Threads containing Ed001's recent posts.
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12 Jun 2026
12 Jun 2026 10:16:44
I always felt like it was a strategy, though, to allow one of the forwards to be in better finishing positions. Looking at his goal scoring record, I'm not sure why that would be questioned this much.
Comments about Salah not pressing seem wild to me, not that u cannot question it, but it wasn't Slot's style to be pressing, if at all, the whole team was passive.
How do you say Salah doesn't press, when nobody else pressed either throughout the season?
{Ed001's Note - it was a strategy, he would stay high to press the centre-backs to enable him to be in goal scoring positions. It did lead to the right back having to press up against the opposition full back though, which often could leave a gap in behind, but it was a risk worth taking Klopp felt, and was proven right.}
12 Jun 2026
12 Jun 2026 09:48:58
I agree Ed001, Salah was never given the credit he deserved for his work rate. Mostly because Mane and Firmino were much more aggressive and effective at pressing/tracking back, but Salah did still work hard. He was just weak in the tackle but I'd argue you don't want your 40-60 goal/assist forward flying into 50/50 tackles because if they get injured, they're irreplaceable in their offensive output.
I agree with all the replies though, that we should keep Virgil for at least another year. I see the logic in saving on the wages for someone who is 35 next month and might struggle with a high line and press, but as many have touched on, his leadership skills are key and he is still one of the best players in both boxes, in world football.
Having said all this, what we want as fans might not matter because since I posted this many other news outlets have picked up the story and are even saying Virgil's given the move to Galatasaray the green light.
12 Jun 2026
12 Jun 2026 08:54:56
Not a chance VVD gets his contract mutually terminated as club captain, having not acted like the petulant child Mo did. You don't get rid of your club captain like that and a still top 5 CB in the world regardless of the wages.
Salah never really pressed all that much (not when you compare him to the midfield and Bobby+Mane). Typically, defenders don't press. The point of the press is to force the long ball down the line and the defenders to pick posession up/let it go out and take the throw in.
VVD can still get a turn of pace when needed and his positioning is very good for a modern day CB. He can probably go at a high level until he's 40. I'd happily keep VVD for another 2/3 years, but that probably means we won't get Jacquet or Leoni progressing through much, but would give us time to find another elite CB of which I don't think there are much in today's game.
{Ed001's Note - Salah pressed, he pressed up on the second centre-back alongside the forward under Klopp. It is an outright lie to say he never really pressed all that much. What he didn't do as much as the others is track back, but he damn sure pressed.}
12 Jun 2026 07:54:47
Eds,
Do you have any idea why the noise around Angelo Stiller has faded? Last summer he was rumoured to Utd, Liverpool and Real Madrid.still had a fairly decent season and seems like the kind of midfielder a lot of teams need.
Good in defensive duels, temposetter and a good passer
{Ed001's Note - no idea mate sorry.}
12 Jun 2026 10:13:03
He would have been an ideal signing and, if we had moved for Hoeness instead of Iraola, I think we would have got Stiller as well. I still hope we go for him, as he is the profile of a midfielder we desperately need.
Then again, as long as we get a more combative CM, rather than another slow moving progressor of the ball, I think it will be better for it, and at least provide better balance in midfield.
Camara and Sangara were looked at, but I believe the latter is in talks with United now. We should be all over Camara, but we seem solely focused on Diomande, for now. That, and the World Cup, will likely cause delays, as no player will want to talk moves, while they are still in that competition. I doubt Federations can ban it, but it would be highly frowned upon by players, staff and fans alike.
11 Jun 2026
11 Jun 2026 18:03:54
When Philippe Coutinho moved from Liverpool to Barcelona in January 2018, the clubs agreed to a massive transfer package. Liverpool ultimately made the full £142 million (€160 million) from the deal.
The structure of the historic transfer broke down into a guaranteed base fee and several highly achievable add-on clauses:
The Transfer Breakdown.
Upfront Guaranteed Fee: £106 million (€120 million)
Performance & Milestone Add-ons: £36 million (€40 million)
How the £36M in Add-ons Was Triggered.
While it was initially reported that some clauses might be difficult to hit (especially after Coutinho went on loan to Bayern Munich), Liverpool structured the contract around milestones that Barcelona had to pay regardless of his fluctuating squad status.
