22 Jul 2026 18:53:55.
The polar opposite of opinions on this site is what makes it so interesting. Throughout last season, there was a well held belief that the squad we had would be walking the PL, if it wasn't for the bald headed fraud. This was never a view that I shared. Roll forward a few months and we are in need of a major overhaul, according to some. Which view do people believe to be closer to the truth? Putting aside the fact we've lost Konate, Robertson and Salah - it was time for all 3 to go - I always believed there was more wrong with us than Slot, and despite the fact I'm excited at the prospect at what Iraola will do for us, there is no magic wand to fix things.
It will be requiring of a similar outlay to last year to put us back to where we all think we should be.
22 Jul 2026 19:25:53
Agreed.
22 Jul 2026 19:36:25
It became obvious quite early last season that Liverpool had some major problems. They couldn't press effectively, didn't have enough pace on the wings, couldn't progress the ball from back to front and didn't have enough strength in depth.
Iraola should be able to fix the first issue, but the other problems still remain.
22 Jul 2026 19:43:20
It was always going to be that way, Rome. There's an awful lot of gaps in the first team, let alone the squad, to fill. It'll take another window imo to have things corrected.
22 Jul 2026 19:46:26
imo no.1 problem was Slot but I do agree I think more wrong than just him. Above him I don't believe all was/is right, and I'd also guess we've signed a few questionable characters recently on playing side of things.
We looked a team totally disinterested on the pitch last season and generally that reflects what it's like off the pitch.
Ireola will do v well I think, but it's important what's around him is done correctly and is giving 100%.
22 Jul 2026 19:53:42
How's things, Rome?
Agree with most of that mate but it was increasingly clear Slot had "lost" the dressing room as early as last Autumn and was never going to get that team playing.
The total lack of interest in January to even attempt to strengthen the squad for him in positions we desperately needed to freshen were telling.
For me, it was imperative we strengthened at C/H last summer with a first team starter? That was a failure that really impacted the team, and he might well have faired better had we done so, but ultimately he carried the can for shockingly awful fitness and an even worse style of football, coupled with throwing a home cup tie.
That squad should have been easily good enough to have at least mounted a challenge on a couple of fronts.
Totally agree they need to strengthen and the position that really concerns me out of everything is at RB -.
22 Jul 2026 20:13:35
Mo Salah's goals and assists will be the hardest thing to replace, to offset this vital loss, more team goals and more team assists are required from the attackers, midfielders and defenders per se, instead of totally depending on one man's goal and assists contributions? You could also argue, has Mane/Bobby been replaced adequately by Gakpo/Wirtz?
A new penalty taker has yet to be decided, for example?
22 Jul 2026 20:16:08
I'm good, thanks, Bristol. Hope you're well, mate. I always enjoy the summer and don't miss the football till it starts. It then becomes a drug!
I agree RB needs addressing. Our current 2 can't be relied on for different reasons. I've already argued the need for an experienced CB.
We can't be relying solely upon Jacquet. Leonie is still not fit and Gomez cannot be relied upon (I'm being kind).
We all know we need a winger, and most of us agree that we need a centre mid who can get about the pitch. It's going to be an interesting couple of months.
22 Jul 2026 20:19:12
To give an alternative viewpoint, Rome, I disagree with everything you have said.
22 Jul 2026 20:21:22
007, The one thing I won't miss Salah for is his penalty taking. He missed 13. Hardly Matt Le Tissier. Bang average at best.
22 Jul 2026 20:26:39
I think the squad just needs to play faster. We going to need speed up front or on wings. Maybe a cb to cover rb til Bradley back, then I'd be happy for now. If we can get the midfield playing faster instead of standing still, it will be a big difference.
I'd love to swap Macca, but I'd put up with him for now for speed upfront. Slot was the problem.
22 Jul 2026 20:28:34
Cheers, Zed. Love you, mate! x
22 Jul 2026 20:29:31
I do still believe that we have a squad capable of challenging for the league. Possibly not walk it (although will admit this time last year I may have had it cross my mind!).
But, as you said, we have lost 3 players since then who definitely need replacing, as well as a couple others I would expect will leave. But I don't think the squad needs an overhaul. I kind of agree with MKs post the other day talking about how we kind of have a mismash of options in midfield, but technically do have numbers there. I definitely would like another, ideally straight starter as a body in there, but I also do think the mix of options we do have in terms of style could be an argument towards flexibility and tactical options.
Not sure I necessarily believe that, and do think a couple players do need upgrading / replacing here, but I also am a strong believer and hoper that AI will improve a lot of these players and make them into something in the same way Klopp did. It is no surprise repeatedly we could buy outcasts a lot of the time (in terms of top level) and turn them into something great, and similarly some of these players when leaving dropped off dramatically. I am hopeful for a similar outcome under AI that a lot of these players are capable of drastically improving.
22 Jul 2026 20:43:49
Many things can be true at once. You cant jst turn around and say "put aside the fact that we lost Salah...".
Our squad was of title winning standard last year, thats not even up for debate. We won the league the season previous, and we massively improved on that title winning squad.
Although it was a squad well capable of challenging for a title, its also true that this summer we do need a fairly major overhaul. We've lost our starting CB, we've lost our best LB of all time who's been Mr reliable for 9 years straight, and we've lost our greatest ever Prem era forward, a man who broke over 40 club and league records.
So there'll be no "putting aside".
On top of that, our star signing had his leg broken, our other main striker tore his Achilles, both RB's missed half the season due to serious injury and our promising young star CB tore his ACL.
This overhaul will continue into next summer when we're most likely going to loose VVD, Alisson and Gomez. Maybe Jones, Endo, Chiesa and Tsimikas too.
