Liverpool banter 6

30 Jan 2026 21:13:50
There's interest in Curtis Jones from Inter Milan.

30 Jan 2026 21:24:08
Let them be interested he's Liverpool threw n threw.

30 Jan 2026 21:25:17
Strange one this, but Fabrizio confirming it's for a loan. If this is allowed to happen (and no Jones fanboy by any means) this has to be the stupidest decision in history given the current state of our squad. Even if Dumfries or Bastoni come the other way it wouldn't make sense.

30 Jan 2026 21:34:34
If true, then Jones must of had a falling out with Slot, otherwise it makes zero sense.

30 Jan 2026 21:36:22
So Frode, are you saying that if Jones goes to Inter and Bastoni comes the other way that's not a good move? Really?

30 Jan 2026 21:42:00
It opens the door for nyoni. Jones frustrates me five yard passer who can't tackle. May as well have a traffic cone in midfield and keep moving it sideways and backwards.

30 Jan 2026 21:37:16
Any info on this ed01? Apparently jones and slots relationship is done in hearing Curtis flipped his lid big time and told slot a few home truths regarding playing him and dom at right back, apparently been told he's surplus to requirements which indicates that we're backing slot?

{Ed001's Note - I have heard the rumours, but I haven't had time to check them. It is hard to tell if people are just guessing because Jones wasn't in the squad or if there is something in them. There has been a lot of rancour within the group and between them and the coaching staff this season, so it would be very understandable if things have turned nasty again. The fact that the move is a loan move only suggests that they are not really backing Slot totally. But if Jones takes it, when he has no interest in playing for any other team, will confirm there is something in it.}

30 Jan 2026 21:44:33
@Sean, I think Frode means that we can't afford to diminish our midfield numbers.

30 Jan 2026 21:52:36
I doubt he is Sean, but let's face it Bastoni is not coming in any case. We cannot weaken our squad more at a time when if possible we should be adding to it.

30 Jan 2026 22:05:32
Why not the koparmy? Especially if Elliott is coming back?

If it's a way to get Bastoni through the door I'm all for it.

30 Jan 2026 22:19:39
There has to be a fit and useful player incoming in CJ is going on loan. We are already thin.

Bastoni would be the only Inter player to soften the blow.
This better be some master stroke by Huge, otherwise he is walking the plank.

30 Jan 2026 22:36:46
Thanks Ed, I think slots out of his depth personally.

30 Jan 2026 22:59:08
Bastoni looked out of his depth when we played them and we've been poor.

Not sure he could hack it in the Prem.

31 Jan 2026 06:42:52
Yeah Sean I am saying that you contrarian. Jones is a midfielder who we need and Bastoni is a defender who we also need. You see the difference? Thought not.

31 Jan 2026 06:47:24
I was awaiting the Nyoni can step up case from the moral bunch. No he can't.

30 Jan 2026 21:08:44
Just red on a few sites that inter are interested in a loan deal for curtis jones, any truth in these rumours. Seems a bit odd so late in the window.

30 Jan 2026 21:24:44
It's not worth it.

30 Jan 2026 21:29:33
Plenty of twitter rumours about a bust-up between him and Slot either last week or early this week. Plus then followed up either with him giving the ok for the move or being told he can go. Not sure which of the above (if any) is true.

30 Jan 2026 23:15:45
Not sure why Jones isn't liked, he is a decent footballer, imo this year he has been better than Macallister. he is a local lad so it matters more to him. Big mistake if we move him on in this window.

31 Jan 2026 06:36:07
He has 18 months left on his contract and I bet you he runs it down. As for the not liked part, I just think some like me, become frustrated by him.
I honestly think he has ability on the ball and he can get around the pitch, but I don't know his best position, because he lacks something.
How many times is he passed through? How many times does he hold on to it too long? How many goals does he score? How many successful tackles does he make? How many time does he slow us down, with five yard backward passes?
The only time I have seen a bit of fight in him was against Everton and that was after the game.


Would I be unhappy if we sold him? The answer would be I don't care. He thinks he is better than what he has showed he is.
This my opinion, of somebody who grew up watching Jimmy Case and Terry Mac.

31 Jan 2026 09:55:40
If Jones leaves (doubtful) who is the next choice of whipping boy for the hooples?

30 Jan 2026 16:52:05
Not konate's biggest fan, and sorry to hear about his loss but never be so made up he back in the squad with the injuries.

30 Jan 2026 18:27:03
Much rather have a fit Gomez play tomorrow, Konate would be a bag of rubbish against Gordon and Barnes running at him.
He is a flapper, Gomez is a cracking defender when fit, but made of crisps.

30 Jan 2026 20:25:27
Cant stay fit though, never has and even less likely he ever will. We should have sold Gomez when someone would have given us £30m or so for him a coupla years ago. I like the guy but the love he gets on here compared to other players who represent the club is crazy.

