Liverpool Banter 4

03 Mar 2026 21:34:36
Gakpo and Salah same every game they create nothing and give no goal threat whatsoever.
Got to be one of the worst seasons ever when it comes down to entertainment.

03 Mar 2026 21:52:50
Absolutely embarrassing this. Tell me Arne Slot should stay. Should have gone months ago. Ruining us, game by game. Absolutely disgraceful.

03 Mar 2026 22:14:05
I think all the teams that have come up to the Prem this season have taken points off us. Wolves have taken points off us. How embarrassing.

03 Mar 2026 22:14:12
Embarrassing. If Arne Slot keeps his job after that, something is wrong. Hang their heads in shame, the lot of them. If they do not win on fri nite, then something is definitely up. Wolves worst team in the league. 😉

03 Mar 2026 22:14:42
Magico 100%

Get him out now.

03 Mar 2026 22:17:01
Just funny now either way.

03 Mar 2026 22:21:10
With us likely to win the CL & FA Cup, we were unlucky to lose to bottom-placed Wolves tonight.

No pre-season, and being in transition will do this to a team. On a plus note, we were bloody exciting to watch. At one stage I felt myself almost smiling.

03 Mar 2026 22:31:34
Slot is going nowhere. He will be backed into next season.

03 Mar 2026 22:15:25
No Liverpool fan should be sticking up for Slot now. And as for the two people running the club, they need to go now too because they have let the 💩 go on for over a year.

03 Mar 2026 22:23:39
Slot saying the Premier League is boring football.. Well we must be the most boring team of all of them. Possession based absolute horrendous football. This is Liverpool, Arne and you are taking us down the drain.

03 Mar 2026 22:32:39
We play like that in the last six or seven games. We won't finish top six. You can't let runners through the centre. We got away with it on Saturday, but that was not bad luck - it was switching off on the counter.

03 Mar 2026 22:41:41
I think that, despite the loss, we should continue to support Arne as we're:

F antastic
L oveable
O ver the moon to be where we are
R eigning champs
I n the mix still
A rne we trust
N ot going to finish outside the top 5.

03 Mar 2026 22:57:06
Haha, Frode. We are dishing up.
Cavalier
Unstoppable
Nice
Thrilling
Soccer
Only
Unlucky
Play.

03 Mar 2026 23:08:23
4th October 2025. Loss to Chelsea away because of Arne Slot. Should've been sacked that night.
5 months of the exact same disgraceful, embarrassing, negative, boring football.

04 Mar 2026 04:42:41
Post of the season, Jk.

The other posts are just bitter and embarrassing in all honesty.

You actually beat me to what I wanted to say, so I won't repeat it as it will only take away from your perfect assessment.

Thank you kindly!

03 Mar 2026 19:32:27
What do yous guys think of kerkez's performances of late, for me he has came on leaps and bounds the last 5/ 6 weeks, wild difference to the start of the season, great to see it!

03 Mar 2026 19:51:35
He's at his Bournemouth levels in 2026 certainly. Love the attitude.

03 Mar 2026 20:01:13
Kerkez is doing well, impressed with his desire and aggression. He still has a brain fart in him every game, but his level of composure is certainly on the upward trajectory. Still only 22, so a lot of development still to happen.

03 Mar 2026 20:08:02
That lad's a trier for sure. In the first few months, he was making runs into the wrong spaces, but not now. He's starting to get into excellent crossing positions, but he's not getting the ball played to him when he does get there.

Gapco prefers to ignore him and do his signature move. But, overall, I love his energy and effort. I can see him becoming one of our best ever, behind Robbo, that is!
YNWA.

03 Mar 2026 20:13:25
He is coming along very nicely. He has a phenomenal workrate and still has room for improvement. It's a shame he has to share that left-hand side with Gakpo. Playing as a right LW would make Kerkez even more effective. Looking forward to seeing who we bring in and how he gets on next season.

03 Mar 2026 22:24:13
Kerkez is doing really well. Fair play to the young man. 👏

03 Mar 2026 22:45:38
Jerked is a great attacking fullback, working with an inept forward partner in Gakpo and a woefully inept manager. He's not the issue. Witz, Isak, Frimpong - none of the new players are the issue.

04 Mar 2026 07:29:40
He's looking so much better than at the start of the season, but I still think he's quite a limited footballer. His technical ability and crossing are just average.

03 Mar 2026 19:23:31
This is for the banter page — just my opinion and maybe a touch of wishful thinking.
With this transitional and tragic start to the season, there was always going to be a period of adjustment and a changing of the guard. The title win and the purchases of Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike — plus the rest — probably set an unrealistic expectation of back-to-back titles. We got a little carried away.
Then reality hit. There was always going to be some inevitability around Salah's gradual decline, and at times the defence and attack have looked disjointed. It happens. It's part of the cycle.
But my post is really about next season. I genuinely think there's room to be excited — even if there's some sadness about the players we may lose.
Clearly Endo, Chiesa, Robertson, Gomes and maybe Konaté could leave, with only Chiesa likely to bring in a decent fee. Add to that the rumoured links of Mac Allister to Madrid, Salah to MLS or Saudi, and possibly Gakpo to Bayern. That alone could bring in somewhere in the region of £200 million — even more if we qualify for the Champions League and potentially go deep or even win it.
There are enough signs that we could be gearing up for some serious moves.
For one, if we win the Champions League and/or FA Cup, that could significantly increase Salah's value — potentially north of £100 million — especially if there's a bidding war, say if Ronaldo leaves Saudi. That kind of fee could be reinvested smartly — perhaps even used to move for Olise. That would be opportunistic and bold, especially if rivals need to sell before they can buy. It would be a real statement of intent.
Mac Allister could command £50–60 million, and combined with a fee for Elliott (if he moves to Villa or elsewhere), that might be enough to secure Adam Wharton or Elliot Anderson. Trying to get both would be greedy — and probably spell the end for Jones.
Now for my wild shout.

I know it sounds near impossible, but hear me out: Iñaki Williams.
If Bayern do come in for Gakpo — especially with rumours of Diomandé turning them down — that could open up another market opportunity.
Here's my thinking:
Barcelona may not be able to afford his wages or fee due to financial constraints, and Madrid already have Vinícius and Mbappé to manage.
In the Premier League, City are stacked with wingers and have their case hanging over them. Chelsea may struggle to attract him. United depend on their manager situation. Arsenal might need to offload first — and if they don't win the league, their spending could come under scrutiny.
His wages would be high, but if Salah moves on, it balances out — especially if Williams has a strong World Cup.
There have been on-and-off tensions between the Williams brothers and their club. A move could suit all parties, particularly if Olise arrives.
If Bayern buy Gakpo and we leverage that to land Diomandé as well, that's serious squad strengthening and smart market timing.
Just imagine the potential setup:
Front three of Iñaki, Isak and Olise, with Wirtz behind them. Rotation options of Ngomoha, Ekitike and Diomandé (especially if Gakpo and Chiesa leave), with Jones as depth.
That is frightening.
I also think we should consider either extending Van Dijk for another year or allowing him to take a big move if he wants it. A couple of seasons at Inter Miami with Messi, earning huge money — we shouldn't stand in his way. If a £40–50 million offer came in, that could open the door for a move for Bastoni. Again, a market opportunity if the timing is right.
If we get most of that in place after the World Cup, next season could be incredible — especially if Isak returns to top form and Ekitike keeps him hungry.
Anyway, that's just what's been going through my head reading all these rumours and opinions.
Up the Reds 🔴

03 Mar 2026 20:24:55
Do you mean Nico? Inaki is about 30 and plays as a not-prolific striker, mostly these days. Nico's good, but is on big money and wants to move to Barca, so probably not a goer.

03 Mar 2026 22:44:11
Brother, we can't beat Wolves. We're not winning the Champions League.

Not sure why so many posters keep the wishful thinking that Slot can somehow get this team to win the CL. It's ridiculous.

03 Mar 2026 15:53:40
Hey ed001.how do you rate Mateus Fernandes of west ham. seen a rumours linking him with us if hammers relegate.

{Ed001's Note - a very average footballer with a horrible attitude, will throw his arms up in the air and have a little tantrum rather than chase back. Avoid like the plague.}

03 Mar 2026 19:12:01
Big diver too.

03 Mar 2026 19:32:57
That's an interesting take, Ed01 because many on here are giving him props.

03 Mar 2026 22:34:28
Perfect replacement for Mac then.

03 Mar 2026 22:42:32
Eds 001 are you describing MacAllister this season?

{Ed001's Note - Macca is not that good.}

04 Mar 2026 01:01:41
Thanks Ed01. You have summed it up perfectly.

03 Mar 2026 14:05:20
Not really a rumour as such, but Eintracht Frankfurt defender, Nnamdi Collins, has basically issued a come and get me plea to Liverpool. He's said that he's always admired the Premier League, "Especially Liverpool" and also went on to say that Van Dijk is the best CB in the world and that he "can learn everything from him".

Collins can play RB, CB and LB. 22 years old, 6ft3, and versatile positionally. Seems a similar profile to Joe Gomez on paper. I've only seen Collins play once though and that was off the bench against us as a right wing back, when the game was already long dead.

03 Mar 2026 19:03:05
Not a rumour either, but I have to say, I've always admired the PL, especially Liverpool. I can play RB and, at a push, DCM, and I've admired the lad Ramsay for years now. I'd be very happy to be a bench warmer, and would be happy with £25k a week, which is a snip these days.

