04 Mar 2026 15:18:15
I mentioned in a post last week that our squad needs serious investment still and we have weaknesses throughout the first 11. I especially highlighted midfield. Sobosli is a very good midfielder on his day. He's not a superstar, but a top player on his day. You'd want him sign a long term contract.
Gravenberch is holding out for larger pay packet as well but he's already on big money. He's not a top 6 and he's not a top drawer midfielder in general. He did well last season but I remain of the same opinion from months ago. This club need two top midfielders to go straight into that team. Macca and grav are weaklings in this league. Macca at least got a few goals but both can certainly be improved on. This season has been a huge failure.
The trio, Hughes, Edwards and slot all deserve to go at the end of the season. Slots football is horrendous. It's worse than Arsenal because at least they're competing to win the league. We're in no mans land with football that will eventually have fans turn off the TV and forget about it. Massive Contracts were handed out to some very average players with more yet to be signed.
Slots football is terrible but this squad and first 11 is not great. Allison, virg and salah are past their peak. Robbo's gone. There needs to be a serious assessment of why the squad has been managed so badly, needing yet again soo several more recruitments in the summer. Going into the summer, we're seriously short of top top quality in many areas in that first 11.
04 Mar 2026 15:49:28
Macca n Grav cannot play as a two. Weak, slow, not physical, not the best tacklers, not aggressive. They try, but it's not for them.
Right back.
Centre back x 2.
Strong DMs - just two mids.
Two wingers.
Left back because I reckon Robbo will go.
And, will LFC do that? I can't see it.
04 Mar 2026 16:20:18
Grav wasn't a weakling last year. Or if he was, he was able to adapt his game so it didn't stop him from being a solid DM.
But this season, he's been asked to get forward more and has suffered as a result. It's almost like the manager is using a tactical approach that doesn't work well and the form of multiple players is suffering as a result.
If we can solve that (ie. replace the manager), do we still need to replace half the squad?
04 Mar 2026 16:41:38
But you'd swear Gravenberch has played as a Roberto Baggio No.10 this season, the way people go on about his "change of position" this year. To me, he's mostly roundabout where he was on the pitch last year. It's more often than not him who takes the ball off the centre-backs. Maybe when we have teams penned in, he's trying to get a few more shots off than last year, but other No.6s like Caicedo or Casemiro do the same thing.
To me, it's been a change of attitude from the player. Last year, he looked up for it, determined to show Slot was right to give him more of a chance than Klopp did, for giving him a chance in a new position. Whereas this season it just looks like he thinks he's a star and is doing everything half assed. Be that tackling or tracking back.
04 Mar 2026 16:48:38
It would be much easier to adapt our formation and tweak our boring style. Rather than change the entire squad.
We can't play 4/3/3. We've seen a perfect 4/3/3 under prime Klopp. We've seen exactly what it takes to perfect it, and at no point can it be this slow and boring.
I can't understand why, after 5 months, we're still persisting with it.
04 Mar 2026 16:56:49
Best performance of the season (vs. Real), we played 433, so I don't accept that 'we don't have the players'.
Regardless, the formation is a secondary concern to how we approach the game in terms of tempo, closing down, etc.
We could play any formation under the sun. It won't work as long as we're playing in as slothful a manner as we are now.
04 Mar 2026 17:24:47
I blame the players. We need to get Slot 18 new ones. Maybe we can cash in his air miles to help part fund it.
04 Mar 2026 17:27:12
Florian, I think you need to watch Grav again this season compared to last season.
Last season he was the deepest midfielder at pretty much all times. This season, Slot is trying to make the midfield positions more fluid, so he and Macca tend to be the ones who will hold a deeper position, with one going forward and one staying back.
The problem is they both want to go forward a lot of the time, and they vacate the midfield entirely.
Another problem is Macca is not as good in that position as he is going forward, so when he is left in there on his own, we are vulnerable.
Grav is definitely getting forward much more than he was last season, and it destabilises the midfield.
It's almost a case of Slot trying to be too clever when he already had the answer anyway.
Grav has been quoted as saying he wants to score more goals, so maybe it's at his own request, or maybe he's just ignoring what Slot wants. Or maybe Slot thinks this is the way to go.
Whatever the reason, it has weakened us, and I don't understand why Slot doesn't just tell him to sit in front of the defence. If he refuses, then drop him and play someone else there.
He's a really good 6 but a very average 8.
{Ed025's Note - i would say decent 6, bloody awful 8 myself BP..
04 Mar 2026 17:53:31
I watch every game, Varry. I said it's him that still takes most of the ball off the CBs. I realise he was the designated No.6 last year, whereas it seems to be more of a sort it out between yis'r'selves set up this season. But the way people talk, he's been used like Bellingham at Madrid. He's still one of that pivot that should be sorting things, stabilising us, but it's kind of hard to do that when you're afraid of a tackle and jog back towards your own goal instead of sprinting.
That's attitude and drive, not the fact you might be 5 or 10 yards higher up a pitch at times than where you were last year.
04 Mar 2026 18:08:33
But isn't it Slot's job to hammer players who won't tackle or sprint back, to drop players who aren't putting in the efforts, like you say?
He's the coach, that's his job. If he's not doing his job, then shouldn't he be removed?
04 Mar 2026 18:32:52
No, I agree with that McGoveb, and he should be. Doesn't help that the alternatives, apart from Jones, are Endo and Nyoni. I've already said on this season's form I'd have Jones in ahead of Grav and Macca. Endo and Nyoni are different, one is still too scrawny for the Prem and Endo, for all his heart, is just not good enough.
Slot never rated Endo, the bloke should have moved on last summer. As bad as Grav and Macca have been, I'd still start them ahead of Endo and Nyoni. Maybe Arne has been hoping they'd snap outa it and get back to their previous form, but alas, it has not happened.
04 Mar 2026 19:03:16
There are definitely games where Grav has been more advanced and Macca has been sitting, which seems utterly bizarre to me.
04 Mar 2026 19:51:46
Sobs needs to be careful, as I get the impression he's getting a bit too big for his boots.
04 Mar 2026 20:13:39
I watched Grav very closely yesterday because, at the start of the game, he did start in the 6 and seemed to stay there. I thought Slot had finally figured out he had it right last season and decided to go back to it.
Hallelujah! Or so I thought.
Then, after about 5 minutes, he vacated that position and it was Macca in the 6. I don't think Grav went back there for the whole game.
04 Mar 2026 21:19:34
I think at least 90% of modern day players are too big for their boots. Way too big.
The worst thing? Hardly any of them make me get out of my seat like Messi, the Phenomenon or Zidane did.
In fact, none of the current XI, on current form, would make an all-time Liverpool 3rd XI.
And they won the blooming league last season.
Maybe Ronnie Moran was onto something. Put your medals in the shoebox, lads. That was last season.
04 Mar 2026 21:26:59
Don't think it needs heavy investment at all. A proper DM and a right winger (if we rotate Rio in more), or sack of wingers and use our fullbacks as wingbacks.
04 Mar 2026 21:32:25
Behave, StEtienne. Best squad we ever had.
05 Mar 2026 00:14:23
Is that a serious comment, Florian? How many of the current squad would you consider world-class? Becker or VVD, maybe, but their best form was 2 years ago.
05 Mar 2026 00:38:26
I think FW's comment was firmly tongue in cheek.