Appearances: Barcelona owed Liverpool €5 million (£4.4m) for every 25 appearances Coutinho made, capping out at 100 appearances (€20 million / £17.6m total).
Champions League Qualification: Barcelona paid €10 million (£8.8m) for qualifying for the UEFA Champions League during his first two seasons.
Champions League Title: A final €5 million (£4.4m) clause was tied to European success.
By the end of 2020, through a combination of Coutinho hitting his milestone appearances and financial restructuring (where Barcelona used third-party finance companies to settle their outstanding football transfer debts early), Liverpool officially banked the entire £142 million package.
Considering Liverpool originally bought Coutinho from Inter Milan for just £8.5 million in 2013, the club generated a net profit of over £133 million on the player—funds famously used to finance the transformative signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
{Ed001's Note - that is simply not true. The debt was sold on very quickly, long before it hit all the add-on clauses, meaning we missed out on most of them. You carry on though, you are still just showing you have no idea.}
11 Jun 2026
11 Jun 2026 13:15:38
Ed, is it true that we were interested in Van Hecke when Slot is still in charge? There is also another Dutch midfielder that we were rumored to be interested in when Slot was in charge. I just can't seem to remember his name.
{Ed001's Note - not that I am aware of, Slot might have liked him but I don't believe he was being targeted at all.}
11 Jun 2026
11 Jun 2026 13:05:23
Faith the owners own, they hire people who decide who we get, not rocket science is it, still in charge aren't they.as for Coutinho being a life time ago "so what", if that transfer never happened then Liverpool wouldn't be where they are now
{Ed001's Note - Liverpool got very little from the Coutinho deal, they sold the debt on and got a lot less than people think. Coutinho's sale made little difference to the signings of Alisson etc like it is claimed. Particularly the Alisson signing, which was done purely because of Karius being a dick, not because the club was suddenly flush with cash from the sale. It was less than half the money that the club ended up with. Shame people talk such utter nonsense out of pure ignorance. This is why Ed02 hated people talking finances as they just make themselves look complete idiots.}
11 Jun 2026 08:18:16
Ed1, who would you say is on top of the list for midfielder that we are interested as of right now after managerial change? Its crazy market for midfielder right now if the likes of Elliot Anderson going for more than 120M and both Alex Scott and Mateus Fernandes are price at 80M.
{Ed001's Note - I thought it was Camara, but not sure now as not heard anything about it since Iraola came in.}
11 Jun 2026 08:53:27
Camara looks the right fit for what we need for a midfielder who can rotate with Grav in different games, and I would think Wharton would be a no-brainer for the other profile to play the other side in the pivot. I love Scott as a player, but to me he feels too similar in function to Szoboszlai. They are both all action, running and carrying midfielders who are well rounded on and off the ball, but who love running with the ball.
David Lynch did an excellent video on Scott yesterday where he made the case, clearly illustrated through stats, that at the present moment Curtis Jones is a far superior player, though Scott might have a higher ceiling because of his age.
For all the folks slating Curtis and saying he isn't worth 30 mill, while salivating at the prospect of signing Scott for 80, it's definitely worth a watch.
We don't need more box to box players who love marauding with the ball, we need a physical presence who can win the ball and win his duels (though Scott is good at both on the ground and aerial duels), and a specialist passer who can spray the ball quickly and efficiently.
11 Jun 2026 09:39:53
Curtis Jones being a far superior player is such hyperbole, especially if it's based on stats, a player playing at RB for 70% of the season with almost no meaningful stats from his natural position is, in my opinion, another proof that stats are a bunch of nonsense for the most part.
The only attribute Curtis excels at is his ball control & dribbling, but he almost never uses it for the benefit of the team, dribbling into blind allies and passing backwards after taking on 2 players for no reason!
11 Jun 2026 10:49:20
Those datamb stats can be highly misleading. Just looking at that alone could lead you to think Jones was as good as Vitinha, for example, which he plainly is not, nor will he ever be. The eye test also matters, and this is one of the places where Jones fails.
As ASB says, Jones makes poor decisions on the pitch; most of his passes are just five/ten yard passes, and on far too many occasions he makes a poor choice with his pass selection and puts a team mate in trouble (the back pass to Ali against Wolves across the face of goal, which then directly led to Wolves scoring, when clearing it up the line would have been a far better choice, being a good example).
