Liverpool Banter 2

09 Aug 2026 11:56:23
Surprised about a lot of the negativity on here of late. We need to sell to buy in midfield which makes sense. We can’t just keep adding bodies; we need to sell to then create space, not because finances are tight.

The squad as a whole is very good, we need cover in a couple of areas but the priorities are being met.

90% of the posters on here claimed last season's squad was a title-winning squad, now with the same team and a few new faces people think we won’t finish in the top 4….

Arsenal will be strong but we have a squad with one or two arrivals will meet their depth, City have an unproven manager and will lose the Pep fear factor.

United have Europe and again an unproven manager; no one else will be close to top 4 if we play the way I expect with the new manager.

People need to settle down, and see how things play out. We don’t sign anyone under Klopp the season we won the league and likewise when we did it under Slot, this is a very good team, a few players moved on and a few new faces in will happen.

09 Aug 2026 12:58:59
Think the issue is who we've lost that's getting people on edge.

Think we'll quietly surprise a few people this season, but reinforcements are deffo needed.

09 Aug 2026 13:05:31
The only thing that worries me is, we seem very slow in moving players on, and buying replacemments.

09 Aug 2026 13:24:20
The World Cup hasn't helped, but with most players coming back from holiday, it will definitely get ramped up.

09 Aug 2026 12:57:51
Can't believe your surprised by the negativity on here. It's always like this unless we are beating teams 10-0 every week. You wait to the end of the window and we haven't got two world class players for every position, Jones is still a Liverpool player and a number 6 isn't purchased if you want to see negativity.

Spare a thought for Ed025 during these times. His life is miserable enough as a bluenose, without having to edit all these posts.

{Ed025's Note - i come on here to cheer myself up Bobby.. :)

09 Aug 2026 13:39:33
I see Jones isn't even in the squad for today. Could be a sign that he'll be leaving?

09 Aug 2026 14:32:55
Really hope so. Need to cash in this window as we won't get another opportunity in next window when he can sign a pre contract to go to Inter.

09 Aug 2026 11:48:12
One thing that baffles me is the situation around Chiesa. Obviously it's not worked out and we only paid around £12m for him. He's sat on £150kpw and taking a non homegrown spot. Yet we refuse 7-8m bids or a loan to get his wages off the books and free up a space.

09 Aug 2026 12:05:42
I bet Salah, Robbo and Konate freed up a lot of wages pal.
There's a huge gap on that right wing in Liverpool's squad, I don't reckon we can afford to lose Chiesa until someone is signed, simply because he's the only right sided forward we have (even tho he isn't good enough).

09 Aug 2026 12:14:11
Chiesa is like a politician who turns up every year, says, "I love this club, and I'll fight for my place," and then does the exact same thing all over again.
Nobody in their right mind would be willing to match that wage offer.

09 Aug 2026 12:17:16
At this stage, is Morrison not as good an option as Frederick though?

09 Aug 2026 12:24:22
Based on what exactly has he become a bad option!

09 Aug 2026 12:37:20
Sanjit, no one said he had become a bad option. The fact the club are listening to offers and have wanted to move him on shows he wasn't in the plans last year and potentially this year. As the poster above pointed out, Morrisons has done well in pre season and could take his place.

09 Aug 2026 13:11:49
Starting 1 league since he got here doesn't scream good option, Ranjit, in fairness. We all want academy players getting chances. Well, Morrison was one of the best players in the u21 league last year, and if Chiesa isn't the kinda guy that should be getting moved on to give the best kids chances, I don't know who is.

09 Aug 2026 13:20:39
Chiesa was in great form at one point last season, & Slot repeatedly ignored him! He was not bad in his only league start either. There was a reason why Slot ended up being disliked.

09 Aug 2026 13:57:13
He was never in great form. He ran around a bit when he came on late in games.

09 Aug 2026 14:06:00
I love Arne. Was manager for one of the best LFC days of my life.

09 Aug 2026 14:30:55
The best thing about Chiesa at Liverpool was his song.

09 Aug 2026 14:40:59
Loan means we pay half his wages and 7-8m is a loss.
He should have played more last season but slot had an agenda. He could suit Adonis system.
But we are hoping someone makes a desperate 20m move for him. Else we have enough games for him to make impact.

09 Aug 2026 15:37:40
He was, actually! To categorise his efforts, where his introduction repeatedly raised our tempo, as nothing but "running around" is certainly disrespectful. But society is so driven by success, and football by the final score, that everything else gets dismissed.

Elsewhere, Elliott - who was liked even by Klopp and has changed games for us in the past - is now dismissed as "not good enough", despite the fact that we did nothing but derail his career last season.

Mega money in the game has made people believe that maintaining a squad is pointless. Chuck them all out and buy new, shiny toys, I say.

Alas! Make it FIFA. Let the fun begin.

