Liverpool banter 5

14 Aug 2026 12:17:58
Random one but I was watching some of Crouchy’s best goals, and one of them was assisted by Finnan. Got me wondering what happened to him. I also rated him highly; he was very consistent and a great crosser.
Anyway, on reading I hear he killed an 81 year old man by speeding in 2005 for which he served no sentence.

After leaving Liverpool he didn’t play much for his next two teams. He then worked as a property developer and was sued by his brother and last year filed for bankruptcy.
What a fall from grace and I cannot believe he went unpunished for killing that man, shocking really, though sounds like karma got him in the end.

14 Aug 2026 13:03:00
"We've gorra a right back called Steve Finnan"...

14 Aug 2026 13:38:50
It is a shame, MoT.

From other posts here a few years back, I'm sure he was pretty much a recluse who shunned the limelight and didn't enjoy fame.

I do, however, have a rare original signature of his (along with most of the rest of the team in 2006)!

14 Aug 2026 15:03:56
Indeed Zed, he was always one of my favourites from that era.
Pretty call to have all those signatures.

14 Aug 2026 13:36:43
What a bizarre and truly ignorant malicious comment. You know nothing about the incident or how it affected finnan and you're on here spewing like you're god.
Go find the man himself since you're super interested in a 20 year old incident and say it to his face.

14 Aug 2026 16:31:58
An underrated and reliable player, imo. Did not know about the controversy in his personal life, that's wild considering he always seemed like the quiet type who never got in any sort of trouble.

Was reading up on the incident; he was doing 58 in a 30. He avoided sentencing because expert crash analysis determined his speed wasn't the causing factor, and had he been travelling at the speed limit, the incident would have still occurred.

Witnesses also testified that the victim stepped out in the road unexpectedly, at a place he shouldn't have. Finnan swerved immediately and managed to avoid hitting the victim head on, but the gentleman was clipped by Finnan's wing mirror, which knocked him to the ground, causing fractures to his legs and head trauma. The gentleman passed away 5 weeks later due to complications from his injuries, pneumonia being the eventual cause, with his age seeming to be a considerable factor in his inability to recover.



A very unfortunate incident indeed.

He wasn't sued by his brother; it was the other way around. Steve and his brother Sean had a joint venture in property management. Steve provided a lot of the funding through personal loans and Sean managed the operation. By 2016, Steve noticed the companies had no money, despite significant investment.

Sean was found to be mismanaging the funds, and so Steve took him to court, eventually settling for £4m in damages, but Sean never paid, instead filing for bankruptcy. Steve, of course, was left with massive loans and legal fees, which he couldn't afford to pay, that on top of several failed lawsuits for negligence against 2 soliciting firms that formerly represented him, resulted in him eventually having to file for bankruptcy.

Seems Finnan should have stayed in Spain.

14 Aug 2026 16:37:59
Inconclusive evidence he was at fault for it.

14 Aug 2026 17:37:52
Doing twice the speed limit and yet that wasn't a factor. If he managed to swerve at 60, imagine his reaction time at 30mph.

14 Aug 2026 17:44:58
He was Mr consistent, Finnan, good player.

14 Aug 2026 10:56:20
I must admit, I do find it kinda funny, that many of us thought that once the World Cup concluded that Liverpool would be more active in the transfer market. And, what do we have to show for it, a loanee centre back with an injury history similar to Joe Gomez.

After an entire month, that is all we have managed to accomplish. Life as Hughes must be swell. Spend weeks negotiating, trying to draw the fee down, only to pay what the other club wanted at the very beginning (ala Wirtz, Isak and every other signing). Master negotiator.

Hughes on that Brock Lesnar contract, you know. Turns up occasionally and puts in the minimum work required.

{Ed025's Note - dont forget Munoz..

14 Aug 2026 11:15:46
Hughes should've gone with Arne.

14 Aug 2026 11:18:11
I personally think the quicker they finalise things, the more time the manager has with the players, and to carry out his ideas.

I wonder if LFC are delaying till the end of the window, when there's a mad scramble.

14 Aug 2026 11:30:36
You're probably right, PostKlopp. Negotiations are mostly about who blinks first in the face of demands; even if it comes down to the last minute.

14 Aug 2026 11:37:56
Postklopp, can't imagine why we'd be delaying, it's definitely PSG holding things up, and LFC holding out for fear of losing their man, likely unwilling to commit to any significant other purchases before the biggest one is concluded, if we even have any more definitely planned.

Also, remember, the club doesn't have the same targets many of the fanbase does. I did say at the start of the window I'd be happy enough with, and wouldn't be surprised if we only moved for 2x wingers and a RB, and it's starting to look like that's all we're getting.

