Liverpool banter 6

01 Dec 2025 14:00:23
Dear Batman7 I was interested in your papering over the cracks idea.
How would you like a new manager have us play to get success with the obvious talent we have? Genuine question.
Cheers!
Ngin.

01 Dec 2025 14:33:48
Any new coach would still require additional investment, regardless. We are short of 2x CBs, a defensive midfielder and a wide man.

After that, I would like to see a bit more verticality. At the moment we are too obsessed with the press baiting setup. While it has a time and place, we are losing the aggression and directness to make the most of our attacking talent.

01 Dec 2025 16:06:23
Exactly, Pelican and we also need a central midfeilfder or two to challenge Macca and for depth with Grav, and a left winger to challenge Gakpo cos Chiesa is cursed, apparently. All this should a new manager be brought in.

A lot more work needs to be done regardless of who the manager is, IMO.

01 Dec 2025 18:42:08
We definitely need 2 very good CBs . I still think VVD has another year in him though . if Macallister goes we'll need 2 strong midfielders n a wide man who can play bothe wings if needed. crazy to think we need all that after winning the league n spending 400 mill.

01 Dec 2025 21:04:11
To be fair, the club did actually say that the recent transfer window was the start of a number of windows that would be used to rebuild the squad. I don’t think that the squad we have is the f8nished article and there will be a number of players leaving over the next couple of years - mostly players that the club want rid of for various reasons like, maybe, Ibou, Robbo, Endo, Macca, Mo etc.

what we are seeing at 5he moment is the first act in a five act play. Short term we haven’t got off to the best of starts but the players we have brought in have bags of potentially, which we are starting to see, albeit it not enough yet and nowhere near quick enough in this time of the need for instantaneous gratification.

01 Dec 2025 11:47:13
Good win yesterday but it isn’t convincing yet as am sure it’s the same for others.


I think we looked better defensively but that could be down to how garbage West Ham are. Kerkez i think has been better lately, an thought him and Gomez was a nice balance yesterday.

I wasn’t too overly impressed with our football i will say, a lot of slow pedestrian at times nevertheless the win was more important than the performance.

Wednesday is huge now, Sunderland are no mugs and will want to carry on their brilliant campaign. No excuses though from us as our next 2 are must wins unless he is still in trouble for me.

Ed01 your thoughts mate on yesterday?

{Ed001's Note - I hope it is a corner turned but I am worried it was just becsuse the Hammers were as passive as Frankfurt were.}

01 Dec 2025 14:36:47
Well we should find out on Wednesday ed001. If Sunderland play like they have this year then they will be the exact opposite of passive.

{Ed001's Note - very true.}

01 Dec 2025 14:59:20
Yes the win was a very welcome change and we all should enjoy it. The Sunderland game will tell us a lot more.

01 Dec 2025 16:12:00
No way am I (or anyone rational LFC fan who has been paying any attention this season) should think a corner was turned. We still played this slow ball progession with no press even tho, we were a lot better moving the ball in final third with Wirtz at the controls. This last part was down to how passive WH were, as well.

Come Wed., we are going to be tested mightily by dem Black Cats who show NO respect to anyone they play regardless of where they play them. For Sunderland, anyone can get it, for sure.

So if we play this slow progression tactics trying to bait them to come out, we're going to have serious YET well-known problems, again.

01 Dec 2025 17:38:04
I'm just happy that we can finally see the corner, albeit in the distance.

Before yesterday, I could just see a long straight road ending in a cess pool.

01 Dec 2025 18:47:13
Oli . it could be we had to play slow this time because we all knew we can't afford to lose that game. I reckon Slot would have been happy with a draw but luckily enough we played one of the poorest West Ham sides iv seen recently .

fingers crossed we up the tempo against Sunderland with a lil bit of confidence, n we're going to need it because I watched their game v Bournemouth and they never stopped running or more importantly believing in themselves.

01 Dec 2025 21:06:49
Genuine question. Everybody who supports Liverpool wants us to beat Sunderland and to play well in doing so. But, if you could only have one - the win, or the team showing genuine signs of playing well, what would you chose?

