Liverpool Banter 4

20 Sep 2026 16:17:54
I know we won and its a shame to be negative but I can't hide my frustration at watching Wirtz this game. This experiment playing him at 10 can not carry on any longer.

20 Sep 2026 16:26:13
Isak gets a pass for being lazy whilst he's scoring and getting in the right positions to score. unfortunately Wirtz has messed up our midfield and so far isn't proving that's worth it.

20 Sep 2026 16:36:12
Isak covered the 5th most distance of Liverpool players and 4th most sprints. A
Hard to justify the lazy tag today in my opinion.

20 Sep 2026 16:45:41
I don't judge players on 1 game JK23, Isak did well today, was getting into good positions, one time if he could have walked quickly out of the box he might have been onside from a Jacquet ball back in, but overall he was trying to press and make runs. I thought Wirtz looked good against Forest and was coming good but not so good against Ipswich and today (I didn't watch the Fulham game).

And he makes Szob's game less effective so it's one of them in the team now for me now if we want to win something this season and at the moment its Szob.

{Ed666's Note - Was there two Isak’s on the pitch because the one I saw did none of what you suggest.

20 Sep 2026 16:52:52
Josh king looks miles ahead of wirtz.

20 Sep 2026 16:59:19
Warmachine that's fair enough. I think lazy is a bit ott though.

Isak today in 81 mins covered 10.1km and made 20 sprints.

Koumas on tues night in 85 mins covered 9.9km and made 21 sprints where his work rate got high accolades.

20 Sep 2026 17:47:15
JK, maybe it is because when Koumas presses, he is within 10–20 meters of the player who has the ball or the one he is supposed to press, but when Isak presses, he is 80–90 meters away from the player he is supposed to press.

20 Sep 2026 18:00:28
Mfahmee - yet Koumas failed to convert a chance that Isak would have buried.

I would much rather have a goal scorer who is learning his new role than a pressing machine that does not score.

Goals and clean sheets win matches, favouritism and ideals win nothing.

{Ed666's Note - Or isak could just learn to press and score goals

20 Sep 2026 18:20:45
Isak does most of his miles walking; counting the number of sprints means sfa when you're only covering 10 yards every time.

20 Sep 2026 18:28:56
Yeah fair point. I would have taken 11 yard sprints over his goal today.

20 Sep 2026 18:59:40
Isak scores, they complain about what he is not doing.

Isak does not score nor get into positions to score, they still complain.

Man can't win for losing. Or lose for winning.

{Ed666's Note - He stands around doing nothing and then Wirtz gets the blame. His job is to make runs I don’t see him do that. His job is to make defenders life a nightmare with his movement I don’t see him do that. His job is to score goals and he’s doing that I suppose. There is nothing wrong with asking a British transfer record player to do his job. Haaland does all of the above very well.

20 Sep 2026 19:10:11
That would put Isak in his own 18 yard box or behind Alison a lot of the times then if true.

I've told you 73 billion times before to stop over exaggerating 🤣.

In fairness I love Koumas energy. The fact Ai continues to pick Isak over him might mean Ai either disagrees or is the problem.

20 Sep 2026 21:32:49
Seems like we are getting carried away about players pressing more so than scoring goals. Isak 4 goals in 5 PL games this season.

{Ed666's Note - Ian rush scored millions of goals for Liverpool didn’t stop greats managers like Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish forcing him to press.

20 Sep 2026 21:56:18
Ed666, let me take you up on your own argument. When Darwin was here, tons of fans did not care how much running, pressing, movement he did because all they cared about was his goal scoring ability which wasn't good. In fact, the line was always, "Darwin should be scoring goals because that is his job".

Now, we have Isak who I agree is not the hardworking; ppresser, physical animal who can run for days like Darwing could. However, Darwin wasn't the goalscorer Isak is. However, you and others on here are now saying the running, the pressing are sak's job now.

Whereas when Darwin was doing these same things, people pooped all over it because he was you know, "Not doing his job" which was scoring goals consistently.