30 Jan 2026 21:26:46
Bag off Gomez? Your opinion is yours but are you 4 real lad? He is twice the defender Ibou is.

30 Jan 2026 21:42:38
@FM, it was Newcastle at the time we had our eye on Gordon. If it is a choice of a good defender who needs his injury managed or a crap defender who is fit I'd rather go with 5he good defender.

31 Jan 2026 13:23:47
Well neither Slot nor Klopp seem to have preferred joe over ibou, no matter how nice a guy he is.

30 Jan 2026 15:10:50
John Barnes could play in any team in any era that includes the worlds best international teams . John had everything you could want in a footballer but most of all he was a very hard working played for the team and was so down to earth. He must of been a dream to manage for King Kenny .

I remember his first goal at Anfield it was after the hole in the kop was fixed against Oxford it was a 25 yard free kick right in the top corner at the kop end i turned to my mate and said we have got something special here and so it proved incidentally Ray Houghton was playing for Oxford and signed for us a few weeks later and as they say the rest was history.

YNWA.

30 Jan 2026 15:51:32
One of the very best, my favourite player is the king but Barnes is well up there. Just special, both of them.

30 Jan 2026 16:43:17
First name I had on the back of my shirt. to be fair I was too young to appreciate it, just caught the tail end of him unfortunately but everyone who speaks about him speak so highly about him.

Heard him called the Henry of his time, as an Irish man I can't stand Thierry as we're still bitter about that handball, but still have to admit he's arguably the greatest the premier league has seen, so not a bad compliment to receive. Or should I say Thierry is the Barnes of the Premier league era. fixed it.

30 Jan 2026 18:02:43
Doubt Thierry would've successfully converted to central midfield if he'd got injured and lost a touch of acceleration.

30 Jan 2026 18:37:36
Class player for sure. we've certainly been blessed with some crackers. Check out some of Beardsley highlights also. tbf tho it's a long list ⚽️👏✌.

30 Jan 2026 19:18:33
Barnes great player but sad that Evans used him as a fat pudding in midfield towards the end.

30 Jan 2026 19:24:28
Henry excellent in his own right but Barnes was the best player in Europe by a long mile but we were banned. He should never of played for England though they did not know how to use his skills they were more interested in Stuart Pearce bombing down the left wing and Barnes cover him . YNWA.

31 Jan 2026 08:23:22
John Barnes in the candy kit started my passion for this great club, what a player.
We have been blessed with so many great players and we will continue too
YNWA.
Liverpool 3 Newcastle 0.

30 Jan 2026 12:18:16
Liverpool and Tottenham's opponents will be the winners Galatasaray vs Juventus or Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid. City will face the winner of Benfica vs Real or Bodo/ Glimt vs Inter.

Hopefully not AM, they will grind down our low intensity dirge ball tactics.

30 Jan 2026 12:32:17
We beat them once, we can do it again.

30 Jan 2026 12:47:41
We've already beaten Atletico this season and to be honest they looked rubbish. We made a meal of it by slowing the game down at 2-0 up. It was actually us that made it into a low intensity affair and nearly threw the game.

I am more concerned about either Galatasaray or Juventus. Gala because they play with a really high intensity press which we struggled with last time due to Konate being weak in possession, and on top of that we absolutely capitulated at their stadium because of the wall of noise.

Juventus I am only concerned about because they're a completely unknown quantity to me. I've not watched them for years so I've no idea how they play or is they're in a good place right now. I know they're 5th in Serie A but we're 6th in the Premier League so who knows whether that's a fair reflection of their ability on their day. For example, on our day we can literally beat the team currently top of the Champions League and Premier League (we've already done it this season, and not conceded a goal in 180 minutes against Arsenal).

30 Jan 2026 13:01:16
I'll tell you who I'm concerned about. Liverpool.

If we hit a bit of form (coz we've hit none this season) then we've got a massive chance to Win it. The team is good enough

I'm just concerned we'll Limp out early with a Whimper, like we did in the league.

30 Jan 2026 13:06:52
Galatasaray could possibly squeak a 1-0 again at their own stadium, though I think it unlikely that will happen again because the last time they won through a dodgy penalty and many of our new signings still finding their feet while we somehow failed to put the ball in the net, there's no way Galatasaray are going to beat us over two legs.

Juventus are not a team to fear in my opinion, we are several levels above them in terms of physicality and technique. Yes, we look like we aren't fit enough for the PL, but Europe is a totally different kettle of fish, in the CL prem teams are like race cars compared to scooters. It's the sad reality of the imbalance in power, status and money in the European game. Even Tottenham looked a class above Dortmund in that last game, and Dortmund are not a poor team in crisis, they are far and away the second best team in Germany after Bayern.