14 Aug 2026 11:49:18
I do agree with ya.

Also it's clear we really don't know who they are targeting, as Munoz and Araujo were both out of the blue.

I think 2 will come in late just by their behaviour.

14 Aug 2026 11:52:13
But we're not the only ones who have been negotiating for a play for a while. Barca for Rodri, City for Enzo.

Big transfers take a lot of time, we just need to be patient.

14 Aug 2026 12:06:29
Postklopp, For sure, I think between attempts to plug the leaks and a likely last-minute reshuffling of targets under the guise of Iraola, it was always going to be a bit difficult to predict this summer's targets. 2 wouldn't surprise me, depending on how quickly we can get Barcola done.

14 Aug 2026 12:16:37
That's so not true, Mango, you're making stuff up to suit your agenda against Hughes.

Newcastle spent all summer either saying Isak was not for sale or they wanted £150m. We ended up paying £125m.

Leverkusen were quoting £135m for Wirtz to all bidders. We paid £116m.

On top of that is the payment structures. You can agree a deal, but you also need to agree a payment structure that suits your club. Not many clubs can pay those sums of money all in one go.

I actually admire Hughes' ambition. He is trying to sign the very best players available and going up against the biggest clubs in the world in the process.

It's exactly what Liverpool FC should be doing.

We will always get a smattering of players from the next tier down like Munoz, Frimpong, Kerkez, who we will try to improve but we are identifying a priority position (winger this year) and going after the very best players we can.

That's to be applauded if you ask me. Sure it means we can't address all areas in one window but I'd rather build the squad by signing the very best players over 3 or 4 summers than sign a lot of average players all in one summer.

14 Aug 2026 12:35:56
What's your suggestion Lfcs_Mango? Pay what price the selling team states straight away? So 'fans' like you can then complain why we spent so much money when the player has one bad game.



Most people spend their lives trying to knock off pennies off the price of potatoes and beans, you can't comprehend knocking off 'few million' for a player the other team has no need to sell.

14 Aug 2026 12:50:58
I like that we don't take a scattergun approach to the market.

14 Aug 2026 16:37:50
"The very best players" is subjective tho, isn't it? At the minute, they are the dearest players, that's for sure. They certainly haven't pulled up any trees for Liverpool yet.

Also, without being in negotiations with Newcastle or Leverkusen, you are not going to actually know what's being quoted for the players. What you've done is read an article and took it as gospel.

14 Aug 2026 10:30:50
Long term reader but first time post. Are Arsenal trying to buy Quansah? If he's available, do you think we should get him back now?
Love this site, keep up all the good work. Hopefully we can get some signings done this week.

14 Aug 2026 11:10:16
See the Rumours page, especially to see your twin's welcome message, lol!

14 Aug 2026 09:26:22
Ed,
Can we have another vote please.
Allisson is in his final year and the club must be looking at alternatives already
Can we ask the readers/posters who they would like to see replace Allisson at the end of the season?

Mama to stay and take over
Kelleher (Brentford)
Lunin (Real)
Roefs (Sunderland)
Costa (Porto)
Verbruggen (Brighton)

None come close to Allisson of two or three seasons ago I know but we have to replace him soon enough like.

{Ed033's Note -


GK poll

14 Aug 2026 10:29:00
Seeing as we're shopping at PSG now, what about Chevalier? I don't know much about him tbh. Just a suggestion for those who do know.

14 Aug 2026 10:40:14
At the very least you need to add an 'other' option.

14 Aug 2026 10:40:29
Marco Carnesecchi from Atalanta would be a very good option in my opinion.

14 Aug 2026 10:53:52
Alisson to get a new deal should have been an option too imo.

14 Aug 2026 10:55:18
imo, Lunin and Roefs are way beyond the Liverpool standard. Costa doesn't get test often in the Portuguese league, can't say. Kelleher... would he want to come back and put on the shift? Verbruggen... I'm not convinced.
My preference would be giving an extended contract to Alisson or bringing in Mile Svilar.

14 Aug 2026 11:29:33
None of them... I still hope it can be Jaros.

14 Aug 2026 11:51:51
Can Jaros not step up?

14 Aug 2026 11:56:09
I would also like Jaros added to list please Ed as he would be my vote

{Ed033's Note - Jaros added to voting options.

14 Aug 2026 12:51:47
I vote for Jaros then.

14 Aug 2026 14:31:50
I had a suspicion lots would go for Costa from Porto and he is the clear winner.
I'm not convinced personally, it's a poor league apart from the Top 3 and I don't understand the fervour to sign him.
I like Lunin personally, think he is a very good keeper and wasted where he is.