03 Mar 2026 19:34:23
MKS, we can't sign every player that has sworn/proclaimed their undying love for LFC. Some will have to be left at the altar, I'm sorry.

03 Mar 2026 12:18:03
So, Jeremy Jacquet is officially out for the season, and potentially longer. Liverpool allowed Rennes and Jacquet to decide how to approach the injury, both were determined to avoid surgery. However, it has now become inevitable that surgery is the only course of action.

The recovery time for a dislocated shoulder is between 4 to 6 months. The surgery is known as shoulder luxation surgery.

A real shame for the lad, who no doubt had an outside chance of a call up to the France World Cup squad, but that chance is well and truly scuppered now. Hopefully he'll be ready and available for Liverpool's pre season training in July.

03 Mar 2026 13:10:50
It was part of the deal for him to stay and play, just bad luck, but at least he won't pick up any more injuries.

03 Mar 2026 14:38:02
A player got injured. Will need treatment, recovery, and rehab. It is what it is.

03 Mar 2026 15:25:35
Should be 6-10 weeks depending on how quick a healer he is. He's a young lad, so should be ready for pre-season training.

03 Mar 2026 15:35:27
Bit of Loctite will see him right. Vinegar baths and plenty of Calippos.

03 Mar 2026 16:17:04
Vinegar always does the trick for me, Barnsey.

03 Mar 2026 16:23:30
Can we ask for a refund?

03 Mar 2026 20:15:09
WD40 much better.

03 Mar 2026 12:15:30
Jacquet is out for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder that requires surgery.

03 Mar 2026 14:38:17
It happens.

03 Mar 2026 14:55:41
Dislocated shoulder could prove problematic for his career. Let's hope he recovers well and arrives here stronger.

03 Mar 2026 19:35:32
Manof Todd, Jacquet is a 20-year-old. He has all the chances and time in the world to fully recover.

03 Mar 2026 09:41:11
Champions league qualification is the most important thing at the moment, big moves to be made in the transfer window still and we can't afford to be throwing that CL money away, of course winning the CL would be great but unlikely. The FA Cup can sod off, you get nothing for that. FSG are far more concerned with staying in the CL over winning an FA cup, so am I, it would have far more bearing on Slot's position. If he didn't secure CL but won the FA cup, it wouldn't count for anything with me personally. It's a nice addition to the cabinet but it doesn't really help the club in any way outside of bragging rights.

I think for myself and a lot of Slots critics the issue has been the football. I know most of us talk about the football being boring, personally I don't care about that, I want to see results, effective tactics, a manager who's willing to adapt his approach when things aren't working, somebody who doesn't just see problems and use them as an excuse in the pressers but actively works to combat the issues. I haven't really seen any of that with Slot.

We went on our worst run of 70 years, he proved himself ignorant and arrogant in his approach, refusing to adapt tactics when evidently things weren't working. What little has changed has been too little too late for me. The times at which we've played some more direct, fast counter attacking football it's clearly worked, but the seasons almost over, the time to make that change was back in November. You can make great decisions, but if you make them at the wrong time they're still bad decisions.

Whatevers been going on with the fitness is absolutely unacceptable. Slot himself admitted the other day that we are fitter now than we were a couple of months ago, and he wasn't. talking about injuries. 2 months ago we were halfway through the season! So it's taken us 7 months to get fit?! Unacceptable. We've all seen most of the players struggle to push on past 90 minutes, we've all been critical of it, and highly suspicious that the conditioning regime is obviously lacklustre to say the least.

Slot's recent comments just confirmed all our suspicions. It's not like it's an easy mistake to make, sports science has these things down to a t, a fine art, there's no guesswork. We were absolute elite in terms of fitness under Klopp and the head of physical performance has been there since 2012 so I find it very difficult to point the finger at anyone bar Arne for that.

If he does manage to truly turn it around, great, but I need to see it right now, I need to see epic performances in the last 8 games for him to prove himself. We've had an easy run these few games, the final stretch will be very telling.

03 Mar 2026 10:52:49
Do you think, at times this season, the sports science people have pulled Slot and said, in their opinion, the players weren't doing enough in training? Genuine question. I just can't see it myself. Difference with Klopp was he had total power, and probably didn't give a toss what the sports science people said, and went against them.

These head coaches don't have that power; we've seen that already with Maresca at Chelsea this season. Also, you say winning the FA Cup doesn't help the club in any way apart from bragging rights. I can remember a time when that's all that mattered.

03 Mar 2026 11:00:49
We were 7 points clear of Arsenal and he blew our chance of back-to-back PL wins. Those chances do not come around very often, and this year was a golden opportunity.

That alone is unforgivable.

I know we are not guaranteed to win every game; there is no right to win anything, but the form of Man City is at an all-time low, Chelsea are still inconsistent, and does Arsenal have the stomach when it comes to getting it over the line?

Instead, Slot blindly pursued his vanity project 'style of play' and sacrificed results for it.



Yet Slot is still the right man for the job?

No man in the history of the club has been bigger than the club. Not even Shankly.

03 Mar 2026 11:01:31
There was an article by Football S&C coach Simon Brundish last week that talks about the differences between Klopp and Slot's approach to load management and fitness. It's pretty technical, but worth a read.

Ruben Peeters is Slot's man, btw.

03 Mar 2026 11:09:40
I don't really care who's primarily at fault. All I know is that our players are a yard off the pace and have been all season. We don't press properly, we don't track back quick enough, we lack aggression all over the park, we don't attack at speed very often, and we fade in and out of games (often either starting slow or limping to the full-time whistle).



It's not good enough. The fitness levels are not up to the standards of the Premier League. The only reason we're still within touching distance of the other good teams is because we have such a ridiculously good squad. If we had given Klopp £450m of players in one summer he'd have won the treble.

03 Mar 2026 12:04:31
{Ed's Note - PatrikBurgher has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool’s Squad Depth and Slot’s Compromises

03 Mar 2026 12:14:52
Crazy that the other 19 teams are at a certain bar and we are at another. In this day and age of minute gains and losses, you would think it almost impossible that no one team could possibly be so far behind the rest. It's 2026 after all.

Surely the whole sports science department would and should be getting their marching orders. Whether Slot stays or not, surely the whole sports science department has to go this summer, or we'll have the same situation next year, would we not?

03 Mar 2026 12:23:30
Mk, you are better than that. We did not give Slot £450m of players. He lost at least £250m of players in today's market to enable the spend, and then lost £180m of the £200m spent to injury (Leoni, Isak, and Frimpong have barely played).

So, if we are using the money spent as a stick to beat him with, then at least get it right.

03 Mar 2026 12:25:27
Florian, I ain't buying that for a second. Slot has power over all on-pitch topics, and that includes which fitness and training methods are used in the preseason and during the season, as MKS mentioned.

Last season, Slot changed some of the stuff Klopp did regarding training, recovery, and match preparation, and he got plaudits for it. A lot of that was because, unlike Arsenal and others complaining about injuries, the new tweaks he and Robin Peeters (his performance guru at Feyenoord when they won the title) introduced prevented such injuries.



Now suddenly Slot is powerless to do anything on this same front? So he now has to listen to the physios in the Sports Science departments and should not make changes like he was doing last season?

Sorry, I propose your research needs some work, because some of us were actually paying attention throughout last season coming into this season and the diff. is light and day, imo.

03 Mar 2026 12:26:06
Unless Slot wins the CL or FA Cup, he is 100% gone. Even then, winning the CL or FA Cup, Slot may call it a day (see reasons below). Qualifying for CL does not guarantee his job either.

100%, as the ITKs have said (I am not ITK, btw), that Alonso is coming in June.

There are other reasons why Slot is going, and it is also to do with him being away from family. They have not moved to Liverpool, and this has been hard on Arne Slot, hence why he jets back to the Netherlands at every chance he gets when there is a few days' break.



A work colleague (massive Ajax supporter with good links to the club) told me a few weeks ago (he is based in Amsterdam) that Ajax are very keen on hiring Slot for the 2026/27 season and Slot is interested as it means going back home. Slot would never publicly admit it, but the constant pressure of the Premier League and being away from family is the reason he wants to go back. Even if he wins CL or FA Cup he will probably walk away with his head held high.

03 Mar 2026 12:41:34
No Oli, Slot and the sports science team made changes. Obviously, the sports science team thought it was the better way to go. The days of coaches having total control are over. Most of you know this. It doesn't suit your argument, but that doesn't change the fact that you know this.

03 Mar 2026 13:19:58
Varry, he got £450m of players. Dress it up however you want with net spend, but the fact is we spent £450m on incomings. I'm not interested in the excuses or the technicalities. If you spend that much, you should not be dropping from Champions to fighting for a top 5 finish.

03 Mar 2026 13:43:24
Florian Musiala, Ruben Peeters, the Head of Performance, is Arne Slot's man. The strong injury record at Feyenoord was one of the factors that attracted the directors to Slot, given our injury issues during the Klopp era.

Let's not twist the facts and keep absolving him of blame. The Head Coach is responsible for everything that happens on the pitch, including training and preparations.

03 Mar 2026 13:44:27
Rubbish, FM, unfortunately. Slot is in charge of the team. This includes how they are coached, and that also, obviously, includes the fitness of the squad. It's his baby to dictate and implement how to approach and play the season.