At the same time it's also true that there was more wrong than just Slot, that's exactly why Edwards is gone and Hughes will soon follow.
22 Jul 2026 20:48:28
The main source of goal contributions has left the club, somebody who had experience with winning; something needs to be done about that. We've needed another centre half for about 5 years, we've won the league in that time, obviously, but have also lost experience in that area, and our colossus of a defender is coming to the final stages of his career, although still excellent, not the younger man he once was. Think we're ok at goalkeeper for another season, although it will need addressing soon.
Midfield has also been missing a different profile of player, maybe even 2, for a couple of years, but again we've gotten through with what we have and won the league. Maybe one or two, but still pretty decent, and still has more potential.
If nobody from the current squad up top leaves and we add one who can make the difference in front of goal from the wing, again we're pretty decent and could expect much more in the coming season from those players we already have.
If somebody else were to leave, such as Gakpo, then we would need 2 in that area also.
Three to six players, depending on how you look at it, across defence, midfield and attack, and if they're the right players that's a strong Liverpool squad in either scenario, which I'd expect to be challenging for and winning the top prizes.
If The Don(i) can make a good positive start with what he has at his disposal, gets the players to believe and buy into his way of thinking, and gets to compliment what he has with a Salah replacement, 1 in defence and 1 in midfield, then I genuinely expect us to be a completely different animal to last season in a very positive way.
22 Jul 2026 20:53:47
But the way you describe them 3 players, and none of it is factually incorrect, is not the way the same three players performed to the standards of last season, Chewy. Reality is nearly anyone at CB is an improvement on last year's Ibou, Tsimi's not really a downgrade on modern day Robbo, and it won't take much to replace Salah's input last year.
Young Morrison could probably accomplish it, so the squad as it stands now isn't really much weaker than what we went with last season.
22 Jul 2026 21:08:48
Chewy, Robertson was getting pelters on here the season we won the league. Salah was lousy last season and we squeezed the last drop out of him the season before.
Regards to losing Gomez, Jones, Chiesa, Tsimikas and Endo, they'll be no loss whatsoever. If it wasn't for the cost of replacing them, I'd be happy to see the back of them this summer.
22 Jul 2026 22:33:13
Flo, I get what you're saying. But, with the current injuries, I think we are weaker than last year. We haven't got a fit rb, Jaquet is coming back from injury, and Leoni is still not fit. If we get an injury at cb or upfront, we are screwed.
22 Jul 2026 23:32:23
So what, their final season wasn't a good performance, does that take away from the fact that Salah and Robertson were exceptionally reliable for the 8 years previous? No, not at all. Just because they had one poor season at the end of their career doesn't mean they're not a huge loss to the team.
So you can bin that sort of argument. There comes a time in every player's career when they hit that decline, and you won't know it's happened until it happens, but by no means does that make them any less of a loss.
22 Jul 2026 23:48:06
It actually does, Chewy. And, West Yorkshire, we hardly had a fit rb last year too. Bradley started 12 league games. Jaquet's back fit now, and Leoni was missing all last year, so we're more or less where we were all last year with cbs, except Leoni should actually be fit for most of the season ahead.
Yes, if Isak gets an injury, we'd struggle, but we were like that practically all of last season with Ekitike because of how Isak's season went.
23 Jul 2026 00:48:51
No, it doesn't, Florian. If you're going to create an argument, at least have the wherewithal to make a case for it.
23 Jul 2026 01:49:37
But you're comparing the squad from the start of last season to the squad at the start of this season. We didn’t know how Frimpong would perform. Bradley was fit, Leoni was fit, and came with a good reputation. We knew Robertson was declining, but no one knew Salah was going to drop off so much.
If you’re going to compare squads at the start of seasons, then forget what happened during the season. If we make no other signings now, this squad is considerably weaker than the squad at the start of last year.
23 Jul 2026 07:10:40
Chewy, I agree with what you say. The main thrust of my post was last season wasn't all down to Slot. I wanted him gone, along with everyone else, but there was more wrong with us than him.
He had no idea that Salah's form would nose dive. Of course, Robbo and Salah are a massive loss, but that's not down to Slot. That's my argument. Other stuff obviously was.
23 Jul 2026 08:00:42
First team wise, compared to the start of last season we're in a worse position with Ekitike and Bradley injured, and Konate and Mo gone. Newbies Munoz and Jacquet, hopefully better than last season's versions of Mo and Konate, but we don't know. Also Munoz is injured so no pre-season.
Our ageing and injury prone players like Ali and Connor won't be any fitter, with inadequate cover for either.
I'd heard of problems with a few players off the pitch, they're still with us.
Coaching wise we're surely better placed, which is the main cause for optimism.
Transfer wise, I don't know, it seems a bit all over the place right now. No clear strategy behind the scenes, with churn at senior director level.
I think Arsenal are favourites, City and Chelsea second and third, and we'll be competing for fourth to seventh with United, and the likes of Newcastle, Villa and maybe even Tottenham.
23 Jul 2026 09:39:15
Chewy, you say Robbo and Mo have declined, but it doesn’t make them any less of a loss. I just said it does make them less of a loss. Simple, really. Robbo as a player now and last season is simply nothing like the loss he would have been when he was the best left full in the league. The same goes for Salah. Robbo started 12 league games last year, and it’s a fair guess that with Kerkez reunited with Ireola he would have started even less this season.
Salah was physically nothing like the player he has been last season. If he didn’t move on, there’s every chance he would have been back up RW this year. So for me it’s Jaquet/Ibou, Tsimi/Robbo and Munoz/Mo. We're in a similar enough position to the squad people thought should walk the league last year, so there should be optimism on the site.