07 Dec 2025 08:57:18
What does everyone think about the set up around Arne?
Given our summer transfer business I have serious doubts as to whether Hughes, in particular, has what I takes to keep us successful.
We desperately needed an experienced CB, a proper DM and some reinforcements up top (all across the front line, in addition to a LB and a RB.
Last season we could see that start of teams being able to play through us, and an over-reliance on Konate and Virgil.
We have not brought in direction competition for either - we got a young CB who is unfortunately out, and seemed to put all our eggs in one CB basket.
We bought two pacey FBs, who are both clearly, and were clearly, based on overlapping runs and providing width - Slot wants them playing inverted and neither seem suited .
DM - no replacement or back up bought. Simply put, a significant error that is having dire consequences ion our results
Up front. In essence we’ve bought two centre forwards. After Jota’s sad passing we needed to bring one in, but we brought in two. We haven’t really bought a Diaz replacement or someone to apply pressure to Salah.
Slot clearly doesn’t fancy Chiesa so we are players light up top.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the coaching staff should be getting far more out of the players we have, but I don’t think all the scrutiny should be just Slot’s.
I don’t worry that Edwards (who arguably Klopp made look better than he was, and Hughes have too much power on the football side, and that changing the manager won’t necessarily solve all the problems we currently have.
{Ed001's Note - we needed two centre forwards - we lost all three players who played the role for us last season, Nunez, Jota and Diaz.}
07 Dec 2025 09:32:40
All of those 3 CF's knew how to press, whilst Eki and Isak are not particularly strong in that area.
Leoni woulod be furst choice by now had he not gotten injured.
Hughes backed the wrong man, who anyway, was second choice to Alonso, and now he's floundering.
Talk of the players not having a great relationship with Slot, i imagine because his interpersonal skills, man management and aura lack big time,
This side needs 3/ 4 prem ready players, battlers, and a manager who knows the lague and who has more than one trick up his sleeve.
This could get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
07 Dec 2025 09:38:22
That was a transfer window from heaven this form has nothing to do with it.
The form started like this from February last season we was lucky last season because the league was weak because if there was any challenge at the end of the season we would not have stood up to it.
Slot need replacing this week or we will struggle to finish in the top half of the season.
07 Dec 2025 09:38:33
I get what you're saying on the two strikers Ed but in my opinion it's too much money on players where it seems to be either-or. Ekitike and Isak are both 9s who want to, and you would expect to given their transfer fees, start most games. In my opinion, we should have gone for Ekitike and a more versatile option or someone who is more of a young talent this summer. Perhaps we could have tried for Alvarez again next year? Breaking the British transfer record for a player who isn't even the best 9 at the club right now is a mess.
I think Hughes has erred with Frimpong and Mamardashvili as well. Completely the wrong profile of players for our style.
{Ed001's Note - Ekitike is versatile, he can play on the left or deeper, there is no reason Slot couldn't make it work other than ineptitude. I agree on Frimpong and Mamadarshvili too. Frimpong isn't even a right-back and we were all concerned about that one at the time, though everyone likes his personality. As for the Georgian keeper, I am not convinced he is even a particularly good keeper, let alone the right profile. It was a stupid signing, as I said at the time and nothing I have seen since has changed my opinion.}
07 Dec 2025 09:44:15
I agree Ed but did we need to spend that much on two strikers when other areas of the pitch needed addressing?
As an aside- do you know why Edwards left the club when Klopp was manager?
{Ed001's Note - we had plenty more money to spend, the issue was that we failed to get other targets, such as the two Bournemouth centre-backs, that we tried for. So buying those two strikers did not make a difference to the failings elsewhere.
