Liverpool banter 10

15 Sep 2026 20:23:25
Imagine being a Liverpool "fan" and not rating or seeing the enormous potential of Nghoma 😆.

{Ed666's Note - imagine being a Liverpool fan and not appreciating fellow fans have counter opinions and perspectives on the same subject.

15 Sep 2026 21:01:45
Rio still has a point to prove. He hasn't done enough in my opinion to warrant the hype he gets.

When you break down his performances and style, there's not a whole lot to them in terms of contribution to the team. Of course he shows some glimpses of potential but his flashy skills deceive to flatter and as of now, he's more of an individual player with above average skill than a team player contributing much to the team performance.

9 out of 10 times I'd rather play Koumas than Rio because Koumas works relentlessly and always looks for a team mate or a goal opportunity. Rio on the other hand puts his head down and runs into defenders 80% of the time trying to dribble past them.

When I look at it that way, Koumas has the bigger potential for me to contribute to a team performance to win games, which is what matters at the end.

15 Sep 2026 21:09:02
Rios clearly talented, but people are acting as if he's an Lamine Yamal-talent. As of right now, what has he actually shown that makes people so certain he's not just another Madueke?

Im watching the game right now. hes struggling which i guess is normal for a lad at such young age. but what's bothering me is the workrate. Its fine losing the ball, but just strolling back afterwards is not.

That said. I'd love for him to succeed, we really need some english core-players.

On another note. I love watching Koumas. that boy runs.

15 Sep 2026 22:00:57
Koumas covered every inch of grass. Fair play lad.

15 Sep 2026 22:09:31
He held it up well too.

15 Sep 2026 22:17:34
Rio is an excellent talent who just turned 18 and atm is being trained to play a position he has never played before. I find it very sad that people are calling for him to be sold.

15 Sep 2026 21:07:53
Imagine being a fan, you'd be awful dizzy.

15 Sep 2026 22:09:01
Haven't seen a single person acting like Rio is Lamine level, stop making stuff up to suit your arguement.

15 Sep 2026 22:16:57
Another SuperFan laying down the law for the rest of us wannabe's.

We are not worthy 🙌.

15 Sep 2026 22:37:05
Counted at least 15 passes from back to front for Alexis to feed Gakpo and 2-0, that's an Andoni Iraola goal, slick forward pass and move?

15 Sep 2026 22:59:17
Potential means very little in reality - he will succeed or fail based on his actual performances - not some perceived level of potential anyone decides to make up in their own minds.

Just out of interest what are people classing as his potential:

Regular starter
Golden boot winner
Player of the year
Ballon Dor's
England captain
Global superstar
Leader of the rebellion
Britains got talent winner

He's a kid who's played a few games and scored a few goals, he's done nothing and still has a lot to learn and improve - that's not guaranteed - there's hundreds of young kids that had potential who didn't make it, and a fair few that did then fell off a cliff - he has an OPPORTUNITY - to force his way into the team, he then has the OPPORTUNITY to stay there - potential does not a great footballer make

Is he good for his age - off course he is
Is he one of the best attackers in the prem - not even close
Does he have an opportunity to get better - yep
Will he be all that and a bag of chips because some people have used a mental Time Machine and leaped into the potential future - no idea
It's boils my p**s hearing potential XYZ, it gets in kids heads and they start to believe they've made it before they've even started, then the ego, strops, demands follow

The kids got a lot of work to do, the prem is no joke, hard graft will determine his future, not whatever potential people may or may not think he's got.

15 Sep 2026 23:51:43
He plays like a youth player because that is exactly what he is. He is nowhere near first-team level or rotation level. That is the problem: his people expected that when he signed for Liverpool, but for me, he needs a lot of coaching to be anywhere near good enough to have a current influence on the game.

{Ed666's Note - I agree. If we can’t get an obscene fee for him send him out on loan for a year or two to the championship toughen him up and come back and let’s see if he’s as good as most people say he is.

16 Sep 2026 00:27:58
As long as he stays away from nitrous oxide, his career won't end like Sterling's.

On a serious point, I wouldn't sell him.

