24 Jul 2026 16:49:54
What is everyone's honest expectation for this season?? Can we win the league this year or not??
When Slot won, that season we had 5 set forwards. Diaz, Salah, Jota (RIP), Gakpo and Nunez all were really effective.
Last year, we lost jota. Didn't replace Diaz. Salah declined. Nunez left.
This year, Isak has yet to settle. Majority wants to sell Gakpo. Chiesa is not settled properly. Rio is a kid. Ekitike was performing well but he isn't available. Munoz will take time to settle. And any other new forward has not been bought early enough to get enough pre-season
I thing due to our forward line, we will struggle this season and may not be in Top 3 let alone winning the league.
So, will top 4 be a realistic target for this year or should we be lenient with AI if we do not get champions league this season.
24 Jul 2026 18:24:53
With the squad the way it is at the moment, no, I do not think we can win the league this year. Top 5 and maybe a Cup. Quarter finals of the Champions League, I'd settle for that.
24 Jul 2026 18:37:29
I just can't wait to see a different brand of football. Add the mooted signings into that and we'll have a much better season. As for winning the league, I don't see it, but if Andoni gets time to build, I have full belief in the way he plays.
24 Jul 2026 18:40:26
Unless we bring in at least 3/4 new players, I don't see us winning the league. I find it hard to see us even qualifying for the Champions League, to be honest. Arsenal and City are clearly better than us, and we saw last season with United that having no European football can be a real benefit. I see Chelsea under Alonso, with no European football doing a United and finishing third.
As it stands, I see us battling it out with Spurs, United and Villa for 4th and 5th, which is unacceptable in my opinion. The club should be at least attempting to win the league or Champions League. That's not on Iraola, though, but on those above him.
24 Jul 2026 18:48:53
Nebeel, let's not get carried away here, and remember history. Going into the season Slot won No. 20, you could count with both your fingers and toes how many LFC fans were saying with chest that we were gonna win the league. More may have said we could challenge if...
It was Slot himself who said it was after smoking Utd away that he thought we had a good chance of challenging. Then, as the results started to come, he and the guys decided to go for it.
Now I say all that to say that I would just relax and not take the season we won as some kind of measuring stick, cos even we didn't win, we could win, esp. after Klopp had left. So, let's not make comparisons with that season, cos the rules and conditions have changed drastically.
So like Ecogsi, I'm just here for the vibes to see what Doni can do with this team and go from there.
24 Jul 2026 18:54:54
Tbh, I'm not concerned with challenging, I want to see a comfortable top four finish and really solid cup runs in at least 2 competitions, I'm talking qtr/semi finals minimum. I don't really care which one; I just want to see that Iraola, with his style and this squad, can handle that busy schedule and then we build from there.
24 Jul 2026 18:57:20
Think there will be a massive improvement, clearly stuff weren't right there last season, good players fell off a cliff, optimistic we get to see some good football again, fingers crossed. ?
24 Jul 2026 18:59:08
I don't think you can put Nunez and effective in the same sentence. But I would say challenging for a cup title and finishing in the top four would be a good season.
24 Jul 2026 19:51:14
Expecting exciting football but top 5 finish. It's going to take time for the players to get fit enough to play the Iraola way, so I think we will have a better second half than first half of the season.
24 Jul 2026 20:01:13
For me, we already have a good side in Iraola's 4-2-3-1. This side will easily finish top 3 now we have a competent head coach, with or without signings. Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Virgil, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak.
I hate the defeatist attitude of some of our fans. None of those players became bad overnight. Jacquet, Isak, and Kerkez are the only 3 there who haven't won a league title. Yes, I think we can improve a few positions, but that's a bloody good team still.
Personally, I'd like to replace Frimpong, Macca, and Gakpo with Kounde, Camara, and Barcola. Kounde improves us at RB and offers CB cover given we have Leoni just back from a knee injury. Camara adds a different profile to our midfield, and Barcola injects some much needed pace into the attack.
In terms of squad players, we are fine as far as I'm concerned.
I mean our 2nd XI would probably finish top 8. Mamardashvili; Bradley, Gomez, Leoni, Tsimikas; Endo, Jones; Rio, Elliott, Munoz; Ekitike.
Chiesa and Woodman seem keen to stick around as well, and it doesn't hurt to have experienced and good characters in the dressing room.
It's the first XI that I want to upgrade. I hate signing squad players. You should always focus on improving your best XI because they're the ones who will start 40-60 games a season. Slot was just a muppet who never rotated unless he changed the whole XI in one go for a Cup Game. It made our squad players look a lot worse than they actually are. No team of relative strangers, all lacking match fitness/sharpness, can just rock up 3 or 4 times a season and pull a performance out the bag every time.
Make 3 more good signings to improve our best XI and, for me, we'll challenge for the title.
{Ed025's Note - i usually agree with a lot of what you say MK, but that 2nd XI would not finish top 8 in the championship mate..
24 Jul 2026 20:35:24
Top 5. This season will be a process. Slightly alarmed that Bournemouth conceded more from set pieces than us.
We need to be patient with the new guy.
My money is on Chelsea for the title. No European games, with good signings.
24 Jul 2026 20:37:04
Ed025, I have to say, I agree with you. We'd be playing with 9 men most of the season, due to Bradley and Gomez being made of crisps.