09 Aug 2026 16:10:42
Great form???

Jesus, I must have been watching different games.

09 Aug 2026 11:39:56
Hi Eds.
A few journos etc have been talking about the 'timing' being important in regards to transfers, especially where LFC's decision makers are concerned. An approach is apparently taken where all aspects about a deal need to be in the right place at the right time for something to complete.

Would you say this is true especially of LFC and is that possibly one main reason why transfers seem to be slow in happening (at least as observed from the outside)?
Hope all is well and as always appreciate the hard work.

{Ed001's Note - it depends. It can matter if you need to sell before you buy, otherwise it rarely matters.

09 Aug 2026 11:18:13
Great pod Ed001, keep them coming please.

You gave me nightmares remembering Andrei Voronin.

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate. He did have great hair though!}

09 Aug 2026 12:09:48
All his talent was stored in that pony tail, I reckon.

09 Aug 2026 13:40:18
Veronin and Barry Venison.

09 Aug 2026 14:31:40
Good one there, Bazza!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

09 Aug 2026 09:45:21
Interested to see Lamine Camara play today.
Iraola’s intense style combined with playing a lot of games means we’re going to need a deep and quality squad.
£40m for a 22 year old with his qualities is surely worth exploring.

09 Aug 2026 10:02:43
Contrary to the ITKs, I believe unless we don't shift, "legend Curtis Jones", the "Japanese Sensation Endo" and the flop star McAllister, we aren't going to bring in a midfielder.

09 Aug 2026 10:18:05
Isn't Camara moving to Palace?

09 Aug 2026 10:35:02
To be fair, Tarzan, the ITKs have said midfield is not a priority.

09 Aug 2026 10:46:13
A little harsh, I T, fully respect your opinion, however, as you have referred to the I T K, you evidently accept the fact that they are in the know and receive information that they gratefully share. What you believe is your opinion.
I value everyone's contribution on this site, yours included. That doesn't necessarily mean I agree with it, but that is what makes football what it is.

We are all fantastic managers; we would all sign various different players and play a particular system, etc.
Ultimately, whoever pulls on the red shirt, even if it's one of the 3 you mentioned, let's get behind them and support the team.
In the meantime, let's be patient and hope the information passed on by the I T K comes to fruition, and if not, don't berate the guys who are I T K.

09 Aug 2026 10:46:27
I get that the players need to be moved on for various reasons, as do McConnell, Elliott, and Bajcetic (in my opinion), but is it not possible to say so without degrading the players you've mentioned? They are still Liverpool players after all.

09 Aug 2026 11:06:14
Apologies, but I was not degrading any one of them. McAllister was getting stone pelters on this site for the whole last year every time he pulled on that shirt. Jones is considered as a legend who can't release the ball quicker in 1000th attempt, and Endo has not properly kicked a ball in nearly 2 years.

09 Aug 2026 12:10:01
Who considers Jones a legend? I must have missed that one.

09 Aug 2026 12:11:35
Welcome back, Harry. ;)

09 Aug 2026 12:05:05
Another sock puppet of Harry's?

09 Aug 2026 14:02:19
Yep it's Harry.

But he's been here for quite some time.

Cafu
Thristforwirtz
WD40
Indian Tarzan.

09 Aug 2026 14:15:25
I think we keep forgetting we need only two midfielders in adoni's system. Not 3, so we are already in surplus. Szobo and gravy will play there with nyoni challenging and then we have macca jones and youngsters.
It's not a burning position at least in numbers.
4-2-3-1 guys

09 Aug 2026 09:37:44
Is the Barcola deal happening las week? It was mentioned on here its done then others are saying they we miles of on the price? Regarding the marquee signing vg mentioned any ideas? 🤔

09 Aug 2026 09:51:44
I don't think Liverpool FC have met the valuation of the player set by PSG.

09 Aug 2026 10:09:26
There would be no reason at all for LFC to delay an announcement after tomorrow when he is expected to return from holiday.

If he's not announced tomorrow, the deal is clearly not "done".

09 Aug 2026 10:20:46
I think PSG are trying to get one more morning's Labour out of him before announcing it.

09 Aug 2026 10:31:23
@Ron,
What is the relation between player on holiday and transfer announcement? The club won't officially announce any transfer unless the medical is completed.
So, this news has to come from the journalists who have repeatedly claimed that no fee has been agreed between the clubs.

09 Aug 2026 10:42:15
At the moment, it would not be unreasonable for LFC to delay the announcement for whatever reason (PSG or player request).
The reason is, he's not missing pre-season training.

Once the post World Cup holiday period is over (tomorrow), he would be missing vital pre-season training sessions.



Therefore, it would be stupid of LFC to delay an announcement after tomorrow because the player needs to be working with our first team and their coaches.

That's my logic. If he's not here tomorrow, the deal is not concluded.