To Ed0666s point on the Rumours thread, I don't see that we HAVE to sell him in order to get purchases in, I'm still not sure why we didn't buy a CDM, but I doubt it's affordability, and more likely to do with what/who AI wanted? I am guessing, but I base that on our last financials and the trading we did.

He's also not taking up a non-HG slot anymore in our UCL squad - He'll be U21 for 3 more seasons.

He's not the finished article by any means, but he is only 18 and still being coached by AI who has a track record of improving especially young players.

So personally, I would get his contract signed (as long as he doesn't want to leave) and see how he develops over the next couple of seasons at least.

{Ed666's Note - you make sense Zeddicus. I had this 3 paragraph rebuttal ready but I lost it and can’t be bothered to write it again as it took a lot of my one brain cells energy.

16 Sep 2026 00:49:47
@Bekind, most fans can see the massive potential, some fans have seen the massive potential for two years and have a reasonable expectation that some of the potential would have grown into actual playing ability.

As you infer he has massive potential nut he is were he was 2 years ago.

16 Sep 2026 01:45:50
WDW - how do you assess progress of a teenage kid? like, what are you expecting to have seen today compared to when he arrived two years ago?

16 Sep 2026 06:26:29
Sorry mate, I'm a Liverpool fan and I've never heard of "Nghoma".

16 Sep 2026 07:46:31
Wdw agree mate, he probably wouldn't be in the first team if it hadn't been agreed when he signed

If we were offered good money I'd sell, he will end up leaving if his team think they can get a better deal for him, they allegedly agreed terms.

16 Sep 2026 07:59:34
He was heavily involved in the first 2 goals.

16 Sep 2026 09:49:43
Indeed, JLC. And we (LFC fans) are not the same either.

16 Sep 2026 09:52:30
Prior to this season Rio had played the equivalent of just 6 full 90 minute games for the first team, just 6 games, I really think everyone should stop judging him, the kid barely has his foot in the door and already we have know it all 'fans' with crystal balls saying he'll never make it, get over yourselves, give the kid a chance, some of you were crying out for a washed-up Chiesa to get more game time despite never producing anything.

16 Sep 2026 16:32:30
Well said Chewy.

15 Sep 2026 20:16:44
Hello guys! Not sure where this should go and not sure if it's ok to post! Does anyone know where I can get tickets for the Liverpool vs Villarreal game? It's a birthday present for my boy so Thank you in advance guys x.

15 Sep 2026 20:58:23
I'd try hospitality, M-J.

15 Sep 2026 11:12:16
Some of the stuff written by members of this site used to make me angry, nowadays I visit for a giggle! The Eds must be LOL every single day at the lay and uninformed gibberish that some write 🤣🤣🤣.

15 Sep 2026 17:55:35
To each their own, MR

I mean, there was a time when the rumours page was actually "exciting", in the sense that you never knew what was going to come next.

Nowadays, there are so many "ITKs" with such strong connections within the club, or with agents, or indirectly with players' families. you just can't keep up.

It's now more like the BBC transfer gossip page, where they'll put anything out there just to get the clicks.

For eg:

A few days back, I came across some random piece speculating about a Wirtz-Olise swap. I mean, why would Bayern Munich sign a struggling Wirtz while giving up one of their most valuable assets? Like, why?

If they really want Wirtz, they can just have him without giving away Olise.

I mean. it's obvious Wirtz is struggling / hasn't matched expectations yet (for whatever reason), so that will give people an excuse to link him away. And the most obvious destination is Bayern. It's the same logic as linking TAA with a return to Liverpool just because there's a convenient narrative to build around it.

That being said. this site is still the better platform to banter and whine about Liverpool FC.

Cheers!

15 Sep 2026 18:20:46
This Wirtz-Olise swap made me chuckle 😂.

{Ed025's Note - and me, it will obviously be Wirtz plus £120m for Olise..

