30 Jul 2024 17:41:23
I know it's a rumours page but am I the only one who is quite pleased that we haven't just gone out and bought players for the sake of it? I think it shows a shrewdness and high level of intelligence that Slot wants to wait until he has observed all the players at his disposal before they focus on certain positions. There are so many who haven't even returned from their holidays and the uncertainty around TAA, VVD and Salah also play a part. Slot is known for developing youngsters at his previous clubs and I would much prefer it if he allowed a few youngsters to really get the opportunities to play and progress rather than spend £50 on an import who is unproven in the Premier league. Anyway, that's just my opinion as I'd argue that you're not the brighrst spark if you pop out to buy new tools and equipment without checking what you've already hot in your shed. ??♂️ *Two of the most impressive Liverpool players during the second half of the year were Quansah and Bradley. They were both from Liverpool's own ranks and I can't think of two more exciting young defenders in the Premier League at the moment.
30 Jul 2024 17:49:12
Can they play as a DM.
30 Jul 2024 17:53:41
It might show shrewdness in the first instance but he might live to regret it. I think it is well known that to compete at the top then you certainly need to buy at least a few new players. I thought 2/ 3 would be purchased and I still do. Not buying any will be a mistake in my opinion.
30 Jul 2024 17:56:39
That's one of looking at it YNWA2024.
The other way is that we are not the only club in the market, and that recruitment is worked on all year around.
It's pretty clear we need a DM. I assume we're getting ready to strike on that position. There are variables at play with the contracts for Virgil, Trent and Salah which may dictate the rest of our business.
I agree we don't need to do much but we are short in a couple of positions.
30 Jul 2024 18:00:05
Taking a look and to be fair I can't find anyone who really can.
Kimmich (no thanks)
Anguissa is ranked in the top 10 dms
Think it's a very hard position to find the right player, looks like you're paying for potential I'd rather TAA with baj and endo doing bits.
30 Jul 2024 18:30:59
Personally I'd rather support a club that gives young players a chance first and only buys players that are absolutely necessary.
30 Jul 2024 18:39:53
About 90-95% of our first team squad that will be relied upon this season were all bought in a transfer window at some point by the club. The other 5-10% came through our academy.
If we didn’t buy those players and just relied upon our accademy then personally I believe we wouldn’t have gotten CL football let alone all the trophies we did under Klopp.
I have no idea why some people seem so against transfers when that’s the main reason why we have such a good squad. But to keep moving forward surely we have to look at buying ready made quality when opportunity knocks as well as looking to the academy for stand out players.
30 Jul 2024 18:55:45
Thunderbird you're spouting more nonsense. We need an experienced DM end of discussion.
30 Jul 2024 18:59:28
Think having two academy players come through last season is more an outlier as oppose to to be expected…without wanting to take away from what they achieved would say neither hands down nailed nailed down their position.
Perfect catch 22 with makes perfect sense to let slot evaluate squad - but didn’t have best team in BPL last season so big ask to expect slot to overcome that deficit with the tactics alone, esp with having to take prep time to evaluate squad - with rivals who already know their squad and have start to fix weaknesses, and outperformed is last season.
But also wouldn’t help to buy just to buy, just hope have done homework and have something in pipeline…but minimum hope can echo Klopp exciting start to a new era!
30 Jul 2024 18:59:33
Personally I’m happy for Slot to have a look at the squad and see where he thinks we need strengthening and what he can work with however I would also assume that much of this work would/ should be done in advance.
I’m not too worried that we haven’t bought anyone yet as I do believe that we will strengthen and perhaps slot just needs to have his input on profile/ style of the incoming player.
My hope is that we back the manager with quality 1st team players and not ‘squad dept signings’ as we have a brimming squad and lots of players who are described as ‘versatile’ however I think at times we lack that player who nails down a position aka a CDM. We have been far too guilty of putting square pegs in round holes and it has been to the detriment of the player and team aka Elliott, Gakpo, Macca, gomes.
30 Jul 2024 19:01:14
I’m not fussed if players are bought or developed. Ideal world developed but few and far between. Last year was freakish in that regard. But we definitely need a cb of quality. Quansah is great but still green. And ibou an Gomez can’t be relied upon. I can live without any other signing for now while slot looks at the squad.
30 Jul 2024 19:01:48
Which part is nonsense Endo? The part about giving young players a chance or the part about only buying players we absolutely need?