I think the next round feels relatively straightforward for Liverpool, if the injuries don't affect us too badly and we get bodies back by the time it comes around. If we get to the semis Isak will probably be back fit, let's hope.

30 Jan 2026 13:08:45
We also beat Bournemouth once this season.

We shouldn't fear Athletco but they are still the best of the 4 teams we could face.

30 Jan 2026 13:30:22
No idea on juve r bruges but I think we would best gala comfortably. thought they v lucky to beat us out there earlier and would hold no fears of them at all especially with 2nd leg at anfield. Wouldn't want Atletico, not that they brilliant but they type of team we struggling with at present.

30 Jan 2026 16:23:48
The champions league could be anybody's this year.

If Liverpool pull their finger out there is no reason they can't go on and win it.

30 Jan 2026 16:38:57
That's a big if, wassa. We're not winning the CL.

30 Jan 2026 16:51:40
Dont see why not at all Salah. Some good teams but no one i would be absolutely dreading to play. Its ok to think we might have a change even with the great big boogeyman Slot in charge.

30 Jan 2026 20:47:32
We've already beaten 4 of the top 10 from the league phase. Remind me why we can't win the Champions League again?

31 Jan 2026 06:50:18
In the next round we'll play a team that finished outside the top 10.

Google it.

30 Jan 2026 10:29:04
Frimpong out for weeks Frimpong in just six months has missed more football than he ever has in his career so far. This mollycoddling training regime that was supposed to help with injuries needs to be looked at if Slot continues into next season.

30 Jan 2026 10:46:48
Step up in intensity when they come to England, coupled with that explosive players like him just generally tend to have more problems with the hammies. put the two together and you can get the odd frimpong. Not everything can be blamed on the training regime, we make out like the players are sittin around Kirkby playing tiddlywinks allday.

30 Jan 2026 11:36:06
Shouldn't all fast players that were signed in the summer from other countries for all PL teams be in the same boat as him though.

He's been explosive all of his career and his hammies been ok.

Wasn't Wed night a groin issue?

30 Jan 2026 11:38:00
Your abilities and fitness levels as a footballer will be tested the moment you arrive in the PL. That's a certainty.

Joel Matip after his first season, said he couldn't believe how physically strong PL forwards were in the PL and the levels of intensity it was. And we all know how often JM picked up knocks and muscle injuries.

30 Jan 2026 11:46:54
We are not riddled with muscle injuries throughout the squad.

Leoni and Bradley - knee
Isak - broken leg - impact injury
Gomez - impact injury

Can't blame the training for any of those.

It would seem what's happened to Frimpong is an outlier so just unlucky. Could be that he's trying to impress so much that he's a bit tense which will in turn cause muscle tears.

30 Jan 2026 12:32:57
His two hammy injuries vs Bournemouth and Frankfurt came from him sprinting at a very low stance with the weight of an opposition player being applied to him. I could see the hamstring injury happening in real time with those two.

Not something you would want to have to deal with often unless you are a physical monster like Mo Salah.

This recent groin injury could well be connected to the hammy injuries.

For a player that has a relatively clean injury record before joining us, this is not a good look for Ruben Peeters.

30 Jan 2026 12:35:57
We saved some serious money over the Klopp era having 2 World Class fullbacks for a combined £8m.

We could do with buying some defenders.
Frimpong looks like he could join the injury-prone list with Gomez and Bradley at this rate. Konate obviously wants out. Very worrying how thin we are in defence.

30 Jan 2026 13:05:50
You don't know a single thing about how the players train.

30 Jan 2026 14:53:16
Musiala, they are supposed to be elite athletes it is not like they are playing on ploughed fields . Injuries like Frimpong has are caused from fitness levels not stretching his muscles and hamstrings in warm ups . He would of suffered in his former team with same injuries but he did not football is football where ever you play it comparing Bunderleague and premier league is BS players in Germany get hamstring or calf injuries it is down to training, eating right, resting stretching, that all come through the right training.

30 Jan 2026 15:05:42
I know a lot more than you about the way the players train when training with Liverpool. I can assure you that.

30 Jan 2026 15:31:48
Can't imagine that Frimpong didn't stretch properly before the game albey, he's a professional athlete with a fitness team behind him. Slot already said that he was in the red recently, which is why he took him off against Bournemouth. The fitness team can make a fair estimate as to when an injury would be likeliest when a player is pushed over the threshold, but it's not an exact science.

I'm pretty sure nobody would have wanted Frimpong to have played so many minutes after Bradley went out for the season and Mo was out at Afcon, he had to fill in for both positions, let's not forget that Frimpong was injured very recently himself.