Jaros was added (thanks Ed033) but got very few votes.
Alisson is no longer dependable enough misses 1/3 of every season now and wants to go by the way.

14 Aug 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - phil_LFC has posted a new article entitled, Aroujo to Liverpool: What He Adds and What Worries Me

14 Aug 2026 08:18:19
Nice read that.

14 Aug 2026 09:50:39
Well done Phil, fingers crossed he stays fit.

14 Aug 2026 04:29:56
Gavi - incoming.

14 Aug 2026 05:28:14
Confident on that Nevada?
Shame we don't go after their RB too. 🙄

14 Aug 2026 07:28:48
Our squad balance really seems to be a haphazard plan. Last season, it seemed we just picked up good players that we had no definitive plan for, and how to get the best out of them. Now we gonna do it again.

I like Gavi, but we have no need for him. It almost seems we are planning (if that's possible) to keep it tight in the middle, not use wingers, and have attacking mids move wide with fullback support.

It seems even more likely the idea, if Bellinghend was a target too.

In the end, I wouldn't mind our structure being changed to suit the team, if that's what AI is thinking to do. Just feel we need to target the correct players for the correct system we are going to use. Not scattergun grab as many excellent players we can and shoehorn them in.

14 Aug 2026 07:51:33
Tremendous player pre-injury. Not sure if he'll ever be the same.
Has a EUR1B release clause. 😂

14 Aug 2026 07:54:14
I'm sure I heard someone say "there's rumblings that Gavi's on".
Or it could possibly have been "my tummy's rumbling I need Gaviscon"?

14 Aug 2026 07:59:36
That's what happens, Mr Jones, when your CEO of football leaves and your sporting director has one foot out the door. At this point, it seems to be about getting numbers in rather than a cohesive plan.

14 Aug 2026 08:01:08
Mr. Jones, with all due respect, what makes you say we have no need for a mobile ball winner in midfield? It is one of the biggest gaps in the squad, and I think 90% of fans would probably agree with that. Camara, Sadiki and Bouaddi have been names on everyone's lips all summer.

Gavi has huge red flags about his injury history, but he is exactly what we lack in midfield. He'll get absolutely all over the pitch and be aggressive hunting to win back possession. Grav is too passive, Macca is too slow to get around the pitch, Szobo can't do all the running on his own, Endo is too old to get around the pitch, Jones is also too passive and Nyoni is only 19.



A fit Gavi is exactly what we need, in my opinion. He'll get stuck into tackles, he'll challenge for headers, he'll press, he'll track his runners etc. It's also another clear indicator of Iraola impacting our transfer targets if it happens with another raid on La Liga, and I'm pretty sure AI knows what we need to implement his system.

14 Aug 2026 08:01:42
Yeh, I would have been much more excited a couple of years ago. Would be big money on a huge risk unless we got another loan to buy option type deal.

We need robust bodies, especially in the middle. Especially as the Prem is more physical than La Liga too.

14 Aug 2026 08:08:44
I like Gavi as a player, but I do worry if there is anything left of his knee.

14 Aug 2026 08:25:08
Gavi's injuries are all from impact, so I wouldn't necessarily label him injury prone, just unlucky.

Personally, I only pay attention to injury history if it's repeated muscle injuries, because they're likely to reoccur for their whole career.

I tore my ACL and it never bothered me again, but I've strained my left neck and shoulder numerous times and know that, no matter how much work I put in, I will probably do it again at some point.



The versatility of Gavi and Szoboszlai behind Wirtz gives me a lot more confidence than the other options in the squad right now, and I can't imagine the fee would be crazy.

14 Aug 2026 08:54:26
I love how people not involved in the club know unequivocally that a certain target isn't what our squad/tactics need. Tell me how au fey you are with exactly what Andoni wants his team to do and the gaps in said player profile he's identified?

We bought some great people last window who Slot didn't know how to get the best out of.



We've been linked with Wharton and the premise of that is someone who can receive the ball and get it forward quickly. I imagine that's exactly the type of role we have in mind for Gavi.

14 Aug 2026 09:03:10
How do you strain your left neck.. I hope your right neck is still good?

14 Aug 2026 09:05:06
Would have been over the moon to get him 3 years ago. Would be very very wary of going near him now for obvious reasons, smashing little baller, just doubt he would hold up in England. We've just brought in a player who managed just 11 starts for Barca last season (for context, Gomez started 11) and have the likes of Gomez, Bradley and Frimpong at the club who, to say the least, are injury prone.

We need players who have a past record of been available and starting games.