He's made a balls of all of that. And I fully agree, MKS. If JK had received the resources that were awarded to AS last summer, we'd be all over the PL and CL without a shadow of a doubt.

03 Mar 2026 13:53:01
If Paisley got 450m of players, he would have won the treble too, but neither he nor Klopp were available, so your argument is redundant.
Which manager should we have brought in at the beginning of the summer that would win us the treble?
BTW, you do realise that the treble is still mathematically possible?

03 Mar 2026 14:48:00
Pls @Pelican and @Shankly, let Florian speak. It is just comedy gold watching him tie himself in knots trying to defend Slot by making things up in his head to try and subvert the facts that many of us have known esp. on this topic since last season.

Then, he will accuse others like me you and you of making things up to take a swipe at the guy. The hypocrisy is deafening.

Memo to Florian: You may love Slot and have a large poster of him plastered all over the walls in your basement. That is fine and dandy and I mean this honestly.

What we will NOT be having is you making up stuff out of thin air to support and defend his reprehensible management of this team by using nitpicking techniques and technicalities to get him outta of the jail his conduct deserves.

Nope, that dog won't hunt.

03 Mar 2026 15:00:45
With all due respect, De, I actually do not believe that last summer, even 1 person on this forum, was thinking about a different long term manager at the helm other than Arne Slot.

I also believe that there's not 1 person on this forum, be they pro Slot or anti Slot, who does not think that Klopp would have done better with the current squad than Slot is doing.

03 Mar 2026 15:01:41
Florian Musiala - He's the head coach at the end of the day, so he absolutely has power over conditioning. If he turns and tells them he's concerned with fatigue in the latter stages of the season and wants to dial back the intensity, they're going to listen. As I said, we still have considerable moves to make in the transfer market, losing out on anywhere up to 200 million from CL revenue, along with the hindrance it puts in our ability to attract potential targets, far outweighs the bragging rights of winning the FA Cup right now.


Varry Benison - Slot got £450 million worth of players. That's what they cost, that's what they're worth. There's absolutely no doubt about it. Trying to take away from that because we also made sales is like telling your tax man your £100k Mercedes is only worth 50k because you sold your old one. Nobody's ever claimed, "Slot got £450m worth of players and didn't have to sell any," which is the point you're arguing against. Not to mention, every purchase was seen as an improvement.

03 Mar 2026 15:23:02
Woof woof, Oli.

03 Mar 2026 15:42:11
Oli, I like Slot the way I like any other LFC manager. I like the club more though. The day after Jurgen was gone I couldn't have given a toss, while most of you were crying into yis'r tissues. I was moved onto the next man and our upcoming season. And I'll be the exact same when Slot goes. You saying I'm the one who's made things up all season and have nitpicked is hilarious. What really happened was a loada grown men looked at the season like 10 year olds.

"We won the league last year and spent the most money so we HAVE to win it again this year." That's not the way it works. You think what ye want, Oli, I'll keep on supporting the LFC manager while you and the gang half hope we lose games and go outa competitions so that you can prove your point on an anonymous fan forum.

03 Mar 2026 15:59:11
Composure, Florian. It's ok to get some things wrong. We are just a bunch of fans discussing the team we love. It's ok to be wrong. :)

03 Mar 2026 16:06:31
I'll let you know when it happens, Fly. Very, very rare though.

03 Mar 2026 16:22:13
Florian Musiala - The fact that you're defending him to the hills, but just admitted the second he walks you won't give a rats ass, is hilarious. And saying you didn't care when Klopp left. That all says a lot. Nobody said we have to win the league, but based on the fact that we won last year, we have a great squad and brought in £450 million worth of serious top-flight talent, not being in the race is unacceptable. And yeah, that's exactly how it works. Not only are we not in the race, but we'll be lucky to even make top 5.

We went on the worst run of form in 70 years under the guidance of a manager whose blatant refusal to adapt had a clear effect on results. We're 7 months into the season and only now is a squad full of elite professional athletes starting to look fully fit, by the manager's own admission. Nonetheless, 10 games left, and we're finally match fit. What a joke. None of that is acceptable, mate, not one bit of it. But if you want a hill to die on only to roll down it, you go right ahead, you might as well.

03 Mar 2026 16:33:05
What's hilarious about it? Once they're gone, they're gone. Same with players. What was Paisley's saying, "Let their legs go on someone else's pitch?" I was surprised by how I was about Klopp, but he made a decision, for the good of him and his family.

Thanks a lot, Jurgen, but I've a team to support. I'll book all my hotel rooms through Trivago if it makes you feel better.

03 Mar 2026 16:50:46
Put your handbag away, FM.

03 Mar 2026 17:54:50
Hey Salah, what you reckon for tonight's game? We going to smash em?

03 Mar 2026 17:59:01
Jesus Christ, I went through 2 tubs of popcorn reading that.

Personally, I'd love Slot to get us playing more attractive football, winning games, and back challenging for the league. It's also ok to admit that, at times (a lot of times), this season we've been horrid to watch, and we were out of the title race in November and are currently 21 points worse off than this time last season.



Would I be over the moon if Slot won us the CL this season? You bet your life I would be, and I'd be in the crowd for the open top bus celebrations.

All these things can be correct at the same time. It doesn't have to be 100% positive or negative only.

Anyways, I'm off to the shop to get some more popcorn.

03 Mar 2026 18:08:58
Fm, tough one tonight. Typical, we get Wolves away just after they've taken 4 points off Arsenal and Villa.

Usually I'd say we'll win both games in 3 days, but I can see us winning on le and drawing/losing the other.



Personally, if we were to lose one, then it would be the FA Cup, as CL qual is far more important. However, what do I know, and hopefully we win both.

03 Mar 2026 18:18:16
Yeh, much tougher proposition than it would have been earlier in the season. If we can keep up the recent improvement on setpieces, I think we can get the 2 wins.

03 Mar 2026 19:45:32
FM, none of anything that you said in what you posted has anything to do with me as I never cried when Klopp said he was going. I was actually happy for him because I cared for him as a person.

Secondly, I don't know who the 10 year olds were BUT I ain't one of them who did whatever the football you are referring to.

Nor did I say ever Slot had to win the title this season because he won it last season.

Again, all that bluster got nothing to do with me because like you always blame others for doing, made all of that stuff up and included me in your delusion.

Support who you like as that is your right. Just don't tell lies and massage the truth in a bid to glaze his pathetic record for this season. because I and others will be there to call it out. It's that simple.

04 Mar 2026 05:02:20
Funny, being in America and just having finished watching the game, then coming here to catch up on everything. HERE, in this thread, I see one Slot supporter continuing to support (no where else on this site), and realize it's all from before the game. Sorry kids, it's all bad. The management, tactics, fitness, subs, everything.

02 Mar 2026 18:20:33
Imagine these players in a proper 5 aside, 10 pitches stuck together, crap weather, getting slammed into the wooden surrounds and getting on with it! The likes of Cunha probably get airlifted if they played in one!

02 Mar 2026 21:14:02
These guys are machines. I think you may find that, whilst running circles around everyone, they would give back as much as they get.

02 Mar 2026 23:37:38
The game would improve immeasurably if officials stopped pandering to every complaint and punished simulation.
Imagine 22 athletes in peak fitness, competing physically and staying on their feet because they know going to ground would disadvantage their team.

The fluidity of the match and the competitiveness would be off the charts, but instead we have a game broken up by divers, time-wasters and a desperation to get a dead ball scenario.

03 Mar 2026 09:31:18
Sadly, I don't see a way back. You'd need to train a generation of referees that football is still a contact sport, a generation of footballers not to fall down and play for fouls, and a generation of fans who accept that things would be worse to watch while we wrestled through football getting to grips with the changes.

The best change they could make at the moment would be clearly defined rules that were not open to interpretation, and a squad of trained referees who can implement these rules consistently.

That would end the set piece blocking nonsense, reduce VAR breaks and ref-mobbing, and hopefully impact on things like diving, play-acting and invisible card-waving.

Unfortunately, players are pampered and somewhat detached from reality now, so they'll forever be a bit pathetic when it comes to contact during a game.

03 Mar 2026 10:13:42
I play Sunday league at a relatively good standard. I even played a handful of Step 6 games in the Spartan South League. However, I remember a couple of years ago in a cup my Sunday side got drawn against a team who won the top Sunday division in our local area (which was 1 or 2 leagues above us) every single season. I played against them and 10 of their 11 players were only as good as I am, and a few were probably actually slightly worse than I am. However, they had one geezer in the midfield who was just ridiculous, and was clearly just there to play with his mates. I'd look over my shoulder to check where he was, look back at the ball for 2 or 3 seconds, and then when I checked my shoulder again he was 30 yards away. I played 90 minutes against him in the midfield, and I didn't even get the chance to try and tackle him once. I think the closest I got to him was about 3 yards in open play. If I pressed him, the ball was gone with a first touch pass and I was taken out of the game.

If I stood off him, he'd sweep a 70 yard diagonal pass out to the far side of the pitch, and I was taken out of the game. It felt like when a Year 11 would join in with the Year 7s. He was the sole reason why his team won the top league every single season; he was that good.

After the game, I found out he plays Step 3 football. That's still 3 promotions below pro-football (League 2), by the way. There are levels to this sport. I can tell you for a fact that even the worst Premier League footballer you can think of would absolutely dominate you and your mates down your local cage. You wouldn't get within 5 yards of Cunha even if the pitch was a 30 by 30 yard box. If you did get near him, he'd be quicker and stronger than you anyway. If you and your mates were good enough to compete with a Prem footballer and slam them into the cage wall, you wouldn't even be playing 5 a side.