{Ed025's Note - and Chiesa and Endo would be at the pensioners bingo twice a week Rome.. :)
24 Jul 2026 20:55:40
Ed025, I stand by it. Slot made them all look terrible by only ever playing them in a team with 9-11 changes. I'd have no problem with any one of that 2nd XI coming into the team for 5 games to cover an injury. With Klopp at the helm, we won the Carabao Cup with a weaker XI than that.
{Ed025's Note - they might do a job in the odd game MK but over a season would be found out mate, Ekitike would do well i suppose but the rest of them are mediocre at very best..
24 Jul 2026 22:36:12
I think the first 11 listed would have a battle to finish in the Champions League places, to be honest. It could be 4 places after all, and I definitely see Arsenal, City and Chelsea finishing above that team this season. Then there's Spurs and Utd. For me, if we don't improve the first 11 from that listed, we will be nowhere near the title.
24 Jul 2026 22:39:14
After Slot's first season, anything is possible, so don't write us off.
Citeh have lost Pep and look like they're losing Rodri.
Arsenal were terrible last season, and they're in for a shock this season without Saliba.
Manu have Carrick as manager. ?
Chelsea have too many players to have a settled squad.
And we've got Iraola.
24 Jul 2026 21:58:51
Ed025, I think Bradley, Leoni, Jones, Rio and Elliott are all solid top 5-8 players. Ekitike is a top 1-4 level player. The rest are probably top 9-14 level mid-table players. Munoz I can't comment on as I've never seen him play, but being in the Spain squad at 22 indicates a level of competence.
None of them are anything close to Championship level though and you know that mate, c'mon. For me the main problem with our squad players has been underutilising them. We leave them to decay and lose fitness/sharpness then throw them all in at once in January when the FA Cup and League cup hot up. Then act shocked when an XI that's never lined up together before and is barely fit can't cope with an aggressive underdog playing like it's their cup final. Slot's got a lot to answer for. He's trashed the reputations of our players.
I have faith anyway. I'm happy for people to disagree with me, and I won't be letting the negativity drag me down. 25 players don't go to sh*t over the space of 12 months. One head coach can though. I predict we finish top 3rd and win a cup this coming season and we are not going to be signing 11 more players, because our squad depth is far from mediocre.
{Ed025's Note - i fancy you for top 3 as well MK, your first choice players are very good and i expect more to come, but i think you are over-egging the fringe players you have mate, Leoni nobody has seen him play..could be anything, Jones...will always be Jones unfortunately, Elliot could not break into a weak Villa side for a reason...hes just not very good mate, I happen to like Rio and Ekitike, but the rest of them are tramps..
24 Jul 2026 22:49:33
We've barely seen Leoni. He played 60 minutes against a Championship side. He's 19 and coming off a serious injury. It's taken Rodri nearly a year to get back to his best after the same injury. If he's anything other than 4th choice this season, then we have problems.
24 Jul 2026 22:56:21
Top 6 or 7, just down to the fact that Hughes won't get the players in, we obviously need. Doesn't make sense him seeing out this window when he's obviously going. Ai will suffer because of him.
24 Jul 2026 23:14:49
I think aim for top 4 and leave it at that. Anything extra will be a bonus for me.
I just want Iraola to turn around the culture into a healthy one again and instill hard work into the players and a passion for the crest. Then focus on the title on his 2nd season.
24 Jul 2026 23:19:10
Let's hope not, Areola. At the moment our only senior RW has started one league game in two years and the only actual true right back is still months away from playing. We need another CB as well, at least.
25 Jul 2026 02:05:55
Elliott not breaking into the Villa side had nothing to do with his footballing ability and everything to do with a manager who never wanted him. It was an easy out for them since the obligation to buy was based on the number of games played.
25 Jul 2026 04:13:56
I'd say top 3 is realistic. The people I know in Italy speak highly of Leoni, but I've never seen him play, and as a sports psychologist, I've never seen a group of players (Italians) struggle so badly with homesickness, so I'm always skeptical.
Jacquet will surprise a lot of people, I think he's ready for first team now.
25 Jul 2026 08:49:26
I'm interested to see what Iraola with some of the squad players.
Most of MK's second eleven are unproven or simply not good enough.
As usual, I'm happy to be wrong though.
25 Jul 2026 10:28:55
We can be optimistic and realistic at the same time. Leoni and Jaquet look like two good young CBs, but the other side of that is the only other CB at the club at the moment, besides Van Dijk, who has played one minute of Premier League football, is Joe Gomez? Let that sink in. Then our one right back is months away from playing, and his backup is a RB/RW hybrid who hasn’t nearly convinced or managed to stay fit for any length of time. Our wingers consist of a 17 year old gem, Munoz who looks decent, Gakpo who is decent but no world beater, and Chiesa who has started one league game in 24 months.
Our top scoring forward is out till the Spring, and it remains to be seen if our other CF, our record signing, can stay fit for any length of time. On the plus side, it looks like our pre season will be better this year and we won’t have as many new first team squad options being new to the club as we had last year. We will play good football and be entertained, but I see results going a bit like Jurgen first season. Enjoy the ride reds.
25 Jul 2026 12:37:21
I agree, MK, if we sign 3 first team players, which should be 2 wingers and 1 centre back to play alongside VVD, then yes we can fight for the title.
Like u, I am fine with midfield, but the attack needs players and Gakpo needs to be retained too.