15 Sep 2026 18:22:00
Btw, Long time, TRK! Good to hear from you. Hope all's good with you mate!

15 Sep 2026 18:11:06
If only we were as wise and wonderful as some on here.

15 Sep 2026 19:02:16
Ed025 you little scamp you😂.

{Ed025's Note - i have done the calculations FM.. :)

15 Sep 2026 19:16:23
Why don't you go back to your Man utd pages, if you want a better giggle, you won't be giggling when Southgate comes through the door, it will be us giggling and you angry! when we read all the gibberish on your Man utd pages.

YNWA "All LFC Supporters" you ain't one?

P.S. Striker Andy Cole's Law? it's just cabbage like your post! LMAO.

15 Sep 2026 19:13:41
Gibberish eh? I'll look out for your next enlightening post 👍.

15 Sep 2026 20:32:55
All hail the informed!

16 Sep 2026 04:06:05
Exactly the type of post I was referring to 007, well done, well done!

This great club has been in my blood since birth and that's a fair while now. The greatest thing I have noticed along the way especially in the ground, at the games, is the respect, trust and appreciation that the club and its professional backdrop are far more equipped than the fan base to do a fine job. Competition makes it hard to always come out on top but some of the posts I read often suggests this great club is failing us. Never will it fail me! YNWA

P. s. Rover - I care little what you think about my posts pal. One thing I won't do is speculate and another to think I can do better than the experts! That's less than common on here!

15 Sep 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - thefutureisoldgold3 has posted a new article entitled, Wolves Ratings v Sheffield United

15 Sep 2026 12:03:15
Thought this was a Premier League tie for a second.

15 Sep 2026 05:25:25
Or, play Wirtz as a false 9 and drop Isak

Ali
Dom. Araujo. Virg. Kerkez
Jacquet
Grav. Macca
Gakpo. Wirtz. Barcola.

15 Sep 2026 07:46:32
Oh god no.

15 Sep 2026 08:13:17
What Frode said.

15 Sep 2026 08:26:03
It has to be Wirtz or Dom not both unless Dom is RW.

15 Sep 2026 09:06:14
Dropping the top goal scorer Isak 3 goals, just doesn't seem correct? Szobs is the second top scorer with two goals.

Isak's most PL goals (27) in a season, are two behind Mo Salah's PL winning goals with Slot at 29.

The goals are clearly there, the service/supply line is clearly not?

15 Sep 2026 09:45:11
All this effort to play him? pretty sure Isak would score more goals than wirtz if that is what you wish from anyone playing uptop.

15 Sep 2026 09:56:39
Isak came off away at Ipswich and Wirtz went the false 9 and basically went missing.

Surely the most expensive 10 in football should play 10 and the most expensive Centre Forward plays centre forward.

15 Sep 2026 09:56:42
Exactly, Sonic & 007. We complain we don't create enuff but don't worry because the solution here is to play our creative player in a position he can't create and play the guy he should be creating for behind him or on the bench.

Eureka? Nope, not even close.

Seriously, can we can this "Wirtz in the false 9" crap now?

15 Sep 2026 10:05:03
What JK said.

15 Sep 2026 10:08:01
How can we build a team around Wirtz if he keeps moving position?

Good point, OliRed.
I don't remember Firmino creating anything as a false nine.
I'm sure Wirtz will nail down a position though.
It might be in Munich, mind 😂.

15 Sep 2026 10:27:04
What JK said.

I agree with Rigsby about the Munich bit!

15 Sep 2026 10:54:53
Of the 3, if 1 needs benching, I would go with Wirtz.

15 Sep 2026 11:35:18
We're eighteenth in the big chance created league, who knew such a thing existed but it does. Only Coventry and Villa below us right now.

Whilst discussion of the double pivot seems flavour of the month our £400m strike force are not ripping up any trees, and didn't last season either. I guess that will be the fault of our lack of CDM, not doubting we need one by the way.

15 Sep 2026 11:35:43
I think we need to stop thinking about dropping players until Iraola has had a season to coach them first. Wirtz has been average so far but he's had a goal and an assist chalked off for offsides that weren't him. I hope that he just needs a couple of things to go right to give him some confidence back as well as some time to gel with the others.