03 Mar 2026 10:56:40
I wonder if that kind of difference of levels is there with managers as well. So many armchair fans these days think they'd be World Cup winning coaches if they decided to put the 10pk of lager down and get up off their backside.

03 Mar 2026 11:19:10
Florian Musiala, I think that's a totally different argument entirely, though. It's a very easy thing to do to point out issues and offer solutions with the freedom of knowing you won't actually have to do it. Implementing those solutions and making them work practically is what is hard. Most fans don't claim they'd do a better job of managing a Premier League team, because they know they couldn't, but that doesn't mean they can't see blatant problems and call them out. The same applies to the players. We can watch a player and see their flaws or identify mistakes they made, but that doesn't mean we could actually do better.

For example, I can watch someone like Federico Chiesa and say with confidence that he is not good enough to start for Liverpool on a regular basis, and I can dissect his performances too.

But if you put me on the same pitch as him, he'd absolutely demolish me. When the fans criticise Arne Slot, they're not saying they can compete with him in his field or that they could do better, they're merely highlighting the blatant errors and giving a more than fair opinion that another professional manager/head coach could do better.

My manager is not and never has been an engineer, but they know what is expected of an engineer and can therefore criticise me if my work is not up to standard.

03 Mar 2026 12:05:59
All sport is like that. I also love cycling, and with the invention of power meters, you can actually compare how fit people are. For context, I am a decent standard club-level cyclist, fitter than your average mamil, but not race fit. Bradley Wiggins' 1-hour power during his 1-hour world record success was equivalent to what I can sustain for about 2-3 minutes.

A TDF racer was nearly 20 minutes quicker than me up an 11km mountain pass. I was minutes faster than my group, and the average person on the street couldn't ride it without stopping for a rest or even complete it. There really are levels in sport, and those at the highest levels of their sport are in another world to us mere mortals.

03 Mar 2026 12:47:20
No, it's actually the same argument, MK. Like you said to the OP, the levels these guys work at are mostly beyond our comprehension of the game. Players and managers. Slot and the other 19 Premier League managers see the game on a totally different level to all of us on here.

To say it's different between the two because it suits you to say so is ridiculous.

03 Mar 2026 13:24:15
Florian Musiala, you are deluded then mate. Sorry but that is absolute tosh. Being qualified to discuss and debate is not the same as being qualified to do. Have you ever heard of auditors? An auditors literal job to be able to understand and critique a process, even if they personally have no practical experience in what they're assessing.

You also might as well request this site be shut down if you think nobody outside of elite football is qualified to discuss it.

03 Mar 2026 14:52:20
"When the fans criticise Arne Slot, they're not saying they can compete with him in his field or that they could do better, they're merely highlighting the blatant errors and giving a more than fair opinion that another professional manager/head coach could do better."

Florian, I propose you read this again, because it demolishes your whole argument.



If you think this take is ridiculous, then maybe you should look in the mirror.

03 Mar 2026 15:02:02
You're just objectively wrong here, Florian Musiala. I can walk past a wall and see if the job was done well by the bricklayer or not. That doesn't mean I think I can do a better job than the bricky, it just means I can see the difference between good and bad work. You're conflating being able to assess the quality of someone's work with being able to match their quality of work. The OP suggested that Prem footballers would struggle in a local 5 a side cage, thus suggesting that, under certain circumstances, your average Joe could compete in a game of football with a Premier League player.

That is not even close to being the same as criticising a manager's tactics or giving an opinion on what you think should be done differently. For example, I can quite clearly see that our players are not as fit as they were in previous seasons when we've been successful. That is not the same as me claiming they'd be fitter if I was the head coach at Liverpool. I would not say that, because I don't believe it for one second. I don't know the first thing about elite level sports science and conditioning, but I can see when our players are not as fit as the opposition.

03 Mar 2026 15:57:28
We'll agree to disagree, MK. Maybe you just go through life pointing out bricklayers' and craftsmen's dodgy work, and that's fine. I doubt the same workers are in the top 1% in their profession. They are the absolute elite of their profession on a worldwide stage. Otherwise, you would look pretty damn stupid telling them how to lay a brick.

02 Mar 2026 17:08:43
Not to stir the pot or anything but:

If Slot wins a cup this year (Domestic or European). Surely that is absolute justification to keep him no?

If any fan had been asked on the day he signed if the league and a cup in his first 2 years would be seen as a good return on choosing him, I think most would have said yes emphatically.

This is of course dependent on him winning a cup this year.

02 Mar 2026 18:30:44
Got a feeling he's not going anywhere regardless, mate, but I'll take a trophy and Champions League place and be more than happy for Slot to continue!

02 Mar 2026 18:32:04
Yes. One hundred percent. If you asked any Liverpool supporter when Slot was coming in, would they be happy with a league and an FA Cup/CL in his 1st two seasons? Everybody would have jumped at that.

02 Mar 2026 18:33:53
No, the league performances have been appalling, and that's the bread and butter. Fluking a European Cup (because that's what it would take to win it) isn't enough, and winning the FA Cup certainly isn't enough.

02 Mar 2026 18:36:32
I am personally so much in the Slot out camp that, no matter which and how many trophies he won, I'd want him gone. But, ofc, if he did win something, one could argue that him staying is justified.

Even not winning a trophy, one could justify him seeing his contract out. But, I wouldn't want another year of the rubbishty football, players regressing, and dodgy statements in the media. But, hey, that's just me.

02 Mar 2026 18:38:32
Two very big ifs there, Red 81. We would need quite the change in performance level to win trophies this season, a change that I have seen no sign of yet.

Qualifying for the next season's Champions League is the minimum requirement for the club to justify the wage bill and signings we have made/still yet to make.



After that, it will likely be whether the relationship between him, the big players that will be staying on, and the football directors is still 100% aligned. I don't think winning the FA Cup will trump that if there is misalignment. Perhaps winning the CL might make them think twice if there is misalignment.

02 Mar 2026 18:45:12
@Red 81, Slot will have been set a number of targets and goals by the FSG that he would need to meet. If he meets the goals that FSG set, or can provide a convincing explanation as to why he wasn't able to meet one or more of his targets, then the chances of him being kept on are high. If not, then he is likely to be replaced.

I don't know what his targets are, but I get a feeling that winning a cup would not necessarily be enough to make FSG think he should be replaced.

Sadly, the FA Cup seems to be more of a 'nice to win' rather than a major goal these days, but I suppose that, from the perspective of a multi-billion dollar business, there is not really a major financial reward for winning the trophy.

I'd say he's far more likely to get the old heave-ho if we miss out on CL qualification for next season.

02 Mar 2026 18:49:30
How do you know we'd only win it if we fluked it? And winning the Champions League might make them think twice. 😆 If Arne won the Champions League he'd have a new 5 yr contract on his desk the next morning waiting for his signature.

02 Mar 2026 18:58:46
Meh. I'm still not convinced, to be honest, OP. He does seem to be learning that he needs to adapt from his purism that has been holding us back. But even so, there are still signs enough for me there that he isn't the man for us. Gravy is more than capable of playing CDM for us, and yet how he is utilised indicates to me that is a lesson Slot still isn't taking on board.

Obviously I'd be over the moon if we win something given how god awful we have been this season, but don't let the West Ham win make you forget how god awful we were against Forest.
This current run reminds me of how we were in those first five games, to be honest. Something still isn't right.

02 Mar 2026 19:18:56
We won't win anything, but if we do, I still want him out.

02 Mar 2026 19:27:52
Not for me. League performances have been woeful, to say the least, and that's the bread and butter. If he wins the FA Cup or Champions League, it will very much be a thanks for everything but goodbye from me.

02 Mar 2026 19:37:33
Hold on. A manager would win a Prem and CL in two years and it'd be a goodbye from you? I've heard it all now.

02 Mar 2026 19:58:33
I've been Slot out for quite some time, as I personally don't like his brand of football. However, given where we were in the league and the injuries we have had to deal with, if Slot achieves Champions League football and wins a cup, or even reaches the Champions League final, I cannot see a world where we pull the trigger, unless he himself decides he wants out.

Irrespective of my own personal feelings, if those criteria were met, it would be a tough sell to sack a manager who has won us the title. Where would that lead us, and what would future success be measured against? Suppose Alonso was to come in and replace him, would he be under pressure if he didn't immediately deliver the title or Champions League?

02 Mar 2026 20:13:57
Florian, 20 years ago, we'd all be mocking Real Madrid for doing something like that, sacking a manager who won the league in their first season and the Champions League in their second.

Which manager is going to come in having to follow that? It's laughable, I'm afraid.

02 Mar 2026 20:17:14
Not just the woeful performances, which are all down to his crap tactics and poor training, but the constant moaning in interviews is reason enough to show him the door.

02 Mar 2026 20:26:50
Not going to bother watching the Gala and the rest of the CL games now people have ruined the surprise that Slot wins it this season.

{Ed025's Note - love it JK..

02 Mar 2026 20:27:28
If we win the Champions League this season, after winning the league last season, he should get a 5 year contract.
I've been v disappointed in Slot this season 2bh, but if he wins them 2 trophies 2 years in a row, we would be a laughing stock if we sacked him. Don't think FA Cup carries all that much weight nowadays imo.