01 Dec 2025 23:59:18
Wdw . take a 1 nil win .

02 Dec 2025 13:27:36
We need the win, for sure. Playing well and losing or drawing won't help our situation.

01 Dec 2025 13:33:17
Liverpool desperately need a 6 to rotate with Gravenberch or someone simillar to that in this winter window

Honestly i feel like there's two good candidates
1.Ederson (Atlanta)
He's a pretty good defensive minded player with really good workrate and good pressing ability and he's 26 so not too old yet. Apparently he'll cost 40-50 million
2.Ruben Neves (Al Hilal)
a wildcard but his contract is running out. ik he's in the saudi but he's been good for portugal and was a good deep lying playmaker for Wolverhampton wanderers with a ton of premier leauge experience plus he'll be really cheap like apparently 15-17 million.

01 Dec 2025 12:49:23
Totally agree that we need a defensive midfielder added to this squad - a long overdue need!

Ederson could do a job but it sounds like the links to him disappeared with Klopp.

Neves is more of a deep lying playmaker - a very good one btw. I am not sure he has the legs we need and does he have the physical capacity to return to the Premier League?

I know he's been poor for Brighton this season and is probably impossible in Janury, but I would sign Carlos Baleba. He, alongside Szobo would be the perfect double pivot for Wirtz to thrive in the no10 position.

While I do like Wharton, Anderson and Stiller, I think Baleba gives us the extra pace and power in the middle to free up Wirtz to do what he does best.

In terms of what we could do in January, I would be looking to bring in Ayyoub Bouaddi and let Endo and Bajcetic go. This kid is going to be some DM.

Baleba, Bouaddi, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones and Wirtz would give us a great mix of mids.

{Ed025's Note - i stopped reading after you mentioned Jones mate..

01 Dec 2025 12:58:51
Personally think that Neves threw his career away in a farmers league in his peak years, so I’d avoid like the plague now.
Ederson is a good all action physical midfielder who can play 6 or 8.

I’d kind of hope that bajcetic recovers from his injury soon and is given a chance.

01 Dec 2025 13:13:41
So you read 90% of it then, Ed :)

{Ed025's Note - i always read your posts FPF, i dont always agree with them but they are usually well written mate.. :)

01 Dec 2025 13:29:51
I think neves if liverpool signs him should be a squad depth player playing sporadicly. I agree he's no longer on the same level as he was 3 or 4 years ago but for the price he seems like a good addition for liverpool's depth imo.

01 Dec 2025 14:40:21
Gary mac ring any bells reds . Look what he did for our club and everyone said he was past his best! YNWA.

01 Dec 2025 18:49:37
Ed025.you only had another 10 words to read in pelican post . bit lazy that ha.

{Ed025's Note - i was reading intently and buying into his thoughts Strom...then i got hit with what seems like brick, these forward thinking structurally sound ideas made me water at the mouth mate... and then he mentioned the J word, the Mr Bean of the football world is apparently going to save the day!. well hes going on Santa,s naughty list now.. :)

02 Dec 2025 00:01:37
Ed025.the Jones debate goes on in my circle aswel. some my family n friends think he is dreadful while others think he's ok . no one thinks he is special though but can do a job if needed.

{Ed025's Note - too slow and weak for me Strom, being a local lad i want him to do well actually and maybe thats why im a bit harsh i suppose, i just dont get what he offers, i suppose as an option from the bench he could be ok but he should never start games imo..

01 Dec 2025 11:25:05
Since it hasn't been mentioned enough, I thought I would just say that we just saw the best game Wirtz has had for LFC. Okay, it was West Ham, but the way he dictated the game in midfield was masterful. He's beginning to show an understanding of Gakpo's and Isak's game and, at least to me, his area of play should be the middle and left of the middle. He was linking up with both really well.

MOTM for me, along with the usual Szoboszlai.

01 Dec 2025 11:34:33
I thought he had his best game yet for us @ArAy. As someone said at the start of the season, he’s going to star for us for at least the next five years and ha couldn’t be judged on his first few games as the players new to the PL have to learn to adapt.

No doubting he’s a special talent.

01 Dec 2025 11:34:47
I actually thought after the game is there in any world where we could play 2 10s in behind a 9.
Seems to me with salah in his twighlight season (s) it's something we could do .

