Liverpool Banter

15 Oct 2025 18:22:36
Hello ed0025 u OK mate? I saw u and Ron getting a bit tetchy with each other yesterday but glad u both sorted it all out. I was drinking in the elephant a few days before and wondering if the over 6 quid a pint was part of your grumpiness? Coz I tell you what it is mine.

{Ed025's Note - me and Ron are fine Baz, i hate being ripped off especially in pubs mate, all pubs should follow Wetherspoons lead and serve ale at proper prices, the Elephant has always been expensive so i tend to swerve it these days..

14 Oct 2025 23:02:19
I was one of the few that thought we needed a midfielder as it was brilliant last season in large patches but in certain games could be bullied and bypassed so in my eyes could be improved on, at the minute mcallister is a passenger and I am trying to get my head round him having a hernia operation and the club not understanding he needs time to fully recover, going forward I want to see Jones in there and mac rested til he is fully back.

14 Oct 2025 23:19:53
How we’re using Mac is so contradictory to everything Slot has said about other players without a pre-season.

14 Oct 2025 23:37:52
There are no reports of him having a hernia, you have just made that up.

15 Oct 2025 08:16:36
You are wanting an Engine/ destroyer (or whatever the Genz call these days) . McAllister was never an engine. He is a Fabregas who needs a proper sitter / stopper beside him to function. McAllister is technically an excellent footballer with an eye for a goal. But asking him to run around and win the ball back isn’t his cup of tea.
The problem is not McAllister, Its how the midfield is balanced. It’s very difficult to succeed in England without a Rodri / Matic / Fabinho. Unfortunately we don’t have that profile in the squad.
I fully expect us to sign a DM in January or Summer.

Not sure if others have noticed it, but the font of this page has changed? Or is it only me?

{Ed001's Note - didn't Macca have the most challenges last season? The problem is Macca, as he does run around a lot, when he would be better served by running less and working on his positioning.}

15 Oct 2025 08:19:14
Slot would rather play a half fit Macca than Jones. Hopefully he has seen sense during the break.

15 Oct 2025 08:37:12
Well if he was never good positionally in the first place. And it’s the same with others too. This won’t go away by “training / chemistry”.

{Ed001's Note - it did improve last season.}

15 Oct 2025 08:58:02
McAllister is no Wijnaldum that you could deploy him in that role. But He is by and far our best midfielder on technique and skills (Wirtz is an exception) . He should be rotated with Wirtz. We need an upgrade on Endo (a Profile that would balance the midfield) .

15 Oct 2025 09:34:50
Macca had no preseason due to the injury he was playing with last season and trying to recover from right now. That is the first problem. IMO, he should go and get fit, get his legs fully underneath him and then come back fitter and ready to go. Till then, play guys like Jones who are actually fit and doing better than he is. But that's a "Dear Arne" question.

Secondly, Slot is trying to get Macca fit by playing him which is not helping the team overall esp. in transition and out of possession. Also, he lacks the athleticism that a Gini, Hendo, Fab or even a Szobo possesses even tho as Ed said, he runs around a lot. So expecting him to do things he lacks the ability to do is just a strange logic. Maybe as Ed said, he should focus on his positioning a bit more.

15 Oct 2025 10:02:39
Rodri, Matic and Fabinho are all unicorn players, I'm sure if players of that standard were on the market we would take a look. People on here are asking to get somebody like Wharton, who isn't at all that type of midfielder, sometimes I wonder if folks even really watch him play besides the games that he suits up against us (which should also tell you that he isn't a deep lying stopper of a midfielder) . Baleba is a very good player, mobile, athletic and excellent on the ball, but he has been very poor this season, probably also because of lack of match fitness.

Other than these two that everybody on here is always clamouring for, the likes of Joao Gomes and Andre would certainly be worth a look, though as good as he is I'm not sure Andre is good enough for us. Gomes, while not being a defensive stopper either, works very well as an all action pivot player who is very good on the ball and adds tenacity to any midfield. He just signed a five year contract a few months ago, though.

As for the point that a team can't succeed in England without a stopper of a midfielder. am I mistaken, or did we not win the title last year? Arsenal, who are once again the hype team in the PL, have Rice and Zubimendi as pivots, neither of them are traditional 6s or defensive stoppers, either.

I don't really understand this often-espoused logic on here that if we get a proper defensive midfielder all our problems are solved.