02 Mar 2026 20:28:31
Win a league and CL in your first 2 seasons and it's goodbye? Oh the state of football fans today. 🤦🏼‍♂️

02 Mar 2026 20:30:49
I sincerely hope for the following, that we qualify for CL and win a trophy. That, come the end of the season, Slot leaves by 'mutual consent' and then Alonso or Enriquez join.

I cannot stand this dire brand of football, all when we have such a talented team.

02 Mar 2026 20:47:31
I'm not "in the know," but there is no way that Enrique is joining us in the summer. Just saying.

02 Mar 2026 20:49:22
Well said, Man of Todd.

02 Mar 2026 20:50:50
@Red, what if Slot wins the FA Cup and misses out on CL footie? Would you want him out? Serious question.

For me, the only way Slot keeps his job is if he wins the CL.

He stays because that gets us CL footie and, of course, No. 7.

However, if Slot only wins the FA Cup, with or without CL footie, then I'd still want him gone.

02 Mar 2026 20:54:19
imo there's not a hope in the world that we are winning the CL this season. I know the old adages; in knock-out football, anything can happen, the underdog, the second leg in Anfield, the usual stuff, but, looking at our defenceless defence, it would become the greatest miracle since the loaves and fishes.

02 Mar 2026 20:59:30
Man of Todd, when you say we have such a talented team, is that the team that doesn't have a fit right back, a centre back that's been useless all season, a centre midfielder who has no pace and spends most of the time rolling around, a right-sided forward who's long past his best, a left-sided forward who we should bin, and a centre forward who's never fit.

These are the opinions of the majority of posters on here. The talented side you talk about, is it a five-a-side team?

02 Mar 2026 21:10:38
You said all of that before I did, Rome.

02 Mar 2026 21:15:58
We've won a couple of games and people are getting all dreamy eyed and forgetful. The football at best has been mostly dire. I couldn't put up with another season of performances like this one. "If we win the Champions League."

02 Mar 2026 21:30:07
Or the greatest miracle since 2005, Shankly's ghost?

02 Mar 2026 21:36:40
I think the football for over a year now has been dreadful, and I don't think Slot is going to change anytime soon.
But, if he wins the Champions League, no way can he get sacked.
But I would not expect us to win it the way we are playing. But, if we somehow did, I would still not be surprised to see Slot go at the end of the season, because he wants to go home to his family.


That would be a fantastic goodbye 🙋‍♂️ from Slot, and, as much as I have not enjoyed the style of football, he will definitely then stand with our great managers of the past.
Because, in the end, it's not how you get there; it's just that you got there. That's all history says in the end.

02 Mar 2026 21:49:04
On paper, winning the league and another major trophy alongside CL qualification in your first two seasons definitely justifies him keeping his job as manager at a club run like ours. There's probably only a handful of clubs in the world that would still look at that as potential failure compared to respective expectations. The key phrase here is 'on paper'. In reality, the long term ambition of being a successful team, consistently challenging for and winning major honours to match off-field growth, looks to be something not achievable with Slot. The fact that Slot hasn't properly taken to the city, has been stubborn on his tactical approach, showing unwillingness to adapt until it is seemingly too late (behind the scenes anyway), has demonstrated that any targets met would all be short term success, even as frustrating as a process it would be in terms of performances. Long term, we would see the detrimental effects it could bring with keeping a manager like Slot, with the current set up of the club. We would fail to attract the same sort of players we once could, we wouldn't be seen as an attractive project anymore compared to our direct rivals, especially due to the style of play.

Youngsters not given the opportunity (rarely do they successfully bleed through, but most top managers are able to coach 2-3 through to be integral part of the squads, Slot has shown no desire to even attempt this, thus far), which affects the academy. I fear with our recent recruitment, all individuals in charge will put us in a position where we overspend on average talent, with one of the higher wage bills and the owners looking at it and cutting us off again, citing the lack of success overspending has brought on the pitch. Point is, a lot of this is avoided with the right manager. The right manager can literally shine a turd, and, whilst we are far off being a mess of a club like some of our rivals have been in recent years, we aren't too far off joining them with some of the people in charge at the moment. Managers like Ferguson, Wenger, Klopp etc hide the dross happening in the background, because they are able to show success in the most important part of the business, on the pitch, so I think this season, we saw a very big indicator that Slot is most likely not that guy long term, as much as I wanted him to be initially, that changed throughout the season.

02 Mar 2026 21:59:30
I think the important bit is top 4. There are so many factors on the go for whether we keep Slot or not. Although the ITKs seem to think he's by and large confirmed for the chopping block.

Whatever happens, I just wish people were fair about him. Slot gets way too much of the blame.

02 Mar 2026 22:07:41
How dare you call yourself Shankly's ghost, and then have such a defeatist attitude. One thing the great man would never do is accept defeat, no matter what the circumstances.

We are as good as anyone in the competition, but we lack consistency for many reasons. The beauty of knock out, 2 legged football is that you don't necessarily need consistency.

We have a chance.

02 Mar 2026 22:25:47
Are Ngumoha and Nyoni not being coached through? They are 17 and 18, for God's sake.

02 Mar 2026 23:43:59
It is impossible to 'fluke' a Champions League trophy. Ridiculous comment.

03 Mar 2026 06:06:35
Did Klopp win a cup each year? How was his team the season after we won the PL? There were large sections of fans shouting 'Klopp Out' for long periods. Fickle fans.

03 Mar 2026 06:46:37
All of this is assuming Slot wants to stay. Family still live in the Netherlands, flying around constantly, rumours of a fallout, etc.
Regardless of money or esteem, that's not an environment you could pay me enough to remain in. The ITK's have said he's likely to leave, but they never said why.

03 Mar 2026 06:47:50
A lot of people (mostly not Liverpool fans) were saying last season as we were on our way to winning the league because the general standard in the PL was cack. Being the wise people that we Liverpool fans are, we tended to disagree, but with hindsight, I think some of the lighters might have been onto something.

It is possible to argue that we won the league as the last team (for the present trend / fascination with set piece play) to play attacking football, perhaps Jurgen's legacy?

I think there were three things that impacted us - two internal and one external.

The first internal one was Slot doing a good impression of a rabbit caught in the headlights when we came up against PSG. It has taken a long time for us to get past his obsession.

The second one was his growing fixation with the low block - again a lot like a rabbit in the headlights.

The external one was the other clubs having a sneaky meeting that we weren't invited to, where they all swore off attacking football and decided on a set piece dominated game, with all in wrestling for corners and thrown-ins headed for the penalty area.



For whatever reason we didn't want to, or the coach was able to adapt, which, having just spent half a billion on new players, was 'disappointing'.

There is no doubt we have been crap for most of the season but, so has everybody else, although not necessarily for the same reasons.

I read a couple of days ago that from August to New Year's Eve we were the second 'worst', for want of a better word, in terms of scoring from set pieces but since New Year's Day we have scored more from set pieces than anybody else. It is possible to suggest that the coach / team have adapted? It would be funny if we had and nobody noticed because we still aren't playing well in terms of football, rather than all in wrestling.

Sorry, got carried away.

03 Mar 2026 07:14:44
WDW, to be fair, we have been adapting in multiple ways throughout the season. Sometimes it hasn't worked, and sometimes it has kind of worked, but to the detriment of the fans' enjoyment. For whatever reason on here, it has been repeated over and over that Slot is stubborn and fixated on doing the same thing, that any team with any sense can plow through us with ease and target us on set pieces, etc. I think we have to be fair to Slot and the coaching team and admit that they have tried to fix the problems we've had, and on the balance sheet they have been fairly successful at addressing most of them on the fly.



As for this comment above: 'we wouldn't be seen as an attractive project anymore compared to our direct rivals, especially due to the style of play.'

Oh really? So you'd suggest that they prefer to play for Setpiece FC? Or a City that blows hot and cold constantly and probably won't have Pep anymore next season?

03 Mar 2026 07:18:00
Like I say, we would mock Madrid fans for thinking the manager has to win the CL to keep his job. As a fan base, the money spent last summer has completely gone to our heads and we think massive investment = guaranteed success.
Ask Chelsea, it certainly does not.

03 Mar 2026 07:19:17
If, as I now expect, LFC qualify for the CL and get past Gala to reach another CL QF, does anyone think Slot has not met the minimum targets set by FSG when he was appointed?
Why are people so certain a young manager, recently sacked from RM, will be better? What is that certainty based on? I could see it if we were talking about Enrique. I just don't see it with Alonso.


Sure, some will point to RM being a basket case with prima donnas, but Alonso couldn't adapt to the situation he was in, and there is no doubt RM have an immensely talented squad that Ancelotti kept ticking along.
Will the same loons be calling for Alonso's head if he doesn't win the PL in his first season or LFC struggle? I think they will.

03 Mar 2026 08:13:06
He needs to go no matter what happens between now and the end of the season. No matter what they win or don't win.

03 Mar 2026 08:30:12
So, if LFC win a cup, qualify for the CL, or both, he has to go?
What expectations are you placing on the new manager, win the league (Slot did that), qualify for the CL (you don't care if Slot does that this season, I expect they will), or is just playing good football and winning nothing the sum of your goals for Alonso or whomever you think should be manager next season?

I just want to know, because it is going to be a stick to beat whoever calls for Slot's head, and is satisfied when whoever replaces him, if he doesn't win the league, plays "the Liverpool way".

