06 May 2026 08:39:36
"I wish we had a couple more days off at times because I think it works both ways." Did VVD really say this when questioned about the players time off after the game he just lost?
The press love to exaggerate or take things out of context. But for me if i'm the coach and my Captain said he wants more days off, cheers to that armband pal. Then again it is Slots team pushing for these breaks. I see what Ed and the itk mean when they imply that there's like 5 players putting in an effort and getting angry at the others. We need a big culture change asap more than anything!
06 May 2026 09:00:03
MrJones, Slot has enabled this nonsense. He has been giving them days off for fun, and clearly, they like it, so once Slot created that monster, what did we think would happen? They would obv. want more days off cos well, they like it. Who wouldn't?
And it's not like they are using these breaks to recover physically, resting their bodies in healthy ways as pro.
athletes (sleep, rest etc.). They are going out on jollies, going on flights, things that do not help your body recover as a high level athlete.
This is why, to your point, Salah was saying the standards are dropping and guys are just settling for mediocrity. Again, it starts from the manager.
06 May 2026 09:05:40
Imagine if Virgil said that to Shanks?
He'd be thrown out so quickly his feet wouldn't touch the floor.
06 May 2026 09:11:09
It won't be long when players have stand-ins to do their training for them...
06 May 2026 09:23:25
Truly embarrassing. Should be busting a gut every week. Salah is a true pro in the mould of Ronaldo and Messi for longevity and their fitness, what would Milly make of it? Looks like some of the others think this place is too cushy and Slot is allowing it.
06 May 2026 09:34:24
I'd like to earn £300k working part time hours.
Now, go do some laps, you big lazy sod.
06 May 2026 09:59:13
Our players (apart from Szobozlai) don't look anywhere near as fit or athletic as the likes of Arsenal, City, PSG, Bayern and so on.
We need a Manager who'll make sure they are !!
06 May 2026 10:11:35
Always helps to have the full quote for context:
Van Dijk was also asked about the perception aired on social media that Liverpool's training schedule has been light. He defended the suggestion that his side have had too many days off.
The players had one day off in the week leading up to the Manchester United game and are scheduled to have one day off this week before they play Chelsea on Saturday.
When it was put to Van Dijk that some of his team-mates went on holiday last week, the Liverpool defender said: "I'm not sure it's a holiday.
It's a city trip. But I think if you have one day off, and you don't have many days off, they decide what they want to do with their families. We are not kids. Everyone is an adult."
"I wish we had a couple more days off at times because I think it works both ways. You see Pep Guardiola giving [Manchester] City three days off the last weeks in a row and they are doing pretty well. It is finding the right balance.
{Ed001's Note - not sure that is a good defence, as your context has not helped it. Perhaps if the players trained with the intensity City do, they might earn more days off. But the half-arsed lazy arses we have need more work. I am sure you think you are defending Virgil, but you are just making it worse.}
06 May 2026 10:20:03
Darwin full quote does add more context, fully agree. Does make me question why players were flying abroad and back with only 1 day off, or have I got this wrong and they weren't abroad (positive someone said a few were in Italy or something shopping).
With 6 league titles in 8 years, Pep could argue he's found the right balance.
{Ed001's Note - Pep trains with high intensity, unlike Slot and Peeters.}
06 May 2026 10:27:43
Thanks, Darwin. I did find it amusing that MrJones provided a quote completely out of context whilst saying how the media like to take things out of context.
06 May 2026 11:04:03
When times are tough, anything and everything can be perceived as a problem.
06 May 2026 11:40:29
Feels like everyone who has a different opinion to you, Faith, is perceived as a problem.
06 May 2026 11:46:58
Not really JK, altho I do enjoy you popping up every now and then to attack the man, not the point.
06 May 2026 12:13:00
Slot should be setting the example. Oh, wait, he is.
06 May 2026 12:15:21
Is it true that Slot travels back to Netherlands a couple of times a week, and predominantly stays near Manchester Airport for convenience? Read a lot of media about it lately, but how true is this?
06 May 2026 12:31:37
Virgil backs Slot. He will say whatever he needs to in front of the press to help maintain image and support among the fanbase. I wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth when it comes to this sort of thing.
06 May 2026 12:48:31
Probably good that the skipper doesn't present more disunity in the press in'it?
06 May 2026 12:49:34
Hardly an attack, Faith, is it.
Apologies if me replying to you, replying to everyone, has offended you.
06 May 2026 13:32:03
Sorry, but Faith has a very valid point in regards to human nature. When you're winning, everything gets a free pass and you're celebrated. And when you're not, then everything gets looked at under a microscope, examined, judged and criticized.
{Ed001's Note - yes but it is working when you are winning and not when you aren't.}
06 May 2026 13:39:48
Ed01, the full quote of VVD literally made things worse. This makes him look even more detached from reality and completely out of touch.
Also, comparing us to City under Pep who rides his players every session, is just bonkers. Has someone told him that City have a chance at a potential treble despite their "days off"? Nice deflection but VVD ain't slick.
Again, it all starts from the manager who is off on his own jollies to Holland every chance he gets, barely trains the team and getting paid full wages so why won't the players take advantage and want the exact same thing? They like it.
06 May 2026 14:33:48
I posted the full quote because the OP took one sentence out and used it to slate VVD for his abilities as a captain. It is the sort of editing tabloids do to reinforce their agendas. You can read it any way you wish, but at least appreciate the whole of Van Dyke's comments instead of pretending he 'just wants more days off'.
06 May 2026 15:58:56
The team is underperforming.
Ergo, they have not earned "more days off".
Virgil, being captain and a senior player, is part of the problem. The game has always come too easy for him. Now his pace and athleticism have gone, he has to work harder - but he doesn't, and he wants more days off.
He hasn't read the room with his comments.
06 May 2026 16:34:26
I posted this a couple of days ago and it still irks me.
We've been crap all season. Running out of legs after 70 minutes in games and the Captain is looking for more days off and citing City as an example of how it works.
Sorry, Virgil. Give your head a wobble and start acting like a Captain of Liverpool Football Club.
This and this "cool" stuff is starting to grate.
Extra time on the training ground and do your job instead of blaming those around you when you make mistakes should be the way to go.
Get extra days off when you're top of the league by 10 points with 3 games to go.
Not when you're fancying about in 4th or 5th place and getting beaten by a poor United side.
I love the guy and he has been immense, but this year his work-rate, play & attitude has fallen off a cliff.
06 May 2026 16:44:30
Darwin, not slating the man at all, I will always admire him for his time at Liverpool and the things he has achieved. He should not have said it, in my opinion. I would have loved it if he had said "we are going to work harder, we don't deserve any days off".
With what is happening on field and off field, that is the example the captain should be setting. I'm unhappy with the culture seemingly being set. You may have missed that in the context of my op.
06 May 2026 17:24:40
VVD's comments, Dutch loyalty.
06 May 2026 21:39:11
Virgil's not actually looking for more days off. When you have to defend something, naturally you will attempt to make it look like a non-issue by attempting to flip the script. The instinctive response to "You get too many days off" in that case is "I don't get enough days off". It's the easiest way to shut down accusations.
07 May 2026 02:20:23
Thanks, JK, not offended.
Just amused.
Chewy, tend to agree, I wouldn't read massively into what VVD's saying as if he is campaigning for anything.
But when the chips are down, everything gets scrutinized.
07 May 2026 05:59:43
I guess some people are easily amused.