30 Jan 2026 16:05:36
I blame the wind.

30 Jan 2026 16:54:57
They are elite athletes, at an elite club but injurys happen. Like someone said, a lot of our longterm injuries (isak, leoni and bradley) have nothing to do with training.

30 Jan 2026 17:48:35
Weeks? 2, 5, 10, 15?
Weeks could be a PR line to placate the fans until the window closes then we'll find out actually how many 'weeks' it will be.

30 Jan 2026 21:48:01
Jeez @Endo, you'll be losing your Arne Out membership card suggesting that he might still be here next season.

@TB2, you could have stopped after the sixth word.

30 Jan 2026 21:48:01
Jeez @Endo, you'll be losing your Arne Out membership card suggesting that he might still be here next season.

@TB2, you could have stopped after the sixth word.

30 Jan 2026 22:31:20
Musiala, Isak, Bradley are to do with training firstly Isak did not have a preseason he struggled since he came yes the injury was through a tackle but before that he was out injured. Bradley had a full preseason and has had a couple of injuries which if have kept him out of the team so something is not right .


Konate has injury problems and has not looked fit for a while .
Endo so enlighten me about your knowledge of the training at LFC really interested in being educated . YNWA.

30 Jan 2026 10:20:52
Newcastles injury's for the weekend.
No Livramento
Joelinton
Schar
Murphy
Krath

Barnes and Gordon running at whoever plays RB will be our issue.

Liverpool injury wise
Jones back if feeling better
Gomez is tight
Konate is 50/ 50 but Slot said he hopes he's back.
Frimpong few weeks

Here's hoping for a win.

30 Jan 2026 11:15:16
I think to be honest, you just have to trust Endo at RB after how well he played the other night. I'd still prefer it if Ramsay was given a chance but I've accepted that just isn't going to happen. I really do not want Dom to play there though, that s my main worry. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is never a good idea. Games are won and lost in both penalty areas, but they are controlled in the midfield or by the press (depending on your style of play).

Dom has to be utilised where he can have the biggest impact on the game and that is either in an attacking midfield (central or wide, I'm not fussed) role where he can press or as a box to box 8 where he can work up and down in the heart of the team.

30 Jan 2026 11:31:00
I thought Endo did well there on Wed night but if my memory serves me correctly he came on there against Bournemouth first game of the season and was awful and got moved into Dm.

If rather not have a midfielder there but if there is one against Gordon and Doku I'd rather it be Jones or Szob which might allow Endo into midfield.

Endo against them pair would be like tortoise v the hare.

30 Jan 2026 11:39:35
You're going to have to play the guys you have and come up with a plan to mitigate issues as much as you can. Absentees can't do anything right now. This is where a manager earns his wages, normally.

30 Jan 2026 11:58:02
Here's hoping for a performance win draw lose I don't care I want to a proper Liverpool performance and no more BS excuses from Slot.

30 Jan 2026 12:24:47
Trusting Endo against a team that gave no trouble is a bit different to trusting him against a tricky PL winger MK. It's a car crash waiting to happen in my opinion. If anyone has to play there then it's Szobo unfortunately. If Endo has to play then it's in his DM roll for me.

30 Jan 2026 12:27:15
Quite agree MK. never rob Peter!

30 Jan 2026 12:29:20
Endo's lack of speed means I'd sooner try something else.
Sounds like there's a chance of Jones or Gomez (although he may be needed at centre back).
I wonder if Robbo with his experience could do a job there. Barnes and Gordon right footed so a left footer there may work.

30 Jan 2026 12:35:39
Slot made the choice to not start Endo at CB on Wednesday on the basis that he's not fit enough to play every 3 days after his runout vs Bournemouth.

He ended up coming on and playing most of the Qarabag game anyway.

You would think his injury risk for starting at right back tomorrow is now even higher.

I don't need to speculate what might happen.

30 Jan 2026 13:37:13
He has to start trusting Ramsay. It is beyond a joke now.

30 Jan 2026 14:04:20
I prefer Endo at cb to rb. You cannot judge Endo against Qarabag because I could have played here was that little to do.

30 Jan 2026 14:12:54
Doku out for City next week which is good news.

30 Jan 2026 14:15:14
Sorry long term view but to say that you don't want to see Endo there because of his lack of pace but to suggest Robbo instead is a bit counterintuitive. Robbo's legs are have gone as well and he has no pace now.

Endo is just as experienced as Robbo too. Personally I wouldn't want either of them at RB. Play Ramsay who is a natural fit there and played the rest in the best positions, especially Szob.

30 Jan 2026 14:26:16
I could live with Jones playing at right back, but please not Dom. It's just such a waste.

30 Jan 2026 14:56:35
MK Scouser do you think Endo will be able to mark Gordon or Barnes i do not think Endo has the pace against these two personally but only time will tell mate YNWA.