Like the idea of isak wirtz and szoboszlai as a front 3 . may leave more room for full backs to bomb forward . create width . plenty of running and pressing there too . not sure chiesa (not that slot fancies him) and gakpo can play that role effectively for rotation and injury cover. .

Also leaves midfield . in midfield. with perhaps one to pull the strings . prob mac alister . gravy and Jones. in behind .

I also thought although he was good yesterday he has played better and played that way a few times for us . but now it seems cause sky said he has arrived .
I notice that a few of his passes were getting to their target yesterday . and maybe players starting to get on his wavelength.

Definate improvement but Sunderland will bring far more running and energy to the game Wednesday. can't believe how bad west ham are . hot tip to go down under Potter. mainly because he is awful . but they seem to be very easy to play against.

01 Dec 2025 11:45:32
Prior to the season starting I thought this was precisely what we were going to do, play Wirtz on the left and Salah on the right but both of them effectively being inside forwards (left and right sided 10s) like Salah was last year, and then Kerkez and Frimpong staying very wide overlapping. For whatever reason that didn't happen, though.

01 Dec 2025 16:15:59
IMO, Wirtz has played very well in several games already this season so yesterday was no surprise to me. I do think that the reason he looked really good was first, WH being horrible and most importantly, it seels Wirtz and his team mates were finding each other a lot better and a lot quicker. Just my opinion.

01 Dec 2025 18:58:07
OliRed, what other games has Wirtz played very well in?

01 Dec 2025 10:03:28
1st time writer here.
Big relief from the game yesterday. Really enjoyed it.
Found so much postives from the game:
1. 3 points and clean sheet
2. Wirtz settling in FINALLY, look mich more confortable and confident to be the main man on the pitch now, very different from the previous games
3. Isak getting his first goal
4. Team seems to gel finally with the short passes at the opposition side
5. Ball movement seems to be quicker and more direct now, this is important to make the opponents unsettled with our plays I think
6. Played the ball to the box for our attackers more often
7. Gomez was outstanding with his defensive toughness, going-forward plays and direct crosses to the box
8. Simpler plays - really love it, players seems easier to perform, especially with so many new players trying to gel in
9. Not losing the ball that often

Really looking forward to a tough and physical defensive midfielder in the upcoming window.

Don't know if you have any other thoughts.

Keep it going! YNWA!

01 Dec 2025 13:25:48
Welcome, mate.

01 Dec 2025 16:29:24
With salah not playing looks like the play goes through wirtz more instead of salah.

01 Dec 2025
New image uploaded to the
Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled, Leaked line up for WHU

Click picture for larger image

01 Dec 2025 08:49:37
Ed001 what’s your thoughts on a 3 man midfield of Sobs Gravenberch and Mac with Wirtz in the 10 and Ekitike and Isak playing upfront together.
Should give us more control in midfield and let are full backs offer the width and with the midfield so packed we should be able to cover them going forward more.

Also feels like it’s getting are best forwards on the pitch as I feel Gakpo and Salah have both been way off the pace.
I might be wrong Ed but am sure Ekitike and Isak have both played in a two and I think it would cause cb a lot of trouble as they are just not used to playing against a two anymore.

{Ed001's Note - I prefer having wide players in there. Plus I would rather not hsve Macca on the pitch as he is a weak link who would rather play act than actually play footie.}

01 Dec 2025 09:05:42
Isak and Ekitike can definitely play in a two together. My concern is that we don't have any others who can. Our other attackers are predominantly wide players so we would then need to change the system and tactics again if either of Ekitike or Isak get injured or are in need of a rest.

We have the players to play a 4231 or a 4213 so I think that would be best for us.

01 Dec 2025 09:52:31
Macca‘s play acting is very embarrassing. Yesterday going down like he had been shot then the ball to touched he's back and he rolls round even more. I am really hoping RM come in and pay good money for him in the summer as I’ve had enough of he’s embarrassing behaviour.

{Ed001's Note - that infuriated me.}

01 Dec 2025 10:10:33
Personally, I'd take Gakpo out and put Ekitike in his place and swap Macca for Endo. Endo is almost the total opposite to Macca, he'll fight and give everything for our team. the gumshield going in before he steps on the pitch should tell you everything!

