22 Sep 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - Davey Sulls has posted a new article entitled, My Thoughts on Liverpool's Start to the Season
22 Sep 2026 08:48:44
I've seen Slot defended in the past under in his 2 seasons he won the league and got CL. If he had done that in reverse order then that's progression, unfortunately he didn't and it was clearly regression.
Under Ai performances haven't been great but we've had 3 cleans sheets and for me performances have been better (apart from Fulham) than last season so whilst it's still early days it's progression.
Ultimately Ai will be judged on final league position at the end of the season on whether the club have progressed or not.
CL is another big one and domestic cups a bonus.
22 Sep 2026 09:04:51
They don't need to be compared. Personally I don't see much improvement in the performances but it's only been a few games. I'm fully confident in Iraola. The start was always going to be the hardest part. I can only see us improving under him.
22 Sep 2026 09:29:59
The defence looks good. Am pretty happy with the team as long as the defence is tight and teams have to really work hard to score against us.
Its not always about breathtaking football. I won't mind to shore up the defence and be very difficult to score against even if that means less entertaining and dross games. don't mind the 1-0 at all.
The problem lies in the midfield and the sooner AI realised he needs to give trey a go the better. Macca has been good and back to his usual self so he is my second midfielder. Gravy on rotation duties
Upfront barcola isak and gackpo look pretty much the first picks with rio munoz and koumas rotation duties
That leaves us with wirtz or szobo as the 10 or pivot and the sooner AI picks one the better.
Pretty clear both of them in the squad affect the balance and is not the best team.
22 Sep 2026 09:37:08
Agree with Florian but there are good signs that certain individuals are upping their game - Gakpo, Vyrgil & Mac have been tonnes better & Issac is putting his chances away.
I'm hoping Jurgen can give Wirtz a bit of a confidence boost while he's away and Iraola can get him performing!
22 Sep 2026 09:54:57
Virg just isn't having to babysit people as much this season. Silly to ever doubt that man.
22 Sep 2026 10:17:56
Gakpo has been best player so far and doesn't deserve to be moved so Barcola can be involved. Only do that when his form drops.
22 Sep 2026 10:24:15
I've been very vocal in my criticism of Virgil Florian. Rather than him babysitting anyone in my opinion he's been the main issue for the past 12 months and the rest of the team have been babysitting him.
The one thing Iraola has done is getting him and the rest of the back 4 to defend higher up and defend on the front foot. It's the biggest change he's made and it's very noticeable.
Look at the Newcastle game where Virgil backed off until he was in his own box for both goals. The last few games he's been engaging on the halfway line as have the rest of the back 4. They are tighter to the opposition and getting in front of them as they receive the ball. If they don't win the ball they are fouling to stop the break.
Fair play to Virgil because he's taken it onboard. I had started to think his legs had gone and he was so terrified of people getting in behind him that the only thing he could do was retreat.
It caused massive issues with the connection between the defence and midfield and opened up a big gap which gave the midfield no chance of getting close to people no matter who was playing.
We are now winning the ball earlier and getting it to the forwards with more space to play but they are misfiring. They still seem to lack confidence and invariably either choose the wrong pass or take too long to play the right pass.
It's a work in progress but I can see incremental improvements in the team structure and connections between the lines. It's not there yet but hopefully will get there.
22 Sep 2026 10:47:18
Rios, where was the rest of the our team when Newcastle broke from well inside their half and van Dijk ended inside his own box for their goals?
22 Sep 2026 10:49:41
Certainly for the 2nd goal vs Newcastle Virgil was right to back off. i think there was 6 LFC players vs their 2 and I don't think he can be blamed for thinking if he delayed the attack our numerical advantage would end the danger.
Lets not make out he's never did this. He's done it as far back as the famous incident vs Spurs at Anfield. No one minded then. i couldn't disagree with you more that Virgil has been the main problem but hey it's all about opinions I suppose.
22 Sep 2026 11:16:09
The point is Florian and Rigsby, Virgil and Jacquet were too deep to start with for both goals.
They were both just standing around on the halfway line marking nobody. Had one of them pushed on then when the ball pops out into midfield Osula is under pressure immediately and they can either win the ball or foul him to stop the attack.
Once he's turned and running at them they are in trouble and it's something that happened time and time again last season.