09 Aug 2026 10:45:29
TBH, it seems like PSG are finding better value in the market than we are, if they are asking EUR145m for a player that they are happy to replace with others costing EUR40m. We shouldn't fund their spending, I'd rather we go after the players they deem better/equivalent.



Still can't believe we seem to have spent all summer chasing players that we a) were never getting (Diamonde) or b) didn't actually know the price of (Barcola). Bonkers, although we don't know how true our interest really is, could just have been whipped up by our ITKs.

09 Aug 2026 10:45:58
Indian, you have to take into account that the journalists didn't report we were interested in Araujo until it was done.

The Journos know nothing. Certainly not anything concrete, anyway. All of the official reports on Barcola say 'Sky Sports News understands' before every sentence, because they really don't have a clue.



They see a furore on social media about Barcola to Liverpool, so they put a very vague piece on their website because they know they'll get clicks. Same with Romano and all the others.

Liverpool aren't leaking information, which was shown with the Araujo signing, so we'll just have to wait and see.

09 Aug 2026 11:00:08
That's it in a nutshell, Ron. Be announced tomorrow if it is the done deal that's been talked about.

09 Aug 2026 11:09:09
I agree with your point @Ris, but the first person to break the news on both Ajauro and Munoz was Romano, and he is considered a tier 3 local wannabe on this site, apparently.

09 Aug 2026 11:17:27
Maybe PSG (or Barcola) want to wait until after the UEFA Super Cup? Gotta play against Aston Villa first and try to win another medal before getting on with the transfer!

09 Aug 2026 11:28:54
Johnny, I don't think PSG think the players they are buying are better than Barcola.
They have 3 wingers, arguably better than him already, before signing anyone. They are in the position to buy less proven potential stars for the squad, and sell a top player for a lot of money.

We are in the market for a starting winger to instantly improve our starting 11, and he seems open to the move to secure 1st team football.

09 Aug 2026 13:25:40
If we are really interested in Mbaye, and we didn't act on it until late in the negotiations for Barcola, I imagine that would have delayed what may have essentially been seen as a done deal. It lines up because rumour had it we were keen on Rayan until Kroupi got injured, essentially killing any possibility of getting that deal done this summer, which may have forced us back to the drawing board and a subsequent late pivot to Mbaye.

09 Aug 2026 13:35:18
If PSG or the player want to wait until after the UEFA Super Cup, then the deal is not concluded.
Once it is concluded it will be announced, otherwise Liverpool are sabotaging their pre-season.

09 Aug 2026 09:17:20
Liverpool has completed permanent summer signings for defender Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for €63.60m and winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna for €40m, but we could have added Semenyo for €72m and Geuhi €23m - the office of Edwards and Hughes needs to be scrutinized - we could have added 2 prem proven players for less than €10m.

Absolute joke to allow Citeh to rebuild in the areas we actually really needed to improve in.

09 Aug 2026 09:37:01
Is Guehi that good? I'm not convinced.

09 Aug 2026 09:37:21
I'd recommend getting back into bed, then trying to get out the right side next time.

09 Aug 2026 09:42:34
You do know that Edwards has left the building. And, by consensus, Guehi is no longer any good and he had a crap World Cup.

09 Aug 2026 09:45:03
The club spunked close to EUR350 million on Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike.

09 Aug 2026 09:45:10
How are we supposed to stop City rebuilding?

09 Aug 2026 09:46:08
Semenyo isn't even that good.

Apart from his goals, assists, chances created, pace, power, aerial ability, two footedness, ability to drive into space with the ball, work rate, pressing, positional versatility and team play, what does he offer exactly?

09 Aug 2026 09:51:25
Guehi, who single-handedly cost them the league with a misplaced back pass, and got them knocked out of the Champions League by getting embarrassed in his own box?

Terrible player.

09 Aug 2026 09:59:23
That's right, JK. Semenyo is no better than "Harvey Elliot is like a new signing".

09 Aug 2026 10:12:36
Bournemouth didn't miss Semenyo.
18 league games unbeaten since he left.

09 Aug 2026 10:25:37
Any team in England would miss Semenyo in fairness.

09 Aug 2026 10:53:35
Except Bournemouth, Florian?

09 Aug 2026 10:53:36
Nice post jk23, has shades of "what have the Romans done for us?" about it.

09 Aug 2026 10:56:38
Semenyo is decent but not as good as some on here seem to think. Not worth spending top money on.

Guehi, on the other hand, is bang average.

I remember Arsenal were rumoured to be after him before we were and I just thought, so what? Then when we were after him I thought it was a market opportunity to replace Gomez as a back up CB and cover the FB positions.

Not once did I think we would be signing Guehi as a starting CB.

He's just not good enough.

He's proved as much at City. He is just ok. He's not dominant in the air, not particularly quick, doesn't run the defensive line, gets bullied. He's quite good on the ball for a CB when he gets forward which is about all I could say. That's why he'd be decent cover for the FB positions too.

