Liverpool Banter 2

17 Aug 2026 18:51:17
After watching the preseason games, what I come to is:
We badly need an out and out six, teams will run through us.
We are brutal without the ball and we need someone to marshal the mid.
Sobo is a great engine, but he goes on a mad one and out of position.
Wirtz looks a bit lost.
Grav is tidy but he’s not the 6 we need or does the job of a 6 we need.
As it stands we’ve no rw as Rio just looks all over the shop when he switches.


We’ve Isak up top will.
He last 4 games on the bounce 90mins?
Leaves Cody who seems to want out after the witch hunt and he’s our last leading goal scorer who I'd not be letting go.
One good game in preseason doesn’t excite me with Frimpong I still think we need a rb.


Gomez Elliot Endo Chiesa jones the Greek should have been gone long ago I’d rather youth in than any of them.

Just my 2 pence worth.

17 Aug 2026 19:01:36
Blimey that's cheered me up no end.

17 Aug 2026 19:11:24
And what about the negatives?

17 Aug 2026 19:20:48
Yeah, Jay Dub. And the sun might not rise tomorrow either.

17 Aug 2026 19:22:55
I think we've just gotta accept it. We know we're short.

I can't believe we haven't fixed the RB issue though that plagued us all last season, that's a bad one

But we don't have to watch Slot-Ball, we will be entertaining, we'll enjoy the football, and Anfield will be bouncing again under Iraola.

17 Aug 2026 19:52:48
It needs to be Wirtz or Szoboszlai in midfield. It doesn't work with both. Szoboszlai is so poor off the ball in the deeper positions, but it's to be expected, he's an attacking midfielder.

17 Aug 2026 19:56:32
I can see the club competing for 2nd or 3rd. Which in the toughest league in the world isn't that bad of a thing.

I agree there's lots of areas for improvement, but I also look at 18 other clubs and could say the exact same thing for them.

Minimum expectation is CL qualification again.

17 Aug 2026 20:02:38
It is what it is, guys, no point glossing over it! Joe Gomez still being relied on speaks volumes; would any other club put up with it!
We need to take the rose tinted glasses off.
I'm not here to cheer you up; a matter of watching the preseason games speaks a lot.


Of course there are upsides, like the youth pushing through, that's great to see, but a wk before kick off we've no RW CDM, it's not great reading.
I hope we bring in a few before the window closes.

17 Aug 2026 20:04:42
Exactly right, JK. We are very insular because we don't really care about other teams, but all of the teams in the league have 'holes' in the squad too.

A squad will never be complete because there's always improvements that can be made.

A lot of the time, what looks like an improvement on paper can actually make you weaker.

We have a competitive team, and if Iraola gets them going and we have a bit of luck with injuries we'll be right up there.

17 Aug 2026 20:56:49
Simi should have been sold last year but as ed1 said he loves it here and doesn't want to leave

17 Aug 2026 21:37:53
We have had two months to plug most of the gaps. Just saying.

17 Aug 2026 21:48:33
Is that the same Gravenberch who was the star midfielder in a title winning team?

{Ed025's Note - or the same Gravenberch who decided to take last year off and was as much as an ashtray on a motorbike?..

17 Aug 2026 22:15:15
Ashtray on a motorbike - you wanna patent that quick.

18 Aug 2026 00:21:12
Grav's not currently the 6 we need, but he's the 6 we have, that's not going to change, we're not going out to spend £100m on a DM and pay Grav £280k a week to sit on the bench.

18 Aug 2026 03:28:25
It doesn't matter if it's 2 years, 2 months, or half an hour, if the right player at the right price (in the club's estimation) isn't available then there's no point spending money just for the sake of it.

18 Aug 2026 06:10:00
Think someone needs to go Specsavers if they think we are that bad.

18 Aug 2026 06:31:29
And who is this right player, WDW? Some 48 teams play in the UCL and similar numbers in the EL. Are you saying there isn’t one good CDM in the whole of Europe? Then I have nothing to add. Why don’t you just accept the club isn’t pursuing a CDM? If you are fully behind the board, then you should retain them.

18 Aug 2026 08:27:27
This is such an unbalanced assessment, it is unbelievable. If you read this without any context you'd genuinely think Jay was talking about a team that's in danger of relegation. It's honestly not even worth anyone's time to reply to the individual points that have been made.

18 Aug 2026 09:01:22
The right player is decided by the club, @Whndm. Not by us. How do you think AI is going to set the team up to play? Once that is decided, the scours and analytics team can be given an idea of the player profile that we want. Then it depends if a targeted player wants to come, if his club are interested in selling, if we can agree terms and if our priorities don't change for things like the need to buy a player for a position where we've lost, say, two or three players to an injury.