Front foot defending. Get tighter and be aggressive. Don't allow them to turn, stay closer to the rest of the team and close spaces.
Even if they had just managed to hold Osula up for a few seconds or made him pass backwards it gives the rest of the team a chance to get back goal side.
But standing 20 yards off him marking nobody gives you no chance of affecting the play and once he's got the ball under control and running at you you've got no choice but the back off.
It should've been dealt with way before they started to retreat but because our defending has been so passive and reactionary we've allowed stupid amounts of space in front of the back 4 and allowed players to pick up the ball and run at us.
Most will say that's because we don't have a DM. that's just too simplistic in my opinion because if the spaces are that big no DM is going to be able to cover the ground anyway. Any DM will just be cannon fodder.
Anyway, that's my observations and I'm glad Iraola has spotted it because as I said, the change is very noticeable.
22 Sep 2026 11:48:04
When wises gets the ball he's 80 yards away from our goal if not further, and Willock is even further away. Elanga had pulled out to the left and at that stage especially after the 1st goal was maybe the more immediate danger.
Maybe Virg and Konate thought that the 3 LFC players surrounding Wissa when he picks up the ball was more than sufficient to deal with him. That goal should never have happened but Van Dijk would not get the most blame from me.
22 Sep 2026 12:27:27
I think Virgil is really enjoying being able to sit back and let Jacquet handle things this year, he even defers to Jacquet a lot to get the ball forward lately.
22 Sep 2026 12:27:45
I feel like our press is deliberately suppressed at the moment. In pre season we saw us playing with a full press and going into a lead but the players were completely gassed before half time and the team then fell apart late in games. I think we are doing the sensible thing of making ourselves solid and hard to beat whilst building up the insane fitness levels needed to carry out the full AI press. It will take time and over the next few months I think we will see an increase in pace and pressing which will hopefully massively help the 4 up top excel.
The midfield balance is the only real concern for me. Szobo, Macca and Grav are all too attack minded to sit deep and control games. Although he looks to be 3rd choice at the moment I think Grav is probably best suited if (very big if) he can go back to the disciplined way that he played a couple of seasons ago. I'd be interested to see how a pairing of Nyoni and Grav performs (maybe against Chelsea in the league cup) but my suspicion is that we will see Grav or Macca leave and be replaced with somebody who can add a bit more balance to the midfield.
Overall though, a positive start and a good foundation to build on.
22 Sep 2026 12:38:56
I agree with FM.
On the second goal the midfield was more at fault than van Dijk. Grav gives the ball away and Szob and Wirtz were too soft. Wissa, I think, beats them both!
There's more of an argument against for the first goal. But, again, Grav gives the ball away and I think the pace of Elanga catches van Dijk (and Kerkez) out.
22 Sep 2026 11:16:35
Positives are: 1) We are clearly fitter than last season, 2) Araujo, Jacquet and a better Macca have added more enthusiasm for sticking a foot in and 3) the youngsters are being trusted to come off the bench.
Negatives are: 1) the squad gaps are clear as day, 2) midfield balance is lacking and 3) the press is still a work in progress.
Davey, banking on Gravenberch becoming a focused, diligent and effective DM is borderline delusion. He's the biggest fairy in the squad.
22 Sep 2026 13:57:37
Rio - Spoken like a true CB. Kudos.
At the end of the day, no matter what your MF does the buck stops with the defence and GK. I going to keep going in about this but clean sheets win you titles.
22 Sep 2026 14:21:30
Fm i wasn't meaning to compare them i was talking about progression and regression and used both as an example.
However if i wanted to compare them on the World Wide Web mate i don't need a stranger telling me what i can and can't do.
22 Sep 2026 16:33:26
As things stand no way he routinely benches Wirtz or Szoboslai for Nyoni. Too much talent there to sit on the bench, both have quality to win a game on their own. I do agree however, that the balance is off with both playing essentially the same style of player. With the money invested I just don't see the club sitting either of them longterm.
22 Sep 2026 20:16:32
Midfield the focus for me - tbf Mac looks a lot better this season
I'd rotate Wirtz and Szoboszlai in the number 10 role - when Szoboszlai plays as an 8 he just keeps bombing forward and runs into the same space as Wirtz
Grav would need to regain the discipline he had, then he, Nyoni and Mac a good option as the two - still talk of Camara who would be a great option.