Edwards left because he lost a power battle with Klopp. Klopp got full control of transfers and Edwards was unhappy about it. I actually agree with him that the head coach shouldn't have been given all the powers he had - we saw that the summer that we ended up with a complete breakdown in midfield signings. There had been a number of midfielders lined up ready to sign, but Klopp vetoed them all. Then panicked at the end of the window and signed an always injured midfielder from Roma, whose name I have completely forgotten right now. His name has just gone from my mind, probably to shield me from the trauma!}
07 Dec 2025 09:47:41
The Kerkez one is the biggest illustration of the problem we seem to have. He is a marauding left back who rarely crosses a ball in our team, or goes beyond the opposing fullback. That may mean that Hughes and Arne didn’t discuss the way he was going to be used before they bought him, it would have been crazy to buy him as a sitting or inverted player. The only excuse I can think of is he will play that role next season after we buy a replacement for Diaz.
Frimpong less so because he’s not really a fullback. Which raises other questions. I think he was a Mo rotation option, he’s just not been fit.
The word is that Slot wanted to keep Diaz, Hughes didn’t see the value in renewing at the salary level being requested. It was leaked out that Diaz wouldn’t stay under any circumstances, but there’s another school of thought he was quite happy to stay if the contract was right. Who knows.
You could go through it one by one with the benefit of hindsight, but the Leoni, Kerkez and Frimpong buys were questioned before we bought them. Leoni in the sense no one really knew him, he certainly wasn’t a starter.
In terms of the sales Nunez was supported by most, as was the buy of Isak.
The Wirtz one really puzzles me. I’m not sure how we thought we’d get him into our structure without a more defensive centre mid in the team, and without compromising the role of Szob who’s often been our best player. Whilst he was a Hollywood exciting buy it didn’t make a lot of sense, especially for that sort of money when we knew other parts of the team needed a refresh.
07 Dec 2025 09:57:09
We bought two number 9s who would want to be the main man (I think)
I agree Ed that Slot could make it work but surely that isn’t my point
The point is the person responsible for putting the side out should be going to Edwards and Hughes and saying “get me this, this, and this”
Hugo could play 10 but Wirtz could play there. As could Dom
It just looks to me as if Hughes has had money burning a while in his pocket and gone out and splurged it
And my posts on this in no way detract from what I think about Slot
I got pelters on here last season and over the summer for continually stating the coaching set up was making us worse, not better.
07 Dec 2025 10:00:16
His name is Arthur Melo, ed. How could you forget?! The best 12 mins I’ve ever seen against Napoli.
{Ed001's Note - oh god yes that's him. That was the beginning of the end with Edwards. Though personally, as I have said from the start, I just think he is way above his pay grade and should still be recommending signings, which he was brilliant at, he is no director. He is not strong enough or decisive enough.}
07 Dec 2025 10:04:59
I like Bradley and think he’s got a lot of potential but last night he looked like he didn’t know how to cross the ball or was allowed to in the first half. We all know he can do it so it’s clearly the team instructions.
I’m also a big fan of Gakpo but he needs to be taken out of the team. He is more of a problem than a solution at the moment.
Also not sure why Endo is trying to waste time on the corner flag when there is 9 mins of play still to go.
07 Dec 2025 10:46:49
I thought the same with Connor JK. I’m less of a fan of Cody as a starter but his numbers can be decent off the bench, or when he was filling in when Diaz or Nunez weren’t fit. He seems like a decent guy, and a good squad player.
07 Dec 2025 11:09:14
It was Bradley's cross that led to our second goal though. And that was the frustrating thing about last night. Most of the play came down the left where we were extremely ineffective. Gakpo, Jones, and Kerkez were just passing the ball between them before passing it back to Vvd and repeating the process all over again. The few times we went right we looked incisive.
And endo was brought on to waste time. Even Slot said so during his post-match comments. I don't agree with it at all but the players were instructed to sit back and not attack.
07 Dec 2025 11:57:15
When you said panicked and bought an always injured midfielder from Roma Ed 001 I thought, Aquilani? ?.
{Ed001's Note - not that far back! Rafa was gutted when he saw him in training - trusted his scouts and it bit him badly.}
07 Dec 2025 12:00:29
Drac connors cross was in the second half. I said he didn’t cross it in the first half.
Endo coming on should have been to try and close the huge gaps in midfield not hold onto the ball on the corner flag for 6 seconds when there are 9 mins to play.
Not saying it’s Endos fault but don’t see what was to gain from it and it backfired.