A lot of people think we need players at RB, RW and DM, but they want a name, in a lot of cases, not really seeing what the club sees in terms of need rather than want.

Who do you think should choose the players we buy?

18 Aug 2026 09:01:33
In terms of an assessment of where we are right now, I'd say we've got a fairly strong starting eleven. That should be good enough to finish somewhere from third to fifth.

The main reason I doubt we'll finish higher is that defensively we've still got holes, both in midfield and at fullback. I'm not convinced with either fullback defensively, or our midfield.

The second reason is that last season we didn't score enough goals. We need to average two per game to finish higher.

We haven't filled the right wing spot, and that, together with a lack of RB, hasn't been addressed, which will mean the right side won't function in a creative sense. I also don't think Isak will last more than a half dozen games without injury, so we'll have to patch it up.

Obviously, there's a couple of weeks left in the window, and we should start with a win, but over the course of a season I think we're light squad wise.

17 Aug 2026 17:50:42
Is there any code for Fantasy league?

17 Aug 2026 20:03:06
If you were in it last season, Bhav, you'll automatically be added this season. 👍

17 Aug 2026 20:50:12
Thanks, I was there last season but it seems a new app. And I don't see new LFC Rumours League.

17 Aug 2026 22:56:45
I'd like the code if there is one. 🤞

17 Aug 2026 17:49:15
🚨‼️ "I had a conversation this morning and I think, the way it was phrased to me, there is close to 0% chance of a midfielder being signed, even in the event of Curtis Jones leaving"

[@davidlynchlfc on @AnfieldIndex]

17 Aug 2026 18:52:50
I would be stunned if we didn't purchase at the very least one midfielder.

17 Aug 2026 18:54:26
Forget competing for anything if we don't improve Midfield. Good luck.

17 Aug 2026 19:01:01
So there's still a chance then. 😁

17 Aug 2026 19:13:28
We are in discussions around a midfielder, but that doesn't mean we will a) sign one and b) sign the one you want.

17 Aug 2026 20:03:44
What if a new midfielder comes in and passes sideways, like Sideways Henderson?

17 Aug 2026 21:19:50
Who's the midfielder going to be?

17 Aug 2026 21:21:05
Haven't we got interest in Camara?

18 Aug 2026 07:27:14
Very impressed with L. Camara and Sadiki.

17 Aug 2026 16:14:15
Definitely not ITK but Endrick sounds like a good option to me. Striker and left footed right forward. Seems perfect cover to me.

17 Aug 2026 17:40:24
He's a bellend on and off the pitch. Hard no.

17 Aug 2026 18:02:05
What Metal Mickey said.

17 Aug 2026 18:26:28
So am I, to be fair, so maybe me and Endrick could be mates.

17 Aug 2026 16:14:04
Is anyone else feeling like there stuck between a rock and a hard place?

On my ne hand I want us to keep everything under wraps and randomly announce a signing to surprise us.

On the other I want minute by minute updates from the trusted info (the fields, Macca, Carra, VG, Ned ect).



I do just want to say however how massively appreciated the itk’s are for all there information wether good or bad.

Cheers.

17 Aug 2026 17:57:32
BetterHelp. You deserve to be happy!

17 Aug 2026 15:49:39
Spurs have apparently offered a larger wage, longer contract and that he will be their main CF.

17 Aug 2026 17:53:41
Selling Gakpo to sign Bracola is like shifting the wound from your right leg to the left leg. It cancels out. FSG doing their usual balancing act.

17 Aug 2026 17:58:10
Wild, isn't he already on 300k pw?

17 Aug 2026 18:03:17
Not if you're right footed.

17 Aug 2026 18:15:07
Gakpo is on 250kpw. Spurs gave Robbo a 4 year deal, so offering good terms.

17 Aug 2026 18:21:13
I saw a piece over the weekend on how Gakpo would work perfectly for De Zerbi as a 9 because he would drop deep and link up play.

Not sure if I've missed those games, but every time I've watched him with his back to goal, his second touch has always been a tackle.

17 Aug 2026 18:53:54
"His second touch has always been a tackle." Hilarious.

17 Aug 2026 19:31:06
Spurs will still be bad this year with or without Gakpo.

17 Aug 2026 20:14:12
We tried Gakkers as a false 9 when we first signed him. He was rubbish, so we binned that idea.

We've tried him as a 10 and as an 8 too. He wasn't great there either. LW is his best position, but he needs to play with a false 9, so he can cut into the space left when he drops deep.

Good luck, Spurs.

17 Aug 2026 16:26:45
Hi Ed01,
Just wondering what your thoughts are for this season? Any predictions? Chelsea look a bit stronger (and only have PL to concentrate on), Citeh look a bit weaker, Arsenal about the same or slightly improved. If Barcola and Mbaye/Rayan arrive and another midfielder then I'd say we've strengthened and we should improve from last season (which isn't saying much). Thanks

{Ed001's Note - I expect us to be much better this season, but it will take time to get going most likely. Arsenal have the best squad and should win easily, their biggest weakness is the manager still and his caution will stop them running away with the league this season. With a bit of luck, it might be enough to give us a shot, though that is unlikely.