I say all the above, to say that at the end of the day, a striker's job seems to differ depending on people's opnions, as none of that is defined.

You think Isak should be doing the stuff Darwin was good at (which I get) while others would prefer Isak to score goals first and do those things as a compliment.

My opinion is that a striker's job esp. in a pressing system is somewhere in-between.

Cos as much as Darwin was a monser in running, pressing etc., he simply could not score goals consistently.

Cheers, man.

{Ed666's Note - I’m not expecting Isak to press like Darwin but I want Isak to hone his all round play to make the team better and to learn press is part of doing that. Every member of this squad needs to step up at the moment apart from maybe JJ.

21 Sep 2026 03:51:49
A lot of over thinking going on.

Sometimes, in the old days, people just used to go and watch the footy and singalong with the other fans and discuss the coming game in the pub on Friday night / Saturday lunchtime.

True, they didn't have the interweb and social media or watch the match through their phone camera so they could sit in a dark room in the middle of the night watching footage over and over and over again and convincing themselves that taking a team from non-league football to World Club Champions over two consecutive nights on their 'x station' or 'play box' qualified them to offer their opinion in the real world.

It all seemed a lot more fun - not least for the fans - than it seems now. Sad really.

{Ed666's Note - and why are Liverpool fans disqualified from having an opinion on their teams performance or lack of? I much prefer modern day football coverage where we have 24 hour exposure through all sorts of mediums to talk about the game, coaches, transfers and players. I started watching football in the 1970’s when all we had was highlights on a Tuesday or Wednesday night of European games if we were lucky I think only the final was shown live on TV (someone correct me if I’m wrong it was a long time ago and my memory is appalling. We had the big match on a Sunday highlights show of the old first division. Saint and greaves, grandstand but it wasn’t enough. Now we are spoilt and I love it. I wish we had forums like this when I was growing up. I’m rambling on now and forgotten my point 😀

21 Sep 2026 09:45:31
Don't get me wrong @666, everybody has their own opinions and are entitled to air them. I have no problem with that. I just think that with the constant access and watching the same thing multiple times encourages people to overthink what is, after all, a game. Society has changed since I started watching footy (according to my dad he took me to my first match in the very early 60's when I was 3 or 4).

In my own view I used to really look forwards to our games and enjoy the excitement of watching the match live. It was a fun experience now all I see is people looking for fault and expecting absolute perfection every time we play.

{Ed666's Note - I hear you mate and I’m glad to read this post because you’re older than me and that gives me a weird sense of gratification 😀…no seriously I get what your saying but I love the modern side of the game with all the exposure, podcasts, forums, tv, etc etc but I can understand your appreciation of the halcyon days when it was much simpler and less scrutinized

21 Sep 2026 08:48:03
There's nothing wrong with opinions or having opinions on someone else's opinions. These days opinions are far more easily accessible and people will run with them even if there's very little or no substance to them.
For example, Slot being a part timer and spending a lot of time in Ibiza, Jota picking up injuries because of his gaming habits and Diaz angling for a move to Barcelona.


I'm not saying there isn't anything to support these stories but a lot of people, myself included, just repeat what they have heard, sometimes depending on the source or to suit an already existing narrative.
As Ed666, it's good to have many more options, but also, as WDW said, too much 'information' is not a good thing.
Those are just my opinions though 😉.

21 Sep 2026 11:48:34
JK, for the record, I couldn't care less if Isak plays hopscotch and sips tea between goals so long as he scores them. I've stated many times on here that people shouldn't be expecting high output off-the-ball work from him, he's not built for it, he's never going to do what Koumas does.

I'm merely pointing out that stat like 'number of sprints' can be very misleading. 4 goals in 5 games is the only stat I'm concerned with.