30 Jan 2026 16:48:55
Dracred you think Endo is quicker than Robbo? I'm not sure about that.
How do we settle this.
Think we need to message them and arrange a race. Think that idea has 'legs'. Sorry, couldn't resist.

30 Jan 2026 17:21:10
I can solve it. Look online at this is Anfield and they have an article of Liverpools fastest players this season.

Frimpong is first 36.34 km/ h
Then in joint 9th with Virg is Robbo 32.4 km/ h

No sign of Endo on the list.

Records show Endos fastest recorded speed was in the CL 24/ 25 at 30.6 km/ h.

{Ed025's Note - its cold today JK..make sure that Anorak is zipped up mate.. :)

30 Jan 2026 18:13:39
Ed025 I'm too fast for the wind mate. Last records recorded me at 3.25 km/ h.

{Ed025's Note - you will wear your green flash down going at that speed JK.. :)

30 Jan 2026 22:03:31
JK to the rescue.
Reminds me of an argument I had with a Man U supporting mate of mine once.
He was commenting on juan mata being fast. I was adamant I was faster. Juan Mata…. fast……erm no.

30 Jan 2026 09:55:51
Bit of a hint in the press conference that we are trying to do some transfer business, but it'll depend on the numbers. I thought Arne handled things pretty well, I liked some of Ekitikes comments about Newcastle as well and how he's a Liverpool player and supported by our fans. Good on him.

30 Jan 2026 11:19:54
If there was going to be any signings they'd have been done by now. We've clearly written the season off and are in limp home mode.

Forget winning the champions league as we're too weak in defence and midfield. We're too easy to play against and we're easy to beat, nothing has changed since we lost to Palace last September.

Trophyless season and outside the top four is what we're heading for.

30 Jan 2026 11:29:45
Are we that easy to beat in Europe? We lost to PSV but you can't use that as a marker because it was an aberration in our European form this season and last. It seems apparent to me that Europe and the PL are entirely different beasts this year.

30 Jan 2026 11:43:10
I admire your optimism but I can't see any signings this late in the window. I hope I'm wrong that but I don't think it will happen.

30 Jan 2026 12:04:43
I took that as a 'no' for transfers.

30 Jan 2026 12:43:51
For a club that depends on CL income and supposedly has the "smartest guys in the room" running recruitment, we are more than willing to write off whole seasons and risk future CL revenue to avoid the possibility of a short or medium term recruitment decision.

Can you tell I am still annoyed at how the recruitment team sat on its hands resulting in the poor 20/ 21 and 22/ 23 seasons?

30 Jan 2026 12:50:04
Also lost to Gala.

30 Jan 2026 13:07:07
We're generally quite easy to play against Patrick. If we face any either City or Chelsea they'll know they can turn us over fairly easily as they've both already done this season, and if any other managers have any sense they'll know we can't deal with low blocks, crosses, set pieces, midfield runners, long balls, long throws or pace.

We won't be in the final either way as we'd go out as soon as as we meet any of City, Chelsea or PSG. Unfortunately it looks like a very long and painful slog to get this season over with.

30 Jan 2026 15:41:40
I can't agree that Chelsea turned us over, Viktor, they played a good first half and we played a decent second half but conceded a bad goal in the end. PSG also don't look like the team they were last year, you can say that we lost to PSV, but they lost to Sporting.

Also, yes, we have that problem against teams in the Premiership.

As I said, teams elsewhere in Europe are not as good as doing those things as teams in the Prem, I genuinely think it's another physical and athletic level in a league where teams have to premise their entire survival plan upon defending and playing on the counter.

In the Champions League you are playing teams that are built to dominate possession, who win titles domestically every year. You think they can suddenly defend in an organised way for 90 minutes and run tirelessly while Liverpool have their technical attacking players running at them all game? You make it sound like any team that wins titles playing attacking football in Europe can suddenly flip a switch and become Burnley for two games against us.

Our team has deficiencies because it was built in a certain way, what makes you think other teams in Europe would fare better than us if they were in the premier league? Honestly you make it sound like every other team in Europe was built like a prime Sean Dyche team just to play us once a year. We are not the worst team in the world as you seem to suggest, We are in fact a very very good team that is imbalanced and is facing certain difficulties in our domestic league. Yes, those difficulties are not acceptable and must be overcome, but let's not lose our heads and spout hyperbole while we're at it.

30 Jan 2026 09:53:01
Can this best posted in rumours please 🙏 so more chance of them guys seeing it.
Thanks.
Ed001 Carra fields Robbo just watched the press conference and for the first time in a long time Slot seemed back to his self from first part of last season laughing and joking seemed to me when asked about transfers he would not say but it seemed more like with the way he was responding looked more like we would add a player or two.