01 Dec 2025 10:29:27
What does Gakpo have to do to get some credit smh.

01 Dec 2025 10:37:21
Think it has merit in a game where the tactics against the opposition make sense.

Otherwise there is no sense in shifting the system to two strikers because it falls flat when one of them becomes unavailable.

01 Dec 2025 11:16:43
Well if Slot and coaching staff are okay with Macca's antics, then there's not much we fans can do about it. I'd be amazed if nobody from staff has not had a word about it, with him. It's horrible to watch, because he's not fooling many. Eventually the refs will stop taking him seriously, if they haven't already.

30 Nov 2025 23:14:04
awesome to get the 3 points.

especially happy to see positive performance from Gomez, Kerkez, Wirtz. Konate as well. maybe real Madrid dropping their interest will help him focus.

Also did I detect some overlapping runs today!?

Only query I had is Macca and Dom. I get Slot probably wants to play Macca into form, but it actually looks like he needs to be drip fed back into form. I don't like Dom being used out wide and would have rather had Dom next to Grav and then Chiesa brought in for Mo

But, can't complain really. 3 points and now we onto the next!

01 Dec 2025 00:44:33
When we signed Dom, I think Ed1 may have said at the time that he thought Dom's best position was Salah's position.

Happy to be corrected but, if you did say that Ed, where would you say Dom's best position is now?

{Ed001's Note - I can't remember for sure, but it is probable as he mostly played a more attacking role then for club and country. I like him in the heart of midfield now. That suits him perfectly imo.}

01 Dec 2025 03:51:49
He has the engine and ability to pay box to box in midfield.

If you had observed, he was not touching the byline like Salah (isolated position) but was closer to their line. he was making it narrow and not wide. That was one of the noticeable change.

Gomez in defense and he was high up position wise of all the defenders but Kerkez was bombing up and down.

Grav had a better game after long time which was a plus.

Wirtz was decent as usual, hopefully he will start shooting after from the silky footwork he is showing.

Hopeful Salah take this positively.

01 Dec 2025 03:55:01
Dom himself has said that he prefers playing deeper in midfield rather than in a more advanced position, and I think he would be great there, but because our press is so disjointed it feels like we need him higher up the pitch to press from the front, he just covers so much ground and is such an intelligent player off the ball.

01 Dec 2025 06:13:21
Wirtz on a better day would have had a goal and an assist on that showing, he was instrumental in Isak's goal too, though Isak should take a bow after that finish, the more you watch it the better of a finish it was, that was a very difficult shot to put away and he made it look easy, he hit it so cleanly and nonchalantly.

One positive thing I've seen the last three or four games (okay, not against PSV, when we let in the last goal because Cody wouldn't pass Kerkez the ball when Kerkez was in a great position, then Cody lost the ball), is that Gakpo is finally passing to Kerkez sometimes when Kerkez is on the overlap, I think Kerkez is a bit too desperate to impress when he's on the ball but he did get in one or two half decent deliveries last night. Still a bit rushed in everything he does on the ball, but defensively he was generally great last night, Bowen is not at all an easy player to go one on one with.

Gomez was just brilliant. Did everything he needed to do and did it at a decently high standard. He did mess a few attacking moves up, which is fine considering it's not his forte and he's been out of the side so long. He is positionally smart and knows where the ball should go whenever he receives it, uses his body so well. Just a sound performance at right back.

01 Dec 2025 06:23:30
Szoboszlai is not a deep lying midfielder, for me. We've been crying out for more legs in the team and him playing in the front three gives us that and allows Wirtz to play where he should.
Chiesa in for Salah would give us even less legs.

I don't get the claims that he should be starting. Him coming on as sub and doing ok doesn't mean he will do it when starting.
He hasn't done much at all when he has started.

01 Dec 2025 06:33:56
I think with Chiesa we have seen so little of him that it's hard to judge how he would do if he started, but that he has absolutely done enough to warrant consideration for a start or at least more minutes than he's received.