30 Jul 2024 19:38:25
Surely Slot has watched the edited matches from last season. I don’t think a few friendly games is going to do him a lot of good. He must have a list of a couple of players he really wants/ needs.
30 Jul 2024 20:16:49
Thunderbird, we absolutely need a CB and DM, at the bare minimum.
30 Jul 2024 20:32:32
I disagree Rome. I think we need a forward and a midfielder and a CB only if VDB leaves.
30 Jul 2024 20:38:10
It’s clear as crystal we need a DM and CB.
30 Jul 2024 22:29:23
If Slot just went and bought players without actually testing the players he’s got in his system that for me would be a mistake. This season for me is a transitional one. Slot can’t judge how players will perform in his system from watching them in klopps system. He will have an idea but without testing then he won’t know for sure. It’s the same with new signings. You can scout them but until until the manager actually gets them on the training field you just don’t know. That’s why some signings don’t work out. For Slot every single player at the club is like a new signing and until he has time to work with them he won’t know if they work in his system or not. I personally don’t think we can judge him properly next season as it’ll be hit and miss. That’s the life of a football manager. YNWA.
30 Jul 2024 22:30:17
Paisley had a simple approach to transfers - as he did many things.
Basically if there is a player who is better than what you’ve got and is available and affordable then you go and get them.
The team will know who is available and affordable and amenable to a deal. The issue is we don’t know if they’re better than what we’ve got. Watching old tapes doesn’t tell you how well these players will play in Slot’s system.
30 Jul 2024 22:40:34
The way I look at it. This squad finished 3rd in the premier league with arguably the best manager in the world.
We need signings. To improve.
30 Jul 2024 23:03:12
I think we need 2 or 3 depending on what happens with the players coming back from the Copa and the Euros. Like I said to Ed002 the other day, Inacio and Ederson are the 2 dream signings at this point with the addition of Gordon should one of the frontline leave.
The absolute dream for me would be Trent and Ibou tied down, Virg and Mo stay for the last year of their contracts and we bring the above 3 in, but in reality to achieve those 3 players we would probably have to sell one of one of Gomez/ Virg Endo/ Gravenberch and Diaz/ Salah. Not only from a financial standpoint but also for space in the squad. Maybe Tsimikas will be sacrificed and Gomez stays, but I'm not sure he would be replaced should Inacio come in.
Few others such as Phillips, VDB and probably Carvaliho will leave too?
In a realistic world I think that's what could unfold, but who knows?
30 Jul 2024 23:40:09
Personally, I feel that it is pointless to take reference from last season's games and shortfalls. We'll be playing a different system with players expected to take up new roles in the squad. A player that was poor last season may shine in the new system this year and likewise, a good player last season may struggle. So I can understand why Slot and his team would want to take a look at the entire squad before making a decision.
That being said, I do think there are gaps in the squad as well and signings are needed, like at LCB where we only have VVD available. I just don't feel the need to panic at this moment just yet.
31 Jul 2024 00:25:04
How do you know we need a DM when you don’t even know what tactics we’ll employ?
We needed a DM under Klopp’s system but do we need one under Slot’s?
Let’s just let the professionals do their job and stop whinging like little girls that we don’t have a shiny new toy to play with.
31 Jul 2024 01:01:57
Beckers - that’s a stellar point. Eventually we’ll need to replace Endo or upgrade or whatever you want to call it. But so far it looks like 2 deeper CMs or CDMs together and more possession based once we win the ball.
People are thinking about us needing to cover gaps all over the pitch with some kind of super human Usain Bolt CDM lol. But you’re bang on that it might not be an immediate need if we’re adjust how the midfield plays. In that context we could play any combo of Macca, Trent, Jones, Baj together in those roles without needing to buy makelele reincarnate.
31 Jul 2024 01:24:02
I think it is reasonable to say that what a fans forum think we need and what the club think we need might be different two different ‘thinks’.
I agree with TB2 - what’s the point of setting up an Academy - and hopefully a world class Academy if you aren’t going to use it as a pathway into the first team squad?
It’s also worth mentioning that the promotion of youngsters - Bradley Quansah, Baj (what’s his position again? ) and the bringing in players who are ready made starters are not mutually exclusive - both can happen at the same time.