14 Aug 2026 09:05:31
Hey MK, hope you are well and always appreciate your insight.

I've always been under the impression when I've watched Gavi, he is very similar to Wirtz in his work rate, lung-busting running and tight ball control and passing. I'm no expert at footballers, so I hold my hands up with my opinions and happy to learn.



With his injury record he doesn't seem to be robust, and that's what I think we need. My pref would have been Anderson or Sadiki.

One of my all time favourite players was Sissoko. Wish we could clone him.

14 Aug 2026 09:12:26
Bigh81 - Presumably the same way you would strain the right side of your back and not the left side. 🙄

14 Aug 2026 09:14:17
We don't need any more injury concerns. Gavi is a major injury concern. As major as it gets.

14 Aug 2026 09:17:01
Changingofthegvardiol, with all due respect, everyone is entitled to their opinion. And your comment sounds like every single signing in LFCs history has been an utter success. Maybe we sign him and maybe he goes on to prove a lot of people wrong. Maybe he doesn't, but why do you get an opinion but then take issue when others post theirs?

Artur, for example, the coaching team wanted...where everyone from the outside world could see it was a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm not saying I'd be against signing Gavi, and certainly if there was a similar arrangement to Araujo, but I'd definitely have my doubts based on the amount of appearances he has in a lesser league for physical demand. No doubting his ability, but for me it would be a huge gamble if we spent big on him.

Of course, one that could really pay off if he does the business given his age, but also could be another Thiago, who I loved as a player, by the way. But people have rose tinted glasses of Thiago based on how good he was and his character (seems like a top bloke to have around). But the cold hard facts is for the wages Thiago was on, he didn't play enough games for us (unfortunately).

In the middle of the park in the prem, we need bite. I feel like we have good technical players like Gavi, Wirtz / Macca, for example.

But again, the beauty of being a fan on these boards is one person's opinion shouldn't be bashed because you don't agree with it.

14 Aug 2026 09:32:56
You could say that Brown Jesus, but he's also an intense player that will get himself into lots of situations where impact will happen. Great terrier-like presser, v press resistant, and a very neat and tidy passer. But a big risk unless the fee is reasonable, given he's had 3 knee injuries in the last couple of years.

14 Aug 2026 09:44:12
Mr Jones, Gavi can play as a left winger, so maybe you’ve caught those games where he was playing a similar role to Wirtz for Germany.

However, he is predominantly a ball winning midfielder. Creativity and scoring goals is something he can do, but not what he specialises in.

He's a lot like Joao Neves at PSG. A real midfield battler.

The problem is his knee. If Nevada is correct, then that medical better be water tight.

14 Aug 2026 10:09:36
We lack physicality in midfield, and bringing another weedy injury prone lightweight isn't fixing that. The fact he's had two serious injuries on the same knee that has kept him out of competitive football for over 100 games in the last 3 seasons should be enough to bin this daft idea off.

That issue is just going to get worse and worse over time in a more physical league. One of the best ability is availability, and this lad just doesn't have that. We're a football club not an orthopaedic hospital or a charity. Signing a sicknote is not a "market opportunity".

14 Aug 2026 10:20:42
He's neither weedy nor lightweight, VV. Tay assessment is way off the mark.

But at least we agree on the concerns about his knee.

14 Aug 2026 10:57:35
He's not weedy or lightweight at all. He's all action. Similar to Joao Neves or Valverde, I'd say.

14 Aug 2026 11:59:10
Have we all just watched the same YouTube profile of him?

14 Aug 2026 12:11:05
Haha, love that Vik: "The best ability is availability." Sounds like something the missus would say in a huff after missing her call.

14 Aug 2026 12:32:46
By all means have your opinion, I'm obviously not blocking that.

I'm just pointing out it's funny that armchair fans imply that people at the club have no plan for what they're doing (pure conjecture).

So many people on here seem to think they know better than people who actually get paid to do the job. There's zero chance the average fan watches anywhere near enough games to deem certain players not good enough.

They've either watched a handful of games, googled their basic bitch stats or YouTube highlighted them.

Someone who is flavour of the month now will be deemed dog turd by the same "experts" on here in a few years time.

{Ed001's Note - to be fair most of the people on here could probably do a better job of coaching than Roberto Martinez, but he gets very well paid to be so crap at his job. So why do you think that people are better at it simply because they get paid to do it? Most of them are in the job simply because they used to play football, rather than because they show any aptitude for the job. Sammy Lee was a case in point, absolute dog muck on the coaching course but somehow sailed through them with top marks.}

14 Aug 2026 13:08:51
Change, sorry mate, if my differing opinion made you so angry. I'll point out that it seems you're implying you're a far superior fan who has better opinions than "armchair fans", what fans are allowed to have an opinion on the club?