We don't know how Chiesa would do with tactical instructions, coordinated pressing and positional discipline because every time he's come on it's when Slot has lost the plot and thrown players on in a situation they've never trained to play. He obviously has the skillset to perform in that situation because he is technically very good, runs around non-stop and is always looking to get on the end of things. I think we don't know enough about how Chiesa would work consistently in a system to say that he would be good or bad, and that in itself is a bit frustrating. Also, I don't think he is at a point in his career where he can play 90 minutes, much less play more than a game a week if he did start. Technically however he has it all, he has vision, intelligence, can beat a man and can finish.

01 Dec 2025 07:38:36
Gomes was great, made good runs forward and gave another passing option. Considering it feels like he hasn’t played for 18months he was a revelation.

Wirtz played like how we all expected him to, he’s a joy to watch. One clever quick touch and he sets up a goal scoring opportunity time after time.

01 Dec 2025 08:20:56
Szoboszlai can play anywhere. He is our best player currently, runs all day and can pass to anyone anywhere. He also strikes a ball very cleanly. A good looking fella too, envious is not the word 🤣.

01 Dec 2025 08:47:03
It was a huge improvement over recent games. Amazing how much more solid we look when we play a RB! I think Wirtz was also key to the performance. Not only did he generally play really well (and was involved in the Isak goal) but he was everywhere again and most importantly hardly ever had more than 2 touches. It sped the play up and I think it encouraged the other players to do the same. We were far more solid defensively and for once there were no big errors in defense.

There is still a lot of work to do as our performances are still way below where they should be. There were still a couple of occasions where an opponent just ran unchallenged for almost the entire length of the pitch and the lack of control when West Ham went down to 10 was a huge red flag. When we are a goal and a man up we should be knocking it around calmly controlling the game. Instead West Ham started to dominate just like against Newcastle earlier in the season. It was almost like the players switched off thinking that it was won.

Wednesday won't be easy. Sunderland have surprised a lot of people this season and I suspect we will need to step the performance up again if we want to get the 3 points.

01 Dec 2025 09:10:29
Chiesa needs to start in a strong XI not thrown on as a sub or to the wolves in an FA Cup game.

He cannot be expected to shine when we are 2-0 down or he is surrounded with youth team players in a dogfight.

Slot needs to give him the chance he deserves.

01 Dec 2025 09:45:53
Funny enough playing Dom RW/ RAM probs would of helped having frimpong in there playing the line overlapping. Gomez did a good job tho so I would keep him there for now untill one of the RB are back.

02 Dec 2025 01:05:11
Rigsby - Dom has said that his preferred position is to play as an 8. By deeper it just means playing more as a CM than a CAM.

30 Nov 2025 20:13:11
Well look what happens when you drop out of form players and play defenders in defence!

In all seriousness, I am glad we got the win today. I am still not sold on Slot, still far to standing around and recycling it back to defence when we had the opportunity to break, but a wins a win.

30 Nov 2025 20:05:08
May not of been the prettiest game to watch sometimes it’s just about the result. Thought the first half ibou and kerkez seemed nervous understandable as they getting the blame for most things. Wirtz was great.

Good 3 points let’s try get some more wins the football maybe crap nothing we can do about that but support and hope for the best. I’m not a slot Lover but let’s not over pressure him or the team, what will be will be.

30 Nov 2025 20:07:51
Well said, scouse.

01 Dec 2025 08:52:11
At the start I think Kerkez was torn between defence and attack. He had acres of attacking space in front of him that he wanted to exploit. I assume the defence had been told to just stay solid and make sure we didn't concede the first goal and he was fighting his natural urge to exploit the space.

When he was allowed a bit more freedom I thought that he had a good game (and actually got played in when he made attacking runs unlike normal) .

01 Dec 2025 16:18:56
@Shipley, I thought Kerkez played a lot better than in the past. he seemed to know when to hold back and when to join the attack. Aslo in his one on ones, he did well. Hopefully, he can continue to play and improve.

30 Nov 2025 18:20:18
9 points back and been through our rough patch.
Still 2 thirds of the season to go, it’s not over yet 💪.

