24 Aug 2026 07:19:09
Morning all.
I really hope Iraola gets time as he is going to need 2/3/4 transfer windows to sort out this team.
Frimpong is so bad, we need a RB. We can’t just hope Bradley will be back soon and will remain fit.
Kerkez I’ll be optimistic about, but he’s giving me Moreno vibes.
Wirtz I like him, but I don’t think he’s cut out for the Premier League.
Isak wimped out of everything yesterday. Fernando Morientes will have a bigger input for Liverpool than Isak will by the end of his time here.
Not every signing is going to work, but along with Mama, I think this lot really won’t work.
But again Iraola will need 2/3/4 transfer windows as we need 4/5 new players.
Sorry about my Monday morning moan.
24 Aug 2026 07:36:10
Exact same squad = Exact same problems.
24 Aug 2026 07:46:13
Don't agree with the 2/3/4 windows lark to get things right. Never really buy into all that when I hear it about other teams either. He'll get signings in in the next week and a half, which will improve us, and the players are there to perform much better than yesterday.
Just more cop on and fight needed. I have faith in this manager, but let's face it, if he wasn't doing the business the fans wouldn't give him 2/3 and 4 windows.
24 Aug 2026 08:01:11
Isak looked no better than Benteke yesterday. Let's be honest, if we had £300 mill to spend we wouldn't ever splash it on Isak and Wirtz. We sold Coutinho, who contributed 10 times more than Wirtz because he was unbalancing the midfield.
Irola would need a lot of money and not a lot of transfer window.
{Ed001's Note - we sold Couts because he forced his way out. Klopp would have kept him otherwise.}
24 Aug 2026 08:07:49
It isn't the exact same squad as last season.
24 Aug 2026 08:10:54
I'm the opposite in terms of full backs. I'm more optimistic about Frimpong than Kerkez. They both need competition though. That's for sure.
24 Aug 2026 08:15:41
It's the first game of the season. Give the lads time on the training pitch, and I'm absolutely confident things will improve. One game and folks are already saying this or that player isn't good enough for us and we need to replace half the team, I guess it's somewhat predictable in this day and age.
That being said, I do worry slightly about Frimpong. I've defended him a lot on here, but yesterday's performance was concerning. He does try his hardest, but he looks lost at sea as a right back.
Once or twice he did manage to leave his man for dead from a standing start and got to the byline, but he never looked in control to deliver something decent afterwards. He has the very rare skill of being able to explode past his man in very small spaces without a running start, but what he does afterwards is very erratic, and his value on the other side of the ball looks quite questionable at present.
24 Aug 2026 08:21:25
First game of a long season.
Realistically, we all knew it wasn't going to be the finished Iraola product, but it was still worrying to see how easy we still are to be run through and how slow and pedestrian we are in the final 3rd.
To top it off, that's probably the weakest bench I've seen in quite some time.
Thought Araujo looks like a big solid centre half, but was very reluctant to play forward, and Szob had to direct him a few times. He definitely doesn't look like a Rb.
If Iraola is to change it up there, I'd say Jaqcuet looks a better right back option, as he looked more comfortable in possession coming forward.
24 Aug 2026 08:41:33
Our full-backs are a concern. I've consistently criticised Frimpong and will no doubt continue to do so. If his ability was as inspiring as his smile, he'd be the next Cafu. I'll repeat what I've said previously. He was a pointless purchase.
Regarding Kerkez, someone else has posted that he gives Moreno vibes.
I tend to agree with that. I can't see any improvement since the start of last season.
Iraola has said that Bradley is the future RB, so we can only hope that he can get fit and stay fit, and also improve, because I've never been convinced about him either.
I'll refrain from slagging off other players for other posts.
24 Aug 2026 08:47:36
It's a different squad with a different coach, which is what almost everyone wanted.
The squad and coach need time to develop, but most of us don't want that. We want results and performances immediately, but it's very unlikely to happen.
As fans, we are never going to be happy all the time, but some fans will never be happy.
I still remember fans moaning throughout the 21/22 season when we were two wins away from doing the quadruple.
Criticism, frustration and even anger, sometimes, are understandable, but we also need to be realistic.
That said, my criticism, frustration and anger were very evident at times yesterday. ?
24 Aug 2026 08:54:30
Mine too, Rigsby, in equal measure!
24 Aug 2026 09:02:00
Surely Kerkez is leagues better than Moreno defensively? The only question mark is what he offers going forward, but last season he wasn't given enough trust by Slot or Gakpo, and this season he has everything to prove under the coach who turned him into the best attacking full back for a season at Bournemouth.
I'm sure he will come good. I thought he was the best of the new additions last year and he will get better and better as the season goes on.
24 Aug 2026 09:03:39
Can someone pull out that "Booker T finishing move meme". That's what Frimpong does when he gets the chance to cross a ball. Does everything except to cross the ball.
24 Aug 2026 09:12:48
I would say that Ekitike was the best of the new additions, Patrik. However, given that we're talking Frimpong, Wirtz and Isak, I think I could jump over that bar.
24 Aug 2026 10:23:52
Ekitike had a few standout games but also many average ones, Rome. He also left a lot to be desired on the other side of the ball, I think. Kerkez got better and better as the year went on, I feel, and showed plenty of determination and tenacity.
He didn't give up when he got beat once or twice on the wing early in a game. I think he looks a mentally strong and committed player. Those qualities will get him far, in my opinion.
24 Aug 2026 10:46:09
I expect AI to have seen a lot of things that need fixing after his first proper game, I'm sure he has seen the same problems we can all see, so let's see what happens in the rest of the window and what he changes for Saturday.
24 Aug 2026 12:26:40
Patrik, don't get me wrong, I wasn't over impressed with Ekitike, either. There is a common thread running through nearly all of my posts: I'm not impressed with anyone at the minute. I know it's only one game, blah blah, but our frailties are there for all to see.
Iraola has a massive job on his hands, which I said throughout last season, that whoever came in would do. I might change my username to "It wasn't all down to Slot."