At least he's working hard for the team and hasn't thrown the towel in. Its his second season yes but how many games has he actually started with Isak? Oh and a song wouldn't go amiss either. Barcola had a song before he'd even played a minute. Wirtz not the most catchy name for a little singsong but surely there must be something.

15 Sep 2026 11:46:35
Red-Will, I've been saying for 12 months that the fact that Wirtz doesn't have a song is a reflection of how he's performed, or not performed as the case may be.

Like you say, Barcola had one before he kicked a ball. Albeit it's a rehashed version of someone else's.

15 Sep 2026 11:52:34
Play the players in their best positions.

I missed the game on Saturday but I've watched it since and the main thing we were lacking is the speed of pass.

Countless times there was someone (usually Isak) making a run and a first time pass puts him in on goal. Instead, the player on the ball takes an extra touch or chooses the wrong option or over hits the pass and the chance is gone.

That's a confidence thing. They don't want to make mistakes so they take that extra touch which gives the defender time to react to the run.

It will come. Iraola needs to be sitting them down and showing them these patterns of play where a quick pass opens the opposition up.

If we can do this it will free up Barcola, Isak, Wirtz and Munoz to use their attributes and people will be talking about us having the best attack in Europe.

We just need confidence to believe it.

15 Sep 2026 12:07:18
Generally in the prem players don't like taking risks. I've also heard it said that quite a few players get obsessive about their stats, and like high pass completion stats even if those are gained by making 5 yard passes.

It'd be interesting to know Trent's overall completion stats for his long passing, they probably weren't great but he created chances and opposition teams feared him.

I feel we're lacking a bit of risk taking, early release of a pass is part of that. I've only really seen Cody thread a great early ball this season that resulted in a goal. Too much pointless ball carrying, not enough incisive passing right now.

15 Sep 2026 12:50:22
Chiesa has a song though Rome. Does that mean we should be starting him?

15 Sep 2026 13:54:02
Drop Wirtz. Play Szoboszlai in the 8. Tell him to drive forward + take shots on. Grav + Nyoni behind. Give instructions that no one may pass to Grav if he's in the opponent's half.

15 Sep 2026 15:10:02
Dracred, absolutely not, mate. Never have we had a player who has done so little had such a brilliant song.

15 Sep 2026 15:34:28
Barcola LW
Wirtz 10
Dom RW
Isak ST

That's my preference. Whatever happens we need to sort the midfield out because that's where we lose goals. I don't think Dom is part of the midfield solution as he's too attacking.

15 Sep 2026 15:47:44
Riosstepover, I think you're right up to a certain point. The problem is that quite a few of our players don't have it in their locker to play that pass quickly and with precision, and therein lies the difficulty of the thing. We've been missing a player like that since Trent left.

15 Sep 2026 15:48:51
Isak was good against Ipswich but other than that game if you told me it was Origi up top for us I would have believed you. Not saying Isak is Origi level but anytime we don't get the result we want, its a "Wirtz problem".
I though that from the midfielders and attacker that played at the weekend he was by far the most likely to make anything happen going forward. Szobo was ineffective, Grav looked like a man lost out there, Barcola just came to use and Munoz is new also but both didn't have a good game. Cody did nothing really when came on. The team as a whole looked much better when Maca came on, so there's that.

For me, Isak needs to do more. He is older and has much more prem experience than all the other attacker around him. I believe he will but this season its time he shows it because we really need it for this campain.

15 Sep 2026 16:02:20
Adam, and who plays in the no.10 if Szobo is playing the 8, the same position he's been playing?

15 Sep 2026 16:53:25
OliRed, I'd move Szoboszlai into that more advanced position, bench Wirtz, and have Grav/Nyoni playing behind. Isak up top. Barcola/Gakpo on the left. Munoz/Gakpo on the right.

15 Sep 2026 17:14:30
Chiesa currently has the best song for getting the crowd going. Up there with Bobbys and Jota's in my opinion.

Hopefully the football will get the crowd going again soon enough.

