31 Jul 2026 11:18:47
I know it's just the start of pre-season but everything, from the team to fan base, is much more positive.
I'm also loving the way we're potentially going to set up. A main striker being fed by pacey, tricky wingers. I posted ages ago about whether LFC were going to go back to the days of Barnes, Beardsley and Aldridge.
What a front 3 they were!
With Barcola seemingly nailed on, possibly another pacey winger incoming, although we already have Munoz, maybe we're nearly there.
Exciting times ahead!
31 Jul 2026 11:59:00
Them 3 would still be devastating now.
31 Jul 2026 12:08:20
Imagine what they would cost today, Fatwallet!
31 Jul 2026 12:14:10
Yup, be nice to have pacey, tricky wingers this season.
31 Jul 2026 13:02:36
Beardsley wasn't a winger; he was more of a seven.
Barnes was on the left, and Ray Houghton played on the right of the midfield.
31 Jul 2026 13:19:00
A lot but imagine the goals and play.
31 Jul 2026 14:23:20
I'm over the moon with Barcola being as good as done. The last time we signed a player with that much pedigree was Thiago Alcantara, but he was at the wrong end of his career. We're signing a three time Ligue 1 and two time Champions League winner who's still only 23 years old and has 85 goals and assists in his last 3 seasons for club and country. When you actually think about that, it's quite a crazy achievement.
I totally dismissed the idea of us signing Barcola when he was first put forward on here.
This isn't like us at all. We never sign players who are young and world class from other European giants, unless they want rid. The mighty PSG wanted Barcola to stay, and he rejected their contract offers. To say I'm excited is a understatement. Aside from Yamal, Kvaratskhelia and Olise, I believe we're signing the next best winger in world football.
31 Jul 2026 14:49:37
Yanks is a worldie on his day, but lacks consistency.
Olise keeps getting better, would have loved him at Liverpool.
Kvart is sensational, the best by far.
31 Jul 2026 15:11:13
Would you really call Barcola world class, MK? He has world class traits, like his pace and his threat running in behind, but overall I wouldn't say he is a world class player. Technically, he can still be quite spotty, and he is a big space player who has limitations in smaller spaces. He has ample opportunity to get there, and I imagine he probably will, but saying he has close to as much pedigree as Thiago is mad; Thiago was probably the best central midfielder in the world at one point with Bayern.
I'm also not entirely certain PSG wanted Barcola to stay. They wanted him to stay as the first player off the bench, maybe, but he wasn't getting in their starting lineup.
31 Jul 2026 15:39:53
I wouldn't call Barcola world class, not near it. But I wouldn't have called Mane or Salah it either. We can only hope it works out. A world class player would have 85 goals alone, never mind G/A playing for them two teams over the last 3 seasons.
Ligue 1 is poor. For comparison Mo Salah had 127 over the same period in the toughest league in the world playing for a defensive national team. That's World Class.
31 Jul 2026 17:01:31
Rigsby, Beardsley was a one-off. What a player. Cannot believe we allowed Souness to let him go.
Although Kenny also made some weird decisions prior to that. David Speedie and Ronnie Rosenthal were nowhere near his level, but still stopped him getting game time.
31 Jul 2026 18:16:17
Florian Musiala, that seems a very simplistic viewpoint, but I’ll bite, let’s just look at goals.
Barcola has 45 goals in the last 3 years for club and country (a lot of games at club level out of position too). Kvaratskhelia, who is undeniably one of the best wingers in world football, has 51 goals in the last 3 years for club and country (despite playing for the same team for 2 seasons in his preferred position). Yamal has 54 goals in the last 3 years for club and country (the most successful country in the world in that period). Olise has 59 goals in the last 3 years for club and country (2 of those seasons in a league where defending is virtually non-existent).
Vini Jr has 78 goals in the last 3 years for club and country, by the way. Would you choose Vini Jr over Yamal, Olise or Kvaratskhelia? He’s a lot closer to your target of 85 than they are, but still not quite there.
There’s more to defining a world class winger than just goals, mate. Assists are important, and Barcola has 40 of them in that period.
Also important are work ethic and how willing you are to be a team player by picking the right passes rather than going for the glory. Barcola has that in spades as well.
Salah was an alien in front of goal. If you want to compare any new wingers we sign to Salah, you’re in for disappointment. He wasn’t world class, he was generational. He will go down as the player who defined an era at Liverpool in a similar way to Liddell, Keegan, Dalglish and Gerrard. He was far beyond world class. He’s the only winger in the top 10 goalscorers of all time in the Premier League. It’s very unlikely another winger will break into that top 10 in our lifetimes.
What is world class is subjective, and you are more than welcome to disagree. I don’t want you to think I’m denying you that viewpoint, because I respect it. I’m just highlighting that goals aren’t everything. I think almost everyone would pick Kvaratskhelia as a dream winger signing and he has the second fewest goals of all those listed.
31 Jul 2026 18:26:36
Patrik, a few fair points you raised. I can see why people would say he's not quite there yet.
What I would counter though is that Barcola started 34 games last season for PSG and played 2971 minutes in total. That's not the game time of a bit part player. He started 12/16 in the Champions League, often being rested in Ligue 1.
For reference, Doue (who many seem to think was ahead of Barcola) started 29 games and played 2558 minutes in total. Sometimes perception isn't actually represented by the facts.
Enrique definitely trusted Barcola and would not have wanted him to leave had Barcola wanted to stay. PSG trying to negotiate a new contract is proof of that.
31 Jul 2026 18:38:56
Jarrod Bowen got 73 G/A for club and country in that time. Playing in the Premier League, with West Ham, who were just relegated. I'll leave it there.
31 Jul 2026 20:27:03
I'm not sure what that proves, mate ? Bowen is a good player for a start.
He's also played at least a whole season worth of games as the striker in that time, played against a lot of Europa League cannon fodder in one season, taken a lot of corners to rack up assists and taken a lot of penalties to boost his goal tally.
If anything, that just proves my point that a winger can't just be judged on goal return. Anyway, it's up to you if you want to put a downer on Barcola already. He'll do his own talking on the pitch, and I'll accept your apology in 6 months time with grace. ?
31 Jul 2026 20:47:22
I'm not putting a downer, but to say he's world class at the moment and the best besides the three wingers you named is untrue, imo. Bowen got eight g/a in Europe in that time, probably against teams that are as good or better than what Barcola plays in Ligue 1 a lot of weeks.
How dare Bowen take corners and Penaties. ? I used Bowen because he is someone who a lot of posters would look on as not good enough, or certainly not as in the stratosphere of world class, yet his tally is more impressive. Certainly in g/a, which was the measurement you used.
31 Jul 2026 22:40:22
Every day's a school day. Cheers for those stats, MK and Florian.
01 Aug 2026 00:09:35
If we really had the money to bring in Barcola and Diomande, I would much rather have spent that money on Barcola and Bowen.