things will only get better with him from this point onwards.

On another note, Munoz, wow, what a player, his stupid dive aside I don't think I've seen a Liverpool player with that kind of drive since Kuyt. The guy doesn't give a millimeter to the opposition on any ball and will chase every cause however lost it appears, is impossible to knock off the ball, won't be intimidated by anyone and just looks built for the physicality of the league. Great great finish on his weaker foot too.

{Ed666's Note - Barcola didn’t miss a sitter? I’m not so sure about that mate he was the text book definition of one on one with the keeper! Deadly on the counter attack? Do you know what deadly means mate? Deadly was Salah, Mane, Bobby! I concur with your point that’s he’s not match fit and said yesterday I’m not worried about him going forward but in the meantime if he’s gonna stink the place out he’s gonna have to be pulled on it.

18 Oct 2026 11:46:45
To me the definition of a sitter is somebody putting it on a plate for you right in front of goal and you missing it. Barcola made that chance all by himself, he deserves to miss it. Should he have scored? Yes, probably, and I have no doubt that he will if given chances like that in the future, though given his PSG performances we should all probably expect that his finishing will not be of the highest level when it comes to consistency. We knew what we were getting with Barcola, a chance magnet whose finishing can be erratic at times. Doesn't make him less dangerous as a player, though.

I absolutely do not agree with you that he 'stank the place out'. Maybe he didn't have as good a game as Munoz or Rio but he was constantly involved, ended the game with a goal involvement, and was in and amongst good chances, showed his skill on several occasions, tracked back decently well. I just can't abide the suggestion that he had a terrible game. He had a terrible game against City, not last night.

{Ed025's Note - "he deserves to miss it"????, i have heard everything now..

18 Oct 2026 12:07:23
I agree with 90% of what Patrick says, I promise you this, Barcola will end up a Liverpool legend and will overcome Mane's numbers for the club, bookmark this haha 😅.

{Ed025's Note - hmmmm..

18 Oct 2026 12:32:45
Rushie used to say he never worried about missing chances it was when he didn't get the chances he worried. Before we signed barcola bits I sent of him, which was v little, I wasn't overly impressed but he got a hat trick in champ league and really should've had another hat trick yesterday so he progressing.

Keep getting himself into them positions and improve when he is there and we've a massive player on our hands. Don't quote know what he was doing at end of game, I put it down to fatigue as he looked goosed but he v unlucky time he hit crossbar, good composure and lovely chip.

18 Oct 2026 13:43:15
When did calling out referees ever get a manager anywhere?

18 Oct 2026 17:36:31
I'd love to see that happen ASB but I am absolutely confident that I won't.

17 Oct 2026 19:35:59
Hate to say it but Carragher is going to be proved right.
That transfer window is going to go down as a disaster. We were calling it the Kleenex window at the time but the main job of Kleenex is to wipe away a waste product and a lot of these players are turning out to be an absolute waste of money.

17 Oct 2026 19:49:42
Wow I wonder how negative you would be after a loss. AI and the team are going to need time and patience.

A win away from home against a really well drilled good Premier League team is a positive thing. Not many will take 3 points there this season.

How about picking out the positives, Munoz was great today, Wirtz actually battled hard and never gave up always making himself available. And Isak did his Haaland impression by doing next to nothing and staying alert and scoring a class winner.

We won a game enjoy it.

{Ed666's Note - So we should just accept that performance and be happy with 3 points?

17 Oct 2026 20:06:42
We were 1-0 down, deservedly so, before they had a man sent off. So we did take the points but clearly some mitigating circumstances.

17 Oct 2026 20:27:05
We played well against City up until we had a man sent off harshly. We took advantage of 10 men and had a bit of luck. Maybe that's what they call it evening itself out.

17 Oct 2026 20:36:25
We just came from behind away from home to beat an unbeaten team (who hammered Chelsea 3-0 in their last home game) and it has angered you so much that you are having a go at Wirtz who got an assist and created 9 chances in the game (the most in the PL by any player at any club since 2021) and Isak who scored the winner and has 4 goals in 6 PL games?

17 Oct 2026 20:41:18
Florian Wirtz created more chances in the 2-1 win over Brentford than any other Liverpool player in a single Premier League fixture since records began.

Wirtz's nine chances created is the most any Liverpool player has recorded in any Premier League game.

17 Oct 2026 20:42:10
But I don't think Brentford had the better chances in the first half. Instaed if Barcola takes his 1v1 or him or Szob score their shots from the edge of the box, we would have been leading. Our finishing being pathetic made it a much harder game than it was both before their first goal, and after we went 2-1 up.

17 Oct 2026 20:42:52
💯 some people will never be happy.

17 Oct 2026 21:04:41
Brentford were fortunate to be 1-0 up.
11 vs 11 Liverpool were still the better team.
Brentford are a good team but LFC made them look like a smash and grab team.

17 Oct 2026 21:18:15
It took henderson 3+ seasons to come good, give it a rest, 95% of this squad are going nowhere.

17 Oct 2026 21:57:33
We won away from home. I think Wirtz was MoTM. No pleasing some people.

17 Oct 2026 22:29:27
I thought we fought for that result today. Was it a great performance? No. Did we roll our sleeves up and fight the most physical team in the league. Absolutely. And we did it with a few youngsters too.

Last year we would have got whacked 4 or 5 by this Brentford team, one that is bigger and fitter than all of the others.

We are a work in progress. The base is fitness and intensity. That is coming along.

18 Oct 2026 02:01:56
I thought Brentford were great and never gave up even after they went down to 9 men. I was slightly disappointed at us though especially towards the end where it felt like we were the ones playing with a man down.

But we also should bear in mind that we had to reshuffle twice due to injuries to Szob and Frimpong which I'm sure wasn't planned for. Overall it was a good result but the performance was mixed.

{Ed666's Note - That Brentford manager is a star in the making. Future England manager?

18 Oct 2026 02:23:56
Probably not given that he is Irish.

18 Oct 2026 04:50:14
Brentford are a very difficult team to play against away. It's always going to be a physical battle, which is not something we're going to thrive against. Having watched the highlights it looks like they caused our left side quite a few problems, but we had the better chances even before the second red.

It looked a pretty scrappy game, where Rio and Munoz played well and helped us get the win. Wirtz also created a lot of chances.

18 Oct 2026 08:21:53
Save your breath Shipley.
The witch hunt on Wirtz is getting really pathetic right now.

The guy will just simply never do enough to please some people.

{Ed025's Note - come on guys its not a witch hunt, he has not produced the goods so you cant blame fans for being concerned about his ability or should i say lack of it, blind faith is probably worse..

19 Oct 2026 10:52:23
Like I always say, it all depends on what people want to focus on esp. a hard fought win at a ground where no one wins, red card be damned.

You can either recognise the positives in context while recognising the negatives and areas of improvement;

or you can go all doom and gloom and start raking plyers over the coals and being negative even tho, we all know you would have taken the win come hell or high water going into the game at the start.

Just my take.