30 Nov 2025 18:35:01
One game doesn’t fix things. Are we through our rough patch? Premature.

30 Nov 2025 18:47:47
Well I agree that the season ain’t over yet. Let’s hold fire to see if our rough patch is over Ron. We did beat Villa and Madrid only to concede 10 in our next 3 games but you can’t knock the optimism 👍.

30 Nov 2025 18:56:29
It is too early to judge if this is a corner turned or another outlier. But a win and a clean sheet can’t be knocked.

30 Nov 2025 19:01:56
Nice 1 ron! . Not sure I agree with u but i will roll with it .!

30 Nov 2025 19:04:26
I felt that way when we played Frankfurt and that went well.

30 Nov 2025 19:10:35
Errrr… Sunderland visit anfield rubbing their hands together

This is far from over! FAR!

30 Nov 2025 19:27:06
Frankfurt had chances against us tho frode whereas wh had really none. People will say wh crap and all the rest but u can only beat what's in front of u. I thought defensively we looked solid for 1st time good while, I never felt wh would score whereas in previous few games any time opposition crossed halfway line they looked like scoring.


It's a start and nothing more but we should take the positives out of it.

30 Nov 2025 19:31:41
I'll take that.

30 Nov 2025 19:32:25
It's sport; we're not supposed to know what will happen.

30 Nov 2025 19:52:58
When West Ham were so awful it’s hard to read much into it but they can only beat what’s in front of them and there was some positive signs. Isak’s finish was the best thing he’s done in a red shirt an Wirtz was really positive.

30 Nov 2025 20:01:32
I think Alison back between the sticks will be a big difference.

30 Nov 2025 20:27:36
Regardless Digger we put five past Frankfurt and given our league goal difference is currently 0 you can see why I thought that was a turning point. West Ham were beyond atrocious and will be in and around the relegation zone so whilst I’m happy with the win, Slot as a manager hasn’t changed the fortunes around.

There were points prior to Paqueta being sent off where we allowed them back in.

30 Nov 2025 21:08:22
I think having Joe Gomez at right back makes a huge difference. Suddenly the defence had more confidence and WH barely got a sniff.

01 Dec 2025 08:54:28
It was a big improvement on our recent performances and there were positive signs of issues being addressed. There is still a long way to go before we can declare this run of form over though.

01 Dec 2025 15:55:24

Look back to the 1983 season (i think it was)
Were we had a poor period at xmas we were way down the league and we turned it around and went on to win the league .

If i remember rightly the run started with a one nil win .
Not saying we will do the same but that first win changed everybodies attitude and i hope this win does the same YNWA.

30 Nov 2025 18:11:29
Strange red card for paqueta today, as many have already pointed out it looked like he was trying to get sent off.

We've seen players lose it. Keane, vieira, balotelli and so on, this don't look anything like that.

Could he be angling for a fall out and move away from the club?

30 Nov 2025 18:39:12
I hinesrly couldn't believe what I was watching even our own players were trying to take him away from the situation which tbh being the arsehole I am I don't agree woth let the opposition get themselves carded for dissent imo, but I just found it to be completely bizarre, I was thinking the ref is giving him a lot of leeway here surely he's gunna realise that he has to stop but nope bloke just kept on beating a dead horse.

This is a genuine question to people who know does he have allegations of betting against him or is it just banter?

30 Nov 2025 18:53:19
Check betting patterns in Asia.

30 Nov 2025 18:57:17
You’d think someone accused of spot fixing would avoid that kind of incident.

30 Nov 2025 19:07:25
There have been very recent allegations of spot fixing against Paqueta.
I'd bet against him deciding to get involved and so soon after he was cleared though.

30 Nov 2025 19:13:55
Definitely suspicious when you take into account his history.

30 Nov 2025 19:33:34
Well put VV.

01 Dec 2025 06:20:06
The guy just lost his head for whatever reason. It happens.

01 Dec 2025 09:13:09
I thought the ref did well to give him every chance to calm down. Even the Liverpool players were trying to help him avoid a red card but there was no stopping him. His social media posts afterwards were also a bit concerning - like a genuine cry for help.

01 Dec 2025 14:17:44
What puzzled me was the ref was reluctant to send him off even after he told the ref to ef off. YNWA.