He also switches off far too often; his positional sense and defensive awareness are almost non-existent (I lost count of the number of times Jones stood and watched runners from midfield go past him), and he is as tackle shy as it gets (ironic given that guff he came out with about getting stuck in).
There's a reason why he's overlooked compared to the likes of Anderson & Scott; they are actually effective in their position. Jones is not. Whether anyone wants to admit that is up to them, but the facts don't care about your feelings.
11 Jun 2026 12:02:17
Does every midfielder need to be able to make a piercing through pass or a raking ball out to the wings? Jones is a player who keeps possession in tight spaces (are there many players in the league who are better than him at this?) and carrying it forward or playing a simple pass to someone else, he always shows for the ball all over the field and is comfortable receiving the ball on either foot.
I don't think he often makes a poor choice with his pass selection. It's just that when something goes wrong with one of his passes it sticks in the memory. I also think he is a very capable presser and is very mobile, covering ground.
11 Jun 2026 12:52:55
The problem is Patrick, all too often he makes the wrong choice and he never learns from those mistakes. No one is expecting him to be peak Gerrard or De Bruyne with his passing, but being aware of your team mates being closed down before passing to them feels like a minimum expectation.
The whole schtick about him keeping possession in tight spaces is pointless because of his tendency to use the ball so badly, either because more often than not he then holds on to the ball far too long or chooses the wrong pass. By comparison, Wijnaldum was far better at that because he did think quickly and moved the ball on intelligently, Jones doesn't do that, he's clearly not a quick thinker and needs far too much time on the ball.
And it has to be repeated that he's defensively all over the place, he has all the worst traits a midfielder can have, he ball watches, lacks concentration, doesn't track runners, never takes responsibility, has poor situational awareness, and for a bloke standing at six foot he's very weak in the tackle. At coming up 26, these deficiencies should be ironed out of his game if he's as good as some would have us believe, but they're all still there and that's why he's not good enough to be a starter at a club challenging for the league, but also why his comparative value is so low compared to the likes of Anderson, Scott or even Wharton. If he ends up at Inter, I can see him occupying the bench.
11 Jun 2026 13:15:38
Ed, is it true that we were interested in Van Hecke when Slot is still in charge? There is also another Dutch midfielder that we were rumored to be interested in when Slot was in charge. I just can't seem to remember his name.
{Ed001's Note - not that I am aware of, Slot might have liked him but I don't believe he was being targeted at all.}
11 Jun 2026 16:38:47
Ed01, one of the reasons i'm glad Slot is gone.
Van Hecke is absolutely dreadful.
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 23:06:49
No8, pig headed nonsense, that's is what you are chatting., ED001 how is that being obtuse, because my opinion doesn't agree with yours, it a known fact for years that teams buy players n 95% get a transfer fee if they don't sign an extension, they usually get sold, but all of a sudden the player get a contract n run it down, we lose millions but that ok is it, its unimportant as you say.so Trent 70 mill, konate 50 mill, even robbo n salah n a few more do you think that's sustainable
{Ed001's Note - give it up, I am not going to waste my time as you clearly have no idea about finances. We wouldn't have got anything like 70m, even if we sold him for 70m. You really are running your mouth off without a clue about reality. Even if you ignore the fact (which you clearly are) that there are multiple costs involved, such as paying off part of the contract and the 5% cut the player gets of the transfer fee, solicitor's fees, taxes, fees on changing money etc, you should be asking yourself why most clubs sell transfer liabilities off if the money is so important. You get the transfer fee in lieu of the service they would have provided over the rest of their contract. That is the price you are putting on a player - the amount them staying for the rest of the term of their contract is worth to the club. So if they see out their contract, they have worked their value. If you don't believe, check the accounts, where their book value at the end of their contract will be a big fat zero.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 23:06:49
No8, pig headed nonsense, that's is what you are chatting., ED001 how is that being obtuse, because my opinion doesn't agree with yours, it a known fact for years that teams buy players n 95% get a transfer fee if they don't sign an extension, they usually get sold, but all of a sudden the player get a contract n run it down, we lose millions but that ok is it, its unimportant as you say.so Trent 70 mill, konate 50 mill, even robbo n salah n a few more do you think that's sustainable