So have you guys heard of any changes in stance towards Slot and transfer now.

30 Jan 2026 12:45:06
He must have got a warning as he played a straight bat in the presser today. Even gave Harvey a compliment.

30 Jan 2026 07:21:44
Who introduced this STC narrative about Hughes, and based on what? I missed its inception, obviously being asleep at the wheel while the ball was moving around the backline.

30 Jan 2026 08:33:16
Can't remember who, but a poster (or more) have met him and confirmed the diagnosis!

30 Jan 2026 08:35:50
Think it was coined by the fields, his contact has dealings with Hughes and isn't his biggest fan, referring to him as the silver tongued charlatan, or something similar.

30 Jan 2026 08:36:32
It was Thefields on 8th December, their mate used STC as a nickname for Hughes. I had to use the search function to find it.

30 Jan 2026 08:41:56
@Delvecs - I recall it was one of the Ed's or ITK's, I don't remember who.
STC - Silver Tongued Charlatan. Whoever it was said he'd met him a few times and that he has a questionable character and is p… poor at the job.

30 Jan 2026 09:10:49
Of course, based on knowing someone who met him a couple of times and not knowing the character and / or why the ITK met him, it must be a highly trustworthy critique.

30 Jan 2026 09:12:11
I know he had his formative years in Italy so I wouldn't expect him to be classically English in his character. I wonder if this has got anything to do with it. Italians are a lot more "figurative".

30 Jan 2026 09:14:08
Thanks @WtW. I dodged a RTFP bullet.

30 Jan 2026 09:28:05
I like some of the business we've done since Hughes has been in charge, and I'm not convinced by other deals we've done. It's been a mixed bag so far.

I wouldn't say there's much if any evidence he's a complete charlatan, but I also would say we've spent a lot in the last twelve months and not seen a return on it yet. The players are in long contracts so there's time for them to prove their worth, but this season has been a major frustration on all sorts of levels. So on the transfer front the jury is out. The lack of a rust choice centre half has been the major downside for me.

On the other side of the role I think he also appoints and oversees the medical side, although that's not completely clear. If he is, that would be an area I'd be less confident about as we've suffered so many injuries this season and the team fitness looks poor. Be good to know who actually is the boss of the medics as that's more disappointing than our transfer business.

My general feeling is that our failings this season are due to a mix of things, partly tactics and that's why Arne is rightly in the spotlight, but also fitness and injuries which is Richard's domain, and a few question marks on transfer business or lack of in the case of a CB which is also Richard.

30 Jan 2026 09:31:48
Willo 😂.

Guilty as charged. My mate worked with him at Bournemouth and that's where it came from. Didn't expect it to take on a life of its own tho 😂.

30 Jan 2026 09:32:55
STC? I think I've got one of them. Didn't catch it off Hughes though 😂.

30 Jan 2026 10:16:57
Excellent LFC8 🤣🤣.

30 Jan 2026 11:01:57
Surely we wouldn't want someone in his position to be a stuttering nervous mess would we?

30 Jan 2026 11:34:47
Fitness and injuries isn't Hughes' domain. Fitness is on the coaches so it falls under Slot. Injuries is a bit mixed I feel. Recovery is under the medical side while prevention is mostly under fitness. So partially under Slot as well.

30 Jan 2026 19:10:46
I don't get it though…


Silver-tongued? What does that mean?

{Ed025's Note - it means he has a very persuasive nature Ron..

30 Jan 2026 06:59:47
The Elliott situation seems very unfortunate, seems like they are intent on not letting him play the 10 games so they don't have to pay. Surely we renegotiate it out so he can get game time?

30 Jan 2026 07:17:49
If possible I would bring him back. It's a shame how his career is going, he is so talented and has a good attitude. It just seems to be his lack of speed and size that holds him back.

30 Jan 2026 07:30:20
Yeh not sure how him not playing benefits us. Thought it was a strange move at the time but would have liked to see it work out for Harvey.

Villa are crippled with injuries in midfield at the mo too with mcginn, tielemens and kamara all out.

30 Jan 2026 08:04:35
I think it's catch 22 isn't it.

Villa agreed to pay the fee if he met the appearances and they came in for him. It's not Liverpools fault that their manager doesn't want him and weren't to know.

They can easily change the terms but on the other hand why help a top 5 rival with a leg up and get them out of a 35 mill contract.

Unfortunately Elliot will be the one that gets hurt in all of this.

30 Jan 2026 08:24:36
He played yesterday and you could clearly see that the sharpness was lacking as he hasn't played at all but he did some lovely stuff on nd off the ball. No idea why Emery elected to treat him that way but like he said, "he's been professional" let's see how it pans out.

30 Jan 2026 08:25:53
Maybe their manager doesn't think he's good enough like Slot thinks certain Liverpool players aren't good enough.