City will likely be hampered by Maresca, who is not a top class manager by any means. His inability to organise a defence is likely to be their undoing. Chelsea can be a threat, but they lack players at their peak. Everyone is either young or veterans, which is an issue for a team aiming for a title.}

17 Aug 2026 17:37:37
Spot on Ed1
Don't underestimate Villa and I think Spurs will be stronger this season. I think we will get a CL spot and be much closer to Arsenal than last season. May need to do business in the winter window to deal with a lack of squad depth.

Ido think all our new signings look promising so better than last window and last seasons signings are looking better. Overall we are looking like a stronger team and most importantly we are looking a lot fitter.

{Ed001's Note - Spurs will be stronger? They were battling relegation last season, of course they will be stronger, but they are still full of trash and have a manager that falls out with his own shadow.}

17 Aug 2026 17:36:34
Thankks Ed, I completely agree and I think we will try to strenghten in January

{Ed001's Note - we are always looking to strengthen. Last January we signed Jacquet, for example. We never stopped trying to improve.}

17 Aug 2026 17:57:49
Couldn't agree more with Maresca comment Ed001, I can't believe that's the route they have taken. If I have to eat my words then so be it but he seems like he needed time at a club where he can show his worth, he's destined to fail at a City team no where near as strong as they used to be. AI might succeed and he might not but he's shown what he can do with Bournemouth therefore earned this shot. Same with Xabi earning this opportunity though I think his is also a big jump. It's so open if the top teams play to their best ability but it's rare that happens.

Only discouraging thing this season is that the mid table teams that were causing upsets last year seem to have all weakened, personally I think that's gutting as being tested every game makes for such a better season. We should be there or thereabouts come Christmas and hopefully that gives us opportunity to tinker with a few places in the market. Just can't look past Arsenal with that squad. Terribly boring but effective and depth to last the whole way in all comps.

17 Aug 2026 19:36:21
Arsenal def stronger, but won't be so aided by the refs at set pieces. We will def improve. Our defense will be much better, but we still need to sort the midfield. Chelsea, the unknown.

Spurs will start well, but fade. We have a favourable fixture list to bed in players and get fitness levels up. Newcastle was a tough one initially, but imo they will struggle this season.

17 Aug 2026 15:37:17
According to David Lynch, we won’t sign another midfielder even if Curtis Jones leaves. Of course, take it with a pinch of salt. But are Michael Edwards and his test tube babies (in this case Richard Hughes) allergic to midfielders? Bare in mind last time Edwards was here we neglected the midfield for so long that we ended up pulling out of the Jude Bellingham race after years of practically stalking him, loaning Arthur Melo only to end up in the Europa League anyway and then having Jorg Schmadtke running round Ibiza all flustered activating every release clause midfielder he could find.



I’m sure we’ll find out soon when Al Hilal lock Ruben Neves in the fridge, but I for one will certainly be glad to see the back of those frauds.

17 Aug 2026 16:02:31
Definitely one to take with a pinch of salt. He's just doubling down on his big "people need to stop pining for this unicorn midfielder" statement made last week.

We need to rebalance the midfield. Anything else is just contorting yourself to presumably cover the club's recruitment failure in this department.

17 Aug 2026 16:29:31
To be fair, Edwards hasn't been with the club for a while, Hughes has no excuse, but both apparently left Gordon in the lurch, picking up the pieces trying to navigate the remainder of the window.

Not very professional from either, any normal job they would have been shown the door.

17 Aug 2026 16:31:22
David Lynch doesn't have a clue who we're signing btw, much like any other club journalist, because they aren't being fed information anymore. Most he knows is about staff / academy changes now.

17 Aug 2026 16:37:19
Yeah, I don't think we need a unicorn midfielder at all, far from it, in fact. Just someone with positional discipline who can put their foot in, cover ground and pick a pass. Plenty of those about.

17 Aug 2026 17:10:03
It's funny how Journalists act like they knew all along when someone signs, and act like it's their exclusive when, in reality, they're the ones saying we won't sign anyone at the start of the summer ala James Pearce.

17 Aug 2026 17:22:00
Hughes is still around, he was pictured recently. Not sure where these rumours come from that he's left, other than the fact we haven't done much business yet.

17 Aug 2026 18:02:47
I thought that what has been reported is that Edwards has left already. And that Hughes will leave after the end of this window, with the particular task of finding a replacement for Salah before he leaves.

