28 Nov 2025 21:40:38
We have got to stick by him. Where else to we go. I am convinced that if Leoni had stayed fit, had Gomez been fit enough to start games and if we had signed Guehi things would have been different.
Slot has and is making mistakes but the centre half position is causesing major issues.
We need patience and I am sure things can be turned around.
28 Nov 2025 21:59:27
Ok MM; I'll go ahead and play devil's advocate here. Leoni is 18. Gomez stays fit? Guehi wouldn't make much of a difference out of possession. He wouldn't be taking swings at the ball and missing or directing free headers to opponents or missing routing clearing headers or giving away the ball under zero pressure but we'd still be conceding at an alarming rate.
Macca won't or can't run, he's a passenger defensively. Grav has been given license to roam as has Dom Macca Wirtz and Salah leaving us more exposed than a flasher on a nude beach.
We've all worked for that boss who doesn't inspire us or know how to get the best of the assets at their disposal. We don't give our best in an environment like that and it's the same for these players.
Combine that with a poor vision for how we should be playing and low intensity and you get what we've been getting. Nothing will change unless Slot has an epiphany and ups the fitness and intensity. The margins here are razor thin and the difference between winning and losing.
28 Nov 2025 22:03:27
And if your aunt had balls she'd be your uncle.
28 Nov 2025 22:10:44
SHNGW is really enjoying what’s happening at the moment. Is it Harry by any chance?
28 Nov 2025 22:18:10
I quite clearly said he is making mistakes.
Salah needs to be dropped straight away and Mac Allister. They are miles off. Unfortunately we are restricted with how many changes we can make by injuries and an absolutely shambolic lack of centre halves.
28 Nov 2025 22:19:40
442 diamond. Get Isak and Ekitike playing together.
Salah Chiesa Gakpo can all play centre forward and have done so many times before as back ups.
Wirtz Dom jones Macca (Elliot) can all play 10
The diamond protects the back 4 and makes us hard to beat.
And our fullbacks provide the width instead of this half inverted too scared to overlap nonsense they’re playing at the minute.
The whole squad is set up for it, it’s Failing in this system we’re far too Slow. We go from having hardly any options, to where we can bring on 2/ 3 forwards whenever we want.
28 Nov 2025 22:32:14
We looked good against Madrid and Villa so we can turn this around.
28 Nov 2025 22:39:56
Ifs and buts ….
28 Nov 2025 23:02:41
Let’s be honest, we’ve gone into a season with two established centre halves, one of which is in the final contract year can be very good but has always been fairly inconsistent especially after injuries, one very injury prone reserve who has only ever played 30 games once in a decade, and 20 games several times, and a young guy who came with a good pedigree but has never played premier league football. That’s a recipe for central defensive problems.
We’ve gone in with three centre mid starters, and one reserve in Curtis. Of the three Macca only ever plays half a season at his best, Szob is quality and a grafter and reliable, Grav at 23 was excellent last season but didn’t feature consistently prior to that with us or with Bayern, and this season he’s back at the earlier career level. Curtis has a few very good games each season, the rest of his performances are average at best, he also has been fairly injury prone.
Connor is talented, and at his best looks good, but injury prone so far. No real defensive back up with premier league experience. Robbo poor last season, quite good this year in comparison but isn’t going to get much better as he gets older. Kerkez talented, inexperienced at top level and seems to have lost any confidence he may have had.
The only areas of the pitch where we’ve always had a lot of quality talent, and fit and available players are in the attacking positions. They haven’t gelled at all, a lot of rotation except on the right where Mo has gone missing or his legs have gone, we miss Diaz pace and determination. Ekitike good, but again a young player who’s been chopped and changed and lost his rhythm a bit. Isak and Cody we all know.
A few odds and sods of squad players like Endo and Chiesa who only really feature in cup games.
More recently an injury prone Ali, brilliant keeper though he is, and new left footed Georgian who’s a decent shot stopping mystery and opportunistic buy. And the real mystery of all Mr Wirtz. Looked amazing in Germany, who knows what he could be - Havertz or Zola. He’s got potential to be either.
So that’s the players. Lots of talent, but limited depth in key areas other than attack, youthful or very old, coached and set up in a way that doesn’t provide any resilience to offset the ups and downs of any off form or inexperienced players, or to enable us to compete physically.
I think we took a calculated risk that the theoretical excellence and flexibility in attack would simply bail us out of any defensive ups and downs, and we’d get away again with limited cover in key areas because we’d play slower tempo and controlled football and be able to minimise injuries. We didn’t have any real contingency for consistent loss of form or prolonged spells of injury for any of our preferred starting eleven other than Isak where Ekitike could be an able deputy.
VVD and Mo have been always been so excellent and injury free, now the drop off from those two has meant the glue that usually holds everything together has been lost, and except for Szob it’s shown up the rest who just aren’t anywhere near that level.
29 Nov 2025 00:50:02
MM, I think most of us are keen to see how we fare once Salah heads to AFCON. Whoever is in charge then their hand will be forced.
I don't see that injuries are adversely affecting us compared to an average season or any other side in the league. Arsenal have a lot of injuries but they have more quality in depth than we do.
I don't think it matters who plays; nothing changes. I think between all the posters on here we have all the reasons, excuses, etc. more than covered but there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I think each and every one of us is beyond baffled/ bemused, etc. at what we are seeing served up game after game with nothing changing in our approach or results. I think Churchill would call it "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. ".
29 Nov 2025 11:56:04
Footy fan obviously not a footy fan . If you think the way slot has liverpool playing is acceptable then you need talking to. It's time he was sacked.
29 Nov 2025 13:09:57
It really wouldn’t have made much difference if Leoni had been fit, he’d still have been playing behind the probably the worst midfield in the premier league and arguably it would have destroyed his confidence. Slot seems adamant that letting opponents be able to stroll through midfield without being tackled or pressured is a good tactic.