One final point …. without looking at the figures, I believe our defence - the goalie, the back four and our defensive midfield, were pretty good in terms of goals conceded. It’s also fair to say that whilst we scored a lot of goals they were actually spread across a lot of players. As I’ve said a number of times recently we lack a Centre Forward who plays in thx middle of the front three who consistently scores goals throughout the season. Jota is closest to what we need but he can’t string more than half a dozen games together without getting injured and Nunez hasn’t convinced in his season and a half at the club.
Perhaps with the change / tweaking of the playing style to a slower, more possession based style Jota ‘s injury record and Nunez’s goal scoring radar may improve but if I was to be allowed by the club to make the next signing, I’d be looking for a centre forward who scores goals. If you look at the likes of Rushy or God or Torres or Suarez does anybody seriously think Jota or Nunez would keep any of the others out of the team? Of course we’d have to spend a lot more than we did on Torres or Suarez - it goes without saying that the more you spend the better you get, these days….
31 Jul 2024 07:03:43
But didn’t we buy Baj in the first place to go into our world class academy.
If slot needs to see players in his system to know if they work then we won’t be nothing anyone. We’d have to take all players on trial before we can make a bid.
I have absolutely no idea how slots teams play as I’ve never watched one bit interesting to see fans seem excited about his slow possession inverted football when those were the complaints about Pep’s system under Klopp.
Yes I get it there’s evidence that Slot gets more out of players but id also argue there’s far more evidence out there that Klopp has gotten more out of players also.
Either way I’m looking forward to seeing us under Slot.
31 Jul 2024 08:10:28
@LiverpoolFC8, perhaps the players we already have in the squad will improve - wouldn’t that make us a better team? Or are we saying we just buy players who have reached their peak and who just start to decline when they become starters for us?
31 Jul 2024 09:29:28
I think the fact that most posters do not even know what formation Slot is going to adopt is pertinent. To try and second guess what players Slot needs is folly.
We don’t need a CB if Slot decides VdB is the man for the job.
We do not need DM if Slot plays a formation where Endo, Jones, Baj and Trent are going to rotate as a double pivot, for example.
Everyone expressing their opinion as fact is amusing and makes for great banter but doesn’t make it any more true.
I would love our team to be made up mostly of players coming through the ranks but I think there will always be a place for incoming transfers, no matter how excellent (hopefully) our academy turns out to be.
I would have loved to see this site in operation during the 70s and 80s when we signed the likes of Keegan from Scunthorpe and Rush from Chester. Then there was Michael Robinson, Paul Walsh and John Wark. Or John Aldridge from Oxford United and Mark Lawrenson from B&HA. The site would have gone into meltdown!
31 Jul 2024 10:44:59
I don't know where this idea that we don't need transfers is coming from or maybe Im the one misinterpreting things. You always need to refresh the squad whenever you can (January or in the summer) with whatever players via the transfer market or via the academy. There is nothing stopping us from doing both, something we have been doing for years now. Sorry, I don't get what the fuss is about.
Liverpool will sign players this summer and they are currently working on them. Cos we do not know who they are, does not mean nothing is being done. More importantly, it does not mean all will be well if we sign nobody and use the academy players only cos the squad is good enuff to do x or y. We need signings to fit what style Slot wants to play. The academy is there to beef up the squad for depth. Like I said, you can literally do both.
31 Jul 2024 11:35:46
The people sitting in the corner of the room chewing their finger nails might not agree with that @Oli.
31 Jul 2024 12:38:13
I guess the panic originates from the fact that we are used to years of striking early in the transfer window under klopp, the transfer committee and klopp are used to deciding upon priorities and acting fast and early when the opportunity presents itself, clearly this year things are different for perfectly understandable reasons, but the activity of other squads who have settled coaches with targets determined early on is making everybody anxious for some reason. i'm sure the folks at the club aren't half as nervous as fans on here, i'm sure they aren't naive or incompetent and they aren't penny pinching for the sake of it i'm sure, let's just wait and see what transpires instead of applauding viktor repeating himself 12 times a day.
31 Jul 2024 20:56:30
Im not sure if anyone else has noticed but the January transfer window was very quiet and whilst a couple of sides have invested heavily already, its been pretty quiet so far this summer.
Clubs are paying very close attention to the money they are spending it would seem and if that means getting the right player takes a little longer then so be it.
Patience is a virtue.
01 Aug 2024 00:19:34
Except for June 30th @Semi - that is now the official ‘cook the books’ day - when, obviously without breaking any of the games current financial rules, those who don’t mind smashing the spirit of the game pass players back and forth like second hand cars.