He doesn't really excel at anything though.

09 Aug 2026 11:02:45
Guehi is a decent player, and would've been a good squad option for us, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over missing out on him.

09 Aug 2026 11:20:53
If you say it, Beckers, then it must be true.

09 Aug 2026 11:27:26
Guehi isn't a player I'd want as a starter, too short, too weak, and has too many brain farts, but as a squad cover, he'd have been ok as he can cover full back and midfield. But that's about all. In the context of the current market, Semenyo was a bargain for City.

Home grown, gets 10+ goals a season and weighs in with assists, is versatile, very quick, physically strong, intelligent and hard working. A so called "market opportunity" if ever there was one and we sat on our hands monitoring it.

09 Aug 2026 12:17:34
I still miss Coutinho. Never mind Bournemouth not missing a good player, obviously they did good but can still miss him. We went great losing Coutinho, yet nobody still can do or play like he did for us. Let's enjoy the new manager and a new season. Time to stop haramball.

{Ed025's Note - hey. No talking about ex players on here. It’s frowned upon apparently 🤣..

09 Aug 2026 13:29:11
What in the twilight zone is going on here? You should have posted this back in January.

09 Aug 2026 14:08:46
Suppose so, Johnny. 😂😂 But they would have been even better with him still there. Turned out a great signing for City that lad.

09 Aug 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Why Rangers Must Handle Matchday Pressure Better

09 Aug 2026 00:22:57
I think as Arsenal have lost out on Vinny Junior I wouldn't be surprised if they went all out for Barcola, I hope we move fast as I could see him ending up with the Gunners. In saying all that the money getting touted for Barcola is insane and I can't help thinking there is better value out there.

09 Aug 2026 02:52:14
At some point Arsenal have to sell some players. £140 million spent already this summer, and their record sale is still Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 9 years ago.

09 Aug 2026 05:36:08
Yep, Arsenal's wage bill will soon become unsustainable unless they start readjusting their squad. Offloading mid-level earners like Trossard won't cut it - a large number of their squad is on well over 200k a week.
The Vinicius transfer was not a serious thing - he was never moving from Real Madrid to Arsenal.

He got exactly what he wanted, which was a hefty salary increase and improved terms at Real.
I expect Arsenal will be favourites again this season, but it will be tough for them if they remain so reliant on set pieces to score.

09 Aug 2026 07:21:23
The Gooners aren't gonna win anything next season, they'll be like us last season, and then go back to doing what they do best - not winning anything using 6 defenders.

09 Aug 2026 07:34:37
The internet is quite divided on which team currently has the highest wage bill. Some sites say Liverpool and some are saying Arsenal or City.

Personally, I think Arsenal are the favourites for the league again this season due to them having a very good side and squad, and the upheaval other clubs are having, be it new managers or having to sell players to balance the books.

09 Aug 2026 07:42:44
Arsenal don't want Barcola. They don't value him at the money that's being asked.

09 Aug 2026 08:06:49
Barcola is back from his holidays on Monday. I would assume that's the only reason we've not announced the signing yet.

Arsenal have zero chance. Why would any talented flair player want to play for Arteta? Even Vini Jr just used them for a pay rise.

09 Aug 2026 09:03:26
Arsenal have Nico Williams & Yildez as their targets for left wing. Barcola has made it clear that he views our style of play is more suited to him than Arsenal's.

09 Aug 2026 09:27:34
Presumably, and assuming we are actually after him, which I'm not 100% convinced about (just a gut feeling), wouldn't he need to undergo some sort of medical before everyone signs on the bottom line?

09 Aug 2026 09:36:34
Arsenal are certainly favourites for the League this season. Only a mug would suggest otherwise. It's not as if they came from nowhere to win last season. They have been consistently up around the top of the League for a brave few seasons now and they are still signing good additions to their squad. They'll be tough to beat.

09 Aug 2026 09:42:43
Arsenal have the best squad today, and instead of relying on "This midfield nearly won the quadruple", they added players to an already established squad.
Diamonde was nailed on to join us. Wasn't he? If Arsenal can stump up the money then PSG would have no issue convincing Mr Bracola to choose Arsenal.

09 Aug 2026 09:43:42
Vini to Arsenal was never on. Anyone with half a brain could see the angle, pure negotiation tactics.

09 Aug 2026 09:53:24
Remember when Alonso to Chelsea was never on or Diomande to Real.

If it's said on the internet then it must be true.

09 Aug 2026 10:01:11
You are Bishop Brennan's sarcastic deputy from Father Ted and I claim my ten lovely horses.

09 Aug 2026 11:17:44
Why should we now all of a sudden pull our fingers out?

Should have done that a while back already...

If anyone comes in and signs Barcola, we only have ourselves to blame.