03 Mar 2026 08:35:14
Cutting your nose off to spite your face isn't a recipe for success.
Anyone who thinks FSG would pull the trigger on Slot if he wins the CL is living in la la land.
You find out who your supporters are when the going gets tough.

03 Mar 2026 08:39:17
You're a happy soul, Endo3.

03 Mar 2026 08:53:24
Spot on, Flash. That will simply NOT happen. People talking about Real Madrid and all that need to do some research.

Real Madrid fired Jupp Heynckes after he broke their 35-year drought for the CL in 97/98 (via a Mijatovic goal vs Juventus), and still got the sack because he had already been earmarked to leave because the La Liga season was such a poop show.

The CL win did not matter.

Now, are we Real Madrid? Absolutely not; hence, FSG ain't sacking him after delivering No. 7. Not a thing, IMO.

03 Mar 2026 10:38:43
Yes, he has to go. For lots of reasons. Loss of some of the dressing room, behind-the-scenes issues, poor man management and team selection, a dull and ineffective style, a significant drop in performance, tactical failings and inability to adapt, his obsession with PSG, lack of fitness, and, so far, dropping points in as many PL games as we have won.

03 Mar 2026 11:08:39
Half of the reasons are absolutely ridiculous. That is pure guesswork from you, because it's what you want to have happened, or because the vague ITK's drop little hints without ever going into detail. Some are just your opinions, coming from a standpoint of hatred towards the guy.

They definitely should not be passed off as fact. And, who cares if our manager admires the style of another team? Every single person who loves the game admired how PSG went about their business last season. You'd swear all he does is talk about Vitinha and Dembele every week.

03 Mar 2026 11:16:56
@Endo, most of the lads with the pitchforks have put them away for the time being, and decided to give it a rest.

I think we are going to beat Wolves, Chelsea are going to beat Villa, and we go 4th with 9 games and a possible 27 points to play for.

The way we are going, I think the best bit of the season might be just about to start.

03 Mar 2026 11:49:36
I'd wager that some folks on this site are more obsessed with PSG than Slot is, considering how much they talk about Enrique and the fervor for Barcola to replace Gakpo, etc. PSG might be top of Ligue 1 right now, but for 22 games they were behind RC Lens, who have a wage bill a fifth of theirs.

03 Mar 2026 11:51:52
Which bit is not correct? Also, where is the hatred? Where have I said I hate Slot? Why are you lying?

03 Mar 2026 12:51:11
Where have I said I hate Slot? 😆😆

03 Mar 2026 12:52:12
You mean they spent a lot more money, yet struggled, Patrik?

03 Mar 2026 13:01:17
Just answer the questions and stop deflecting.

03 Mar 2026 19:36:24
"Loss of some of the dressing room" - which part? Do you mean Salah getting angry because he had lost form and was warming the bench? That's not losing some of the dressing room, that's just an everyday disagreement at work.

"Behind the scenes issues" - putting aside the fact that there are always issues from time to time in every walk of life, can you provide evidence of what the issues were, who they involved, why they occurred, and how they were resolved, or not? I assume you must be working within the club and have access to the details of the issues that you seem to think happened.



I don't know if you are best friends with Slot, or that you like him, or dislike him, or hate him. To be honest, I don't care, but throwing out generalisations without any real evidence other than what you read on social media, which is your opinion - nothing more - isn't going to influence the club's position on Slot's job. Saying Slot should be gone every day is getting to be a bit sad now - the conversation has been had for the time being and people have moved on.

02 Mar 2026 11:36:51
I think Slot's comments post West Ham were a good indicator of how he personally feels towards the new 'Premier League' approach. I can't say I disagree with him. The main quote is that Premier League games are "no longer a joy to watch", specifically he pointed to set pieces becoming the dominant part of the league.

I do find myself, more than ever this season, struggling to really want to watch games. For example the Arsenal vs Chelsea game yesterday was a dire showing. 3 goals, all set pieces and only one team actually looking like scoring from open play (not the team that won). I think the Premier League as a product is as poor as it's ever been really, and yet Europe proves that the approach to set pieces works, even in that format.

I'm really hoping the league pivots away from this new approach to games, against better opposition you sit deep and aim to specifically target set plays. This season we've all lamented Liverpool's poor play and awful set piece record, this has now turned and we are directly benefitting from this new approach to the league. If it gets us UCL football then I will be the last to complain, I'm sure Arsenal won't complain when they win a title from it! Afterall this is the problem. it works.

Wonder if anyone else shares the same thoughts. I think personally it's pants.

02 Mar 2026 12:11:11
I only watch Liverpool games, but I have found it extremely boring and unentertaining to watch!

02 Mar 2026 12:22:39
This is the first season in about 20 years that I have not really watched. I never used to miss a Liverpool game, but I just find it so hard and boring to watch. I would hope that changes are made to help fluency of games, since football is a spectator sport at the end of the day, so it is in the interests of those making money from football (TV companies etc.) that the sport remains attractive to watch.

However, if the numbers and money they make are still going up, I doubt they care enough.



Tennis actually did have this issue a long time ago, where the matches became faster and there were fewer rallies due to bigger servers, and they actually slowed the courts down to allow for more rallies and longer, entertaining points. They also introduced a shot clock to stop big delays between serves, so it shows it is possible in sport, but football is corrupt to its core, so I have less hope.

02 Mar 2026 12:54:48
He's being a bit hypocritical, really.

Yes, the football across the league is boring. That is 100% true.

However, he hasn't exactly gone out of his way to make us exciting either. We've had to witness some dreadful halves of football this season.

02 Mar 2026 12:59:05
There's been a few posts on this further down and the consensus is it's the officials who are not officiating the games properly, and I agree.

How can Arsenal players continuously get away with the grabbing and holding at set pieces, yet Palace get a player sent off for a hand on the shoulder?

Spurs had a goal disallowed last week against Arsenal for a small push on Gabriel, yet Rice physically grabs a Chelsea player yesterday and, without looking at the ball once, just charges him off the pitch with both hands grabbing his shirt.

If these teams are allowed to get away with it, they will do it, and the officials seem unable to show any consistency with any decisions they make.

The pundits don't help, with Neville especially just saying that keepers and defenders need to be stronger at set pieces.

You can be as strong as you like, but if you have someone not attempting to go for the ball, just grabbing or barging into you, it's impossible to defend.

All this has made for a league where decent football is not the best way to win anymore. You keep it tight and target set pieces, and because the officials will pretty much allow you to get away with anything, it works.

If Arsenal win the league, I'm not even sure Arteta can take any of the credit, as you could argue the set piece coach is far more important than the manager at Arsenal.

It's up to the officials to put a stop to it and make teams actually have to play football to win matches, but will that ever happen? If not, then the beautiful game is on a downward spiral.

02 Mar 2026 13:55:54
The officials can fix this easily. A few yellows/reds from all the cheating we are seeing will soon put an end to it.

02 Mar 2026 14:05:37
I think the Arsenal games would be much more entertaining if instead of playing the full ninety minutes, both sides get five corners each and see what the score is after that. It'd save a lot of time, plus we wouldn't have to listen to that POS Gary Neville.

02 Mar 2026 14:11:02
He talks so much rubbish - delusional/no self awareness, as usual.

We are slow, lethargic, and unathletic, which results in an incredibly boring "style". Style isn't even the word for our football. We're woeful for the majority of games, then try to scramble goals. Slot needs to look in the mirror - at least other teams are physical, and fans can get behind that.

02 Mar 2026 14:45:09
Liverpool have been mind-numbingly boring to watch this season, and it's nothing to do with set pieces.

The fact is that, until recently, we were terrible at defending and attacking set pieces, and it's true that it has been harmful to our points on the board.

02 Mar 2026 16:06:07
And yet, certainly no more boring than any other team in the league.

02 Mar 2026 16:27:38
Maybe not Florian, but Slot is the one coming out and saying it's no longer a joy to watch.

02 Mar 2026 17:31:38
The constant free kicks for feigning injury have become the norm. The going down in the box on corners when a 6ft4 beast has been tapped, and holding the throat and rolling on the floor when they get tapped in the chest. Winning is everything by any means, when a win, lose, or draw used to be a normal thing.


The amount of money in the game, with toxic social media, has a lot to answer for. There is so much pressure for managers, players, referees, and fans. Football is an uncontrollable beast on the march.

I enjoy a walk down the park with the dog to watch the Sunday League. In some ways, it's a lot more enjoyable.

02 Mar 2026 17:32:37
I think Slot genuinely does want to play a dominant, pro-active style of football, though, he has said that repeatedly in interviews, in the roundtable with Hughes etc. True, he is a bit passive in the first halves of games, and sometimes I do question what the approach has been in games where we look like we don't really have a plan, but with the players bought this summer, I can't imagine that there wasn't a certain style- front foot, forcing the team into their own half- that we were aspiring to play. We got our forecast wrong with how we expected the league to play this year, I think that is very clear.

Whatever the case may be, though, can we give the coaching team some credit for trying to adapt multiple times throughout the season to evolving problems? Everybody on here has mocked Slot for yammering over and over about set pieces, but Liverpool have fixed their approach to set pieces to do exactly what the opposition have been doing to them, crowding the keeper, hitting swerving inswingers and doing everything to put the ball on a tall center half's head. The success of that is plain for all to see, and is further proof that it's simply not true that the manager only has one style, has been found out, that the weaknesses of the team will never be rectified, etcetera.