{Ed001's Note - give it up, I am not going to waste my time as you clearly have no idea about finances. We wouldn't have got anything like 70m, even if we sold him for 70m. You really are running your mouth off without a clue about reality. Even if you ignore the fact (which you clearly are) that there are multiple costs involved, such as paying off part of the contract and the 5% cut the player gets of the transfer fee, solicitor's fees, taxes, fees on changing money etc, you should be asking yourself why most clubs sell transfer liabilities off if the money is so important. You get the transfer fee in lieu of the service they would have provided over the rest of their contract. That is the price you are putting on a player - the amount them staying for the rest of the term of their contract is worth to the club. So if they see out their contract, they have worked their value. If you don't believe, check the accounts, where their book value at the end of their contract will be a big fat zero.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 19:52:49
ED001, well if that's the case why don't we just let them all leave on a free if its unimportant, n get players on free's, i'm sure the lower leagues will be happy as Larry with that, .No8 what if they are treating the team that pays their wages poorly, like ya know running down contracts that makes us look weak, do we just let them, Chewy, I know you can't force sales but you can make it difficult for them at the club if they are going to take the piss, n to me running down contracts when already tapped up is taking the piss.
{Ed001's Note - you are being deliberately obtuse now. Pointless this conversation. You are so wound up about it that you will never listen to reason.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 19:52:49
ED001, well if that's the case why don't we just let them all leave on a free if its unimportant, n get players on free's, i'm sure the lower leagues will be happy as Larry with that, .No8 what if they are treating the team that pays their wages poorly, like ya know running down contracts that makes us look weak, do we just let them, Chewy, I know you can't force sales but you can make it difficult for them at the club if they are going to take the piss, n to me running down contracts when already tapped up is taking the piss.
{Ed001's Note - you are being deliberately obtuse now. Pointless this conversation. You are so wound up about it that you will never listen to reason.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 17:26:38
Lads, YouTube ( not the other site)
Ed01, have you seen enough of Lamine Camara at Monaco to have any opinion?
{Ed001's Note - not really.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 15:54:48
ED001, We got to do something along those lines though.cant have repeated running down of contracts.we will be out of business if that continued.
{Ed001's Note - nonsense. It is not that important if they run their contract down as you have already had the value from them over the course of it. People get so wound up about something so unimportant. It really shows that people do not understand and are overreacting and panicking due to lacking understanding of finances.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 15:54:48
ED001, We got to do something along those lines though.cant have repeated running down of contracts.we will be out of business if that continued.
{Ed001's Note - nonsense. It is not that important if they run their contract down as you have already had the value from them over the course of it. People get so wound up about something so unimportant. It really shows that people do not understand and are overreacting and panicking due to lacking understanding of finances.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 16:09:50
If Guehi had been bought earlier on in the Summer window last year, it's likely Konate would have gone sooner. It also makes us look extra silly with our lack of impetus chasing him in January.
{Ed001's Note - not true. Konate was waiting out his contract regardless. The only difference is that he would have been dropped due to his abysmal performances. Well, maybe. Hard to tell with Slot, he might have decided Guehi was just not his type and left him on the bench until the 89th minute of every game.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 16:04:40
No8, the only ridiculous thing I can see is players running down contracts for their own gain. MK, what are you on about? Are you happy that the club is losing out on big transfer fees? Nothing to do with emotions, it is common sense. You're on here all the time about buying this player n that player, where do we pay for all this? They've fleeced us fans enough.
They're always looking for investment, but isn't a £50 million pound transfer fee an investment? And this narrative about not a good look for future players signing is a complete load of nonsense. Do ppl think they won't sign because we want a transfer fee for them in the future.
{Ed001's Note - investment in the club is billions not a few million.}
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 12:32:04
That's really good to hear in my opinion Ed001. Iraola got a very young partnership of Huijsen and Zabarnyi looking like an experienced Premier League duo. Giovanni Leoni (19), Jeremy Jacquet (20), Mor Talla Ndiaye (18), Ifeanyi Ndukwe (18) and Noah Adekoya (19) have all been signed in the last 12 months. We've spent approximately £100m on those 5 CB's so we can't just not use them because they're young.