15 Sep 2026 05:21:38
could Jacquet work as a 6?

Ronald comes in at CB with Virg and Dom could move out to RB.

And is it time to reconsider Flo as one of midfield 3? Playing him as an inverted LW instead gives us more solidity in the midfield but keeps his creativity. He's also more likely to use Kerkez on the overlap or exploit the space created by Kerkez to play in others.

Not sure who works better at RW - Barcola, Cody or Munoz, take your pick 🤷🏼‍♂️

Crazy to think of the money we've spent and we're still shuffling the pack to solve last seasons problems, but here we are

Logically, doing the same things with the same players with the same results is crazy. We've already had a season of this midfield conundrum, maybe it's time to do something radically different?

Ali
Dom Araujo. Virg. Kerkez
Jacquet
Grav. Macca
Barcola. Isak. Wirtz.

15 Sep 2026 09:22:56
Two players end up out of position, one of which Jacquet has been our best player so far.

Everyone's looking for solutions, basically though according to many we just need to sort the two in the 4231 and much of the rest then falls into place.

Why not just try Trey with Macca as the two. Macca has been the best bet in there so far, so if we're looking for the second why not give Trey a try. If he can't do it then we may need to go into the market but there's no point disrupting what's good in the defence to fill a hole in midfield.

If it works great, there's then less business to be done and we can focus on fullbacks in Jan. The full midfield rebuild can then be done in the summer.

15 Sep 2026 10:06:59
I'd go with Macca and Trey as well and see how they get on. If the club had've just added a midfielder or two or at the very least replace Jones this may have been avoided.

15 Sep 2026 10:48:21
Give Trey and Macca a go, put Dom at RB for a couple of games.

I really like Araujo but I'm not a fan of playing all our available CBs from the start. Who do you bring on if one of VVD, Jacquet or Araujo goes down injured without massively downgrading the squad?

I prefer we rotate those 3 as the 2 CBs for now to give each enough consistency and rest.

15 Sep 2026 11:02:18
He has been playing his 3 fit CB's for the last couple of games though, apparently Joe Gomez is "back" hopefully he lasts more than 20 minutes this time. Leoni is also due to be back after the international break too.

15 Sep 2026 11:26:25
Imo Wirtz should have a few role in midfield for me and the other two midfielders should provide cover for that. He played his best for us when he was allowed to roam and I think that's the best position if we want the most out of him.

15 Sep 2026 11:38:17
I can see Jo going in at left back, if he stays fit. Follow the Arsenal blueprint of four centre backs at the back, if you can't beat them join them!

14 Sep 2026 18:54:47
Just read on the net that Pierre Kalulu, 26, a defender from Juventus, described as a progressive central defender & a rampaging right back, is a target for LFC and Man U.

Report suggests 50 million euro would tempt the Old Lady to sell the French player.

14 Sep 2026 19:57:53
A French Revolution happening here.

14 Sep 2026 20:09:38
Hopefully he's got a big hairy set of balls on him - we need some potency.

14 Sep 2026 21:46:57
Another top singer "Lulu" after we have just had Shirley Bassey of Fulham.

LFC are yet to beat 2 PL sides that begin with the Letter N, and 2 PL sides with the Letter F? (Question Mark) Fulham and who "else"? Question Mark? , Question Mark?

Tonali ruled out tomorrow night, Gomez to return for LFC, Spurs are yet to score a PL goal, they have a minus 5 goal difference, and De Zerbi was touted on here to replace Slot?

Whoever gets the 2 PL Club F's answer above must either be in MENSA? or a Lumberjack?

14 Sep 2026 22:44:42
I don't think Lulu could be described as a top singer but I'm sure she'd Take That.
I always wanted to be a tree surgeon but I can't stand the sight of sap.

14 Sep 2026 23:31:37
I thought you might have got the other Premier League F Rigsby, being a clever gentleman, as Miss Jones often says.

Sometimes you can't see the "Forest" for the trees being a tree surgeon Rigsby.