With the problems we've had in build up and the fact that our midfield is sometimes outnumbered on and off the ball, he's also tried multiple things from Wirtz and Ekitike dropping deep to make up the numbers in midfield etc. From a team that was repeatedly cut open on counters and long balls over the top in transition, I can't remember the last time that we actually conceded from an opportunity of that sort in recent memory. Our fullbacks are stretching the pitch and getting in behind the defence to cut the ball into the box or cross it, Konate, Kerkez and Gomez are throwing their bodies into shots and balls in the box defending with their lives and keeping us in games and moments in games where we might not be at our best and are up against it.

If there's anything 'interesting' or intriguing about our season this year, it's how this team has evolved game by game to deal with problems we've faced, with all the injuries, fitness issues with players racking up the minutes, referee decisions etc that we've had to contend with. For myself, I feel somewhat positive at this point in time with how we've been doing in that respect lately.

I think the football that we are playing is not necessarily ideal, and yes it has been mindnumbing at times this season. I do believe, though, that it was never the intent of the manager at the outset to play boring football, at one point in the season he had to try and stop the rot and try to take the sting out of games by trying to nullify the opposition, control possession and try to win games through moments of quality. Ultimately it did stop us from going into absolute freefall and gave us a basis to build upon.

I know I'm going to be painted as a Slot apologist, but that's pretty much how I see things at the moment. We can only hope that we've learned from the terrible mistakes of the last window and can better prepare for the rigours of the season to come, while at the same time figuring out how to outflank the trend towards soul-sapping football in this league. We have to be the team that can lead the league out of negative football, and show that you can marry grit and beautiful football again.

02 Mar 2026 17:56:29
I wouldn't disagree that Liverpool have been boring but when the opposition just want to shut the game down from the off and the ref gives a free kick every time you touch an opponent and they fall over it is difficult to play fast expansive football without leaving yourself wide open. That's why there's literally no teams doing it this season.

Everyone has had to conform to the slow defensive style, not getting out of shape because it's so hard to break teams down and you end up taking too many risks and getting done either on the break or from a set piece.

If you're going to play attacking football against these teams you need to keep possession but the very nature of attacking, expansive football is taking risks with the ball. It's very tough to maintain possession when the opposition has 11 players in their own box and fall over under every minor challenge so you have to concentrate on set pieces to break them down which in turn makes the football boring.

So I think it's the change in tactics from 90% of Premier League teams that has caused us to kind of come up against a brick wall. I don't think Slot ever wanted to follow Arsenal's set piece model but we've got to a stage now where we need the points so he's had to try.

I know we have players like Macca who like the histrionics but I don't think we take advantage of the poor officiating as much as we should. Mo for example gets pulled all over the place and stays on his feet. He should just flop to the floor and he'd get a lot more free kicks. It's disgraceful that football has come to that but other teams are getting such an advantage from doing it you have to do it yourself or you'll get left behind.

I'm expecting Ed25 to pipe up at this point so I will add that the very best (or worst depending on how you look at it) player at falling over is Everton's golden boy Jack Grealish. He's brilliant at making every touch look like a foul. It's become a very necessary skill in football and will win you games.

{Ed025's Note - jack is a novice compared to Macca BP, jack does go down easily i must admit but he does not roll around for 5 minutes like a worm in bleach like your little Argentinian turd mate..

02 Mar 2026 18:42:30
Fair enough, Irish, but it's not Slot planting 11 men behind the ball every week. It's not Slot telling his team (besides Macca, it seems) to go down at the slightest touch, and it's not Slot building his whole game around long throws and set pieces. Now I know the argument is there that it's up to Slot to beat these tactics, and that every team has the right to play as they see fit. I am simply stating that Slot at least tries to get it down and play football.

You could argue it's slow; it wasn't slow at the start of the season, but teams were going through us far too easily, and I think this scared him, resulting in us being over careful as we came out of that terrible run. As results have gradually improved, so has the football. It's still not Jurgen football, it never will be. Klopp played the most exciting football in the world, but at the moment it's winning football, and that's what we need.

02 Mar 2026 18:45:02
We actively encourage teams to get into shape from kick-off. We literally invite it. That is on Slot. He says himself, (paraphrasing), the most important thing when playing a low block is to not get counterattacked and to have a positive set piece balance.

That is a glimpse into his mindset. Whereas we fans, especially at Anfield, usually prefer the ball to be moved quicker to get the opposition out of shape when they are set, and use counterpressing to introduce unpredictability through transitions high up the pitch.

02 Mar 2026 19:05:08
That's a glimpse into the mindset of every manager in this league. They all want control. Every one of the big sides has struggled to break down low blocks this season. Teams are very well organised. It doesn't help when the wide players have not been up to scratch. I'll wait for people to tell me that's on Slot too, but I'm sorry, that is letting the players off the hook far too easily.

Wingers that can beat a man will make a huge difference to this side. All in all, I think we've a manager that wants to play progressive, attacking football. Sometimes the opposition wants to play the opposite of that, which, of course, is their prerogative. It's easier to destroy than to create. We can forget, as fans, there are two teams on the pitch, and we have no divine right to three points.

02 Mar 2026 19:07:20
I am not a fan of Arsenal and Arteta and their dark arts but thinking about how they play they have beaten Slot's nightmare. The low block Arne does not know how to beat the low block But Arsenal don't worry about the low block they have come up with the answer the dead ball kicks which cancels the low block and it is paying dividends for them.
So you have to give Arsenal and Arteta some credit where it is deserved.

02 Mar 2026 20:57:25
Exactly, Wassa. I think Slot is saying this in a bid to deflect from the dreadful/boring games his tactics have had us playing.

Kinda like, "Everyone is boring to watch so why are people being mad because we have been poor and boring to watch?" Sorry, ain't buying it.

The fact is that Slot's system is dreadful and has contributed to multiple snooze fests this season.

The Forrest game last week alone is another feather to his cap. The guy thinks he is clever, but he ain't as slick as he thinks he is.

And people wonder why many fans want him gone, CL footie, CL or FA Cup be damned.

02 Mar 2026 21:21:14
We get it, Florian Musiala, you love Arne Slot.

When 7/8 or more players are playing below their level every game, the blame lies with the coach. We are in the Erik Ten Hag doom loop.

02 Mar 2026 22:37:17
And for the players who seem to be able to lift themselves above Arne's amateurish coaching? The likes of Szob, Ekitike, Virgil, Frimpong, Wirtz, Konate (since his father's passing), Alli, and Kerkez. How are they managing to put in performances while having to work with him? The truth is we lost some good players, and a handful have failed to meet last year's standards.

Of those, we wouldn't have won the league last year without Mo's all-time season. He was phenomenal, but has struggled bigtime this year, and no one else has picked up the mantle. That's not slating Mo, he's the best player of the last decade along with Virgil. But you stick with your idea that every bad pass, bottled tackle, or miscontrol is Slot's fault if you want.

02 Mar 2026 23:03:56
I don't think Florian loves Slot Fly. I don't think anyone could love Slot given the season we've had.

What he's doing is giving a balanced view. There's no doubt that the league in general has been boring, with defences on top in most games. Teams are very organised, with good players and good coaches, and try to force a certain type of game.

Yet Liverpool fans expect us to play like prime 1970s Brazil. The league just won't allow it, which is why the team at the top is the team that scores the most from set pieces. That's the league this season.

Slot has resisted going down this path until recently because he wants to find a way of playing good football in all this set piece carnage.

Ultimately, it looks like he's had to try it because we are now in a position where we just need points.

I don't think for one minute he's sent the team out to play boring football, but when we took risks early in the season, we were getting done by counter attacks, set pieces and long throws, so he had to stop the rot, and he did that.

Has he done enough to save his job? I'm not sure. He'll certainly need to do better from now on if he is going to continue being the manager of Liverpool, but I do think he's capable.

He's certainly not as bad as some on here would have you believe.

03 Mar 2026 00:15:20
Yep Varry, I'd agree with that.

03 Mar 2026 00:55:26
People's opinions seem to change quicker than their username.

03 Mar 2026 07:09:35
I'll not comment on the Slot in or out if we win the Champions League and/or FA Cup, but on the footballing issues we are seeing.

Premier League is honestly a tough watch with the amount of stoppages due to 'injuries'.

The stuff that goes on inside penalty boxes during corners is wild too.

Officials need to be stronger. They have a mandate they can follow but don't - like, remember how anyone waving an imaginary card was to be booked instantly? Yeah, they don't do that.

VAR needs to be better too. It involves itself in nothing incidents, yet chooses to ignore those blatant ones and no harm. If it's taking you 5 mins plus to review a goal or incident, then it's hardly bloody clear or obvious is it, so just stay out of it!

Anyone see Maguire at the weekend? Headed the ball then screamed like the attacker kicked him in the face - so many players are feigning rubbish like that (well maybe not quite as balas that lol but still), and I think that retroactive punishment would stop that.

If players are awarded yellow cards for those blatant incidents and end up receiving bans etc. it would soon stop.

Also, I think pundits need to call this rubbish out more. We've seen, let's face it, a division in opinions given on these incidents, with foreign players especially properly scathed for 'going down far too easily' whilst English players in particular are praised with comments such as 'he's been clever there' or 'there was contact, he has every right to go down'.

The whole mantra of the defender or keeper 'needs to be stronger' is irritating too. He was fouled, just say it. Weirdly though, we hear none of those 'needs to be stronger' comments when the 6ft 5" striker flops like a prima ballerina when he's barely touched in the box by the 5ft Frankie Dettori type right back lol.