It might seem counter intuitive but I agree that our midfield is a big problem right not, though not because none of them are particularly defensively minded, but because we are having such huge difficulties in our build up we are not able to assert control in the game, and the likes of Mac Allister are having to do so much of what they are subpar at (receiving the ball with his back to goal in small spaces desperately trying to retain possession/ running around trying to put out fires) rather than what they are in the team for (facing forward and picking those trademark Mac Allister bounce passes into attacking spaces) . This team was built to dominate games and make the opponent retreat, not pass the ball backwards because Ryan and Macca can't turn or get the ball to the attacking third or have to run around everywhere trying to cover space.

15 Oct 2025 11:22:02
For me, the issue with the midfield last season was that we were missing one more body. Gravy, Macca and Szobo were goosed by the time the PSG and Newcastle games came around. It was clear pretty early that Endo was not fancied by Slot and Curtis has a great knack of being injured when you need him the most. It's almost an art form. Had we one more body to rotate in there last season I believe we would have beaten both PSG and Newcastle and picked up at least one more trophy.

This season is slightly different in that Macca is just not fit. I have no idea what the issue is/ was but it has clearly impacted us. Secondly, Gravy himself has admitted his role has changed a bit and that he is being given license to push on - which is probably also contributing the midfield's lack of cohesion right now.

We still haven't addressed last season's issue of being a body short in midfield. Will Nyoni, Bajcetic or Endo get game time - I am not so sure Slot will rotate them into anything other than domestic cup games.

Lastly, it's not just the midfield personnel that is the issue. The fullbacks are a key part of the build up, whether they hold width, underlap or invert into midfield. These lads are new and still getting to grips with being Liverpool players.

Slot has a lot to do.

FWIW, my four point plan would be:

- go back to basics with Gravy's role - as per last season
- give Kerkez and the right back (whichever we choose) the license to take their man on/ bomb on - we need to create a bit of risk
- tuck Mo in to leave space for the fullback
- while Macca is getting up to speed, get Szobo into midfield alongside Gravy.

And one bonus - fine Cody everytime he ignores the pass to Kerkez.

15 Oct 2025 12:10:06
Sorry guys my mistake I thought he had an operation but he is recovering from an injury and it would of been good if we knew the extent of his injury as he is such a key player when on song, he stands out like a sore thumb with his performances lately as its night and day, having said that he scored twice for Argentina yesterday maybe its a turning point.

15 Oct 2025 12:34:56
This team last year didn’t had Frimpong and Kerkez who are more of a winger than full backs or likes to operate. The team cannot operate without holding midfielders while playing two offensive full backs and central midfielders who simply can’t hold their position.
I like Wharton and he is a better player than McAllister for the defensive role. Not an engine but sold enough to sweep danger.
Arsenal have 4 center backs in their defense. With defensive minded full backs and plays defensive football all-together. They also have Declan Rice who is a better footballer than Baleba.
Zubemendi is their McAllister who all of you want to be dropped.

15 Oct 2025 14:48:03
Yes, it has for me 007. A bit weird.

15 Oct 2025 15:29:04
I agree that the team cannot operate without players sitting while others attack. Whether this is both midfielders, or a midfielder and a fullback, I don't know, but we can't commit everybody to attack and get done on transition. I disagree that we need to buy specialist 6s for that purpose. Gravenberch did perfectly fine doing that last year, Dom or Macca can do that too. When we control games better we won't need to be scrambling everywhere putting out fires anyway.

If we buy another midfielder, it's to provide more cover and rotation for the style that Slot wants to play. I think we should give the whole 'Slot needs to change and play a specialist 6' nonsense a rest, we won the title without one.

That being said, Adam Cleary put out a very interesting video as to why 6s are being asked to arrive late in the box and pick up attacking positions this year in the prem. Definitely worth a watch.

15 Oct 2025 15:44:45
Why are you talking about Arsenal? Are they your latest crush? I guess it's their turn after Chelsea and City had a go.

15 Oct 2025 16:19:46
FlyPelicanFly, those ^layers were goosed cos Slot refused to rotate them. He literally admitted it before the season ended and said he regrets not doing that more cos tho, Jones could pick up an injury here or there, Elliott was right there who could come in and do a job. and he also underrated Endo at first, only to use him later. That's on Slot and to his credit, he admitted it so Im fine with that.

On the other hand, he has started rotating this season from the off which does not help cos he seemed to go from one extreme to the other on this topic hence, I have always said that he needs to recalibrate his ideas a bit more to suit his team that is trying to learn a new way with so much player turnover.