21 Sep 2026 15:15:30
@666, you are just a youngster - just you wait with age comes wisdom 🙂🙂😉.

{Ed666's Note - I’m still coming to grips with grey hairs on my chest..that’s enough to put you off your cornflakes

21 Sep 2026 18:20:57
Fair enuff, Triple 6. I can agree with your response.

Like I said, Isak's job as a striker in a pressing systm should be somewhere in-between the off the ball pressing & running as well as goals/assists.

20 Sep 2026 16:08:07
3pts - on the road against a good team, I'll take that.

20 Sep 2026 18:01:36
Bournemouth have been horrible this season and their midweek exploits have them at mercy. Still win is a win. But we were largely pedestrian at best.

20 Sep 2026 18:21:39
Doenst matter their form, they're physical, press like demons and a lot fitter than we are, it was always going to be a tough win.

20 Sep 2026 19:00:21
Crazy, All day. Everyday.

21 Sep 2026 09:47:44
@Chewy, are you saying that everybody playing for Bournemouth is a lot fitter than everyone playing for Liverpool?

21 Sep 2026 12:13:20
For the most part yes, bar Dom, Kerkez and maybe 1 or 2 of the new additions/youth. We were evidently unfit last season, embarrassingly so, it was a well-known fact. Bournemouth have been playing high-intensity, hard-pressing Iraola ball for 3 years, whereas we played notoriously slow Slotball, had too many days off and weren't training hard enough for the last 2 seasons. You can't fix in that in the short few weeks Iraola had for pre-season in a world cup year.

Bournemouth were relentless all game, even in the latter stages the intensity never died, if we tried to sustain that level of work rate we'd have to sub half the team after 60 minutes, and Iraola knows it. Why do you think we haven't made a full transition to Iraola's signature style that was so effective for Bournemouth?

Bournemouth's fitness levels and output are excellent, they consistently rank in the top 5 for all running and pressing metrics over the last 3 seasons, we don't.

20 Sep 2026 15:56:57
Jacquet really is some player. Fair play to Ron Keague who said he's going to be great before the season kicked off.

20 Sep 2026 16:03:26
And we got to give some credit to the scouting and transfer team but yeah mostly Ron.

20 Sep 2026 16:07:21
Ron did you see him before Liverpool?

20 Sep 2026 16:10:12
Ron is the scout JK23.

20 Sep 2026 16:11:59
Major upgrade on Konate. Complete opposite of Ibou.
Composed, Strong, Timing is bang on, he can pass, and he doesn't look like he's going to fall over when he's got the ball 😂.

20 Sep 2026 16:18:22
Brilliant work by Richard Hughes.

20 Sep 2026 16:37:24
Exactly Rome. Only really Chiesa who's been a flop from his dealings and the Jury is out on Mamadasvilli.

20 Sep 2026 16:52:43
Big hairy, I think the jury is still out on Wirtz, Kerkez, Barcola to mention three. Meanwhile, Frimpong has been a flop so far.

20 Sep 2026 17:58:22
Nigerred, the jury is still out on Wirtz, but the foreman of the jury is about to give his/her verdict.

Frimpong has already been sentenced. Kerkez is on remand and is tagged.

20 Sep 2026 18:06:05
I presume that's irony from hairy. We've bought more duds over the last three years than we've bought good uns. The best two have been the loan Araujo (who we're led to believe was an Iraola pushed buy), and Jacquet. That's not a good hit ratio. The rest have either been found wanting completely, or look ill suited to us.

20 Sep 2026 21:13:46
I watched him only a few times Barry, looked like he had a lot of quality, quick, physical, good passer.
He looked like he was going to be ideal for an Iraola team so once we got Andoni I was pretty sure he would do well.

Still early days but I'm pleased for the lad. Keep him fit and he should become a fixture in the team.

21 Sep 2026 03:54:13
@Nigerred, are you the jury?

21 Sep 2026 08:54:11
Twelve angry men will be easy enough to find on here, WDW.
As RonK will find out if Jacquet loses his form 😂.