When you then also consider Will Wright (18), Rio Ngumoha (17), Trey Nyoni (18), Milos Kerkez (22), Florian Wirtz (23), Armin Pecsi (21), Ekitike (23), James McConnell (21), Connor Bradley (22), Stefan Bajcetic (21), Owen Beck (23), Alvin Ayman (18), Samuel Martinez (17), Josh Sonni-Lambie (18) and hopefully soon Yan Diomande (19) will have all been signed in recent years, it's clear we're working on a serious long term plan.
On top of that we've brought players through the ranks from as young as 6-9 years old such as Joshua Abe (15), Kieran Morrison (19), Lewis Koumas (20), Luke Chambers (21), Joe Upton (18) and Jayden Danns (20) who hopefully can finally start to push on.
Iraola will definitely have been given the remit to start making use of all this top young talent we've prioritised signing/developing. Of course there is absolutely no chance they all succeed and have long careers here, but I'm certain Iraola has been appointed in no small part due to his incredible record at Bournemouth of making use of and coaching younger players.
10 Jun 2026 13:55:35
Afternoon ed001,
Do you see us spending at the same levels as the last transfer window?
We clearly have a number of positions to strengthen
Cheers
Drogie
{Ed001's Note - probably close.}
10 Jun 2026 14:31:27
Thanks mate.
10 Jun 2026 13:55:35
Afternoon ed001,
Do you see us spending at the same levels as the last transfer window?
We clearly have a number of positions to strengthen
Cheers
Drogie
{Ed001's Note - probably close.}
10 Jun 2026 14:31:27
Thanks mate.
10 Jun 2026
10 Jun 2026 12:31:25
Shipley, out of interest, why do we need to sign HG players?
There isn't a HG "quota" as a lot of clickbait sites are incorrectly reporting, what there is is a maximum cap for non-HG players - currently 17 in an EPL squad.
You can then have up to 8 HG additional players, making a squad of 25 in total, and supplement with as many players who qualify as U21 as you want. Note that Rio will now qualify as U21 having played last season - he didn't before.
So, looking at our current squad of non-HG players (as things stand today):
Alisson
Mamardashvilli
Virgil
Kerkez
Tsimi (I expect him to take Robbo's place in the squad - Robbo was also non-HG)
Endo
Wirtz
Szobo
Macca
Gravenberch
Isak
Chiesa
Gakpo
Ekitike
That's 14 players. We have space for 3 more non-HG Over-21 players
HG Players:
Woodman - his contract does expire, but maybe we keep him?
Jaros - could be he gets promoted to the squad instead of Woodman
Joe Gomez
Bradley
Frimpong
(note - I don't think Ramsay is HG as he played in Scotland until he joined us in 2022 when he turned 19)
Jones
Elliot
Bajcetic
McConnell
Let's assume we only have 1 GK who is HG in the squad (if we sold Mamar then we could have 2 HG GKs - Woodman & Jaros - and an extra non-HG space), and let's also assume that we only have 2 out of the 4 midfielders listed above, then we have a minimum of 6 HG players.
U21s - to count as U21 in the 26-27 season you need to have been born after 1 Jan 05. So, the U21s who are in/may be in the first team squad include:
Rio
Trey
Pecsi (maybe if Mamar goes? )
Leoni
Jacquet
(plus the other 3 17-19 year old CBs we have bought in the past 12m)
So that's at least 5, if not more, U21s that will almost definitely be in the first team squad.
Looking at the names we have been linked with, Diomande will be U21, so will Palestra. Can't think of any others right now, but I'm sure others will chip in!
In terms of midfield (and in light of what Ed001 said about no CBs being prioritised unless JoGo leaves given the dept in youth we have), I can see a HG midfielder coming in - either Scott or Wharton - but Sangare or Camara (both of whom look like what we need) are over 21 and would take up a non-HG slot.
So, we have at least 3 non-HG spots available to us - may rise if for example, Chiesa and/or Mamar are sold - and some of the names we have been linked with, who would likely go straight into the first 11 like Diomande, are U21s this season.
Lost may change - JoGo and Frimpong may leave, Jones, Elliot, Bajcetic etc - but I'm not worried at all about rules and regs stopping us having the squad we want for next season.