Now tho one can agree that we may have needed a new midf. body and I was saying MacConnell should have been promoted (that's just me), I don't know the in's nor out's of whether there was a viable option out there. At the end of the day like you said, Slot has had a lot to keep him busy this int'l break so let's see what we have come Sun.

15 Oct 2025 16:24:52
TB2, don't be surprised if Harry starts bigging up Spurs (as a stick to beat us with) if they ever went top at any point this season.

15 Oct 2025 18:08:09
I can see it already, Palhinha becoming his new favorite player.

15 Oct 2025 18:20:23
Why does another poster talk about 3 other players that don’t play for Liverpool? Is it not allowed to make comparisons about opposing players and team tactics?

15 Oct 2025 19:02:36
Pot kettle black on some supporters calling other supporters out on how they support the club.

15 Oct 2025 19:12:28
Because it’s a targeted abuse at me @Irish. I must be the first poster to refer a non LFC team/ player on this page. The comparison came from @Patriks post on how Arsenal is playing today.

@Oli
I did not beat up any LFC player on this thread, and if you bother to look carefully I have given a lot of complements for McAllister, A player you and your allies have been beating since the beginning of the season.
And BTW Palinha is a decent player, not my fault.

15 Oct 2025 20:03:55
I agree the mid hasn't been at it's best because of macca's fitness, but I think the main problem is that our forwards have completely stopped pressing as a unit. It means the mid is out of position and quickly over run constantly. I don't believe it's down to new signings not meshing yet because it's often Gakpo and Salah who fail to join in, and my concern it's a change made to accommodate Isak who just doesn't press.

If we're going to abandon defending from the front with the press, then the midfield will continue to be over run without adding bodies, I don't know where they come from on the pitch because sacrificing width seems like creating a new set of problems.

15 Oct 2025 20:13:12
I’ve always preferred Curtis to macca.

15 Oct 2025 20:25:14
Curtis Jones is like the Scarlet Pimpernel - he disappears when you need him. Good squad player but cannot be relied on as a starter.

@Oli, I don't get the impression Slot has changed his mind on Endo btw. He will still not start games other than the early rounds of the cups.

14 Oct 2025 19:59:18
Honestly Ed025 it was a bit of banter that obviously went wrong and came across badly.
Sorry about that.

It was basically saying I wouldn’t expect you guys to support our lads when they’re going through a storm.

I realise it reads badly so sorry for that.

{Ed025's Note - yeah Ron i must say it upset me mate, we have both been on here for a long time and had mutual respect, i did not take Diogo,s passing lightly and that sounded like i did because i support Everton...thats just not me..

14 Oct 2025 21:25:25
My mistake, hope we can move on with no hard feelings.

{Ed025's Note - of course we can Ron..

14 Oct 2025 22:20:14
I for one know that ed25 and ron keagues posts will be of the utmost respectability and no call for anything more to be said.

{Ed025's Note - cheers Digger..

14 Oct 2025 23:12:59
ED025.Iv just booked you both a room in the Devonshire .

{Ed025's Note - you could have gone a bit more up market strom, im not an asylum seeker you know mate.. :)

14 Oct 2025 23:51:19
Haha Ed025.thats why i got it a bit cheaper . don't get much for £25 nowadays. bargain, all you can eat aswel 😅.

{Ed025's Note - i think i would sooner spend a night in Risley Strom.. :)

14 Oct 2025 23:57:42
Ed025.Iv got a pair of Risley Runaways for you, they'll get ya from the Dev to Risley in no time.

{Ed025's Note - great stuff Strom...im a 10 mate..

15 Oct 2025 00:40:08
To be fair to Ron Ed you actually upset me by insinuating that I was using the death of Diogo and Andre as an excuse for poor results. At the least you agreed with a post which accused me of it anyway. I expect it from some of the posters on here but I thought you were better than that.

What I actually said was that it affected our preseason preparations which is undeniable. So for you to say I was being disrespectful to the memory of Diogo and Andre is bang out of order.

Before you go throwing stones you should clean the windows of your own glass house mate.

{Ed025's Note - i can see how it affected the pre season Robbo as it was still very raw then..and even the first few games (which you won), but its been over 4 months now and yes i think some people are using it as an excuse for poor set ups and bad form, if they are that is disrespectful..