17 Aug 2026 19:10:48
That's right ArAy, that's what was said by those who know stuff.

The Salah bit seems to have gone awry.

17 Aug 2026 15:19:16
Man City seeking Bouaddi and Enzo. We're miles away from Arsenal and City with what we have centrally. Miles away. Macca and Grab aren't it by a long way.

17 Aug 2026 15:42:18
Didn't we win the league with those to Ronnie?
Everyone had a very poor season last time under Slot.
So I don't understand all the 'doom & gloom' negativity.

17 Aug 2026 15:50:17
Is Man City midfield really "miles" better than ours?

Man City: Kovacic, Lewis, Anderson, Nico, Foden.

Liverpool: Macca, Szobozlai, Wirtz, Gravenberch, Jones.

Now, Rodri and Bernardo have left, I wouldn’t say there’s much in it, to be honest.

17 Aug 2026 15:45:36
PS: Enzo is a **** bag and Bouaddi, is very good, but to all intents & purposes, has only recently stopped being classed as a child.

17 Aug 2026 15:51:17
I for one am delighted we are not anything like 115fc.

17 Aug 2026 15:57:28
That was 15 months ago, that midfield started to show its shortcomings in the February of the season we won the league, and a combination of those individual shortcomings and complete tactical inadequacies on the part of Slot saw to last season. Not one of our midfielders is competent defensively nor has any physicality, just a bunch of weak, tackle shy soft lads who are easily bullied and played through. To simply say "bUt ThAt MiDfIeLd WoN tHe LeAgUe" is no better than the rubbish spouted before the 20/21 season that we didn't need to replace Lovren (when clearly a 4th choice centre back was needed) or before the 22/23 season when it was clear our midfield needed a refresh and we ended up signing the useless Arthur Melo in desperation, when idiots we're spouting rubbish like "we don't need to sign a midfielder".

It's very clear that we don't have any balance and it's even clearer that we don't have any competent defensively minded midfielders.

17 Aug 2026 16:13:07
Thanks for your most respected opinion, Victor.
I do think the midfield could do with new defensive unit, however, it remains that midfield did win the league.
Which, incidentally, is a statement of fact rather than an opinion.

17 Aug 2026 16:32:38
Well said, VV. Agreed fully. Our midfield requires a couple of top level players if we're to compete and win the big ones. Things change very quickly in football, and those who keep deflecting to the league winning scenario are not cognisant to our current players' shortcomings.

The club may not purchase 2 but they most certainly need to purchase one! We require a couple of proper battlers! That's my opinion anyway.

17 Aug 2026 16:51:42
I watched Arsenal City yesterday and if we are miles behind City we are in trouble because they looked awful. Very weak all over the pitch. Haaland does nothing but score, so it's like having 10 men for most of the game. As for their wide players, glad we missed out on Semenyo who looks half the player he was. Doko, another one that looks a lot better than he is, end product not really part of his game.

As for the midfield, now they are losing Rodri Silva, gone bang average, but hopefully they sign that useless dick from Chelsea for £120m. Only a friendly, but if you ask me, Jacquet and Araujo both look better than Guehi. So I could not disagree anymore. Arsenal, I think wants we finish our business there will not be a great deal in it.

17 Aug 2026 16:54:43
If Jones, Macca, Elliott and Endo go, we need to be signing two MF's if we want any serious hope of winning things.

17 Aug 2026 16:55:44
Shankly, I do think both yourself and the charming Viktor have gone off at some sort of tangent. At no point did I suggest that a new defensive midfielder was not needed.
I merely mentioned that both Mac Allister & Gravenberch were part of a midfield that won the league, when they were unfavourably compared to Bouaddi & Enzo.


I also think that Viktor quoting me thus: "bUt ThAt MiDfIeLd WoN tHe LeAgUe" is both disparaging and disrespectful.

17 Aug 2026 17:16:46
I don't believe that you need take any offence, Clay, regarding any posts here, be it VVs or mine or anyone else's. There just opinions after all. I just happen to agree with VV on what he has said about our midfield situation and I also agree with you regarding the requirements for a proper CM too in order to progress.

So we're all saying the same thing really after all. Keep smiling, keep her lit and enjoy the season ahead. 🥳

17 Aug 2026 17:53:55
We need 3 players, 2 of them need to be upgrades on Endo and Jones. We are stuffed without that in my opinion. If we got 3 in and somehow got Leoni, Bradley and Ekitike back relatively soon, then we would have a chance of really competing against the Gunners but it's a big wish list and the 3 injured players unlikely to be back soon enough.

🤷‍♂️

17 Aug 2026 18:39:27
@Shanks. 👍

17 Aug 2026 20:33:54
Who said that we didn't need a fourth centre half in 20/21 and that the midfield didn't need a refresh in 22/23, Vik?
Have you any names or examples, please, mate?