Regardless, and without turning this into a s*** flinging match (I have already ha), I'll keep posting my views and I know many will be incorrect, but that's why this is a discussion page and like MK so graciously did was show me a different angle and not just moan because he didn't agree.



And I'll stand by my view that that our transfer plans have been haphazard at times with not replacing glaring weaknesses in the squad.

And I'll also still stand by my view that I would prefer Sadiki over Gavi.

14 Aug 2026 13:24:51
Your post hasn't made me remotely angry?

I'm also not suggesting I'm a superior fan (I'm really not).

I'm just pointing out that accusing the club of a lack of a plan is quite different to a fan not being privy to what the plan is.

13 Aug 2026 19:50:04
We lack characters in the squad. Bellingham, whether unlikely or not, I'd welcome all day long based on quality but also his personality. That real edge to want to win at all costs. There's a lot of softness in that squad.

13 Aug 2026 20:29:34
Bellingham = When you order Stevie G off Temu.

{Ed025's Note - i like that CH..

13 Aug 2026 20:35:08
I think we'd all welcome Bellingham, mate.

I doubt anyone would be against us signing Jude Belligham.

13 Aug 2026 22:11:54
NK, I love Bellingham, but we have Wirtz and Szob. For me, it would be another expensive signing for a player we don't need. We clearly need wingers, fb and a dm with good progressive passing ability. Not another 8/10, though of course he is class, but doesn't address our need.

13 Aug 2026 22:11:55
Yeh but then Trent would want to come back.

Sod that. 😂

13 Aug 2026 22:28:44
I'd take Trent back before getting Bellingham. 😁

13 Aug 2026 20:46:24
I think it sums it up quite well Ed025 mate - decent enough player but I don't see what others seem to fanboy over 🤷‍♂️

13 Aug 2026 20:54:05
Bellingham is an excellent player, I think most teams in world would like him. At present for me I'd rather give wirtz go in that no.10 spot which I think is Bellingham best position.

An aggressive defensive minded midfielder is what we lacking at min imo
If I remember correctly I think ed1 said at time he left Dortmund for madrid his father wanted him to go to lfc

14 Aug 2026 04:46:05
Bellingham a Temu Gerrard? Shivers, that's rough.

14 Aug 2026 07:21:04
Couldn't Wirtz play LHS and Bellingham centre? Just asking.

14 Aug 2026 07:31:31
Yeah, I suppose we could do that, alright, Shankly. Wirtz has played a lot on the left in his career.
Still, I think our midfield priority should be a more defensive type, a young Rodri would do the trick!

14 Aug 2026 09:07:07
Bellingham's top class at the moment. Comparing any of these guys around today against Stevie, there's only one winner in fairness.

14 Aug 2026 09:30:21
It's pretty irrelevant how he compares to SG tbf, and he's currently one of the best players around in his position. He isn't coming to us anyway, but agree with others we could do with someone of his ability and drive in our team.

13 Aug 2026 18:20:41
New poster but longterm lurker. Can I just say [500 words of rote old pap and a lot of asskissing].

People are just people!

YNWA.

Ps. Like me.

13 Aug 2026 19:24:53
Zeddicus, did you miss out on LeBoeufCurtains (Furniture Post?)

Looking at the above post, seems Curtains has been on the contents of the Brandy Decanter on the Dining Room Table! Now empty?

He's better changing his name to Danny Drinkwater instead! Especially in this hot weather ...........

13 Aug 2026 17:51:31
Question for the Eds.
How many more players do you think we'll sign in this window and in what positions.
I think we'll sign a winger, a centre mid, a relatively unknown right back and one more if Macca or gakpo leave
I'll take my rose tinted glasses off and put down my half full glass shortly

{Ed001's Note - no idea.}

13 Aug 2026 18:47:39
I'd say nine more in. Three out.

13 Aug 2026 20:10:57
None while that moron Hughes is still at the club

14 Aug 2026 01:32:36
3 in 3 out is my take on it.

Outs for me are Jones first, Chiesa next and then possibly Gakpo with a maximum return of around £110m.

Ins, if it is only 3, should be Barcola, Marmoush and Mbaye, although I think we have really messed up at rb and should have pushed for Kayode or Kounde.

14 Aug 2026 07:06:40
Jones, Cheisa, Endo, Gomez, Tsimikas and Elliott should all be out together.

14 Aug 2026 10:12:34
Sadly, Gomez is out until October, so won't pass a medical, so we are stuck with him. Hopefully, the club doesn't do something stupid like giving him a new deal!