26 Oct 2026 13:38:43
Good afternoon everyone hope everyone is well on this wet Bank Holiday Monday (Only for us lesser mortals in Ireland) I watched the match yesterday God bless St. Amazon ? A good performance but not without it's moments where Brighton could have scored but 3pts is 3pts. Araujo and JJ's performances has everyone talking and rightly so.
So that got me thinking to when was the last time a loan signing had everyone buzzing and all I can think of is Anelka but please correct me if I'm wrong. Now as for JJ I honestly can't remember a young player who came from another league and who's performances has been exceptional to say the least but again please correct me if I'm wrong. We're doing well lad's we're doing very well. When I think of the tripe the team were told to play last season to where we are now it's not a bad long weekend.
P.S. Let's not forget our friends up the road who are in a spot of bother. ?
YNWA.
26 Oct 2026 14:09:28
Alright Baz yeah for me Anelka is the stand out loanee that springs to mind but Big Ron is undoubtedly the best since Nicholas and there could be mutiny in the stands if we don't make this deal a permanent one come the summer if he keeps giving weekly displays like yesterday, sliding head tackles I mean come on how much more can a man give to the cause MOTM all day long just shows you what gobs##ts are pundits nowadays. As for the Manc's you reap what you sow, thought Carrick would be the 1st managerial casualty at the start of the season but thought he'd get till at least Christmas but when you've got the players pulling against you being led by the king Rat Bruno no one could survive anyways as much as I hate United I try not to worry about what's happening with them but more how our team is progressing and I have to say its coming along slowly but nicely give Iraola a couple of windows to add his type of player and then we'll see just where we are as a force but exciting times ahead mate exciting times.
26 Oct 2026 14:25:53
Without sounding contrary, we beat Brighton by the same score last season. I think a gauge as to how far we've come will be this coming Sunday. And, let's not forget, we beat Arsenal last season.
The big positives, so far, has been the signings of Jacquet, Munoz and Araujo (loan), yet, we've spent the last however many months slagging off Hughes. This really does underline how hypocritical we, the supporters, are. And I include myself in this.
26 Oct 2026 14:46:31
Surely a bigger gauge of how far we have come is beating Bournemouth and Brentford away, both of which we lost last season.
26 Oct 2026 14:49:48
The biggest gauge for me is that I find the games far less painful to watch.
26 Oct 2026 14:52:46
The bottom line is, Fifth Element, I'm enjoying the ride without getting carried away. Still room for improvement.
26 Oct 2026 14:53:55
@Ship, indeed. I actually look forward to our games now.
26 Oct 2026 14:59:48
I agree with that, Shipley. Though, I'm being contrary again, it wasn't scintillating in 24/25 but I'll treasure it forever.
26 Oct 2026 15:01:18
Agree on Anelka Zippy - hard to believe we turned down the chance to sign him permanently and opted to spend big on Diouf instead.
As for Ron, I'm glad that he's come through his mental challenges from last year or so and has landed at a club where he feels appreciated. If he's back loving football & at peace personally then I'm sure he can keep up this level & it will be a no brainer to sign him permanently.
26 Oct 2026 15:01:34
Alright Rome 1977! mate no one including myself is saying we are the finished artical, but just like shipleykopite said at least we can actually watch a match in full knowing that we are at least trying to play football at a decent pace.
I'm under no illusions that we are way behind Arsenal at the moment in terms of team and squad progression but as you said we'll see just where we are next Sunday when we play them provided the ref doesn't decide to f### it up this time if we are on top.
26 Oct 2026 15:10:41
Barry - didn't Rushie initially come back on loan?
26 Oct 2026 15:12:02
I agree I also look forward to Liverpool games, but then I even looked forward to them last season. If you don't look forward to watching your team play then what's the point, you might as well just go do something else.
26 Oct 2026 15:18:09
NOTSOZIPPY, always factor in that I'm a miserable git. We're heading in the right direction, but we are all expecting bumps in the road. It was always going to be this way.
26 Oct 2026 15:30:30
Agreed Oli. I look forward to them too. It's not all sunshine yet but we're heading up in every way. Hats off to you Araujo! Job well done!
26 Oct 2026 15:31:25
Fifth Element, I agree, mate. The day I don't look forward to watching us I'll take up knitting.
{Ed001's Note - I will have a Liverpool bobble hat - old skool style - when you do that Rome. Just getting my order in ready just in case.}
26 Oct 2026 15:46:06
Bristol, yeah good shout, albeit not technically a loan in terms of Araujo, Anelka etc are joining initially on loan, whereas Rushie signed for Juve in Jul 86, but stayed on loan with us for one final year (a bit like Luca or Keita) before joining Juve in summer 87.
Technically, he would be our most successful loan as he was the 2nd highest goal scorer in the First Division in 86-7 with 30 goals, but given he'd stayed playing with his team-mates from the past 6 years, it's not quite the same.
26 Oct 2026 15:48:08
Yes he certainly did BR but he already knew what the club and match day's at Anfield were all about. This is a whole new experience for JJ.
26 Oct 2026 16:01:11
To be fair Rome, if we gave the ball to the opposition as much as we ceded possession to Brighton last night, we would have conceded last season 100%. Not to mention that the Brighton we saw last night is a far cry from the Brighton we played last year, they have had another year under Hurzeler and everybody knows their jobs on and off the ball, they are also brimming with confidence and have multiple ways to create chances through pressing or through the build up.
This team can give the team the ball to the opposition and control the game without having possession, it was something Slot mastered in his first season but bizarrely gave up in his second season, where any semblance of control off the ball evaporated completely.
Now when the team has the ball in our half, I really don't expect them to score, when our shape is set we are very hard to break down and everybody is communicating with each other, covering spaces that appear, everybody looks like they really enjoy pressing from the front when they have the chance, or retreating into our shape and defending as a unit, you can see the organisation and how it breathes confidence into players when we are behind the ball. We have two full backs who are very good one on one, Virgil, and Jacquet who is like having two players at once.
And if we do come away with the ball, one ball in behind to Barcola and a reborn Gakpo can be a terrifying prospect, if our decision making gets better in transition I feel like we can tear teams apart like-dare I say it- we did under Klopp. This team isn't the same level as that team obviously, but if you have defensive solidity and pace, power and technique in behind, you can win a lot of games.