21 Sep 2026 09:49:42
🙂 can't get Henry Fonda out of my head now @Rigsby 🙂.

20 Sep 2026 14:48:30
Michael Oliver doing his best to disrupt us as always.

20 Sep 2026 14:56:08
I think we are doing a pretty good job of that ourselves.

20 Sep 2026 15:00:21
Oliver is about as good as we are.

20 Sep 2026 16:00:34
Tough away game, as they played hard and pressed hard. We go home with 3 points and a clean sheet.

We fought to the end, didn't switch off and the two young lads got valuable minutes late on. Much more experience earned than coming on when we are 3-0 up.

Iraola swerves the 'manager going back to his old club' curse.

20 Sep 2026 16:04:06
Don't care that Isak scored he needs to press more and cause more chaos whilst creating space.

20 Sep 2026 16:10:52
Jk23 😂😂😂😂😂.

20 Sep 2026 19:02:39
@Right, Oliver for the first time in a while, did a decent job.

21 Sep 2026 03:55:03
Nice one @JK 👍👍.

20 Sep 2026 14:35:27
Dont know how much longer we can persist with wirtz in the team offering absolutely nothing so far.

20 Sep 2026 14:42:14
Zippy - posters on here will tell you it's a witch hunt, he's the creative spark, and needs better runners around him, and it's not his fault.

People will seemingly make excuses for him until the cows come home.

The reality is he isn't doing the basics - simple passes, controlling the ball, winning duels, challenging for 50/50s.

Whether people are blind to it or just so desperate for him to succeed and not admit it - he's playing poorly, should be dropped and Dom should be released into the 10 role.

To be clear - if things don't change, Wirtz will be known as one of the biggest transfer flops in Premier League history.

20 Sep 2026 14:50:35
He needs dropping until we see a positive response. So disappointed with him it's unbelievable.

20 Sep 2026 14:52:46
We were never a team set up for a 10.
The game now demands so much more from these luxury 10's.
You don't get from wirtz the strength, physicality or aerial ability you'd get with a Bellingham.
He could be a fantastic player but unless there's a overhaul in several first team positions, he's not going to be a long term Liverpool player.


We have a lot of big earners who are not consistently good passers. That's a major issue.

20 Sep 2026 15:00:35
100 % lads I just don't think he's suited to the pace and physicality of the league unless he ups his game I can see us taking a hit on him next summer and letting him go.

Really hope he can prove us all wrong and go on to have a super successful career with us but nothing is changing so I just can't see it personally.

20 Sep 2026 15:02:40
I really really hope he comes good, he undoubtedly has talent, but is so ineffective. He covers ground and tries but never really makes an impact .i sadly think he needs dropping for a while too.

20 Sep 2026 15:13:05
Between him and Isak that's a quarter of a billion not very well spent.

20 Sep 2026 15:14:44
As I was just saying.

20 Sep 2026 16:04:41
I think Wirtz will return from the international break a different player.

He will either listen to Klopp's advice and push on, or he will take the easy option and wait for Bayern to make their move.

However, today, apart from the run that took the defender away from Isak for our goal, Wirtz offered very little. Passed badly and couldn't trap the ball to save his life. He needs to be stronger on the ball too.

20 Sep 2026 19:30:34
Hope Wirtz kicks on and becomes the player we bought or he can be but I think he will be sold this summer if things don't improve.

20 Sep 2026 10:26:48
Eds666 why do you think Isak dosen't press, is down to fitness, laziness or sounds daft but does he not know how to properly.
appreciate you input eds as always?

{Ed666's Note - he hasn’t had to in his previous jobs so it’s alien to him.

20 Sep 2026 12:27:03
A very good afternoon all Ed's and Reds 😃. Here's hoping for 3pts beside the sea today YNWA.

20 Sep 2026 13:42:58
I'm going for a 2-1 to us but can't let them score first.

{Ed666's Note - but if we win 2-1 does it matter if they score first? 🤣

20 Sep 2026 13:44:57
2-2 for me, think it'll be an exciting game and Gakpo & Wirtz will get on the scoresheet.

20 Sep 2026 13:59:46
Bristol, they hdve scored first in all their PL games and haven't won, so I wouldn't be too worried.