15 Sep 2026 01:04:13
007. Don't drink and type.

15 Sep 2026 08:58:17
My Apologies for exactly "Copying" your posts Suarez?

15 Sep 2026 09:11:07
Who on earth wanted de Zerbi to replace Slot?

15 Sep 2026 09:45:32
007, yeah, I should have got it.
My excuse is that I always spell Forest with two 'r's and the correct answer only has one so I was barking up the wrong tree.
I do enjoy your posts though. Keep them coming, mate.

15 Sep 2026 10:00:59
No one that's who.

15 Sep 2026 10:02:29
Fatwallet, Kalulu is from DR Congo, if i'm not mistaken.

15 Sep 2026 10:10:08
And some wanted to replace Slot with no one.
Or even worse: Gerrard!

15 Sep 2026 11:11:14
Kalulu is a poor man's Kyle Walker. Very quick with decent dribbling but that's about it.

14 Sep 2026 17:49:59
Who would you rank as the top 3 most gifted two-footed players? Mine is 1. Nedved 2. Cazorla 3. Lallana.

14 Sep 2026 18:47:24
Best, Charlton, Andreas Brehme.

14 Sep 2026 18:51:08
1. The King himself
2. George Best (bit before prem, some player tho) showing my age here 🫣
3. Zidane.

14 Sep 2026 19:10:25
Zidane
Pele
Cruyff.

14 Sep 2026 19:21:07
Best, Maradona, Di Stefano.

14 Sep 2026 19:49:02
Maradona was very left footed.

14 Sep 2026 20:54:11
Souness, Keane, Sergio Ramos

2 footed. Right down the shin 👌🏻.

14 Sep 2026 20:56:20
Ronaldo nazario phenomeno.

14 Sep 2026 20:56:42
He was very left footed but he could play with his right, just not as good.

14 Sep 2026 21:29:16
Ron he used his hand more than his right foot 🤣.

14 Sep 2026 21:36:41
Good shout with Bobby Charlton, Bristol.

14 Sep 2026 21:42:35
I was a big fan of Santi Cazorla. He could do as much with his 'bad' foot as his good. Fantastic player.

15 Sep 2026 01:15:33
Don't know if he can really be ranked with the greats, but Lallana is always the first that comes to mind.

15 Sep 2026 02:03:07
It's nedved for me. Iirc, he wasn't naturally two footed but he trained his weaker foot so that it was just as good as his stronger one. Imo all professional footballers should be like that since they do nothing but play football for a living.

15 Sep 2026 00:41:02
Zidane ended up developing a great left foot but he was still predominantly right footed. Maradona was mainly left footed. R9 had a powerful left foot but again was right footed. None of them were anywhere near as ambipedal as Nedved. Cazorla was crazy too.

The guy would take set pieces with either of his foots. Same was the case with Adam Lallana but surely not at Santi's level. George Best is certainly a great shout. Amongst present crop of footballers Dembele isn't bad with his right foot. Eds what would be your choices?

15 Sep 2026 03:49:28
Zico. Apparently R9 watched him on tv explaining how he trained his weaker foot, and it inspired him to do the same when he was like 13.

15 Sep 2026 05:16:30
I remember years ago a former Liverpool player was being interviewed (can't remember who!) and he said Yossi Benayoun was the most technically gifted player he had ever worked with!!

15 Sep 2026 05:32:03
There was George Best and then there were the rest.

15 Sep 2026 09:45:13
I might get pelters for this but Trent was excelent with both right and left.

{Ed025's Note - his left leg was for standing only Worzal, he could not head a ball and had no positional sense at all mate...besides that he was very good..oh and he tackled like a 10 year old girl..

15 Sep 2026 10:06:33
Paulo Maldini. Naturally right footed.

Trained his left foot so well, people thought he was left footed.

Comfortably two-footed with near no weaknesses.

Greatest all round defender of all time.

15 Sep 2026 10:40:21
2nd best @Oli, Baresi was better 😉.

15 Sep 2026 11:04:02
Dembele from PSG, he is truely 2 footed, you really can't even tell if he is left or right footed, I doubt he even knows 😅.