30 Jan 2026 08:37:53
The player we should be discussing about is tyler morton who is killing it at Lyon. How did we let him go? And now we want adam wharton who is going to cost is 10 times more?
And jarell quansah wowzers we let him go and now need to sign at-least 4 new defenders.

Lesser said about diaz the better.

We could have just added wirtz frimpong and ekitike and sold Nunez and Elliott and it would have been an amazing window

The deeper we go into the season the more horrible the summer window gets. We really let players go that could have helped us so much this season all to get a striker that wasnt fit and now hasn't played 10 games for us! Bonkers and tells you how important Klopp was apart from the coaching. He really kept hughes and Edward's in check too.

Slot bears the blame rightfully so but he wasnt hepled at all by the two windows infact its one of the main reasons where we are today.

30 Jan 2026 08:44:59
But that was poor from Hughes in negotiating that loan deal, he should not have given them an out, it should have been an obligation to buy, not an option, but even if he did want to make it easier, by placing a 10 game clause he was forcing Villa's hand at the expense of Elliott who is the only loser in all of this.

30 Jan 2026 09:07:18
Exactly AR. We didn't do this minimum games nonsense before Hughes. It's an incentive NOT to play him.

30 Jan 2026 09:36:28
There are at least two sides to every negotiation, the two clubs in this case and the player and his agent. Everyone went into this deal with their eyes open, Harvey obviously thought he'd get game time, he was probably happy with a club of Villas profile and playing style, and it looked a reasonably good fit.

As is often the case when fringe players leave us they don't thrive unless they take quite a step down, like Morton is doing well in France, or Quansah in Germany. There's a reason why we let Harve go, and a reason why Emery doesn't play him.

Look at Trent in Madrid, we built around him, he thrived in our system, he and his reps thought RM was a great move, others looked at it and thought it wasn't a guarantee as they wouldn't put up with some of the deficiencies in his game. It's not working out well for him. Is that our fault as a club, I don't think so.

30 Jan 2026 09:49:39
Agree with JK, that it's not Hughes or Liverpools fault really, it was a good idea and one not too uncommon, however it's been clear for a while and they've even come out and specified that they won't trigger the games so yes I'd be getting him back amongst our squad if we could, Slot probably won't play him anyway but be better off having the opportunity rather than no chance of playing in the league.

Jackson at Bayern was a similar case where they came out straight after signing him saying there's no way he'll play the amount of games needed to trigger the clause. Strange one. I know with that there was a heavy up front charge though like 7mil if memory serves me correctly so maybe similar type arrangement.

Big shame as Harvey seems like one of the good guys in modern day football with the levels of greed around. And at his stage of his career he desperately needs games, should have been his mainstay season after such a good euros with the 21s. although villa was always a strange choice I thought.

30 Jan 2026 09:53:15
Elliott was considered not quite good enough/ expendable by the management and, I think, probably by most supporters. I think most were happy to take money for him.

Aston Villa are currently above us in the league, playing better than us and objectively are having a better season.

So if Elliott wasn't good enough for us, I guess it's logical that he is also not good enough for a team that are (currently) better than us.

30 Jan 2026 09:57:35
Or like Klopp with Elliott @Endo eh?

30 Jan 2026 10:19:17
Surely Elliot and his agent were also involved in the negotiations as well though.

Elliot's got the short straw here but he wasn't sent to Villa against his will.

Realistically Villa should be the ones cancelling his loan but then why would they want to send him back to assist a team that is in competition for a top 5 place.

30 Jan 2026 10:36:11
So Hughes is to blame for Elliott not getting game time at Villa too? I've heard it all now.

30 Jan 2026 11:14:37
Dont let common sense get in the way of a bit of Hughes bashing Sean.

30 Jan 2026 13:53:58
@Cafu.

Morton is doing well in the French league, that is hardly comparable to a guy who has shown he can perform well against the best premiership teams and is an international. Quansah was trying to do his best Virg impression and was a little to casual and inconsistent for me, he is probably in the right league where it's lower intensity and he gets a bit more time. I do think we should have held on to him, but it's possible he wanted to be a starter and LFC thought wrongly that they could sign someone better.

30 Jan 2026 20:33:18
Sean and Florian, he actually is. Either go for an obligation to buy or no buy option. If there was no buy option, they might give him a few more opportunities. But if they aren't sure of him, they aren't going to want to commit, are they? Especially when everyone knew they really wanted Paqueta.

Would you play a player to make the move permanent when you really want another one? It was a try before you buy move for Villa with zero risk. The risk was all on Liverpool and Elliott himself. A horrific negotiation by Hughes.