20 Sep 2026 14:25:43
Pretty dire so far and Wirtz has forgotten how to play so far. No real energy or press from us so far.

{Ed666's Note - nothing positive apart from JJ whose keeping us in the game

20 Sep 2026 14:24:34
You know what I mean Ed! 😂👍👍.

{Ed666's Note - 😁

20 Sep 2026 15:11:10
The difference between the cup game with the high energy pressing youngsters, and this one is night and day.

Wirtz off, Slob to 10, Treyoni on?

Last 10 mins Koumas for Isak?

20 Sep 2026 16:01:32
Thankfully you got your wish Barry.
But phew!! Winning ugly.
Liked Trey when he came on.
Didn't do everything right, but I think there's a player there.
I'm trying not to be too negative on Isak because he did score, but if we could only inject some of Koumas' enthusiasm and pressing into him we'd have a class player.

20 Sep 2026 09:55:44
Hi Ed033, possible for a poll?

Do you wish Salah was here for one more season? Options Yes, Indifferent and No.

{Ed033's Note -


Salah poll

20 Sep 2026 10:34:02
In hindsight we should've kept him

It was the right time to let Salah go

But nobody could envision the club would be so stupid to not sign a replacement right winger. What a terrible idea that was.

20 Sep 2026 10:38:05
Name me one that wanted to join or was available at a reasonable price?
Mbaye might have been the only one?

20 Sep 2026 10:43:39
I think regardless we should not have let him go before signing a player. It's not hindsight, but letting your first choice and only right winger leave before getting a replacement means that clubs can demand a high fee since they know you will be desperate to fill the position.

Had we signed Semeneyo like we should have in January, I would have been fine with Salah departing.

20 Sep 2026 11:34:43
7 goals and 2 assists in 6 games. He's doing okay. How are we doing with his replacement(s) on the RW?

More important than his performances over there, is the lack of a replacement for him here. Sheer glaring stupidity. No suitable replacement available? Fine, then why push out a player under contract for free? Like I said. Stupidity. I would have taken 10-15 goals from him this season, with gone legs, age and all of the rest of the bla bla bla.

20 Sep 2026 12:36:07
I think in hindsight we kept him a year too long. His last season was dreadful. I think you can only blame Slot for some of it as well. Mo's first touch was awful, he couldn't beat a man and just looked slower all round.
We can't keep players forever and it's the clubs failure for not planning ahead.


Glad he's having a good time in the Turkish league but in the Prem I think he had had his day.
In answer to the question though, I'd rather have Mo on that right wing than Rio. But I'd much rather have a proper replacement for Mo, than keep Mo.

20 Sep 2026 13:22:25
I have to agree with you there Mikey.

20 Sep 2026 13:52:26
If we'd have kept Salah would we have purchased BB? He was on what. £400k a week?

Also - even a 3-5% difference in quality of opposition is the difference between a hattrick, or running into traffic (which is what he did last season).

{Ed666's Note - nodes about the finances but he was running into traffic because of the prehistoric tactics slot employed

20 Sep 2026 14:24:24
So many times I'm sure i was not alone in groaning as the ball pinged off Salah. Sure the team was set up wrong too but Salah had still dropped of a cliff compared to previous years.

I"m not dissing him. He's King Salah for a reason!

{Ed666's Note - and whose form didn’t fall off last season did they all get sold?

20 Sep 2026 15:08:39
Fair.

20 Sep 2026 17:22:13
There was a serious push from many fans to sell Macca too after his performance last season, 'legs have gone' @ 27 years old, now this season he is probably 1st name on sheet for midfield- forms is temporary, sure salahs age and trajectory are moving in the decline but he would still offer a lot on and off the pitch.

I would be curious to know once Slot was sacked was there any conversation about remaining or was the dye fully cast.

20 Sep 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Rangers Recruitment: Patience Versus Immediate Demands