15 Sep 2026 11:26:24
WDW, there is a reason I mentioned "All round defender" in my comment.

Why? because I had never seen "The Baron" play all 4 defensive positions, something Maldini had done at diff. parts of his career.

15 Sep 2026 12:25:23
@ArneSlot'sBarber I am pretty sure Dembele even said once that generally he decides on the spot which foot to take his penalties from. Whichever gives him the better "feeling" at that time. Its impossible to tell which foot he prefers really.

15 Sep 2026 12:23:53
You might hate him Ed025, but he was a better long range passer with his left foot than more people are with their preferred foot. He had many flaws to his game, but he had one genuinely elite skill (the best in the world at that by far, in fact) and Klopp knew how to create a system that was able to harness that strength and mitigate his other weaknesses.

In the latter years, he did seem to get an over inflated ego and the way he left he will never be loved, but during the 2018-2022 period when he actually tried to defend, he was basically a cheat code: A PL level average defender who was also the best deep lying progressor in the world. Arguably it is his skill set that we have never replaced more than anything.

{Ed025's Note - i dont hate anyone TKA,i met the guy once and he seemed a really nice guy actually mate, i just think some supporters have a very inflated opinion of how good he was, wand of a right foot of course but the rest of his game was pretty poor for me, but thats just my opinion..

15 Sep 2026 13:49:35
He was the main creator for a team that won every trophy, had 3 90+ points seasons in PL (two of them being 95+), and reached 3 CL finals. All while being a defender. By no means, in my opinion, did we over inflate his achievements.

If anything, people from the outside don't realise how good he was in that 2018-22 period. But I agree he was never quite the same (especially in defence) once his effort diminished from 2023 onwards.

15 Sep 2026 15:39:36
Jean Michel Ferri was genuinely 2-footed.

He was equally dreadful with both.

15 Sep 2026 16:13:32
@thekop, I fully agree with you. Trent was dynamite and a player who could dictate play from RB that no one had ever seen before. Won all the trophies and personal accolades (PL TOY, CL TOY etc.) to go with it.

I do agree that he dropped his levels when it seemed he had made up his mind to go to Madrid and that didn't happen in 2025, as you alluded to.

14 Sep 2026 14:42:35
looking forward to tomorrows game. Nyoni minutes are a must and i would love him to grab the bull by the horns and make a statement to start this weekend.

Wataru will provide some much needed passion in midfield and watching big joe for his consistent 15 mins a szn will be nice - anyone want anyone in particular to start? gutted Leoni isn't fit as he really impressed me this time last yr hopefully he comes back stronger!

14 Sep 2026 14:57:17
Alisson, Virgil, Jacquet, Isak and Wirtz should be rested. May as well leave Szobo out too.

Nyoni, Rio, Koumas, Chambers deserve to start.

Marmar, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Tsimikas, Gakpo will have to start.

Add McConnell, Endo and maybe Gomez in the lineup too if they are fit.

Barcola, Araujo, Munoz, Macca, Danns, Ndiaye make the bench.

14 Sep 2026 15:08:40
I want 8 first teamers in starting XI or we'll get knocked out. Not going to happen, I know.

14 Sep 2026 15:37:58
Robbo running at Frimpong - see who puts in the most crosses.

14 Sep 2026 15:56:08
Don't want too many changes. We need to win this.

{Ed025's Note - then you need to make changes Das..

14 Sep 2026 16:06:52
Lads, it's Tottenham.

14 Sep 2026 16:15:31
He needs to go quite strong imo.
A positive result & performance is a must after Saturday & don't want a repeat of last seasons surrender in the comp.

14 Sep 2026 16:21:59
We could probably do with making the changes FPF suggests. But if we make them changes we'll lose. Catch 22.

14 Sep 2026 16:47:31
I guess it's telling, you have to rest somewhere. It depends on whether we think we can win the whole cup. If not then just put out the fringe players.

14 Sep 2026 16:55:29
If you want to attack all comps then your fringe players need match fitness. If you don't want to attack all comps, play the kids and risk going out while giving them some experience.