All irritating and just makes football tough to watch.

{Ed025's Note - i could not agree more Bill..

03 Mar 2026 08:39:47
The PL has been a bore this season. Some people think it's just LFC who are playing with less intensity/adventure, but the whole division is a bore. Is this a response to the free-wheeling way teams used to play a few seasons ago? I think it is. Teams have gone back to booming the ball long, focusing on set-piece opportunities, and concentrating on keeping it tight, maximising the few set pieces they get.

You can see how differently MC play. Pep has adapted to changes in opposition tactics and his own personnel. MC are not nearly as exciting to watch as they used to be. Arsenal have gone back to the George Graham era, winning based on defence. Nothing wrong with it; they are adapting, but it's not great viewing.

03 Mar 2026 08:57:21
@D-Day, if all the things you say are true (and you make valid points), what has stopped Slot from adapting his tactics and personnel to match what the league has become? Honest question.

Cos all he does is deflect, gas-light, whine and whinge about how teams are playing us.

Cheers, mate.

03 Mar 2026 08:59:07
Florian, Varry and Patrik - i couldn't agree more. The team has adapted. From thinking we would win the league again with 450m of new players to being garrotted every game, Slot HAS continuously adapted. Death, players key to our style leaving, major injuries (esp RB, plus Isak) plus top players form falling off a cliff (esp Salah) it shows just how difficult it is to win in the most competitive league in the world.

Let's not forget either that Slot is Head Coach, not a selector of who to buy. That is Richards/Hughes. We didn't bring in a replacement for Salah. And in Jan, no reinforcements. That's not on Slot.

Has it been dire? Yes.
Were we in free-fall with seemingly no way to stop being sliced open? Yes
Am I a slot apologist? Maybe - or rather he won it in his first year! I mean

As for Fly's comment that we are in a "Erik ten Haag doom loop" - ah give it a rest mate. :)

If we finish 4th, and get to the semi's of CL will that be a good season, alongside a team that will be strengthened and has learnt to adapt?

Final comment - doesn't Slot have a 2 year contract? Isn't it up for renewal this summer anyway or am I mistaken?

03 Mar 2026 11:16:57
Who says he isn't adapting, OliRed?

You could see the torrid league campaign Man City had last year after winning the league. Pep had to adapt to Rodri's injury and the decline of De Bruyne, etc. He had to get new players in, and they still don't look particularly good.
Slot didn't make Konate switch off, or Virg make so many uncharacteristic mistakes. He is working with half a new first team this season. If the seasons were reversed, and LFC had struggled last year under a new manager but won the league this year, you would be a happy camper. But he won last year and has struggled with a new team and injuries, etc., and so-called fans are losing their minds.
This team rebuild is not finished. We are currently playing with no width or wingers because Salah and Gakpo have gone off the boil, and we have only one centre back (Virg).

Plus, Mac came into the season injured and only now seems to be recovering form.
Watching the Sunday Supplement, Martin Samuel made a very valid point. LFC signed Ekitike to be their main striker, thinking they were not going to get Isak, then ended up signing him. That meant they started the season having to change plans, and with a main striker who was not anywhere near fit enough.
I think Slot must be given another season, with a couple of new signings. I simply do not see why the loons think Alonso is God-sent. If he does not hit the ground running and do better than a league-winning manager, the online loons will be out in force again.

{Ed001's Note - Samuel is a moron and is wrong. LFC signed Hugo to be back up.}

03 Mar 2026 11:33:24
@Oli, Since Christmas, we have scored more goals from set piece plays than anyone else in the PL. We have adapted and are now beating the bores at their own game. How's that for irony?

03 Mar 2026 14:58:56
@WDW, Pep adapted to the point of being in a position to win the title.

Slot adapted to the point of being in a top 5 race, barely. How's that for irony?

@D-Day, I'd say Martin Samuel is all you got then, sound. You can have that, but that ain't the flex you think it is. Just saying.

03 Mar 2026 12:30:12
That's your perspective Ed, he isn't my favourite either. It's a hell of a lot of money to pay for a back up, if you are right and he is wrong. Given the way the window panned out and the difficulty with getting Isak signed, I can see why LFC would have looked at Ekiteke as being the main striker.

I'm glad LFC have both, though of course I would have preferred if Isak's first season was more productive.
But the point I was making, badly perhaps, was that the drawn out nature of the transfer and Isak's fitness issues meant that team planning wasn't ideal.

{Ed001's Note - it is not perspective, it is the truth. Samuel talks crap and hasn't got a clue. They knew Isak was coming all along, which is why we never went out and bought a cheaper cover striker. He has no sources at Liverpool, he has no clue about the club.}

03 Mar 2026 19:01:55
What are your sources at the club Ed001 telling you about Slot's prospects, the rumour being put forward by some that he is homesick and wants to go home permanently to be with his family, and signings?

{Ed001's Note - Slot has not settled, his family have not moved over and that was always going to be a problem. The choice is his - move your family over or move on.}

03 Mar 2026 19:16:05
That much was obvious from the fact his family are not here. Are your sources telling you any more than that? Anything about signings, like what the sources were saying during the summer about Isak?

{Ed001's Note - he is expected to leave in the summer, sorry I should have made that clear.

Summer transfers are unclear, one person is of the belief we will go big again, the rest are expecting more of the January type of youngsters coming in. They all believe the main target is a right winger to replace Salah. Go big thinks Olise is the choice.}

03 Mar 2026 19:51:24
@Oli, what's Pep and City got to do with it?

I'm just pointing out that Slot and the coaching staff changed our approach in terms of set piece play. To me, that suggests that the bloke has the capacity to learn on the fly and adapt. That doesn't necessarily make him a good coach per se, but it does come across as a positive indicator. Granted, there's probably loads of stuff he could do better and stuff that he could try and introduce, but I found the post-Christmas stat quite striking.



The talk of finishing outside of the top 8 was gathering momentum on the forum around the back end of last year, but seems to have disappeared now. Regardless of liking or disliking Slot, something positive has actually happened and changed the situation. Not something exciting or heart-stopping, like Jurgen arriving with the heavy metal footie that we all got on board with, but something positive in a small way nonetheless.

03 Mar 2026 19:47:51
Thanks Ed.

02 Mar 2026 07:12:16
I think these ref's should be made to watch a few rugby league games so they can see that it's possible to have upper body contact without legs collapsing! It's pathetic and embarrassing and it's ruining the game! It's a contact sport.

02 Mar 2026 07:53:26
Alexis Mac Carrington is so bad at histrionics.

02 Mar 2026 08:21:18
Who??

02 Mar 2026 09:11:04
Cunha against Palace, Rome. Probably one of the most blatant bits of cheating you'll see. It gets worse every time you see it.

02 Mar 2026 09:15:37
They've made the game less of a contact sport with the rule changes since the PL came in.

No tackling from behind, more red cards, more yellow cards, free kicks for minimal contact, etc. etc., and I was led to believe it was all for the good of the game.

This was so that the technical players could entertain us without fear of getting injured, which I don't disagree with.

So why am I just watching WWF wrestling at set pieces and Swan Lake in open play?

02 Mar 2026 09:22:42
Agree, VV. Football's gone to shot.

02 Mar 2026 11:02:29
Slot rightly commented on the Lacroix red card and asked why it was that Guehi didn't get one for pulling Mo back against City. It was pretty much an identical situation that started outside the box and continued into the box.

02 Mar 2026 11:12:51
Alexis Carrington Colby was the dramatic wife, played by Joan Collins, in "Dynasty". Alexis Mac is the dramatic whiner who spends half his time rolling on the turf like a Dynasty trophy wife.

02 Mar 2026 12:57:39
Barnsey, do you do the Times cryptic crossword?!

02 Mar 2026 12:59:27
Anyone who loves football must be disgusted with what Arsenal football club have brought to the Premier League with their antics from corners and dead ball kicks. They are programed to go to the floor around the penalty area so the get free kicks Saka worst one for it.

The galling thing is the Arsenal players complain if teams mirror their behaviour at corners and free kicks. Arteta and his team are all about the dark arts. They may win the Premier League but they won't of won it playing football as we know it.

02 Mar 2026 16:46:35
I think City will win the league, Albeydered.

The refs have a lot of power, but unfortunately, they don't know how to use it.

02 Mar 2026 17:19:22
I certainly hope City win the league, Red Flyer. I don't like the cheating they have done off the pitch, but at least Pep's teams try to play football on the pitch.

It feels like this is a real crossroads for English football, where we've taken a bit of a wrong turn following Arsenal down a road that will lead to total boredom and frustration. We need to stop them in their tracks and turn them back to the right path.


Giving fouls for blocking, grabbing, and bumping into goalkeepers at set pieces would blunt them and force them and the rest of the league to have to stay on their feet and play football to score goals.

The crazy thing is, the refs will give them free kick after free kick for minimal contact outside the box, but then just allow a free for all from the resulting set piece.

02 Mar 2026 18:00:33
Well, a hand on the shoulder is a foul (unless you're Salah), yet two arms locked around an opponent (Rice, Saliba, Gabriel) is all part of the game.

{Ed025's Note - thats a fair point RF..

02 Mar 2026 20:59:34
Indeed, Flyer. No way Salah gets that pen that Cunha got. We have seen it time and again, and that happened in the City game inside the box, and no pen was given.