15 Oct 2025 09:23:55
To be fair though @25, as an Evertonian you do talk some right cobblers about football 😉.

{Ed025's Note - we all do at times i suppose WDW, the thing with Evertonians is that we dont have our heads up our own arses mate or a sense of entitlement...which is why we are known as "the peoples club" i would think.. :)

15 Oct 2025 09:39:51
Spot on, Ed. I concur.

15 Oct 2025 10:01:00
How is it disrespectful to say that the players preseason was disrupted because the entire club had to deal with such a tragedy?

How is it disrespectful to say that because preseason was disrupted the manager had to ease players in to the season to prevent injuries?

Yes we won the first 5 games but you could clearly see we were playing at half pace for most of the games and we tired towards the end of games allowing leads to slip. The last 3 games are just a continuation of that. We haven’t played any different it’s just that the results haven’t gone in our favour which is what this furore is all about.

I was in no way excusing results or saying that anyone was to blame, bad results happen even when everyone is fully fit. I was more saying that the setup and tactics could have been dictated by a lack of fitness due to the disruption that the club had in preseason.

Once again though you and others jump on what is a very logical statement and call it disrespectful and making excuses. Excuses for what? Losing a game? We don’t need to excuse losing a game it’s part of football and those that lose their heads when it happens need to find a different sport.

I just think that the criticism is way over the top and there are some very obvious mitigating factors as to why we might have started the season playing like we have. At the end of the season the points will be tallied up and the champions will deserve the title regardless of all of this. I’m not making excuses or being disrespectful to anyone I’m making an observation and offering a point of view. You can choose to agree or disagree but to call it disrespectful to the memory of Diogo Jota is bang out of order and shows just what type of person you really are. Any excuse to criticise the kopites and make them look bad eh?

You should be ashamed of yourself mate.

{Ed025's Note - stop being a dick head Robbo, you are taking things out of perspective as usual and you need to read the posts and especially my replies before you comment stupidly, you got binned as Beckers Pecker because you were a prat and you are right on the cusp again....maybe a bit of time away from the site to reflect and consider how much of a gobshite you have become will help..

15 Oct 2025 11:06:21
Ed025, I am totally with you on this. It absolutely affected pre-season, but we cannot use a tragedy as an excuse for what's happening on the pitch. Is Konate so poor this season because of a tragedy or because his head's in Madrid? Are we getting exposed in almost every transition because of the tragedy or because our tactics are not right or our players don't know their roles yet?

It's too easy to make excuses and in my opinion it's hugely disrespectful to do so. We are not playing well for a variety reasons and when the players cross the white line, I would imagine they are focused solely on the game.

{Ed025's Note - thats my way of thinking as well TBB, its a bit disingenuous to blame it all on the sad loss of Diogo mate imo..

15 Oct 2025 11:33:49
You don’t have to post my responses Ed I understand. I will say thought that the heading to my original post was not mine, that was added by whichever Ed posted it and was not really what I was saying.

I was not saying that the players needed time to get over the death of Jota, that’s a completely different conversation and one in which is impossible to quantify. My post was more about the impact the situation had on our preseason and the effects of that.

I don’t for one minute think that the players are running around out there thinking of Diogo and it’s affecting performances. Quite the contrary I think it’s more likely that they are happier to be on the pitch playing as it takes their minds off it if they are struggling.

But an entire squad missing the first 2-3 weeks of preseason and then probably not in the right mental place to be grinding out the rest of preseason is bound to have an affect on fitness levels in the first part of the season. That was my point.

{Ed025's Note - which was exactly what i said..

15 Oct 2025 12:59:51
Mate, ed25 is a great ed and is always level headed and provides a neutral viewpoint so to call him out like that is massively disrespectful and comes across like you are a bit of a knob. Wind ya neck in pal.

15 Oct 2025 13:14:05
Ah he was Beckers Pecker before? Makes sense🙄

We’ve been playing at half pace all season so far. More out of tactics I would guess and we scored a lot of late goals in those games so that would contradict the players getting tired late in games.

15 Oct 2025 13:20:43
The team also didn’t miss 2/ 3 of preseason. You’re making stuff up.

15 Oct 2025 14:04:06
My 2pence worth on the subject of Jota n our form. I think like any death it hits you not straight away but weeks later . but as Ed025 says we can't use that as an excuse when we were winning, it all was good in the camp. im sure some of the players still miss him but we've all lost people close to us but in the end we put it in the back of our mind n carry on with everyday life . loads of other reasons why were not playing well. players off form, injuries, new players, new systems, the expectation with us spending 400 mill . but only hard work on n off the training ground n in games will help us get back to how we all know we can play.

{Ed025's Note - spot on Strom..