Significant changes are inevitable unless you have already lost trust in the fringe players so early into your regime.

14 Sep 2026 17:00:26
You make a good point, Ed025. However, chucking in the likes of Endo, Gomez and a few kids is forfeiting the game, regardless of "it's only Spurs". It was "only" Forest and Fulham. The 14 players we are putting out need to play us out of this, so just a few tweaks here and there, for me. I hope you're listening, Andoni, you know I'm right!

14 Sep 2026 17:09:23
Most of our fringe players are kids Pelican, except Endo who will play a part tomorrow if he's fit. Chiesa has either been frozen out, or is injured so probably won't feature.

14 Sep 2026 17:50:22
Going by the team vs Fulham I can see Munoz, Rio and Gakpo start up top. Then Gakpo, Isak and Barcola will play the weekend. The middle three may be Trey, Grav and Dom and I can see a back line of Frimpong, Araujo, Virg and Kerkez. Mama obviously in goal.

14 Sep 2026 18:12:23
A total guess but I reckon we lineup as follows:

Marma, Frimpong, Gomez, Chambers, Tsimikas, Nyoni, Gravenberch, McConnell, Rio, Gakpo, Koumas - with Woodman, Endo, Araujo, Munoz, Barcola, Macca and Danns on the bench. Endo and Araujo to come on for the two starting CBs, Macca on for McConnell and Munoz and Barcola on for Rio and Koumas late in the game for a run out.

Can see Alisson, Virg, Jacquet, Wirtz, Szobo, Kerkez and Isak sat in the stands for this one.

14 Sep 2026 18:20:52
I think we lose then FPF. And Andoni comes in for some large amounts of criticism.

14 Sep 2026 18:41:57
We can't afford to play fringe players yet! Season is young and players are fit. The two domestic Cup competitions are imperative this season. Get past Spurs and give the manager a chance to try and find his place and gel his players, giving the fringe players an opportunity later on.

14 Sep 2026 18:55:03
Spurs are claiming they'll be making wholesale changes for the game. If we make minimal changes, we'll probably beat them, but no fringe players will get minutes in them. If we play a 2nd string, it's a toss up for the game.

Big decision for Iraola, I expect him to ring the changes and see what the back ups have got in them.

{Ed666's Note - or just play players that can listen to instructions and aren’t functioning on one brain cell between them. How difficult is it to learn the triggers of a press. It’s not like it’s molecular science

14 Sep 2026 19:04:27
Not a fan of this resting stuff. Especially this early in the season. They've played 5 games .
Playing a full strength team will sharpen match fitness if nothing else.

14 Sep 2026 20:18:30
We have the same conversation every year about these cups. Bigger squads have come a cropper going deep into these comps. This is the weakest squad we've had since Klopp arrived in 2015.

14 Sep 2026 20:31:24
But a far better squad in terms of quality than Klopp had to pick from in 2015.

14 Sep 2026 21:00:18
Klopp could pick a right back and a 6 when he arrived. :)

14 Sep 2026 21:57:30
True FPF. Ye would have thought with us been so light at RB the would have kept young Ramsey around.

14 Sep 2026 20:18:23
Well apparently it's hard ed!

{Ed666's Note - sigh

15 Sep 2026 05:37:24
@FPF, not trying to wind you up or trying to be obtuse, but why do the 4 you mention first deserve to be in the starting line up? I think you are probably right about them playing but it seems to me that they are playing them because AI wants to rest key members of his normal starting 11. They are playing because they are back-up squad members which is different to them deserving to start.

Either way I think we need to win. There are a lot of nervous fans willing yes to succeed but not always sounding like they think they will.

15 Sep 2026 07:21:32
I'm not normally bothered about this cup, but I don't like us setting out to lose any game where fans are paying good money to watch. If anyone is carrying a knock or completely off form then rest them, otherwise go strong and make subs.

15 Sep 2026 10:18:50
I think Flo's lineup works under the circumstances.

15 Sep 2026 12:24:39
It said on talk this morning that Iraola has said eleven changes. Don't know if that's true, they do exaggerate for callers.