08 Sep 2026 00:09:49
Nice 6-minute Interview by Stevie G with Dom on TNT. Check it out if you haven't. Nice little insight into the team. Dom says the hardest worker in training is Macca and the person you can get the ball off is Gravenberch.
08 Sep 2026 02:32:56
*Can't get the ball off.
Some other takeaways
- Highlighting that intensity was missing last season and we needed to get that back.
- Iraola said he won't play right back, but obviously he will help the team if he is needed to.
- Stevie asked him if they could play together, and Dom's answer was "yes, I would play 10".
That last part intrigues me a lot because I think Dom's skillset suits 10 in this Iraola system down to a tee. We obviously have a Wirtz tho...
I am firmly in the pro-Wirtz camp, so do not get my words twisted here. But, if we were able to bring in a Camara, a midfield trio of Camara + Grav/Macca with Dom at the 10 would be an amazing combination.
In saying that (I'm thinking as I'm typing lol), a Camara + Dom with Wirtz ahead of them would give us everything in midfield as well.
Can we carry a midfield group of Camara, Dom, Grav, Macca, Nyoni, Wirtz? My take - yes and we should.
08 Sep 2026 05:50:53
Not going to happen.
You don't sign Grav on a long term contract for him not to get any minutes.
My guess is Macca gets sold in the summer and Camara comes in to rotate with Grav.
Szobo and Wirtz will play in the same team. You can't drop either.
{Ed025's Note - why cant you drop players who are not performing??..
08 Sep 2026 06:23:52
Szoboszlai played as an attacking midfielder the season we won the league and the general consensus was it was an area we could upgrade on.
08 Sep 2026 06:40:45
What I liked most about Dom’s interview is that he said the way they train and play is more front footed and intense, that this style suits him and Liverpool better, and that Liverpool should approach games with a focus on how they can impose themselves on their opponents rather than worry about nullifying their opponents.
08 Sep 2026 06:49:43
It's not difficult really. Two good and viable players for every position. Alternate them both in their best position, in this case the number 10, and prioritise picking the one in the best form, whilst allowing for rest, recovery, but still giving a decent amount of minutes and critically starts to the other to allow for finding that form. If the one not the priority isn't happy, wants to leave or a really good offer comes in for them then you sell them for a decent amount of money, ideally for profit, and replace them in the squad, from the youth if possible.
This is how the squad and ultimately the first team should be continuously improved year on year and what we did during those years of drastic improvement under Klopp.
If that means dropping or ultimately selling some good squad players so be it. Get better ones.
We seem to be obsessed with making it work for every player by shoe-horning them in or changing the system to make it viable.
08 Sep 2026 10:25:40
Playing someone because they are on a big wage isn’t the way a team should be selected. Players should get a start based on what they have shown in training and in matches. People’s fixation with how much players cost to buy and how much wages they get is skewing their view of who should be playing, which is odd because I’m pretty certain that the club don’t ask fans to pay players' wages.
08 Sep 2026 10:54:41
Looking at Bournemouth, I disagree that Szobo's skillset suits playing as a 10 in this Iraola system. Last season Kroupi played there for AI and had a great season. I don't see Dom having the same profile at all.
In the interview, Dom said he is an 8 or maybe a 10, but his favorite position will be an 8, being involved in the game, dropping deep for long passes and also arriving at the penalty box in attack.
Funnily enough, when Stevie asked, from all the positions Dom played, which position he likes the least, he said playing on the wing in attack (they both called it a 7 in the interview).
So some interesting stuff from a short interview
08 Sep 2026 11:11:46
"{Ed025's Note - why can't you drop players who are not performing?? ."
Good question, Ed.
Also, Szobo saying he can play in the no. 10 doesn't mean he should play there because he is not the manager. Also as Faith and Ekiticake said, he lacks the creative skill set that a no. 10 in our system needs to have like Wirtz clearly possesses. That part is clear as day.
Wirtz is the creative no.10 in this Iraola system and should play there because he has the skill set, vision awareness and feel for the position with the uncanny ability to find pockets of space in the attacking 3rd, all the things Szobo lacks.
08 Sep 2026 12:18:23
I have zero doubt that Iraola will drop whoever is not performing best in training for whoever is. And rightly so. That's what the good managers do.
08 Sep 2026 13:49:47
The first thing I noticed, and something those who've suggested Dom might play on the right wing should note, was that Dom said:
"The only position I really don't like is the 7."
08 Sep 2026 16:14:59
Fair point, Chewy. All I say to that is that neither did Gerrard, but he arguably had his best season playing from the right for Benitez.
Sometimes the players don't know best. If Iraola wants him to play there, I expect he should do it, and perform well, as he has done there in the past.
Irrelevant either way. I agree he's better in the middle.