30 Jan 2026 22:40:16
@Babbity, what was the risk for Liverpool? If Elliott comes back at the end of the season he may well play a more prominent part in the new managers plans. Otherwise Villa stump up the extra cash.

Just looking for an excuse - any excuse - to blame the blame the club for something that you don't actually have context for and apologies in advance if you were actually part of the team negotiating the deal.

Again, I agree that the club isn't covering itself in glory so far this year and I respect that people have opinions which they are entitled to put forward, but there is often a fair bit of a gap between (sometimes even my own) opinion and fact and there has been a significant number of examples of the gap in recent times on this forum.

30 Jan 2026 23:18:25
Depreciation of the asset, WDW. His value will have tanked significantly and there is a year left on his contract.

I don't need to sit in on negotiations to know that we never did this minimum games nonsense before Hughes.

I'm not looking for any excuse to blame the club. I'm blaming Hughes because he deserves it.

30 Jan 2026 23:47:30
Sorry, I meant to say one less year on his contract.

30 Jan 2026 06:36:14
Carrying on with the John Barnes posts from yesterday didn't want this one to get lost in the banter 3 or 4 pages.

John Barnes my favourite player growing up and clearly an intelligent player to be able to go from a marauding winger to playing centre mid. Can you imagine Mo or Sadio being able to do that.

On top of this I used to coach his son as he was in the age group I head up at our local grassroots club. Every match he'd turn up and watch, was lovely with all the boys and would have to pose for several pictures and end up in several chats with oppo parents and grandparents.

His son plays for a Chester team now but when I see him around he still goes out of his way to say hello etc.

Great guy.

30 Jan 2026 07:43:34
I met him at my daughters cup final at Tranmere few years back and yeah he was absolutely brilliant with all the kids and anyone who wanted a pic and a chat. Top bloke.

30 Jan 2026 08:03:52
Dream team!

30 Jan 2026 08:48:38
Great player. Lost the ball for the goal that lost us the title in the final minutes against arsenal.
Probably a thing with our legends.

Mo is better but obviously that will send older fans in a hysteria and loose civility.

30 Jan 2026 08:50:20
Longthing, I met Barnes years ago at the NEC in Birmingham during a signing event and he was absolutely lovely. Seems a really genuine bloke. Got up out of his chair for photo, shook my hand, spent 5 minutes chatting etc.

Neil Ruddock (who was at the same event) on the other hand were miserable buggers who didn't even look up as they signed the photos for me. Molby was also there and although he wasn't rude, he seemed a bit down on the day.

Funnily enough I then went to a meet and greet in Northampton with Ronnie Whelan, Jan Molby and Peter Beardsley and they were all very chatty that night and had loads of time for everyone, but they'd had a few pints to be fair so maybe that cheered Molby up!

I met John Aldridge at a legends meet and greet at Anfield and he was very similar to Barnes personality wise. Couldn't do enough for you. He even invited us all to the pub afterwards! Probably the nicest celebrity I've ever met.

I was at the Qarabag game 2 nights ago in hospitality and Grobbelaar was there and he was also a very nice guy and actually asked me questions about myself which was quite a surprise, and then signed my matchday program. I mentioned to him how much nicer he was than Ruddock and I won't quote him and get him in trouble, but let's just say he agreed with my feeling towards him!

We are truly blessed as a fan base to have such humble and decent ex-players who have so much time for the fans (Ruddock aside). Anybody who hasn't ever been to legends meet and greet, I'd fully recommend it. The stories they share are gold dust and a really good way to connect with the history of the club. I'd love to spend some more time with Barnes. They're generally very reasonably priced events as well.

30 Jan 2026 10:00:21
@Cafu, o is a more prolific goal scorer but had nowhere near the football talent that Digger had.

30 Jan 2026 10:11:21
I grew up south of London and always get quizzed on why I'm a Liverpool fan and I should be a Fulham or Chelsea fan. My answer is always my favourite colour was red and my favourite player was John barnes.

30 Jan 2026 10:51:36
My favourite player of all time, had a season ticket when he was in his prime. Used to see him a lot around Liverpool when I was younger, but that's another story!

30 Jan 2026 12:32:21
Cafu. if you think Salah was better than Barnes, you were obviously too young to watch him play. Barnes was a genius with the ball, played in 2 positions for us, iv never ever heard of a supreme winger who then played Centre Mid, especially at the time when tackes were flying in and excelled there aswel.

30 Jan 2026 16:55:35
I am sorry a player being able to play in multiple positions doesn't make them a better player.
Yes barnes was a great player but Salah has just been better.

{Ed025's Note - and none of them better than Kenny..

30 Jan 2026 18:51:27
Cafu. how do you work that out? Because he scored more goals, John Barnes would get in any team past or present from any league in the world, I love Salah, im on here most days fighting his corner but Barnes was the most complete player.